Winning is highly motivating
Thursday, September 6, 2018
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Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonseca gave an interview to UEFA during the Elite Club Coaches Forum in Nyon
- Paulo, how would you describe your football philosophy?
- I don’t know if I can call that my philosophy, what I can say is that I have very clear intentions that are visible in my game. Obviously, these intentions are about having the ball, taking the initiative and being an offensive team. These are the aspects that define my game and my aim in games.
- As a player and now as a coach, what were the basic principles you worked by?
- As a player, I can’t say much about because my experience as a player was at a time in the past that is very different from today. Now, as a coach, my passion is what guides me. My passion for the game, courage to develop the game. These are the main principles, this is what motivates me. It’s my passion for the game, for the training sessions, for creating something unique. That is what drives me.
- What do you want to see from your players on the field?
- What I always want to see from my players is courage, courage to develop our game. It’s not always easy because it is difficult for a player to develop this game. The thing that I want them to have is the courage to take the initiative, to play an offensive game and to always have the ball. That is what I want from my players and team. They know that this type of game values that a lot, that’s why they naturally accept it. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to have always had very brave players.
- Which coach had the most influence on you? And why?
- I admire every coach that is brave enough to take the initiative and try to dominate and attack. And, of course, there are many, many coaches I admire. At this moment, I can highlight Maurizio Sarri and Pep Guardiola as the coaches I admire the most because they are bold, they have their own ideas, they are brave enough to play their own game and attack. Now, we can’t forget that José Mourinho has marked a generation of coaches in Portugal and marked Portuguese football. He completely changed the mindset of Portuguese coaches and he’s obviously been a great influence.
- Why did you choose to become a coach when your playing career ended?
- Well, I ended my career at 32 years of age and I confess that I wasn’t very motivated to keep playing. I was more motivated and had been preparing myself to become a coach. I had a great challenge which was to try to be better as a coach than I had been as a player. I confess that my passion for my profession is huge. I love my profession, my everyday life, I love each and every minute of my job, and this motivates me a great deal.
- Where does your motivation come from to coach Shakhtar Donetsk?
- It’s my passion that fuels me each day. My passion for the game, for training, the passion of being able to influence those who work with me in a positive way; that’s my motivation; Obviously, I am an ambitious coach and winning is highly motivating. That’s what I work for every day. My biggest motivation is my passion for the game of football.
- How do you motivate your players ahead of big games?
- I think it’s a complex process. The motivation comes from what we pass to them. It comes from the belief we had in our approach to the game. Leadership is important. Our ability to motivate and the fact that we all are buying into it are also important. It’s very important to say the right thing at the right time, because motivation today is a key factor with players, in terms of their performances and in matches.
- Which skills do you need to manage such a multicultural group, Brazilians, Ukrainians, Nigerians?
- It’s very easy. We have a very united group of players. Most of the Brazilian players have been in Ukraine for a while, some of them have already mastered the language and it’s quite easy to deal with the different nationalities and it’s not been a problem for a long time because the Ukrainians are very welcoming, humble and hardworking people and make foreign players feel very welcomed.
- What did you learn from last season in the Champions League by taking Shakhtar to the knockout stages?
- What matters the most from that learning experience is that mistakes can be costly. You cannot make a mistake in the Champions League, because it may cost you your place. Full focus and full discipline are needed in Champions League matches, but I also learned something else, that it is possible, regardless of the team we face, an easier or a stronger one, that it is possible to play, to be ambitious, to value our players through our game. For us in Ukraine it is very important to give visibility to our work. It’s important in these Champions League matches to be daring enough to play and show what we’ve been working on, which is possible.
- After the changes during the summer, what would be a successful campaign in Europe for Shakhtar?
- We want to show our quality, we want to show the quality of our players. Obviously, we’ve lost some important players, so the team is in a rebuilding process. I would like to at least get through the group stage and try to do better than last season. We know it won’t be easy, but we’ll fight for that goal.
- Finally, what do you think of the group? How difficult is it?
- We didn’t have much luck with the group. We all know that Manchester City are clear favourites for first place and then, between us, Lyon and Hoffenheim, it will be a very tough fight. They are very even teams that can all compete for second spot and reaching the next stage. The matches will be interesting and tactically fascinating, but they will be very even and qualification will come down to fine margins.
