..::Football III::..

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Zidane was great, but I only had eyes for Riquelme - Pastore

Paris Saint-Germain attacker Javier Pastore has spoken of the influence Zinedine Zidane and Juan Roman Riquelme had on his preferred playing style during his childhood.

The Argentine provided the second highest number of assists in Ligue 1 last season with 12 - a number bettered only by former Marseille man Dimitri Payet.

Pastore admits the final pass is the part of the game he cherishes the most and revealed the two men who he looked up to as a youngster.
"I have always worshipped playmakers. The elegance of Zidane influenced me a lot, but, when I was small, I only had eyes for Riquelme," Pastore told Le Journal du Dimanche.

"I watched - with my eyes glued to the television screen - the relationship he created with his striker. Through him, I discovered the gesture I love the most: the pass. He was an idol in South America.

"He revived the role of the central playmaker. I am very far from his influence on the game. I long to get as close as possible."
Despite an impressive 2014-15 at the Parc des Princes, Pastore has started just five of PSG's nine Ligue 1 fixtures this season.

"I do not understand but I have to accept it and work more to convince him to bring me back into the starting line-up for the Champions League," Pastore added.

"I'm in Paris to participate in big events, so hopefully I will start against Real Madrid [on October 21].

"My statistics are satisfactory but I have to score more. In the last three league games I made three assists, but the coach still put me on the bench against [Shakhtar] Donetsk."

The Argentine's ultimate goal, however, is to enjoy success in Europe with PSG.

"It would be a stain on my career here not to lift the Champions League," Pastore said.

"The club has done everything to provide the means."

 

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Schweinsteiger pays tribute to Berkeley balcony victim

Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger paid tribute to former fan Nick Schuster by donating a signed Bayern Munich jersey to Nick’s family and friends at Germany’s training session at the Aviva Stadium.

Niccolai was one of six Irish students killed in a balcony collapse in Berkley in June. The 21-year-old's family and some of Nick’s friends were present at the Aviva to watch Germany’s final training session before Joachim Low’s side take on the Republic of Ireland in their penultimate Group D qualifier.

The jersey was presented to Nick’s brother Alexei by Nick’s favourite player Bastian Schweinsteiger, with the midfielder offering his condolences and paying tribute to the Rathgar man. At Schuster's funeral in June, many of his friends wore Bayern Munich jerseys in an emotional tribute.

Schweingsteiger posted a picture of himself and Nick on his Facebook page after he was made aware of the UCD student’s passing by Nick’s friends back in June, when he was still a Bayern player.

The midfielder wrote: "The news makes me very sad. I wish you, all of the family and relatives of Nick much strength in this difficult time. Also all other concerned this disaster; I would like to express my condolences."

Germany face the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday, October 8 at 19.45BST.

 

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Douglas Costa: I'm not the new Neymar

Douglas Costa insists he is not the "new Neymar" and says Brazil must work as a collective to compensate for the absence of their captain.The Barcelona forward is unable to take part in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with Chile and Venezuela due to a suspension carried over from the 2015 Copa America.

Costa has been tipped to seize his chance to shine as he prepares to replace Neymar, but attempted to dampen expectations at Wednesday's press conference.

"I'm not the new Neymar and I will not need to replace him," he told Sport."You cannot replace Neymar. What I must do is complete my work and the orders of the coach in the best way."Any team in the world would miss him, but we have to overcome it."

Costa has impressed since joining Bayern Munich from Shakhtar Donetsk in July having provided five assists in the Bundesliga already this season.

The winger admits he feels at home in Munich and is enjoying working under coach Pep Guardiola."I have only worked with Guardiola for three months but it feels like longer," he added.

"I get along very well with him and I see this happening with all my team-mates. We understand his ideas and his methods very well."It's great working with my team-mates and with Guardiola's style. It makes you feel good in the team."

