German inputs for India's top football coaches

New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is conducting a FIFA Elite course in Goa to help the country's 31 'A' licensed coaches gain an "an insight into the success" of the German team during the 2014 football World Cup.

The course, which kicked off on Thursday and will continue till Monday has Jochen Figge, a technical member of the German Football Association (DFB), as the course instructor.

Over the years, Figge has coached several national teams namely Guinea, Zambia, Trinidad & Tobago and Ethiopia, and has also been actively involved in several development programmes both for FIFA and DFB.

31 coaches from various professional clubs have turned up for the course on invitation by AIFF, notable names among whom include Savio Medeira, Derrick Perreira, Armando Colaco, Sanjay Sen, Santosh Kashyap and Thangboi Singto among others.

Figge stressed that "it is important for the participants to put into practice what they had picked up be useful for their players and add value during their sessions".

"The Participants are being refreshed with the new trends and the value of working in small groups before playing 11 versus 11 practice games," he added.

"The emphasis on details and elements in professional football is being stressed upon. Today Players are expecting the best practices from their coaches. The players are expecting more than just coaching. They also want to be well managed, looked after, cared for, and respected. It is demanding of the coaches. It means thoughtful planning, well designed sessions, resources available for recovery and rehabilitation, motivating them throughout the season, etc," he added.

"Coaching Certificates alone might not be enough," he said.

Figge has brought with him the planning and investment DFB had put to become world champions and this has also been shared with the participants. While the mornings are reserved for the theory sessions, the practical sessions are conducted in the afternoons.

"The coaches are being given an insight into the success of the German team during the World Cup 2014. The investment and foresight with strong leadership is paying dividends," Figge said.

Referring to a query as to how the participants have responded, Figge said that the "positive attitude" has "impressed" him.

"The Participants have been responsive during the lectures and showed confidence when asked to conduct the practical sessions."