Coaches are not magicians, says India U17 women’s coach Dennerby

CALCUTTA (India): Former actor and a police officer besides being a successful football coach, Thomas Dennerby loves to talk straight.

The Swede, who will guide the Indian ship at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World India 2020, said that coaches cannot guarantee success overnight.

“We’re not magicians. The only way to get success is work hard on the pitch as there’s no shortcut methods,” Dennerby told Khel Updates here at the Kalyani Stadium on Friday evening.

His last assignment was with the Nigerian senior women’s team, whom he guided them at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 but resigned last month despite having a year left on his contract.

“I don’t want to talk about my past work. I’m here to do a good job and work very hard. That’s my target right now,” added the 60-year-old.

Tough job at hand

The high-profile coach was appointed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) last week to prepare the U17 girls for the mega-event which India hosts next year.

“Next year’s tournament will be exciting. Hopefully, we can reach the knockout stage. Let me see what happens,” said Dennerby, who also acted in a popular TV series titled ‘The Other Sport’.

Dennerby is currently scouting the best talents from a four-team tournament at Kalyani on the outskirts of the city.

Tigresses, Cheetahs, Lionesses and Panthers are composed of the players that will be selected to represent Team India.

“This competition is important to pick new players. A proposed four-nation event in December will also help us to evaluate their performances,” added Dennerby, who helped Nigeria win the 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Excellent track record

Among his other success include guiding his country’s women’s team to a third-place finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011, and a quarterfinal spot in 2012 London Olympics.

His new assignment has a plenty of challenge as the Swede has less than a year to prepare the team.

But Dennerby exuded confidence, and said that the 11-month time-frame is good enough to get the team ready.

“That’s a pretty good time. We must work hard,” he said.

“The development of young girls and boys takes time. It’s not a rocket to the sky directly. It’s important not to get stressed.”

He thanked AIFF for making him a “part of the project”.

“It’s a big challenge. I’m extremely grateful to AIFF for giving me this responsibility,” said Dennerby.