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25 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 7 MAY 2014 WORLD CUP SPECIAL Vicente del Bosque, a coach from another era BY ALBERTO BRAVO (DPA) AT a time in which there are divas sit- ting on the bench too, Spain coach Vi- cente del Bosque feels almost anach- ronistic with his discreet profile, and yet he stands before the huge chal- lenge of defending in Brazil 2014 his team's World Cup title of four years ago. At age 63, Del Bosque has seen it all: he was sacked as Real Madrid coach a few hours after winning La Liga, and he has reaped almost unanimous rec- ognition – although some critics re- main – for his work with the national team. "I would rather not be very exultant in victory nor very subdued in defeat. If there is one virtue in life, it is bal- ance," Del Bosque told dpa in an inter- view one year ago. Balance is probably the word that best defines Del Bosque, a man from the old school, a coach who escapes the limelight and always transfers any praise to his players. However, that does not mean that this veteran coach does not have an ego. That is why he cannot hide that he finds "something perverse" in the fact that he is sometimes defined as a "changing-room manager" to play down his own ability as a coach. In his opinion, it takes more than just a good motivator to win titles. Del Bosque was a good midfielder who built his career at Real Madrid. Decades later, he remains loyal to the Spanish giants and says he drew his professional values from them. When he ended his career as a player, he took on management roles in the Madrid club's youth scheme."Teaching was my vocation, and I thought I was going to spend my whole life coaching youth categories," he confessed. However, an accident changed his prospects. He replaced Welsh coach John Toshack in Real Madrid's senior side, and he had to justify his position right from the start."Yes, I do feel like a coach," he replied to those who saw him as a temporary, circumstantial manager. That season, 1999-2000, saw Real Madrid win the Champions League when no one trusted the team, the gem of a club that was adrift and al- most stunned at the time. His stint as Real Madrid coach ended with a most impressive record, with two trophies in La Liga, two in the Champions League and one in the Intercontinental Cup, among others, in less than four years. But Del Bosque used to lack, and still lacks, a touch of elegance, or, to put it in more financial terms, good marketing. Real Madrid sacked him right after he won the 2003 edition of La Liga because club president Floren- tino Perez and his right-hand man Jorge Valdano wanted a more modern coach. Del Bosque was replaced by the more sophisticated Carlos Queiroz. And yet the Portuguese coach did not win anything and barely takes up one line in the most insignificant pages in Real Madrid's rich history. After an unfortunate adventure at the Turkish club Besiktas in 2004, Del Bosque had to wait four years to find another job. It was then that he was called into the Spain national team, which had just won the Euro 2008 with Luis Aragones as coach. Not only was he taking charge of a champion team, but he also had to stand up for an aesthetic style that was starting to be admired around the world – a way of understanding play based on good taste with the ball, passing and beauty. "I sometimes say that we should all have the mentality of midfielders, by which I mean the duty to defend, build and also attack. If we had 10 midfielders we would be even better," Del Bosque told dpa dur- ing the 2013 Confederations Cup. Del Bosque not only kept the model but actually perfected it. With one ex- tra: he launched the so-called "silent renovation," with the gradual arrival of new talent in an almost impercep- tible way. Men like Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Javi Martinez joined the team.Del Bosque led Spain to complete a cycle that is unprecedented in football history: the Euro 2008 title was followed by the first World Cup title in the country's history, in South Africa 2010, and by another trophy at the Euro 2012. Now he stands before the ultimate challenge: winning two World Cups and two Euros in just six years. Del Bosque stands before that challenge with a team that is not as dominant as it used to be, as a consequence of the passage of time and the inevitable fact that stars like Xavi Hernandez, Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso or David Villa have grown older.However, one thing is certain whatever happens: Del Bosque will remain composed in success as in failure. That is in the na- ture of a man who has only one barely noticeable tic: "My legs shake." Balance is probably the word that best defi nes Del Bosque, a man from the old school, a coach who escapes the limelight and always transfers any praise to his players. Credit: picture alliance / dpa Cesare Prandelli: a football of love DANIEL GARCIA MARCO (DPA) A country like Italy, which had three prime ministers who were not elected in less than two years and has had 68 governments in the past 70 years, has plenty of reasons to be cynical. