As the Futsalroos prepare to take on Asia's best at the 2014 ASEAN Football Federation Futsal Championships in Malaysia, Mark Seeto caught up with new Head Coach Robert Varela. In part one of this two-part interview Rob discusses his appointment, coaching philosophy and the challenges facing the national team.
The 2014 AFF Futsal Championship is the 11th edition of the tournament which will be held in Shah Alam, Malaysia from 19 to 27 September 2014. The Futsalroos are grouped with Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Brunei and hosts Malaysia.
Were you surprised when you were appointed by the FFA to be the National Men’s Coach?
Rob: Having been involved in the Futsalroos set up since 2010 and given that FFA were likely to continue with a local coach I was hoping that my previous performance would be taken into consideration.
Why do you think you were picked over other contenders?
Rob: I believe that FFA were aiming to have continuity from the great work that Steve Knight had done the previous 4 years and that my involvement as his assistant would help in achieving that continuity.
You asked Simon Keith to be your Assistant Coach. Why?
Rob: Simon has had an excellent playing career at the international level; it is that experience, which I do not have, that provides a different point of view in the way he sees the game, he gives me the players’ perspective.
Also Simon is starting to forge a very promising coaching career; he has had a good deal of success with young squads both in the NSW Premier League as well as the FLeague.
I believe that all those factors will enable Simon to earn the players’ respect very quickly
What are the challenges coaching the Futsalroos?
Rob: There are several areas that affect the final performance of the team: player availability for both tours and training sessions, is perhaps the main one; the amount of training that we can have; the inability to be able to scout across the country and lack of international competition outside of the tournaments that we attend. Also there is the question of coaching infrastructure which affects the development and futsal education of players. Having said that, it is important that we do not dwell on the shortcomings but we just get on with the job of building a team that is respected by the Futsal community.
Are there differences in your approach to coaching than Stephen Knight’s?
Rob: Steve did a magnificent job as Futsalroos coach: taking the team to the 2012 World Cup and numerous other Q/F and S/F appearances in major continental championships is a clear testament to that. I would like to think that I can build on that very strong base that Steve created.
Perhaps the main differences would be that I favour a little more structured approach to the game; I believe that all the defensive work that Steve put into the team these last few years affords me the chance to spend a little more time in working the more attacking facets of the game.
When did you start to be involved in Futsal?
Rob: Back in 1984 having just finished a successful season coaching Melita Eagles U/12 team in the then NSW Youth League, we decided to have a crack at this “new” indoor soccer game in the off season.
What was your first Futsal coaching experience?
Rob: We entered what was the only 12 Boys competition in Sydney at the time held at the Revesby YMCA with some of the Melita boys and after losing the first game the boys won every other game including the GF. I knew very little about the game so we concentrated in defending tightly and keeping possession until an opportunity to shoot came about…
Even though I had no idea how to coach “indoor” I was hooked in the sport and have never looked back.
Which was your first international tour as a Coach?
Rob: An U/16 Australian team to Argentina and Uruguay as Assistant to Brian Keightley from Queensland in November 1988
Can you explain your coaching preferences and philosophies?
Rob: Most successful teams are renowned for their defensive capabilities. I believe that if you concede 2 goals or less per game you will be successful most of the time. Good defending dictates the pattern of a match and a lot of your attack flows from there as statistically, at least 50% of the goals are scored in transition play, and you can’t create transition play if you defend poorly.
What quality or qualities do you look for in your players?
Rob: I will preempt my answer by saying that some of the qualities that make a player “successful” in domestic competitions are not necessarily what is needed at international level.
Ideally what we look for is a high level of technical ability, a high degree of mobility and from a tactical point of view the ability to learn new concepts quickly and implement them at the right times. Obviously a player with all those attributes is rare, especially in our current playing environment.
Decision making under pressure and at speed is vital at all levels of Futsal but most importantly at the highest level and that is the quality that separates the good from the very good players.
How important is hard work and repetition in your training?
Rob: Hard work is a given, a player that is not prepared to work hard is of very little value to the team. In terms of repetition, Futsal being such fluid, ever changing game, it is difficult to recreate all the possible situations at training. We aim to give the players a blue print, guidelines if you like, of how we want to play and then we try and recreate the most common situations at training and show them the most common options they could take and see whether the players make the correct decision at the time.
You have picked several players from your Dural Warriors team. Do you think this may be a problem from an outside perspective?
Rob: Undoubtedly so.
Let me begin by saying that in my initial conversation with Luke Casserley, Head of National Performance, when the position was offered to me, I offered to stand down from my club commitments. FFA’s response was that given that the position was not full time and that it would not take more than a few weeks of my time each year they did not see the need for me to do that.
It is frustrating to see that to some people player selections appear to be based on club and/or state allegiance. I can quite easily accept that people may think that other players are better than some of those selected in the current squad; everyone is entitled to their own opinion, whether it is based on facts or perception, but when there are accusations of bias made by people who in some cases do not have the courtesy to put their own name to the comments it becomes an attack on my integrity.
Javier Lozano, Futsal World Cup winning coach in 2000 and 2004, current Spanish National Coach Venancio Lopez and many other coaches have been criticized for their selections as well. Obviously I am not comparing myself to these two great coaches but the point is, it goes with the territory…