By Collins Okinyo,Our Guest African football Journalist writes  for supersport.com 

When communicating, coaches tend to focus on the content or the substance of the messages they send to players  “Run hard”; “Follow through strongly on your shot”; “Fake before you pass”; “Practice with intensity.” In doing so, they believe that the information is objective and that footballers  will always receive the message as intended.

Gor Mahia Kenyan Premier League champions  3 times in a row started the 2016 season wavering under coach Frank Nuttal however things are changing for the better as Brazilian Jose Marcello Ferreira a former international has instilled a different culture in the team that is guided by effective communications that has helped to build the team’s winning mentality.

From the moment Ze Maria arrived at Gor Mahia, he  thought of only one thing: building a football club. He wanted to build right from the bottom. That was in order to create fluency and a continuity of supply to the first team. With this approach, the players all grow up together, producing a bond that, in turn, creates a spirit.That is why he immediately said the youth team was on his mind.

When Ze Maria arrived he had  the confidence and conviction that if Gor Mahia  was going to mean anything again, rebuilding the teams tactical and technical prowess  was crucial. You could say it was brave, but fortune favors the brave.

The first thought of 99% of newly appointed coaches is to make sure they win—to survive. So they bring experienced players in. That’s simply because we’re in a results-driven industry. At some clubs, you need only to lose three games in a row, and you’re fired. In today’s football world, with a new breed of directors and owners, I am not sure any club would have the patience to wait for a coach  to build a team over a period especially after being champions 3 consecutive years.

“Winning a game is only a short-term gain—you can lose the next game. Building a club brings stability and consistency. You don’t ever want to take your eyes off the first team. The  players have  became the spirit of the club”Ze Maria told Soka25east.com

“I always take great pride in seeing players develop. The job of a coach, like that of a teacher, is to inspire people to be better. Give them better technical skills, make them winners, make them better people, and they can go anywhere in life. When you give young people a chance, you not only create a longer life span for the team, you also create loyalty”Ze Maria added

“Players  will always remember that you were the coach  who gave them their first opportunity. Once they know you are batting for them, they will accept your way. You’re really fostering a sense of family. If you give young people your attention and an opportunity to succeed, it is amazing how much they will surprise you”The coach added

Ze Maria is strategic, rational, and systematic he has identified three levels of players: those almost 30 and  those roughly 23 to 30, and the younger ones coming in. The idea was that the younger players were developing and would meet the standards that the older ones had set.

Ze Maria  speaks passionately about wanting to instill values in his players. More than giving them technical skills, he wants to inspire them to strive to do better and to never give up—in other words, to make them winners.

His intense desire to win stemmed in part from his own experiences as a player. After success at several top clubs around the World and playing for the famous Brazilian national team

“The experience over the years  gave me a sense of determination that has shaped my life,” he told Soka25east.com . “I made up my mind that I would never give up and that is what I want for my players at Gor Mahia .”

Ze Maria  looked for the same attitude in his players. He recruited what he calls “bad losers” and demanded that they work extremely hard. Over time  this attitude became contagious—players didn’t accept teammates’ not giving it their all. The biggest stars were no exception but now they are once again working together as a team this applied to all his team building and  team preparation, motivational talks, and tactical talks.

For example, Ze Maria never allows a bad training session. What you see in training manifests itself on the game field. So every training session is  about quality. He doesn’t  allow a lack of focus. It is about intensity, concentration, speed—a high level of performance and offcourse tiki taka which made the   players improve with each session.

Ze Maria  had to lift players’ expectations. They should never give in. I said that to them all the time:

“If you give in once, you’ll give in twice.” And the work ethic and energy I  seem to spread throughout the club. I want to be the  first to arrive in the morning the same will be manifested by my staff members and the players as we strive hard to get the best out of the team and make our loyal fans happy”Ze Maria concluded.

N/B the writer is a  respected football journalist writing for supersport.com

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com