 

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Lloris: Benzema can lead France

Hugo Lloris thinks Karim Benzema can lead France to a higher level as they look ahead to Euro 2016 next summer, irrespective of his international goalscoring struggles.

The Real Madrid striker has one goal in his past 12 appearances for Didier Deschamps' side, a stretch that includes a missed penalty against Sweden in 2014.
But Lloris feels the scoring burden lies with the Bleus team as a whole, not just Benzema, and if they bind together he can flourish.

"He helps the team a lot. He would like to score a little more, obviously, but we are a team so we wish that the French national team scores much more," the 28-year-old told a press conference.

"He's got a status here. He's really concerned about the collective. He's here to be the leader."Like in the past, a great French national team essentially needs a great collective."That's how the greatest individual skills of some players can be expressed. He's one of them. He'll lead the French national team where we want to be."

Although Benzema leads the way in the scoring charts in La Liga this season with five goals, he has been substituted in six of his eight appearances under Rafa Benitez, who has called on him to take more of his chances.France, who qualified automatically as hosts of Euro 2016, are at home to Armenia in a friendly on Thursday.

 

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Lewandowski one of the best I've played against - Martin

Scotland's Russell Martin says he has rarely come up against an opponent as troublesome as Poland international Robert Lewandowski.

Martin helped keep the Bayern Munich forward off the scoresheet when their two nations met in a 2-2 Euro 2016 qualifiying draw in October 2014 but faces a tough test in the reverse fixture, with Lewandowski enjoying a sensational run of form that has seen him score 12 goals in his last four club matches.

However, Martin is relishing the prospect of taking on the in-form Pole once again.

"Lewandowski is one of the best I've played against. His goal record speaks for itself with the form he is in at the minute," Martin told Sky Sports.

"He is different but as a defender I always look at a striker's attributes and think where you can affect them and try and influence them throughout the game.

"Players like him, [Thomas] Muller and [Mario] Gotze of Germany, who are in our group, are all among the top five or six in Europe at the moment, so it's up to us to go and stop him.

"I relish the challenge. I enjoy playing against players like that and that is why I have worked so hard throughout my career, to test myself against players like that.

"We are doing it week in week out in the Premier League and this will be no different."

Scotland cannot qualify automatically for next year's competition in France but a place in the play-offs is still a posibility - and Martin knows his side cannot afford to drop points.

"We have to go and win the game on Thursday, it's as simple as that," he added. "They are a good side but we have done well against them previously, twice, not too long ago.

"Looking back at the games against Georgia and Germany, they're gone now. It's all about the present and making sure we go into Thursday knowing exactly what we want to do and get what we want from the game."

 

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Free agent Ronaldinho hopes to continue playing

Ronaldinho has insisted he will continue playing football despite being left without a club after his contract with Fluminense was terminated by mutual consent last month.

Brazil icon Ronaldinho signed for Flu in July following a season with Mexican outfit Queretaro, but departed the club on September 28.

Ronaldinho struggled to make a positive impact at the four-time Brazilian Serie A champions, appearing in just nine matches but the 35-year-old has now revealed he does not intend to hang up his boots and is still being courted by other teams.

"I will continue [playing] for some time. Offers come and go every day," Ronaldinho told Radio Rede Atlantida.

"I feel good, my health is good. It's a sign clubs are still interested in me.

"From the way I have been training, I think I can still perform at the same level as the players today, and that keeps me going."

 

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Guardiola: Del Bosque perfect for Spain

Pep Guardiola says there is no one better qualified than Vicente Del Bosque to manage Spain after praising his achievements with the national side.

Ahead of Euro 2008, Spain had not progressed beyond the quarter-final stage of any major competition since ending the 1984 edition of the same tournament as runners-up.

Luis Aragones led the nation to the trophy in Austria and Switzerland, before Del Bosque took the reins and oversaw a successful defence of the title after triumphing at the World Cup in 2010.

