Belgium head coach Martinez.

(File photo, Reuters)



Every season, the top European teams play an average of 50 to 60 games. On the contrary, the national team only needs more than ten games per year when there are no major competitions. This makes many fans think that the job of a national head coach is much easier. Is this the case?

"Coaching the team and the national team are two different things." Spaniard Roberto Martinez (Roberto Martinez) left Everton in 2016 to take over the Belgian coach and lead the World Cup in Qatar. 24 hours of work, basically failed to review the gains and losses, so you have to prepare for the next game, the rhythm is fast." Some national coaches are the last blow before retirement, and some national coaches have just finished their careers as coaches, but he belongs to the third category .

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"You have to change the way you do things in the past. From the training camp to the competition, the national team may last from 7 to 10 days. The head coach should try to maintain the unity of the team, because the national team will leave after playing." Former Italian coach Antonio Conte He didn't like the "slow pace" of the international competition, and soon returned to the team. Martinez explained: "In the summer vacation alone, the team has to train more than 60 lessons. In the national team, there are about 5 training sessions per year, so we must Get the players fully ready in the shortest possible time.”

The national coach has no time to "train" players, and can only recruit the best national elites to join the army. From this perspective, the team coach is like a teacher, and the national coach is like a principal.

"Coaching a country has to be patient. We watch games every week, but we're just spectators, we can't do much, let alone give pointers." He led Belgium to a winning rate of more than 72%, setting a new high in his coaching career (the data does not include this World Cup Finals).

"During the non-international competition, I didn't have any contact with the international football team. The players only need to concentrate on coping with the league." The 73-year-old German coach Ottmar Hitzfeld (Ottmar Hitzfeld) coached Bayern Munich and the Swiss national team, and has now retired from football , "Because I was the team coach, I never interfere with the team's employment. If the club doesn't look for me, I will never look for them." The national head coach has limited time to spend with the players, and needs a simple and efficient way to handle personnel affairs. "After the game, you openly and honestly state the key points and clarify the goals, because you are not facing them day and night." (Contributing author: Roy)

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