World Cup stars Marco Van Basten of Holland and Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro illuminated the final session of the fifth Dubai International Sports Conference concluded at The Address Hotel in Dubai Mall on Wednesday.
Dutch legend Van Basten and Italian great Cannavaro kept the audience captive with their thoughts on the session entitled ‘The International Careers of Successful Football Players’ at the event organized by the Dubai Sports Council.
“When young you dream of winning championships, titles and trophies. So you tend to search for lucrative deals,” said retired forward Van Basten when asked why many talented players want to play in leagues outside their home country.
But the former Dutch coach warned players have to get some experience in their home base before venturing out in search of greener pastures.
Cannavaro agreeing said he was fortunate to have played in his country for a long period. “I was lucky to have got a chance to play in Italy,” said the former Fifa World Player of the Year who began his career at Napoli before spending seven years at Parma.
Asked why he chose to move to Dubai at the tailend of his career, Cannavaro said he owed this decision to Gattuso.
“I am grateful to Gattuso who told me that people here were nice and polite. I must say that my stay has been fantastic in Dubai and I’m enjoying my days here,” said the Al Ahli captain who played for Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid before moving to Dubai.
“I wanted a different experience in Spain. I think those who go abroad you enjoy it because not only is the level different but the lifestyle, culture and thinking,” he added.
Italy’s World Cup winning captain acknowledged that football had changed technically and tactically from the time he started.
“Nowadays the football has new dimensions. Gone are the days when you were playing for yourself. Now you have to work with a team. When a player plays for himself, he thinks of his position and loses track of the team. This is what my former coach Fabio Capello taught me,” said Cannavaro.
Van Basten who coached Ajax after his illustrious career was cut short at 30 was quizzed on what breeds success.
“As a coach you have to have lot of human knowledge. On the sidelines the role is different as a coach from a player on the field,” said Van Basten who won the Fifa player of the year award in 1992 and is regarded as one of the greatest forwards of all time.
The former AC Milan striker who scored 277 goals for his country was also asked for his opinion on whether good players made great coaches and Jose Mourinho’s attempts to persuade French legend Zinedine Zidane to become an assistant coach at Real Madrid.
“For Zidane it is a very good experience to work with Mourinho. He will definitely gain from Mourinho’s way of coaching since the Portuguese has experience with many clubs in Portugal, England, Italy and now Spain,” said Van Basten.
He also called for a shortening of the international calendar for players to reduce the risk of injury because of their workload.
“We want to see good players but we have a situation now where there are too much games. Top players are injured during important games,” he pointed out.
Asked what he felt about the UAE Pro-League and what improvements can be made to nurture local talent, Cannavaro said it was important to work on scouting and teaching young players.
“To grow you have to work hard. Al Ahli is one of the club doing work with young players with the aim of growing in the future,” he said.
But he reminded that everyone cannot be a Ronaldo. “There are also players who can play in midfield and different positions,” said Cannavaro who became the first defender to win the Fifa Player of the Year award.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.