Although Spain were unable to retain that trophy in Brazil last year after exiting at the group stage, Guardiola is certain the 64-year-old remains the right man for the job.

"We managed to break the mythical quarter-final barrier that earlier generations could not pass," Guardiola said to the Spanish team's official website.

"This generation helped Spanish football take a leap forward, something that all of us have to thank them for.

"There is no one better than Vicente to lead the team. They will remain at the highest level."

Spain will qualify for Euro 2016 if they defeat Luxembourg in their penultimate qualifying match on Friday.

 

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Coutinho 'extremely happy' at Liverpool - agent

Philippe Coutinho is "extremely happy" at Liverpool and has no plans to leave the club amid links with Real Madrid, claims his agent Kia Joorabchian.

Brazilian midfielder Coutinho has emerged as a transfer target for the La Liga giants, who have reportedly opened talks with his widely-known representative.

La Liga champions Barcelona and Manchester City have also been linked with the Reds playmaker, however, Joorabchian insists his client is determined to lead the newly-managerless outfit to the Champions League.

"Philippe is extremely happy at Liverpool," Joorabchian told the Daily Mail.

"He signed a new long term contract towards the end of last season that represents his ambition and his feeling for Liverpool.

"Reports that I have been talking to Real Madrid about Philippe are not true.

"His aspirations are to qualify for the Champions League with Liverpool this season and to win a trophy. That is all that he is focussed on – and nothing else."

 

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Fabregas backs Mourinho: He's the best coach for Chelsea

Cesc Fabregas believes Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is the best manager in the history of the club and there is no one better to get them out of their current rut.

The Premier League champions are languishing in 16th position after eight games and the pressure mounted on Mourinho following their 3-1 loss to Southampton last Saturday.

But Fabregas, who Mourinho signed from Barcelona in 2014, has complete faith that the Portuguese manager can turn the Blues's fortunes around.

"He is the best coach in the history of the club and the best we can have," Fabregas told Marca .

"Personally, he [Mourinho] helped me in a very complicated moment of my career and he gives me confidence.

"I will do whatever he asks. In face-to-face situations he helps me a lot and I respect him for that. We [Chelsea] are not well, but we will do better. We have the best coach for the club.

"People have not forgotten that five months ago we won the Premier League and a cup, but we have to change the situation fast and soon."

 

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Pekerman: Falcao will always be called up

Colombia coach Jose Pekerman hopes star striker Falcao can regain his confidence ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Peru.

World Cup qualifying for Russia 2018 gets underway on Thursday and Colombia's first test is a home match against Peru before an away trip to Montevideo.

Falcao has had a tough time at club level for Chelsea this season, scoring just once in seven Premier League appearances, but Pekerman is hopeful the forward will still show plenty of fight for Colombia.

"Falcao is coming to play 90 minutes after a lot of time at his club [Chelsea] having few opportunities, 15 or 20 minutes, in games that are in development; and that's cost him not having continuity," he said.

"We all know his capabilities, and I see he still has the will to fight, to reverse the situation, with that spirit of wanting to reach his best performance and we have expectations.

"We need that rebellion and that ability to want to fight, and if so we have hope he recovers his best form and we can take it into account.

"We always have the hope that he rediscovers his confidence. He always deserves to be called up."

Colombia have faced off against Peru twice since June, with both games ending in draws.

 

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De Gea: Madrid saga has made me grow

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea feels he has matured and grown following his failed switch to Real Madrid.

De Gea was all set for a Madrid homecoming, with Keylor Navas to move in the opposite direction, but the transfer papers were not lodged in time as the Spanish window shut last month.

The Spain international has since signed a new four-year deal at United and reclaimed his position in the starting XI, appearing in seven consecutive fixtures in all competitions, having been cast aside by manager Louis van Gaal at the start of the season.

"I am a guy who likes to put the bad things and difficult times behind me," De Gea was quoted as telling Canal Plus.

