RONICK: Yamal is a once-in-a-century genius, he will not ask his coaches to play a star

June 22: Ronnick was interviewed by the Spanish media Daily Sports News, talking about the discovery of young players, the impact of Yamal and Cruyff on himself.

You have made great achievements in discovering young players. How did you do this?

"It all started in 2007, and we successfully led Hoffenheim from Germany C to Germany Second Division. At that time, I decided to try to discover, sign and develop young players and sell them after they grow to a certain stage. We call these players 'blue chip players' or 'high potential players'. If you want to develop players with market value in the future, you have to discover and shape them as early as possible, the sooner the better. We will sign players when they are 15 or 16 because we see this Some players have no potential that other clubs have found. We believe that the best signing age is 17 to 20 years old. Once the players reach 24 years old, in our opinion, they are not ideal signing targets. We signed a group of players when they were 20 or 21 years old, such as Carlos Eduardo, Louis Gustavo, etc., who later became international players, and Red Bull Group is only interested in this type of player. "

How were these "treasure players" discovered?

"You need a top scout department, composed of specially trained experts in this field. They have to know clearly what qualities you are looking for and what type of players you are pursuing. This comes back to the question of football style. If you want to bring in the best players for each position, then scouts must understand: What kind of football do we want to play? A three-back or a four-back? Do we need a full-back? What kind of midfield is needed? In my opinion, the scout department is one of the most valuable assets of a club. However, in reality, most clubs change their head coach every 12 months, 8 months or even 16 months, and each change of coach will bring a different style of football."

Have you studied La Macia?

"To be honest, no. What I know is that they will sign players very early and develop them in the style that Barcelona wants, namely technical football. I don't know the specific details, but obviously they do a good job, right? From the results, 8 to 9 players in the first team come from youth training."

Talking about Yamal

"He is a once-in-a-century genius, at the age of 17, but so mature. Seeing him playing football feels like he comes from another planet, it's incredible, an incredible player. Every coach wants to have such a player in his team. Unlike other first-tier stars, Yamal is also very hard to press Strength. I'm very sure if the coach told him that he needed to do something, he wouldn't be a star. "

Talking about Cruyff's influence on himself

"I had aspired to be a player like him, and when I was about 14 or 15, I played football in a club in my hometown, and I was the captain of the team. It was 1973, 50 years ago, players wore jerseys from 1 to 11, and No. 12 was the first number on the bench. I asked the coach at that time if he could wear a No. 14 jersey, and I got permission to be the only player on the team who was allowed to wear a No. 14 jersey. To me, John was the first No. 10 player in the modern sense, he Not only is he good at possessing the ball, but he can also play an active role in his opponent's possession, just like Germany's world champion Nezer or Ophrat. "

Later he became a coach...

"After his player career, it was generally believed that he would likely hold important positions in a club, whether as a coach or athletic director, he played a huge influence in clubs such as Ajax and Barcelona. I think Cruyff's greatest achievement after his player career is that he left a lasting sense of identity in both clubs, which is not found elsewhere. Every time Barcelona changes coaches, the new coach must be able to continue with the same The same football philosophy. In the past 15, 25 or even 30 years, the club has insisted on introducing players according to similar standards, cultivating their own youth training, and never chose the wrong coach. In my opinion, this is one of Cruyff's greatest achievements, because he established the team's football philosophy and style, so there is no need to change every time he changes his coach. Unfortunately, legends like Cruyff are rare in today's football today. Look at clubs like England, such as Chelsea, after Tuchel left? What did Manchester United experience after Sir Ferguson left? The same problem also arises in some German second-tier clubs, which face leadership problems. "