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Post by chicharito on Jul 28, 2011 1:13:15 GMT 8
Weiss snaps at critics BY BONG PEDRALVEZ "SO, are you also questioning my decisions now?" German coach Michael Weiss snapped at this surprised writer as we tried to greet him on a rainy Tuesday afternoon at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium pitch just before the Philippine Azkals started practice. With his solid 6-foot-2 frame and sporting a black bull cap, black jacket and black shorts, the 45-year-old mentor struck an imposing and intimidating figure, indeed. But once Weiss settled down, he explained his exasperation was not aimed at yours truly but at armchair critics and pundits who had tried to second-guess his moves in the nationals’ 0-3 loss to Kuwait in the first leg of the second round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers in Kuwait City last Saturday. "These people keep questioning my decisions but they were not aware of the realities that forced us to make these decisions in Kuwait," Weiss said. "All they need to do is talk to me and I could have told them why but all they do is just criticize." Some of these so-called football experts, he said, had questioned why he had not made any substitutions late in the match when it was apparent that some of his key players like Angel Guirado, who was at the receiving end of several vicious tackles, Chieffy Caligdong and Phil Younghusband were either tired or hurting. "And who would you have me replace them with," he asked, adding his four other players on the bench were all strikers while (defender) Roel Gener was also injured. "Had I done so, the score might have been easily 8-0. We were up against a superior squad which had been together for years but I have only had my team for six months, so we did what had to be done," he said. "I have coached all over the world and have given my best to the Azkals, who have made great progress given the time we have had with them, and yet it isn’t even enough," added Weiss, who has had coaching stints with China’s Under-20 and Rwanda’s Under-17 national teams and in the J-League on top of internship with Real Madrid and Arsenal. "Now I am beginning to understand the crab mentality in this country," he said, referring to the Filipinos’ nasty habit of bringing other people down whom they see rising in prominence or popularity. "I am the coach and have to make the hard decisions. If you want to question my actions, approach me and I will explain why but just do not criticize until you know the reason why," the German coach said. "If you are not satisified, that’s fine but please don’t criticize just for the sake of criticizing. "These people are not even part of the coaching circle where we discuss all our field decisions," he said. "If they were in my difficult shoes I wonder what they would have done." www.malaya.com.ph/july28/sports2.html
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Post by cjeagle on Jul 28, 2011 1:35:09 GMT 8
I think Coach Weiss reads post in this forum as well as in other filipino footballing sites. He sometimes makes comments on what was being discussed over here. Well, he has to realize this is part of any football forum anywhere in the world and not only in the Philippines. Fans anywhere like to analyze any move that the Coach and Manager makes. That is what forums are for. I remember reading that coaches and players in professional leagues here in the US are advised not to read press articles and forums, so that any criticism will not affect their game. Maybe he should do the same.
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Post by jimsar on Jul 28, 2011 3:35:16 GMT 8
"CRAB mentality" is a cop out in this context. Second guessing players and/or coaches is common as previously mentioned. Being a "crab" in the malicious sense does not apply here. "Monday Morning Quarterback" is a more appropriate term than "crab". www.yourdictionary.com/monday-morning-quarterbackWhy is Coach W so crabby? I'm surprised at the onion skin.
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Post by GerardoDCA on Jul 28, 2011 5:03:45 GMT 8
If I was coach Weiss, I would be quite pissed too... I mean, how would you react when suddenly everybody criticises you? I think he had good arguments to defend his coaching in the last game, why can't people ASK him first before bashing him? In general, I'm quite sick of the coaches getting blamed for everything. It's the most ungrateful job if you don't get good results, and you're god if the team has good results. I hope everyone is still behind coach Weiss, because it would be just stupid to stop believing in him now.
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Post by rogue on Jul 28, 2011 5:33:31 GMT 8
I guess we also have to look at what he said in another perspective. He has always been a direct/frank person. Any coach or anyone for that matter would be affected when criticized. He is very spontaneous/open in expressing his thoughts.
Personally, I didn't question his coaching decisions (for the sole reason that I know only basic football. lol). Seriously, so far, he has done a good job for the team. For this we would have to cut him and the management some slack. I've been reading several articles about the players, the team, their history, backgrounds. Based on what I've read and what I've seen in the team's past games, I could understand why Coach made those decisions.
We just have to trust the coaches, management and the players. They're doing the best that they can.