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, however, is not cynical at all. Prandelli, 56, wanted to become an architect, was a footballer, speaks like a priest and looks like a model, with his suit, tie and hair gel. Beyond resurrecting the Azzurri after their disaster at the South Africa 2010 World Cup, burying Italy's trademark "catenaccio," saying he would rather win 4-3 than 1-0, and daring to field as forwards a black guy and one with a Muslim surname, Prandelli has revolutionized Italy with his com- ments. "We should not be afraid of our feelings. Weakness, fragility and tenderness are a part of us," he told Il Corriere della Sera in an interview. He also has a recipe to make the most of the potential of the indom- itable Mario Balotelli: "He needs love." Prandelli is an idealist. At age 18, he met Manuela Caffi, who was 15 at the time. They got married, had two children and did not leave each other until her death of cancer on November 26, 2007. She was 45. The coach left Roma a few weeks after he signed for them to be with his wife over tough chemotherapy sessions. "Many were surprised, but for me it was a natural decision. Football is sometimes scared of normality," he said in 2008, in an open-hearted interview with La Repubblica. At the time, the coach believed he would never again be in a relation- ship with another woman. Howev- er, in June he is set to travel to Bra- zil with his girlfriend, as will his 23 players: at the Italy camp in Man- garatiba, near Rio, there are set to be wives, lovers and children. "All new things surprise conserv- atives and intolerant people. It's not that players don't focus. On the contrary, they work better. Fam- ily and children dilute tensions," Prandelli said. What the Italy squad will not have access to are social networks. With his idealism, but above all with good results on the pitch (as runners-up in the Euro 2012 and third placed in last year's Confed- erations Cup), Prandelli has earned Italy's respect. "There are no black Italians," extreme-right fans shouted to Ba- lotelli from the stands two years ago. Now nobody dares dispute the talent of the team's greatest star, a man Italian children idolize. "For the first time in the history of the national team, a black lad made Italy defeat Germany," Pran- delli said to recall Supermario's brace in the Euro 2012 semi-finals. "Everything is in there. Every- thing. Children have understood it. We adults are still debating about 'new Italians,' and (children) take it as a given," Prandelli told Il Corriere della Sera. Players believe in Italy's new phi- losophy of good play, of taking the initiative and keeping possession of the ball, and they accept Pran- delli's code of ethics, which pun- ishes disciplinary violations with the national team and at the club level. Even stars like Daniele De Rossi have not escaped the rules. "Footballers are a reference point. If you wear the national team shirt, you need to deserve it. If you spit, refuse to pick up a medal or elbow a rival, you do not deserve it at that moment," Prandelli says. He thinks the team has a mission that reaches beyond the pitch and the results of their games. "The national team should not just be a symbol of fair play but also represent something impor- tant for civil society, an exemplary reference point," he said in 2011, when the "Nazionale" trained on a field that had been seized from the mafia in Calabria. It was a symbol of resistance and courage for the whole of Italy. In Italy – and all around the world of football – it is also dar- ing to publicly express support for gays. In April 2012, Prandelli wrote a foreword for The Champion in Love, a book about homosexuality in sport. "Homophobia is racism," he wrote. "In the world of football and of sport in general there is still a taboo around homosexuality. Everyone ought to live freely with themselves, their desires and their sentiments." A couple of days later, public re- actions to his text led him to say he was "surprised." "When we talk about love and about feelings, people should be able to love whoever they want," Prandelli said. That training session on a pitch formerly owned by the mafia, a 2012 visit to Auschwitz and meet- ing Pope Francis are Prandelli's three best memories as Italy coach. Not Balotelli's goals, not Andrea Pirlo's assists, not any impressive wins. Football, as Manuela taught Prandelli, is not that important af- ter all. Beyond resurrecting the Azzurri after their disaster at the South Africa 2010 World Cup, burying Italy's trademark "catenaccio," saying he would rather win 4-3 than 1-0, and daring to fi eld as forwards a black guy and one with a Muslim surname, Prandelli has revolutionized Italy with his comments. Credit: picture alliance / Gladys Chai von der Laage