Former Rimini, Parma, Milan and Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi arrived in Malta yesterday and today he will conduct a seminar for Maltese top coaches, organized by the MFA technical centre as part of the programme to give local coaches more training in their jobs.

Sacchi, who is the FIGC (Italian FA) Coordinator of the Youth Sector from Under 15 to Under 20, is accompanied in Malta by his assistant Maurizio Viscidi, who will take care of the practical part of the seminar when the coaches take on the pitch this morning.

While showing his appreciation for all the help the MFA receives from the FIGC whenever it is requested, the MFA Technical Director, Robert Gatt said that the output of two distinguished guests like Sacchi and Viscidi will help improve the coaching standards of the Maltese.

Top coaches who have a UEFA ‘A’ licence as well as Premier and Division 1 coaches will be taking part in this one-day seminar, the second of its nature organized by the MFA this year.

During a short media brief, Sacchi said that he felt obliged to come over for this event and confirmed the good relations that exist between the MFA and the Italian FA, as the Associations work closely, even through the intervention of Malta’s national coach Pietro Ghedin who toured the MFA complex with Sacchi and Viscidi soon after their arrival on the island.

Saccho criticized his home country for not investing enough in youth football, with many young players hardly given a chance to prove themselves. His task is to nurture young footballers in the various age groups and work with the Italian clubs, who have been showing cooperation lately, by releasing their players to the FA for three days once a month.

Sacchi is a firm believer of continuity and insisted that success at senior level can only be achieved if there is continuation in the policies and systems for players from a young age. A case in point is the success being achieved by Barcelona at club level.

He described the move of promising talent Marco Verratti to Paris Saint Germain for €50,000 as a schiaffo (slap in the face) for Italian football and it’s a shame that no Italian club could make use of his services. But Sacchi said that the reason for shortage of Italian youngsters making it at the top level, is because the Italian FA invests only about €15 million annually compared to Real Madrid’s €50 million.

Sacchi of course shows trust in youths, because they are receptive, full of energy and enthusiasm, although they are not as technical as the mature players.

He believes that youths must find joy in the doing and encouraged to play an active role with and without the ball and showing a sense of collectiveness. The coach must be the author and director and chooses the players who are most suited for his project.

It goes without saying that Sacchi was reminded by the journalists present of his coaching success with AC Milan in the 90’s and with some satisfaction in his eyes he said that his club was one of the catalysts who helped to improve the concepts of the game in the last 40 years. Ajax started the evolution, AC Milan emulated it and built on it and Barcelona now have made it work to near perfection.

Giving his opinion about the impact upon modern day coaches, whose tenure with clubs is getting shorter, the Italian said that even in his glory days, the coaches’ job was in jeopardy but he was lucky that he always worked at clubs (like Rimini and Parma, as well as AC Milan) that gave him the go ahead and supported him in his policies. Sacchi boasts that he was never sacked during his coaching career.

But nowadays, frequent changes of coaches can only permit clubs to plan on short-term. Every coach brings in new players with different styles and abilities and cannot have clear policies. Sacchi once described this phenomenon in Italian football as more chaotic than the tower of Babel in an article in the Gazzetta dello Sport.

Continuity brings results and Sacchi mentioned coaches like Alex Ferguson at Manchester U and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal as best examples.

Finally he emphasized the fact that money may buy players but play is not bought by money. That is only the result of hard work, good planning and values.