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Post by cjeagle on Jul 28, 2011 6:01:36 GMT 8
If I was coach Weiss, I would be quite pissed too... I mean, how would you react when suddenly everybody criticises you? I think he had good arguments to defend his coaching in the last game, why can't people ASK him first before bashing him? In general, I'm quite sick of the coaches getting blamed for everything. It's the most ungrateful job if you don't get good results, and you're god if the team has good results. I hope everyone is still behind coach Weiss, because it would be just stupid to stop believing in him now. Gerard, This is not the first time he has been criticized on this forum. Just like any other forum, members have had something to say about his coaching since after the aftermath of his first game as a coach against Mongolia. Happens all the time in professional sports as well for national teams. Maybe you should check out how long the average Mexican coach lasts and how heavily analyzed his every move is during his stay by the press and their fans. It is part of the job description. Some of the coaches don't even last 6 months like Coach Weiss has.
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Post by chicharito on Jul 28, 2011 6:13:53 GMT 8
maybe what Coach W trying to say is: "Hey! I done a superb job in this team and i did not get a damn 'Amen' from yo' critics. And now we lost to a superb team with 30% of probability of winning, ya all dissin me right now! It is unfair!" just my 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 cents
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Post by cjeagle on Jul 28, 2011 6:34:29 GMT 8
He has coached two good games in the 3-0 win against Bangladesh, and 4-0 win against Sri Lanka. The rest of the other games he has coached so far had question marks written all over them. So I wouldn't exactly call it a superb job. Nevertheless, I am still willing to give him a chance. I like the fact that he is very diplomatic in his responses and knows how to adjust to our culture. But as a coach, you are going to be judged by how the team does on the field. As long as the team plays respectably, win or lose, especially against a strong team like Kuwait, he should be fine.
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Post by santi on Jul 28, 2011 7:25:37 GMT 8
several years before the resurgence of Philippine football our national coach will not worry being heavily criticized by fans..it's part of his job..and it's also part of his job not to be affected..I think azkal fans are still modest og being a football critic.
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Post by nasrifan on Jul 28, 2011 8:46:09 GMT 8
and you think we could get a better coach? come on look at our team that was fielded against kuwait(sabio was starting haha!). we lacked our defensive anchor Aly, we did not have the energy of schrock or mulders experience but this coach still managed to save us from a massacre.
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Post by jvictor on Jul 28, 2011 17:06:53 GMT 8
Weiss is the best coach we have!
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Post by GerardoDCA on Jul 28, 2011 22:34:34 GMT 8
If I was coach Weiss, I would be quite pissed too... I mean, how would you react when suddenly everybody criticises you? I think he had good arguments to defend his coaching in the last game, why can't people ASK him first before bashing him? In general, I'm quite sick of the coaches getting blamed for everything. It's the most ungrateful job if you don't get good results, and you're god if the team has good results. I hope everyone is still behind coach Weiss, because it would be just stupid to stop believing in him now. Gerard, This is not the first time he has been criticized on this forum. Just like any other forum, members have had something to say about his coaching since after the aftermath of his first game as a coach against Mongolia. Happens all the time in professional sports as well for national teams. Maybe you should check out how long the average Mexican coach lasts and how heavily analyzed his every move is during his stay by the press and their fans. It is part of the job description. Some of the coaches don't even last 6 months like Coach Weiss has. Yes I agree with the most of your statement, but bear in mind that Weiss has to deal with the absence of some of his key players for every game. He doesn't have enough quality in the squad to back up those key players. For this reason only, I think we should cut him some slack! And for the critics, most of them aren't even qualified to give critique as they probably don't have half of the football knowledge Weiss has.
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Post by royg on Jul 28, 2011 23:29:56 GMT 8
And some of those critics might not yet played football yet. LOL
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Post by cjeagle on Jul 29, 2011 0:08:42 GMT 8
Well I play in the US and all the Mexican friends I have played with when commenting on their national coach, usually don't pull any punches when criticizing their federation as well as their coach even though they might not as Gerard said, have half the knowledge their coach has. Their coach as well as other coaches from traditional football nations like England, Argentina, Brazil and Germany are used to this and knows it is part of the job description. Blaming our crab mentality for what is normal in other traditional football nations, just shows his inexperience as a head coach of a national team. Either Coach Weiss needs to develop a thicker skin or he should stop reading about what the press or us forum members write about him.
As for this game, I think we played decently against a strong and experienced Kuwaiti side. Since we had no choice but to attack, it kind of left our inexperienced defence vulnerable. If only we had the services of our two experienced defenders Jerry Lucena and Dennis Cagara of the Danish Superliga, as well as the solid mid Paul Mulders, this series might have had a different result.
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Post by carlesmadridista on Jul 29, 2011 0:44:55 GMT 8
Funny..I've heard people and read criticisms of Pep Guardiola, Alex Ferguson, and Jose Mourinho. They're pretty much the top tier managers in Club Football. It's all part of the job. Being a professional you've got to be able to take some jabs.
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