"I had a lot of tough times and I know what it is. We must move forward, working equally and always strong.

"It's a learning process that gives football hard moments but that make you mature and grow. These are things that you learn in the world of football. You have to keep working and try to improve in every training session."

De Gea - on international duty as Spain prepare to host Luxembourg in Euro 2016 qualifying on Friday - added: "Everyone who works for Manchester respected me, I tried to help and I am very grateful to them."

 

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Reus hopes Ireland feel the pressure

Germany forward Marco Reus believes the pressure is on the Republic of Ireland ahead of the crunch Euro 2016 qualification clash in Dublin.

The world champions travel to the Irish capital as Group D leaders, four points ahead of their hosts - who currently occupy the play-off spot.

As such, a draw would be enough to secure Germany's place in the finals, while Ireland have Scotland four points behind them and a tough trip to face second-placed Poland in Warsaw to round off the campaign.

It is a situation that Borussia Dortmund star Reus believes works to his country's advantage.

"The Irish are under pressure," he told the DFB's official website. "They are in third place in the table. They have to beat us if they still want to have the chance to qualify directly for the European Championship.

"That could work in our favour, because we could get more space [to attack]. But it is also possible that the Irish, despite this, will be more defensively oriented."

One reason for this could be the chastening memories of Germany's previous visit to the Aviva Stadium, where Reus netted a first-half brace in a 6-1 World Cup qualifier win.

"I remember that the game was not as easy as the result suggests," Reus added.

"In the beginning [Ireland] were a bit hard done by the 1-0 and 2-0 scoreline. Things went much better and finally really good.

"We were good as a team plan. And of course it was nice for me to score twice. If I am not mistaken, it was my first double in the national team."

 

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Ozil the epitome of Arsenal's Jekyll & Hyde form

If there is one player that sums up Arsenal it is Mesut Ozil. Awesome one week, anonymous the next. Brilliant yet infuriatingly inconsistent.

It is impossible to properly analyse Arsenal such is the Jekyll and Hyde nature of their performances.

They can lose embarrassingly to West Ham, Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos and look miles away from challenging for their first title since 2004. Then they produce sensational performances that suggest competing for the league is not beyond them.

The same goes for Ozil. The club record £42 million signing was as awful as any of the Gunners’ players in the embarrassing Champions League home defeat to the Greek side last week.

Five days later, Arsenal and Ozil produced a display that no-one saw coming as Manchester United were blown away inside 20 minutes at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Too often since joining Arsenal on the last day of the summer transfer window in 2013, Ozil has appeared content to drift through the fringes of matches.

The German has interrupted those spells with peaks that show why Arsene Wenger believes he can become player of the year in the Premier League this season. While Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho are sworn enemies, they agree on Ozil.

"It's impossible to stop him over 90 minutes," Mourinho says. “These kind of players will always have a moment or a couple of moments where they end up showing why they are so good.”

Those moments can be decisive, as he proved against United.

It was Ozil’s best performance in an Arsenal shirt during the 75 minutes he played before being substituted.

It wasn’t just the 26-year-old’s poise and technique that caught the eye, but his movement off the ball, his pressing of United’s midfielders to ensure they had no time to settle.

Ozil set up the opener for Alexis Sanchez with a pinpoint cross and then scored the second himself just over a minute later with a lovely low finish from 12 yards.
With the speed and movement of Alexis, Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey around him, Ozil looked capable of opening up the United defence every time he took possession.

Ozil’s display also went some way to addressing the theory that he does not turn up in the big matches, although it was his first goal against United and he has never scored against Manchester City or Chelsea.

The other major criticism has been his apparent lack of workrate, which is not helped to start with by his casual, languid running style.

But the week before the United fixture, he ran further than any other Arsenal player - 11.45 kilometres - in the 5-2 win at Leicester.

