An interesting interview with the master Felix Magath.
What did you learn from your experience as a player?
I learnt from Happel and Zebec that you can get success by being a strong unit. A strong team all working together.
What do you base your work on as a coach?
People don't see it behind the marketing, media and focus on players but the only way to succeed and perform is by pure hard work. This gets the last drop of performance out of the player.
What does this mean in practice?
I want 100% performance from my players. For me the key to this is intensity of work as in intensive training. This is often vital to a players preparation for the next game.
What staff do you think are essential to help you in this training method?
Key to our preparation and in allowing the players to train at high intensity we need two assistant coaches, a conditioning coach along side a specialist rehab coach who works on resting procedures. A specialist physio and myself.
How do you use your team of staff during training?
Each staff member takes their own training. We plan those parts and then they work with a specialist. The same specialist takes the players for each part so they know the players and can build a working knowledge. After all of this I take the football side of coaching and work on specific football situations.
How has the team changed with the use of your methods since you took over?
First of all as a unit the morale has improved and the willingness to train harder has become better developed. Also with improved training intensity to players found it a challenge at first but it is now a natural part of preparation for games.
What lies behind your philosophy in developing the team?
While working with the team I try to point out how the individual skills the players have can be of best use to the team as a joint unit. We must convince the players that you succeed through joint efforts on behalf of the team.
What does this mean for practice and the way you work with the team in your part of training?
I have a very clear idea of how I expect a player to use his skills and how the team should play as a unit. I explain to them in the clearest possible way so they have few problems implementing this.
Why do you work in this way during training?
Even though my goal is developing the team and I may have a 5 year deal, I do not develop by working long term. You have to coach in the way which works best with the pressures of coaching and with the way players like the coach to work. For this we work on short term results from the start. We develop the team and individuals by winning and consistent good results.
Do you coach players by a specific system or work with the strengths of the players?
I have one specific and very clear idea of the system of play I use. The n observe each player in training, how he works, moves, what runs he makes etc. I then ask myself "how can I best integrate him into the system?". With the answer I plan accordingly.
Is it just as simple as looking at the possible ways your team can play and then training hard?
No not at all. I am putting forward the idea that football is the most complicated game ever. People think chess is complex but its always you play then I play, there is only one person you have monitor and that is yourself. The ability of characters is always the same and so is the line up and set up. There are only three phases of play opening, middle and end game. Football is never like that. Situations are always different, we don't have the same characters. Also the chess characters don't think, as a coach we have to evaluate the actions of others and our players also have to evaluate their own actions. We will have changes of players game to game, training session to training session, month to month and even season to season. Also there are many uncertainties which affect the performance of the team. A manager cant control or find solutions to all of these.
Shouldn't experience tell you what to do? how many things are there that can go wrong? A coach must look at many things which can go wrong, Such as training problems, playing problems, staff problems. If you get it right there will be a good environment, with good training, good atmosphere and performance. But then even with all of that the coaches unconscious reactions before a game can ruin all of the good preparation and produce an adverse performance.
So the coach is just one element which results come from?
The coach is only one part of the entire structure.
Now moving onto pre-season. What do you do to prepare your team?
We start off with a period of 6 weeks high intensity intensive training. During the weeks in season we work from intense to less intense before a game. But always there is intensity in preparation.
For this do you use traditional sports methods?
No football is not other sports. Our training is high intensity and heavy but it is always the right training for football.
Are the requirements for a footballer lower than in other sports?
Not lower but due to many none football aspect we get less training time. So a manager cant be focused on "show business" he to ask "how strong can I make these players and how can I get peak performance in the time I have?"
Does that man things cant often be done like you want them done?
Sometimes. But the level of sports science it means I can find out just how much during the time I can have the player that they would be able to work with high intensity. That way other aspects which affect training become less of a burden on time.
How do you work with the conditioning coach?
He informs me of the conditions of players and team with regards to the intensity of work. We then work towards the high end. We then work out how we make the high intensity of work most stimulating to the players.
Can you give me an example of the kind of specific work done during pre-season?
For example during this 6 week period we work on a base of endurance. We work high intensity for 60 minutes. We then observe which players are weak at this point. As training goes on we look at this and determine how players adjusting. Players find it hard at first but they all adjust. We dont do specific tests, everything is done by observation of player reaction as they become more adjusted to training loads.
How do you decide when the next training phase begins?
Once we have determined that players have adjusted to the high intensity running we do less of the running but still at high intensity. But we factor in more training and fitness with ball work.
