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Exclusive: Sir Trevor Brooking hopes England learn from Brazil to become a 'great football nation'
Spain & Holland also draw plaudits as Brooking talks style & substance...
13 Nov 2009 09:00:00
By Mohammed Bhana
As the FA's director of youth development, Sir Trevor Brooking is firmly focused on the job at hand by trying to create a 'golden generation' that doesn't go out in the quarter-finals of every major tournament.
However, he believes the current England squad deserves a great deal of credit for the way they came together under Fabio Capello’s stewardship and qualified in an impressive manner for South Africa's 2010 World Cup, now less than seven months away.
He is under no illusions about the task ahead and believes if England are to be successful, they need to be able to challenge the might of European champions Spain and, of more immediate relevance, the five-time winners of the World Cup and tomorrow's opponents, Brazil.
“Our lads deserve a lot of credit. The results they have managed to grind out during qualifying has been very encouraging,” Brooking tells Goal.com UK.
“It’s great to see senior players stepping up. We had a successful qualifying campaign and I know from speaking to Fabio [Capello], that he is keen to test his squad against the strongest countries and these come no bigger than playing Brazil.
“Fabio will be looking at the game very closely, and as a nation, we need to compete with the Brazils, the Hollands and the Spains if we want to become successful at a major tournament. Fabio will be looking for a good performance from his players. What better way to test yourself than play against a Brazil side managed by Dunga?”
Brooking is adamant it will take a long while for our grassroots to catch up with the likes of Spain and Brazil and improve the standard of British football.
“We've got to impress upon our youth development coaches that the likes of Brazil and Spain did not have a grassroots programme overnight. They spent years on their respective projects," he explains.
“It’s always marvellous to see any Brazil side. We've got to try to take on board what they are doing. What they are doing is exactly what we want to be doing and they certainly are a great football nation with some fantastic players. Brazil along with Spain and Holland have built up a number of initiatives to bring the best players through. And they’ve been doing that for years.
“You can't just do it over a few months. Spain are definitely the best side in Europe. Brazil are certainly technically astute enough to challenge them at that level and we need to be able to match those teams.”
He adds that squad selection will be key in the immediate term, as Capello looks to produce a winning formula in South Africa this coming summer.
“Fabio will have some difficult decisions to make when it comes to deciding on his squad for South Africa," he says. "In every single position we have players competing for places and it is only a good thing, but the players themselves know that nothing is for granted and they have to earn the right to be on the plane for South Africa 2010.”
As the FA's director of youth development, Sir Trevor Brooking is firmly focused on the job at hand by trying to create a 'golden generation' that doesn't go out in the quarter-finals of every major tournament.
However, he believes the current England squad deserves a great deal of credit for the way they came together under Fabio Capello’s stewardship and qualified in an impressive manner for South Africa's 2010 World Cup, now less than seven months away.
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He is under no illusions about the task ahead and believes if England are to be successful, they need to be able to challenge the might of European champions Spain and, of more immediate relevance, the five-time winners of the World Cup and tomorrow's opponents, Brazil.
“Our lads deserve a lot of credit. The results they have managed to grind out during qualifying has been very encouraging,” Brooking tells Goal.com UK.
“It’s great to see senior players stepping up. We had a successful qualifying campaign and I know from speaking to Fabio [Capello], that he is keen to test his squad against the strongest countries and these come no bigger than playing Brazil.
“Fabio will be looking at the game very closely, and as a nation, we need to compete with the Brazils, the Hollands and the Spains if we want to become successful at a major tournament. Fabio will be looking for a good performance from his players. What better way to test yourself than play against a Brazil side managed by Dunga?”
Brooking is adamant it will take a long while for our grassroots to catch up with the likes of Spain and Brazil and improve the standard of British football.
“We've got to impress upon our youth development coaches that the likes of Brazil and Spain did not have a grassroots programme overnight. They spent years on their respective projects," he explains.
“It’s always marvellous to see any Brazil side. We've got to try to take on board what they are doing. What they are doing is exactly what we want to be doing and they certainly are a great football nation with some fantastic players. Brazil along with Spain and Holland have built up a number of initiatives to bring the best players through. And they’ve been doing that for years.
“You can't just do it over a few months. Spain are definitely the best side in Europe. Brazil are certainly technically astute enough to challenge them at that level and we need to be able to match those teams.”
He adds that squad selection will be key in the immediate term, as Capello looks to produce a winning formula in South Africa this coming summer.
“Fabio will have some difficult decisions to make when it comes to deciding on his squad for South Africa," he says. "In every single position we have players competing for places and it is only a good thing, but the players themselves know that nothing is for granted and they have to earn the right to be on the plane for South Africa 2010.”
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
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