And England Rugby’s 2003 World Cup-winning coach believes attention to detail, both on and off the pitch, is crucial if Roy Hodgson’s squad are to emulate his own international success insisting England “cannot prepare enough” for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
“If you had a perfect world, you would take the 30 players [that may be in the final squad] to Brazil before the tournament so that they can all see it, feel it and experience it.
The Boot Room
Our full interview with Sir Clive Woodward is available in April’s edition of The Boot Room, The FA Licensed Coaches’ Club magazine
“Our first World Cup games in 2003 were in Perth. We’d never played in Perth before, so on the way back from one trip we diverted to Perth. The player’s weren’t very happy because they wanted to go home".
Woodward, who crossed codes in 2005 for a brief spell as Southampton’s director of football and who also enjoyed roles as head coach of the British & Irish Lions as well as Team GB’s director of sport for London 2012, made it a priority that his players became accustomed to the Australian culture ahead of the tournament.
“We said we’re going to spend two or three days in Perth so they could get used to the hotel, the pitch, the training pitch and the coffee shops. Those things are priceless and you have to prepare as much as you can.”
England’s first World Cup game against Cesare Prandelli’s Italy in the extreme heat and humidity of Manaus represents a big task, however Woodward believes success may come down to the side who are most prepared.
“It’s the same [the conditions] for both sides. You’ve got to prepare better than them. The amount of detail you’ve got to go into – the hydration and preparation – it’s all learning. Don’t think you can start ploughing the knowledge into the players when they get to Brazil. It should be happening now.”
Roy Hodgson has already made several trips to Brazil ahead of the summer's World Cup
One of the areas which Woodward believes needs thorough preparation ahead of the tournament is penalty kicks.
“Penalty kicks would be high on my list now. You can’t start talking about penalty kicks when you get to the tournament," he said.
“When you get to a tournament you should be doing everything as normal. Players don’t usually talk or worry about penalties – they don’t make a big deal about it. I think it is a big deal, but we should make a big deal about it now so it’s normal.
“So when they get there they are already doing the training and know the thought processes. We should know now, roughly, who we want to take the penalties. It’s back to detail.”
Encouraging coaches and players to study the intricacies of their own performance is part of the 58 year-old’s latest coaching venture.
Woodward has developed Captured - a new online platform for players and coaches - which he hopes will help revolutionise the coaching process.
“We’ve built Captured with a single purpose – to enhance an individual’s performance. Following a proven methodology Captured equips the user with the tools to turn information into understanding. Users can capture, reflect, edit, and share information anywhere and at any time.”
40 FA Licensed Coaches are already using the software as part of a pilot research programme looking at how the unique online tool can be adapted to football. Woodward believes the tool is key to helping coaches, players and teams prepare more effectively.
“We have embraced the philosophy that talent alone isn't enough to become a great footballer. Information and understanding represents the foundation to all successful players and we believe that the best athletes are those that know the most about their sport and as such arrive on game day more prepared than their opponents.”
Our full interview with Sir Clive Woodward is available in April’s edition of The Boot Room, The FA Licensed Coaches’ Club magazine.
April’s edition includes an insight into life behind the scenes at Real Madrid as well as an exclusive interview with England’s new Women’s Head Coach, Mark Sampson. There is also a dedicated grassroots coaching section on how to run your own World Cup tournament.
To subscribe to The Boot Room magazine join The FA Licensed Coaches’ Club today at TheFA.com/FALCC or get the digital version here
To learn more about Clive Woodward’s Captured venture visit www.capturedhq.com
