I want an exciting brand of football – Ricki

Sep 20, 2015 - 03:14:43 |
Ricki Herbert speaking at the media at FAM House.

Male’, MALDIVES – Newly appointed head coach of Maldives, Ricki Herbert has said that he want an exciting brand of football from the team under his guidance.

“The philosophy for me is that I want a good brand of football and I want an exciting brand of football. And I want the Maldives fans to be excited about the team. I want them to be say oh, this is something different.” Ricki Herbert, who was the head coach of New Zealand in 2010 FIFA World Cup when they drew against Italy by 1-1.

“An attacking minded team doesn’t have to be lacking defensively. I think its now finding and indentifying the players who can accept the quality that they have to bring to the team which maybe more defensively structured and supporting to some players who maybe little more freeier then we give them a license to go on attack.”

“And I wam very confident that we can have an interesting way of playing. The players are technically very good but we have to develop them physically as well to play ninety minutes.”

He also reiterated that things will be change in the match against Qatar next month.

“We have to play against Qatar away and we all know that Qatar is a very good side and in asian football they are very strong. They beat Bhutan by 15-0. So maybe tactically on that day we need to consider things differently and I know that you will appreciate that.”

Ricki also said he will try to know the players during his stay in Addu City during the Presidents Cup.

“I want to get to know the players, six days is very difficult some players will have to play semi final and final. Respectfully for the club you cant challenge the player too much. So but I want the players to come and the training will be very light.”

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footballmad on Sep 20
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Welcom to a new era of Maldivian football!
Footy on Sep 21
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Im waiting to see how the team perform under new coach in their next match away to Bhutan. We were not covered in glory the last time out ( in 2013), we got big time lucky to win by huge margin of goals against 10-man Bhutan. All the new coaches complain about our poor physical fitness. Why is it? Is it because most of the top players are playing in a weak league against weaker opponents? That top three or four teams barely break into sweat to win against lower half of the league table? Or is it because of our diet, which mostly consist of rice and curry and roshi, which is not so rich in protein and vitamin? Or is their poor sleep habits? Some of them stay awake into the wee hour of morning and sleep into late afternoon? Or is it all down to freak force of nature, that we Maldivians are by nature of poor physical stature so we have limited capacity for stamina. Hope this coach can finally unlock this mystery and for once show our players are not inhibited by any freak force of nature and that proper training and good coaching can bring out the best in the guys.
Imma on Sep 21
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There's nothing wrong with the natural fitness levels of Maldivians. We already have athletes in peak physical condition and who are more than a match for their counterparts in disciplines such as surfing and athletics. Like you said, it's more to do with the lifestyles of our footballers. When you look at them, you wouldn't see any difference between our footballers and the regular folk walking down the street. They smoke, consume energy drinks excessively, dunk down oily hedhikaa and sleep only a few hours everyday. We can appoint the world's best fitness coaches, but in the end it all comes down to the willpower and conduct of the players themselves. Perhaps we should take a more radical stance like they do in Australia. Over there, athletes are required to wear electronic braces that track their movements during their off hours. Athletes are fined and/or suspended if they are observed to be spending excessive hours in night clubs and cafes during the times when they should be sleeping. Also, all of them are required to follow a very strict diet plan, and their fitness levels are constantly monitored during training sessions. This might be considered an invasion of privacy, but I think it's the only method that will work in this country.

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