Eto’o: He has Mour than Pep
IT was Jack Charlton’s resolve as “the boss” that Noel King admired – not least when Ireland unwittingly rocked up at a nudist colony in Italy.
“He was very conscious of the English press at the World Cup, always waiting for a camera to pop up over the hedge or to appear at the swimming pool,” King explained.
“So the last thing he wanted was to bring a nude woman into a picture with one of the players.
“He was an experienced campaigner with the media.
“We arrived at this one hotel in Italy but when we came down from our rooms we realised it was for nudists!
“Jack flipped. He marched over to the FAI man and didn’t waver. He roared ‘Get us out of here, and get us out now!’ – and it was done.”
King – who would later manage the Ireland women’s team, men’s Under-21s and act as senior caretaker for a spell – was one of Charlton’s three coaches at Italia 90 alongside Maurice Setters and Maurice Price.
“Mick Byrne (physio) organised a chat with myself and Jack. It was up at Dublin airport and he invited me on board,” King told Mirror Sport. “My remit was coaching anyway, so
I was there from an educational point of view.
“I wanted to learn as much as I could as I’d do anything asked of me, from warming up players to collecting balls.
“I was excited about the football, not so much the glamour of going to a World Cup finals.
“Jack even set up a meeting with Franz Beckenbauer so I could chat and learn from him, which was brilliant. Jack loved football, loved coaching, loved
discussing it.”
While Charlton was loath to subject his players to hour upon hour of team meetings at Italia 90, the managerial chats would often last long into the night.
Thirty years on from that dizzy run to the quarter-finals, Charlton is regarded as the man who put Irish football on the map.
Critics – like Eamon
Dunphy, who King has sparred with – caned the football for being too primitive.
Others argued that too much focus was put on the senior team and not enough on the ones below it.
But King believes Charlton was a trailblazer and more tactically astute than people realised.
“We were Ireland, with a population of 3.5 million or so, and you’re getting to a World Cup quarter-final,” he said. “Jack did great things for football and to put us on the map like that was a remarkable achievement. “You had the nonsense of someone (Dunphy, inset) wanting the notoriety and having the spotlight on themselves, to take away the real story about Jack and his abilities.
“I don’t think Jack got enough credit from people for what he did. You think about some of the headlines and the throwaway remarks but he was a fantastic manager.”
King continued: “He did it his way. It was his team, he made his decisions and backed them up but also accepted when he made the wrong ones.
“Clear messages and discussions all through the night. I found him remarkable. He would defend the team as well – like that funny incident at the hotel.
“He was decisive and it was small things like that where he was impressive. He got stuff done and avoided danger.”
Going into the opening game with England in Cagliari, Charlton was on red alert because of the media from his homeland.
“He might have been a World Cup winner with England, but it didn’t stop him from keeping his focus on the task,” said King. “He wasn’t wrapped up either flag.
“He was just in football mode, trying to achieve something on the pitch.
“Mentally, he was plugged into people and tried to convince them we could win.
“If Jack got to the quarter-final with England and lost, he would have deemed it a disaster.
“But to do it with us – and celebrate the way we did – just sums it up.”
King added: “He was a compassionate man despite his gruffness, and it’s not wrong to say it wouldn’t have happened without him.”
in
Jack sent me out to get a list of who was taking the kicks and in what order.
We got into a huddle but I didn’t open my mouth. It wasn’t a moment for the staff, it was up to the players to sort it out and I just jotted it down. I came back to the line and Jack asked ‘what’s the story?’.
I said ‘you needn’t worry, look who’s last’. It wasn’t meant to be derogatory but he had fallings out with David O’leary over the years. It was the ultimate irony.
When Dave scored, I was still clutching the list running onto the pitch. We were going ballistic.
SAMUEL ETO’O says Jose Mourinho’s personal touch means he would pick him over Pep Guardiola.
The Cameroon legend is one of the few footballers to have played for both, turning out for Guardiola at Barcelona and later Mourinho at both Inter
Milan and Chelsea.
And while Eto’o enjoyed working under Guardiola, he said Mourinho’s manmanagement gives him the edge.
“My experience with Pep at Barcelona was what it was, but on a personal level it wasn’t what we hoped for,” said Eto’o. “Many players have said the same.
“Pep prepares games like nobody else.
“How he coached us in 2009 was incredible, his way of seeing attacking football, control, having the ball, Pep was the best at that. As a player, you had the feeling that you didn’t run much, although you did, because you were enjoying it.”but Eto’o insists Mourinho is a much warmer figure than he is often portrayed.
“Jose is a friend,” he said. “He’s one of the best people I have found in football.
“People try to present him as controversial but it’s a lie. He spoke to you with the right words. He’s great.”
Jack even set up a meeting with Franz Beckenbauer so I could chat & learn from him