He still needs to improve his goal return. Five goals in 32 appearances last season was a poor return for a player of his quality. Wenger has set him a target to reach double figures this season but Ozil’s strike against United was his first in 10 appearances this season.

Ozil has the quality to score more often to compliment his record of 4.4 key passes per game, the best of any player in the top five league in Europe this season.

He just needs to perform more consistently, just like his team.

 

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Amelia's agent confirms Chelsea contract

Marco Amelia's agent has confirmed the goalkeeper has joined Chelsea after signing a contract with the Premier League champions.

The 33-year-old is set to challenge both Asmir Begovic and Thibaut Courtois for the No.1 jersey, with the former currently deputising after the Belgian damaged ligaments in his right knee in early September.

Amelia, who has nine Italy caps to his name but has been out of football since a brief spell with Perugia in early 2015, underwent a successful trial at the club and has been rewarded with professional terms.

Chelsea have struggled so far this season, languishing to 16th place after conceding 17 goals in their opening eight games, with the former AC Milan keeper signed as emergency back-up.

After penning the terms Amelia, and representative Federico Pastorello, dined out in London to celebrate.

 

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No Champions League lifeline for Arsenal - Dinamo victory to stand despite doping scandal

Dinamo Zagreb will not face any points deduction despite one of their players failing a doping test in the aftermath of their Champions League win over Arsenal last month.

Arijan Ademi tested positive for a banned substance following the club's 2-1 win in Croatia, with Arsene Wenger's men getting their campaign off to a losing start on September 16.

However, Uefa have confirmed to Goal that the club will not lose the three points earned from the victory, revealing that they would only have been sanctioned had more than one player tested positive.

"Only in the case of more than two players from the same team having been found to have committed a doping violation in the same competition are team sanctions imposed," they told Goal.

Zagreb followed their 2-1 win over Arsenal with a 5-0 loss to Bayern Munich, while the Gunners also tasted defeat against Olympiacos, leaving them bottom of Group F.

 

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Mourinho hits back at Capello after 'burnout' criticism

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hit back at Fabio Capello, after the Italian suggested that the Portuguese lacks longevity because he burns players out.

Capello indicated is belief that Mourinho's players become burnt out after a spell of 18 months or two years of working with the Blues boss, hinting that such a problem affected the 52-year-old's time at Real Madrid.

But the Chelsea manager has hit back at the Italian, suggesting that the former England boss should respect the work of fellow managers, especially when they are enduring difficult spells.

“I read what Capello said. I think a coach with his story had better talk about football without comment on the work of his colleagues," Mourinho told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I could have commented on his job as coach for England or the Russian one, and I never did. Because I prefer to respect the negative moments of my colleagues.

“I prefer to talk more of Fabio Capello in the many beautiful moments of his career, full of extraordinary success.”

Mourinho was also drawn on the public vote of confidence he recieved from the Chelsea board following the 3-1 defeat to Southampton, worryingly indicating that he has failed to find an explanation for Chelsea's poor results.

"That makes me proud. It shows the confidence of Abramovich in the manager who has won three Premier League titles with this club. I thank him and I keep working.

"I do not know why the results with Chelsea at the moment are really bad. I can not nor want to hide the reality. And I struggle to find an explanation.

“But I assure you: I'm working like never before and we will come out of it.”

 

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Gotze: I have no interest in leaving Bayern

Mario Gotze admits that he has no interest in leaving Bayern Munich despite reports linking him with a move away during the summer.

The Germany international was rumoured to be of interest to Juventus as they looked to replace Arturo Vidal before they swooped for Hernanes.

And he insists that he wants to remain at the Allianz Arena for a long time and become the face of the club.

"I made my own mistakes but I've also had to withstand a lot of things that have been twisted. The last two years were certainly like a ripening process for me," he told Suddeutsche Zeitung.

"I feel very happy here, I am glad to be a Bayern player. I would love to be the face of Bayern, I've played a big role (for the club) in the first two years and I want to play an even greater part.