How do you work on endurance with a ball?
We use longer training blocks of games over 2 hours and 30 minutes separated by periods of intermittent running with out a ball. These runs are all specific for football performance.
What other training content do you focus on in pre season preparation?
I also like my players to work on power. We supplement the endurance training with many 1v1 situations. We do specific power work and speed endurance. The speed endurance is not popular with players so we compromise we it less often after pre-season but more intense then for them it is less intensive over all.
On average how long does it take for the squad to adjust before you add specific ball work and football work?
They adjust within 3 to 4 weeks on average. Then we add ball work and try to cover as much of the conditioning is one intense training session along with football work.
Dont you think training with a ball is better for players? Would they not prefer training games?
Yes sure players would like that. But when they come back to pre-season they have not trained remained in good shape then I think its better they have a period fitness work with out a ball at high intensity. If they have a ball the work less intense and all of this ball work type of training can be over done. But again all the work is still specific and stimulating. Performing conditioning off the ball allows training to be more intense.
But will the willingness to play still be there?
At the start of training the mood is low but after they adjust to the work the willingness to play increases as they know they are conditioned enough to make the play enjoyable and effective at high intensity and speed.
So how do you communicate with your players?
I try not to be general with when I speak to players. But at the same time I also work for alternatives and flexible situations. A player relies on the coach for specific clarity.
What influenced your approach?
There are many factors both personal and sporting which affect the work done in the very specific football environment. This makes a long term plan hard. If I want to think ahead I can ask one of the sports science experts what we need to do to reach a certain point in 3 months time. But for me winning influences the team better. In that way its better for me to plan short term sometimes day to day.
It sounds like there are many factors you need to be aware of.
Yes but my empathy has limits. I have my aims and plans. So it is more important for me to look at which players can adjust. Not every players personality or ability fits your ideas. It comes down to accept or ignore. If he cant align the his actions are not accepted. Players must align to this.
So how do you fit this into how you work?
I will try for weeks sometimes a couple of months to find a common point where the player can be useful. But at some point if you find its impossible after this with a player then you have to draw a line under the player and his part in the team this is logical. But if the player can see the way it is and adapts his behaviour to a cooperative attitude then the door is always open for cooperation on my part. The key is not if a player is good or bad but in how well they adapt themselves to the ideas and methods.
Does it matter how much time a player will spend with you?
No what matters is understanding. A manager or coach could spend hours a day with his team but if the players dont get a clear understanding of what the managers ideas are then the game plan will not be effective. I could have little time with players but if I am clear and they understand then thats better then just having more time with players which isnt used properly.
How do you unify the playing elements?
You give the players rules. This in turn gives them security and the rules are the same for others. For the young players it provides an example and way to follow which is the same as old players. To gain acceptance in the group you have to follow the rules.
Are the rules in addition to the thinking on the training pitch?
My players should play and train intelligently. I remind players that this is a serious job.I also like them to always be ready if asked to cross the line and play also with power. Players should focus on realistic ways of reaching the result on the pitch. It is my job to show them how to be a success in this way.
How do you encourage a positive reaction from a player?
I recognise the players own reasons to work and I also give them incentives to work in the structure and improve in this way. I also structure environment to produce more incentives. By this I mean the ability to be flexible in things like a bonus in training or fun activities.
Do you think the teams you coach have changed to be more success motivated by your influence?
In my teams I have observed that as players dedicate themselves to my training methods and see the rewards on the pitch they then grow by gaining more confidence in the skills they have as players. They then want to play aggressively with power. This in turn improves motivation to continue with my methods.
How do you approach players? in groups individuals?
I discuss as much as possible in the group. I make it clear that we are a common unit and we must act as one and discuss things together. Unless it is a sensitive issue for one player then I talk to the group always. In this way they all get the same message with out misunderstandings which can come about if for example you talk to 3 players in turn and each understand the same message differently. In this way I want to lift team spirit.
If I were a player would you be open to me?
Yes I am open to everyone. But this policy is one that players only try rarely. They sometimes dont feel the need to tell me. I also have to select a team which means explaining to players why they are out and with they are in for next game. This can negatively affect a players confidence which must manage inhow I explain my decision.
Do you think all coaches should use science? and specialists?
It is not a question of whether the science is good but if the players will accept the work. I cant just say "work with this guy on x,y and z" and expect the players to do it. Any work we do is based on short terms success game to game so any specialist must show the players they an produce positive results in this situation and time frame.
