How a Footballing Nation Changed from Championship No-hopers to Global Superstars 為何比利時國家隊由一支歐洲國家盃陪跑分子搖身變成世界強隊？

Case Study – Belgium

How a Footballing Nation Changed from Championship No-hopers to Global Superstars

 

Belgium co-hosted the 2000 European Championships but suffered humiliation by being eliminated at the group stages. This turned out to be the catalyst for remarkable change. The Belgian Technical Director Michel Sablon knew things needed to be radically transformed. The starting point was to look at other successful countries to see what they were doing right.

Slowly but surely better players have been produced. The blueprint for change included:

• Agreeing a National Curriculum and playing style and adopting it at all levels of football including the professional clubs (despite massive resistance from some)
• Convincing youth coaches to move away from a ‘Win at all costs’ mentality to a developmental philosophy
• Introducing a small-sided games approach at the grassroots
• Being elitist at youth level with effective talent identification systems and playing the best against the best

Eventually even the skeptics realized that the change was positive (although this took over 6 years in some cases). The evidence speaks for itself; Kompany, Fellaini, Vertonghen, Hazard, Vermaelen, Mignolet, Dembele, Benteke etc are all household names. It was the revised development system that made them what they are.

                                             Source: Royal Belgian Football Association

 

Belgium has a population of around 11 million (not that different from Hong Kong in terms of the size of talent pool). They are ranked 5 in the latest FIFA standings and have a real chance of winning next year’s World Cup. It’s an amazing story. Against all the odds, Sablon changed the football culture and philosophy of a nation.

That is what we need to do in Hong Kong and what our new Strategy sets out to achieve. We are facing the same resistance here that they initially suffered in Belgium. We recently tried to introduce a minor change to the substitutions allowed in our youth leagues and there was nearly a mutiny. The Belgium case study shows what can be achieved but also how long it takes. It seems that you have to win hearts and minds before you can win football matches.

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個案分享 – 比利時

為何比利時國家隊由一支歐洲國家盃陪跑分子搖身變成世界

強隊？

作為與荷蘭合辦2000年歐洲國家盃的比利時，在決賽週小組賽中以第三名成績黯然出局，正因經歷這次失敗，催化了比利時決意進行翻天覆地的改革。比利時足球技術總監米高沙比倫深明當時比利時足球需要作出重大改變，事件反映出另一國家取得空前成功的實例。

耐心培育優秀的足球運動員是其首要任務，制訂改革的大綱包括以下數點：

• 同意統一採用國家課程指引及球隊比賽風格，將其應用至不同足球層面上，包括當地球會(當然有部分球會拒絕採用) ；
•  說明青年教練從思想上的「不惜一切代價去爭取勝利」轉向至以發展為大方向的道理上；
• 在草根足球項目引入小型足球比賽模式；
• 從青年球隊中透過有效之辨識球員系統尋找精英球員，讓他們得以在最強對最強的環境中成長。

最後，甚至質疑者亦認為當初的改革得到正面效果(縱使經歷了六年歲月)，事實證明：高柏尼、費蘭尼、維頓漢、夏薩特、米勞列、迪比利、賓迪基等等一個個變得家傳戶曉的球星名字，反映了改革後的足球發展機制孕育了眾多出類拔萃的球員。

                                                圖片來源：比利時足球總會

比利時人口約一千一百萬人(其實與香港有天賦的球員人數沒有太大分別)，目前他們位居國際足協全球國家隊排名榜中第五位，並點燃該國贏取明年世界盃的希望！沙比倫力排眾議，徹底改變了該國的足球文化及哲學觀！

比利時所奉行的改變正是香港需要去做的事情，以及制訂未來的新策略方向。與比利時早期的遭遇一樣，我們同樣面臨不少非議。最近足總試圖在青年聯賽中的換人制度作出輕微改變，但幾乎遭受否決。比利時的案例恰恰反映改革必須經過一段漫長的歷程，正如要在足球比賽中獲勝，必須先要贏取普遍認同！