- I don’t know if I can call that my philosophy, what I can say is that I have very clear intentions that are visible in my game. Obviously, these intentions are about having the ball, taking the initiative and being an offensive team. These are the aspects that define my game and my aim in games.
- As a player and now as a coach, what were the basic principles you worked by?
- As a player, I can’t say much about because my experience as a player was at a time in the past that is very different from today. Now, as a coach, my passion is what guides me. My passion for the game, courage to develop the game. These are the main principles, this is what motivates me. It’s my passion for the game, for the training sessions, for creating something unique. That is what drives me.
- What do you want to see from your players on the field?
- What I always want to see from my players is courage, courage to develop our game. It’s not always easy because it is difficult for a player to develop this game. The thing that I want them to have is the courage to take the initiative, to play an offensive game and to always have the ball. That is what I want from my players and team. They know that this type of game values that a lot, that’s why they naturally accept it. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to have always had very brave players.
- Which coach had the most influence on you? And why?
- I admire every coach that is brave enough to take the initiative and try to dominate and attack. And, of course, there are many, many coaches I admire. At this moment, I can highlight Maurizio Sarri and Pep Guardiola as the coaches I admire the most because they are bold, they have their own ideas, they are brave enough to play their own game and attack. Now, we can’t forget that José Mourinho has marked a generation of coaches in Portugal and marked Portuguese football. He completely changed the mindset of Portuguese coaches and he’s obviously been a great influence.
- Why did you choose to become a coach when your playing career ended?
- Well, I ended my career at 32 years of age and I confess that I wasn’t very motivated to keep playing. I was more motivated and had been preparing myself to become a coach. I had a great challenge which was to try to be better as a coach than I had been as a player. I confess that my passion for my profession is huge. I love my profession, my everyday life, I love each and every minute of my job, and this motivates me a great deal.
- Where does your motivation come from to coach Shakhtar Donetsk?
- It’s my passion that fuels me each day. My passion for the game, for training, the passion of being able to influence those who work with me in a positive way; that’s my motivation; Obviously, I am an ambitious coach and winning is highly motivating. That’s what I work for every day. My biggest motivation is my passion for the game of football.
- How do you motivate your players ahead of big games?
- I think it’s a complex process. The motivation comes from what we pass to them. It comes from the belief we had in our approach to the game. Leadership is important. Our ability to motivate and the fact that we all are buying into it are also important. It’s very important to say the right thing at the right time, because motivation today is a key factor with players, in terms of their performances and in matches.
- Which skills do you need to manage such a multicultural group, Brazilians, Ukrainians, Nigerians?
- It’s very easy. We have a very united group of players. Most of the Brazilian players have been in Ukraine for a while, some of them have already mastered the language and it’s quite easy to deal with the different nationalities and it’s not been a problem for a long time because the Ukrainians are very welcoming, humble and hardworking people and make foreign players feel very welcomed.
- What did you learn from last season in the Champions League by taking Shakhtar to the knockout stages?
- What matters the most from that learning experience is that mistakes can be costly. You cannot make a mistake in the Champions League, because it may cost you your place. Full focus and full discipline are needed in Champions League matches, but I also learned something else, that it is possible, regardless of the team we face, an easier or a stronger one, that it is possible to play, to be ambitious, to value our players through our game. For us in Ukraine it is very important to give visibility to our work. It’s important in these Champions League matches to be daring enough to play and show what we’ve been working on, which is possible.
- After the changes during the summer, what would be a successful campaign in Europe for Shakhtar?
- We want to show our quality, we want to show the quality of our players. Obviously, we’ve lost some important players, so the team is in a rebuilding process. I would like to at least get through the group stage and try to do better than last season. We know it won’t be easy, but we’ll fight for that goal.
- Finally, what do you think of the group? How difficult is it?
- We didn’t have much luck with the group. We all know that Manchester City are clear favourites for first place and then, between us, Lyon and Hoffenheim, it will be a very tough fight. They are very even teams that can all compete for second spot and reaching the next stage. The matches will be interesting and tactically fascinating, but they will be very even and qualification will come down to fine margins.