By Nabarun Goswami
Kiwi manager wants NorthEast United FC to be a mobile and attacking side
SHILLONG: When 53-year old Ricki Herbert was roped in to take charge of the NorthEast United Football Club in the Indian Super League, the message seemed loud and clear that this first of its kind football league certainly aims to take Indian football to the next level.
The Kiwi is the only manager in the ISL to have both played and managed a side at the highest level, the World Cup. He has achieved the unique distinction of becoming the only manager not to have lost a single game at the 2010 FIFA World Cup where New Zealand held Slovakia, defending champions Italy and Paraguay before bowing out undefeated in the championship for which they had qualified only for the second time.
A household name in New Zealand, Herbert is dubbed as someone who has the ability to lift sides from the ashes. He also has a fair understanding of football in the North East having travelled to the region a couple of years back as the manager of Wellington Phoenix.
The Kiwi speaks with The Shillong Times on how NEUFC happened and his vision for the team besides others.
Excerpts
ST: What was the motivation behind the Kiwi manager who had not lost a single match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup to take the big decision of coaching in NorthEast India?
RH: My career as a manager has always been about extracting the best possible results from perhaps environments or entities that were possibly not seen as having the potential to achieve a lot of success and I have always cherished such challenges. Indian football is at crossroad now where the catalyst of the Super League could be an incredible journey for it. As a manager it’s a very proud moment to be a part of this process and be involved with the inaugural season and I am really excited by the challenge of leading this side which is young and probably not seen as one of the bigger sides in the League.
The ownership of the franchise has been supportive too. I see this as another chapter of my life that I am really excited about. New Zealand were ranked 156 in the world when I took over and when we left the World Cup in South Africa, we were ranked 47. So who knows what’s in store in India.
ST: The name Ricki Herbert is synonymous with football in New Zealand and you have been at the forefront of many of New Zealand football’s biggest moments for over three decades. For somebody who has seen and led the game at that level, did you have any reservations about coaching in India where football is at a very nascent stage?
RH: Not really. I was lucky enough to have been here as part of Wellington Phoenix. I had met Larsing (Larsing Ming Sawyan) and once there was an opportunity to apply for the role, he was very supportive. It’s similar to signing for Wellington and I think its surreal (smiles).
ST: The ISL is being dubbed as the biggest thing to have ever happened to Indian football and hence the expectations, especially from a side like NorthEast United FC would be higher than several others participating in the event. How do you look at this challenge?
RH: It’s fantastic to have fans who have great expectations from the side. We will want to be as credibly competitive as we can, we would want to be winning matches…While it is always good to go out there and win, the ISL, however, presents a bigger picture, that of acting as a catalyst to drive Indian football from the grassroots to international success. It is important to keep sight of this broader aspect.
ST: Are you happy with how the team looks at this moment? What do you have to say about the foreign signings?
RH: The entire team is not yet here. However, we have worked tirelessly for the last three and half weeks in Shillong. Majority of the Indian players are here. Some foreign players were also here early and that gave me the opportunity to have a look at them (all the players) physically. We are making steady progress.
ST: How easy or difficult do you feel would it be to build a team out of players, some of whom have not played alongside each other, in such a short period of time?
RH: Building a strong, organized and balanced side has always been my priority as a manager. Club philosophy has to be crystal clear when we talk of making good sides. What we want to develop is a NEUFC philosophy which stands for an exciting brand of football and produces young talents.
ST: What is your vision for the team?
RH: We need a five-year vision for the team and the philosophy of the team should not change from an infrastructure and ownership point of view. My heart lies in developing young Indian boys and we will give a very good shot to it.
ST: What brand of football can we expect to see from NEFC?
RH: Every team in the ISL has a responsibility to play a decent attacking brand of football considering the expectations from the inaugural league. Sometimes media brands me as a defensive coach citing matches from the World Cup where a 78th ranked New Zealand took on the number one side in the world.
In the ISL, we may be a bit down on expectations but that cannot be compared to a 78:1 situation. So we want to be a very mobile and attacking side.
ST: Anything you would like to say to the fans?
RH: I hope they are as excited as I am and I hope they are looking forward to the super league. It will be fantastic to go out there with the thousands of fans backing us.