Not impressed
Published on: 9/17/08.
by EZRA STUART
A BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL COACH and talent scout has blown the whistle of the standard of play in the Barbados Football Association's Premier League.
Luiz Greco, the general director of international player exchange company Soccer Express said he was not impressed with what he saw at the YMCA on Sunday night.
"I must confess that I'm very upset because in two matches, I saw very, very short quality in terms of skills, in terms of intelligence to play," he said during a press briefing at the Brazilian Embassy on Monday.
Greco came to Barbados to sign a partnership agreement with the Dexter's Brazilian Football Academy which will see teenage Bajan footballers go to Brazil to improve their skills and secure attachments at clubs in the South American country.
"The Brazilian way of playing is first to use your mind. The philosophy is to work first on these points, to work on the mind, the intelligence to play and of course, you need to have the born skills," he said.
Greco chided the older footballers in the Premiership, saying they were unable to string together three passes without losing possession.
"We saw all the teams were not able to interpass three times, one pass, two passes and they lost the ball to the other team.
"It is a lot of physical stress and nothing to build up possible goal chances or attacking chances. They have all the wrong philosophy, which is one, two short (passes) and another long pass."
The Brazilian reckoned this style of play was as a result of the influence of British soccer "which is long passes and run and without the intelligence to manage, control the ball or great inter-passing using the sides and using the capacity of thinking".
He said only one player, the experienced Barbados' captain Norman Forde impressed him.
But Greco said all was not lost from what he witnessed while conducting a session with players from the Dexter Marshall Brazilian Academy at Harrison College last Saturday.
he suggested.
"Of course with Dexter and his coaching staff implementing this philosophy, it will be easier. As soon as these boys come to Brazil, they will be more easily settled on the way of playing," he said.
"That is why it is very important to have co-operation regarding the coaching ability, the coaching staff of his academy. They will get this experience when they go to Brazil for this course," Greco noted.
