More Roy

Nice interview UEFA.com from when Roy was in charge of Finland’s national team.  (it’s a PDF file)

Wisdom:

I remember reading a quote
from the American John Wooden, who
said: “Talent is God-given; be humble.
Fame is man-given; be thankful.
And conceit is self-given; be careful.”

Tactical trends:

From a tactical viewpoint, we could talk
about a lot of things but I’ll content
myself with three. Number one is the
importance of the counter-attack and
the ability to profit from the turnovers.
Secondly, the improvement of athleticism
and pace throughout the team. There
is no doubt the game is faster and the
selection of players reflects this. And
thirdly, there is less high-intensity pressing
from the front and in advanced areas.
This is partly because concern over the
interpretation of the offside law has
led teams to play deeper. Sides are still
compact, but this is mainly in their own
half of the pitch.

We saw the latter against Manchester United, where Johnson and Zamora sat back and left United to find holes in our half.  Interesting to see if he gets us more athletic next season though.

Achievements:

10 • During your long, varied and
successful coaching career, what has
given you the greatest satisfaction?

There have been three key moments for
me. The first championship at Halmstad
BK in Sweden – to avoid relegation in
the first season and then to win the title
the next was very special. The fairytale
nature of this first success is an indelible
memory, albeit a long time ago.

Wow…

Here’s to what I hope will be a long and fruitful spell at Fulham.

I’ve seen the future and it’s much like the present only longer.

- Dan Quisenberry