Article:
ISSUE No. 10 May - June 2008

Football Arabian Style – Interview with Winfried Schäfer
“I am here with FC Bayern Munich on the Gulf”

This is already his second football coaching position in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): After Al-Ahli in Dubai (from March 2005 through February 2007), Winfried Schäfer joined the Al-Ain Football Club in December 2007. We spoke with the coach from the Eifel region in Germany about the mentality of Arabian Football, about his duties and challenges as coach in this country and about the chances for his players in the German Football League.

Mr. Schäfer, how should we visualize the job of head coach in the UAE?
It is basically like anywhere else in the world. We don’t train in the afternoons because of the heat. Otherwise, culture plays a big part, i.e. we schedule training sessions and team meetings around prayer times. I conform to that too, as I have great respect for the religion and culture in this region. All in all, the club offers very professional terms which make it a joy to work here and bring Al-Ain to the top. It is not only the weather I came to enjoy here, I want to achieve great things with the team. I want to win the championship with Al-Ain; that is my project here.

Do you have many foreigners on your team?
No, we abide by the club’s rules which only allow three foreign players maximum on the field at one time. It would be of great advantage to adopt the rules of other Gulf States and allow five foreign players at a time. We cannot have goalies from a foreign country. We try many things with the local players; we try to improve them first. Of course we have some foreigners, mainly Brazilians. They are often the top performers of the team. We are building up our team with many young and unknown locals who show great talent.

What do you see as the focal point of your work here?
I see myself as football teacher. I was hired to develop the players. They all know how to play football, some even possess super techniques. It is my job to teach them new systems and discipline on the field and to also stick to prescribed tactics. Most players have so much fun playing football; they only want some directions on how to improve. Yet it gets better all the time, these players are eager to learn and they are full of enthusiasm.