I was lucky to be one of the first to meet Leo Beenhakker when he first set foot on TT soil and got to spend some time with him. He was obviously a very experienced manager. And while I have not met Mr Pfister, I see similarities. Otto, like Leo before him, has no illusions of the task before him. Seems he will be happy with a point or 1 goal loss to USA and Mexico; and will be pursuing the 3rd available Concacaf spot. Otto’s point of difference appears to be his stated preference for building the team based on locally based players. Leo had less time I guess, so he had to go for established name brands. I expect Otto to impress in the first round and the real test will come when we start playing the traditional opponents: Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Canada and El Salvador (depending on the groupings). Sunday we get our first look at Otto’s brand of football, when we play India in a Friendly International.
Here’s what Otto told fifa.com recently.
7 Questions for Otto
Will you bring in your own coaching and backroom team?
One thing I have learned in my many years coaching outside of Europe is that you must, you absolutely must work with local people. You cannot come in and start telling these people how it must be done, how it must be your way completely. I will work with the local people, I will make friends and we will learn from each other. We will build something together. It is not about me; it is about us. Many coaches from Europe have made this mistake in the past, especially in Africa. You need to meld with the local people to become part of their culture. You have to find the balance. This is my philosophy. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but that’s life.
You famously guided Ghana to their first U-17 World Cup title in 1991. Will you also look after the youth teams here in T&T?
The youth teams need some work, and although it is not in my job title, I will certainly be working together with the youth coaches. Actually, I will be working with everyone here. Youth coaches, club coaches, I will work with them all so that we can find a general direction, a collective direction, for Trinidad and Tobago’s football. We need to work in all the same directions.
What would you say is the main strength of football in Trinidad and Tobago?
Skill, natural technique. You see a lot of that natural ability here. They have music and football in their blood. Now we have to ally that with physical discipline, tactics and all the other stuff. The technique is there, but now we need to have a more professional conception. In this region, the USA and Mexico have figured out the organisation and infrastructure and that is why they are the top teams. We have ferocious potential here in Trinidad and Tobago.
You are a German coach in the sunny Caribbean. Will you feel out of place?
It is true, I am a German. It says so on my passport. But I feel like a cosmopolitan. You cannot come here with a strict German attitude. If you do, you fail immediately. You have to respect the culture of a place, the religions and the particular way they love the game. You need to have an open mind. You need to leave your heart open.
It is clear from talking with you that you still have a great passion for the game of football. How have you sustained it through so many years?
Football is not a job for me – it is a passion! I can’t live without it. I live in a small town in Switzerland with my wife and I will sneak out on a Sunday morning and watch any football, even U-12s, it doesn’t matter. I watch all the time on TV; I can’t control myself! I have a lot of energy and football is my purest passion, a tremendous passion.
The last big European coach at Trinidad and Tobago was Leo Beenhakker, and he became a national hero by taking the side to the FIFA World Cup. Will this cause any pressure for you?
[Laughs] No. I am my own man and I do my own work. It’s funny, though, Leo [Beenhakker] was the coach just before me when I took over the job in Saudi Arabia, so I am used to following him.
What are the first steps for you to get the T&T team back on track?
In this part of the world it is the USA and Mexico, and the rest are fighting for third. We are in this group. We don’t have many big stars, but we should be firmly in this third position. Now it is a matter of finding and collecting a team. I will identify the top domestic-based players and I will travel to USA, Belgium, England – everywhere where Trinidadian players are playing. From this, I will assemble our team. It is the only way, and I love it.
