Brazilian World Cup winner Roberto Carlos feels that he did a good job during his stint as coach of Indian Super League side Delhi Dynamos last year, though he found the players lacking in quality to understand his work.
Carlos, who was a part of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winning team besides playing for 11 years for Spanish giants Real Madrid, said he really worked hard during his stint with Delhi Dynamos, who qualified for the semifinals in the ISL.
“When I was in Delhi, I did a lot of work with my players but they found it hard to take them. They don’t all have the quality you need,” said Carlos.
Asked about his future, Carlos said his ultimate goal is to become Brazil coach one day. He had said that he will not return to Delhi in the coming ISL season but there were reports that ISL side Mumbai City FC are having negotiations with him to be their coach in the ISL this year.
“If I do a good job at the club where I am now, I’m sure there’ll be a lot of clubs who want Roberto Carlos as a coach. I’m a modern coach when it comes to training. I pick a lot of things up and I watch a lot of training sessions and follow a lot of leagues around the world. I’m taking things slowly, though,” said the former Real Madrid left-back.
“My goal one day is to be Brazil coach, but to get there I need to have a club career. I started well in Turkey. I started well in Russia and I did a good job in India,” he was quoted as saying by a Qatari website www.sc.qa .
Asked about any footballer around today who can take free-kicks like he did in his playing days, he said, “Cristiano, Cristiano Ronaldo. Nobody strikes the ball like him. I used to hit it with the outside of my foot or the instep, but Cristiano hits it with the front part, which makes the ball dip quickly. Who else is there? There aren’t many who can take good free-kicks.”
Carlos also predicted that his fellow countryman Neymar will soon become the best player in the world. “As a former player and current coach, I think he’s coming along really fast. He went to Barcelona, settled in very quickly and he’s now the third-best player in the world.
I don’t think it will be very long before he’s the best of the lot because he’s developing so fast. When Messi was out, Neymar took responsibility and played superbly,” he added.
Asked how his one-time Real Madrid team-mate and now coach Zinedine Zidane could bring a change in the fortunes of the beleaguered Spanish club, he said, “He’s started very well and he’s got some very smart people around him. They’re going to help him. All I can do is wish him the very best of luck because everything he did in the game was just phenomenal.
“He always won matches and titles. That’s Zizou’s mentality. I think they (the players) have to forget about what’s been happening lately. With Zidane it’s a happy team, one that’s having fun on the pitch. Everyone’s getting along with each other and it’s a team that listens to Zizou when he talks. The fans need to be a little bit patient because he has to build the team around the players he trusts. And from there the titles will start to come.”
Asked about his coaching role model, Carlos said, “I’ve had a lot of great coaches. I think Guus Hiddink and Vicente del Bosque are the ones closest to my style.
“I’m more friendly with the players than a ‘formal’ coach. I’m not a professor. I’m Roberto Carlos and I want to win with my players and I want them to help me by doing their job well. I mention Hiddink because we have a similar way of working: we do the ground work.”
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