Mario Been: This Feyenoord is really good!

August 1st, 2009 | by: Jan | Comments(13)

When Mario Been discusses his craft, he often ends a monologue with “But they don’t teach you that on the coaching course”. The Feyenoord coach means to say that sports can’t be caught in theory and dogma.

It’s the essence of this working methods. Been is a coach who uses his intuition and who trusts his social skills. When Andy Slory lunged out to team mate El Ahmadi in Portugal, Been immediately penalized and disciplined the winger, firmly and publically. The next day however, Been jokingly called Slory “Webster” again (a nickname Been invented for the player during their joint Excelsior days).

“Leon Vlemmings (assistant coach) recently told me that he felt what I did was very hard… But I don’t see it that way. Although I do understand what he means. But it’s not something I think about, so to me it’s not hard. I can sense when Makaay needs a kick under the butt or when he needs an arm around him. I guess players will accept that when you do it sincerely. I don’t act. It’s the how, the what and the when, but I can’t theorize about all that. It’s me. I am who I am and I do what I do.”

Whatever he does, it works at Feyenoord. The change is apparent even before the start of the competition. The team – desperate and poor last season – oozes freshness and guts now. Both on the pitch and off. “I talk to players a lot and they feel good. They are themselves, relaxed… I give them all the space to do what they’re good at.”

“I’m talking about the players, but it also applies to the medical people, the physio, the assistants… I like to give responsibility to people. More so than ever. At Excelsior, I wanted to do it all by myself, but I learned and developed too.”

For Been, it’s a fine line between fun and performance. All the players stated that this pre-season period was tougher than ever. But the fun is back too. Last week, Andre Bahia’s son wandered onto the trainings pitch and started to kick a ball around. Bahia held his breath and looked at the coach. Been just smiled and let it go and allowed the kid to have some fun with the players.

“I call it the PIT system: Plezier, Instelling and Team ( Fun, Attitude and Team). I’m convinced fun is a core element in performing well. The pressure is on, every season. A lot of people feel unconditional love for the club and winning or losing means the world for them. As a player, you need to carry that burden. It’s easier when you’re actually enjoying yourself.”

You had ample time to prepare for this job. Almost half a year. What were your findings?

Been: “I saw too much shenanigans between young and old, I saw a mentality issue and too many goals conceded. The team just allowed things to happen. Volendam away, NAC at home…games that the team simply gave away. Inertia. That is a no go for Feyenoord. I want the players to realize that no team can win against us in De Kuip. And I mean no team. Whether it’s NAC or Barcelona. This is our home. We rule here.”

But that’s pretty abstract. How can you change that within a team?

“By making players aware. By triggering them to see that for themselves. And I do it in a positive way, by focusing on the positives. I’ve never worked with a group that is this good! I tell them everyday. This team is really tremendous. We ooze quality, but they need to see that for themselves. And I tell them that we can never ever have a season like last season. You simply can’t accept that as a player. If you want to come along, I’ll allow you. If you can’t or don’t want to, I don’t need you. And for now, every player is on board. We are really working very well together.”

At NEC you had quite some confrontations with players. That’s not easy. It could work, but it could also blow up in your face.

“In essence, you need to be you. You need to keep it real. The players made a list of rules. Feyenoord culture. Rule number one is: Act Normal. Everyone knows what that means. At NEC, I had Jhonny van Beukering. A good striker, but overweight, because he ate the wrong things. That is a big no no. Or Slory punching El Ahmadi. That’s off limits. Players know these things. It also means losing the ego. I can only play eleven players. If you’re benched, you have a role to play and that’s not whining or being a big baby.”

How important is Leo Beenhakker?

“Very! Leo knows how to bind people together. Whether it’s at club level or at team level. There aren’t many people with better social skills than him. I let him do his thing. Whenever he feels he needs to talk to a player of whenever he wants to address the group, I allow him. I trust him totally, we go back a long way.”

A year ago, Feyenoord thought you weren’t ready yet and after Verbeek’s sacking, Feyenoord didn’t call you immediately. Did that hurt?

“A year ago, Feyenoord had a manager – Peter Bosz – who felt I wasn’t experienced enough. Fair enough. And in all honesty, I thought Verbeek was a good choice back then, based on what I knew. I was very happy – to be honest – that they didn’t contact me in January. I really wanted to finish the job at NEC. I told NEC and the media on a Monday that I’d stay in Nijmegen, whoever would call. The next day Feyenoord called. Too late. But that’s how it was.”

This is your dream job. What’s there to do for you after Feyenoord? Or will you be the Foppe de Haan of Feyenoord?

“Feyenoord’s Foppe… Well…yes…that would be something. I think I’ll stay for as long as they allow me to, provided there’s a challenge for me. I can’t work without ambition. And in all honesty, I would really love to work in Italy once. I played there and had a great time. I love Italy as a country and who knows… you know… But I don’t want to think about my post-Feyenoord time! Come on! The season hasn’t even started yet….”