DENNIS AND DES SEARCH FOR A STAR!
EX-CITY ACE WISE AND FOREST LEGEND WALKER LOOK FOR INDONESIAN WONDERKID
FORMER Coventry City favourite Dennis Wise has teamed up with fellow former England international Des Walker to discover talented young players in Indonesia.
The pair flew out to South East Asia last year to put together a squad of 18 lads from 38 finalists from around the country before bringing them back to the UK for a five-month training programme, and often brutal introduction to the English game.
Wise, 53, took on the position of technical director of the Garuda Select side while 54-year-old Walker assumed the role of head coach for the project, which was documented in a TV series called The Search For Indonesia’s First Wonderkid.
The first episode, which was aired earlier this year, was aptly titled ‘Welcome to England,’ a phrase that was uttered by former Forest centre-back Walker upon seeing one of the players get his legs taken from under him in a tackle in their first game in the UK.
The Indonesian side came up against the best British talent from EFL academies, starting with a 5-0 thumping by Cat Three academy Northampton Town which was a bit of a mismatch due to the fact that the Cobblers fielded a team of Under-18s against a largely 16-year-old Garuda side.
“I’m a little bit disappointed because they are six months away from signing pro contracts and being professional footballers, so it’s a big gap and a big ask for those boys today,” said Wise.
Addressing the boys directly, Walker said: “I’m going to say one word to you. Aggression. You need to be aggressive in football. They will be aggressive and they will kick you, do you understand?”
Wise, who enjoyed a hugely enjoyable and memorable spell with the Sky Blues in 2006 when he played 13 games and scored six goals under Micky Adams, added: “You are starting to understand English football now. “Some of you may like it, some of you may not. But if you want an opportunity of playing in England, get used to it because there are a few of you here who have a chance.” Addressing the boys in the classroom at their Aston University base in
Nothing would please us more than to see one of you guys playing in England at some stage, and playing for a good team. Dennis Wise
Birmingham, former Chelsea star Wise, who is no stranger to the physical side of the beautiful game, said: “If you get kicked, get up.
“We’ll be showing you how to look after yourselves.”
In a later episode against another side, the boys come in at break and experience a good old fashioned halftime rant as Wise and walker let rip.
Speaking on another occasion about what they hope to achieve, Wise said: “We have got some talent here and there’s a lot to work with. We see the good things and the bad things and we’re here to improve these boys.
“The important thing is we have a lot of potential. Indonesia has got a lot of potential and there’s a lot of things happening in this country at the moment to help progress their teams.
“It’s important they know what levels they need to get to, and they will never know those levels just playing here. And by playing the best boys in the UK they are going to see what level they’re at and then they’ll believe more in what they can achieve as a player.
“They are going to have to adapt to the way the game is played here. It’s quite physical but I am sure they will get used to that physicality.”
Speaking to the players, he said: “Nothing would please us more than to see one of you guys playing in England at some stage, and playing for a good team. You are going to work extremely hard.”