"I never dealt with a transfer, it's quite possible that other clubs had interest but I had no interest in leaving Bayern."

The World Cup winner also moved to explain the transfer that saw him leave Borussia Dortmund for Bayern in 2013, and regrets not denying his motives for leaving were financial at the time.

"The people probably thought 'He signed for Bayern just because of the money. He's not a good person'.

"Today I know, at the beginning of pre-season training in Munich I should have explained the transfer. I should have stated my sporting reasons to end all the speculation. It would all have ended if I'd done that but I didn't and left room for interpretation."

 

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Blatter, Platini & Valcke suspended by Fifa


Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini and Jerome Valcke have officially been handed 90-day bans by the Fifa Ethics Committee.

Along with the powerful trio, Chung Mong-joon, a South Korean official who has served as vice president of Fifa, has been banned for six years and fined £67,924.

Blatter has come under serious scrutiny in recent months amid investigations into the governing body's conduct from the US Department of Justice, while the Swiss attorney general has opened criminal proceedings against him for alleged intentional mismanagement and misappropriation of Fifa's funds, with the pressure reaching such a point that he resigned as president in June.

Platini, meanwhile, has been widely heralded as a potential future successor to Blatter, but he too has been suspended after becoming implicated in the corruption allegations.

"The adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee chaired by Hans Joachim Eckert has provisionally banned Fifa President Joseph S. Blatter, Uefa President and Fifa Vice-President Michel Platini, and Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke (who has already been put on leave by his employer Fifa) for a duration of 90 days," a Fifa statement reads.

"The duration of the bans may be extended for an additional period not exceeding 45 days. The former Fifa Vice-President Chung Mong-joon has been banned for six years and fined CHF 100,000. During this time, the above individuals are banned from all football activities on a national and international level. The bans come into force immediately.

"The grounds for these decisions are the investigations that are being carried out by the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee. The chairman of the chamber is Dr Cornel Borbély. The investigation into Joseph S. Blatter is being carried out by Robert Torres, the investigation into Michel Platini by Vanessa Allard.

"The proceedings against the South Korean football official Chung Mong-joon were opened in January 2015 based on findings in the report on the investigation into the bidding process for the 2018/2022 Fifa World Cups. He has been found guilty of infringing article 13 (General rules of conduct), article 16 (Confidentiality), article 18 (Duty of disclosure, cooperation and reporting), article 41 (Obligation of the parties to collaborate) and article 42 (General obligation to collaborate) of the Fifa Code of Ethics.

"The Ethics Committee is unable to comment on the details of the decisions until they become final, due to the provisions of article 36 (Confidentiality) of the Fifa Code of Ethics."

 

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Hoda wade Blatter ta​

 

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'Bayern better than dream sex with your dream woman'

Mario Basler has got a little excited when describing Pep Guardiola's record-breaking Bayern Munich... describing watching the team like having "dream sex with your dream woman 37 times in a row".

Sunday's 5-1 win over nearest Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund has seen the reigning champions notch 24 goals in their opening eight games, with Robert Lewandowski already notching 18 goals for club and country.

Basler, who scored Bayern's early goal in the 1999 Champions League final loss to Manchester United, was superlative with his praise of the team's form, going on quite the ode littered with very visual similes.

"This Bayern is like dream sex with your dream woman, 34 times in a row," he wrote in Bild. "This Bayern is like rivers of beer, that never end. This Bayern is like 300 days of holidays a year, and the rest is free.

"I love the meticulousness of [Pep] Guardiola from the touchline and from [Philipp] Lahm on the pitch. I admire the momentum from [Thomas] Muller and [Douglas] Costa, the goal-lust from Lewandowski."

When asked if there was anyway Bayern could be stopped, Basler listed three tongue-in cheek responses - such as losing a player every time they score, before adding: "Or bring [Jurgen] Klinsmann back as coach."