Going through the ranks that got him to where he is now, ‘Caps head coach Marc Dos Santos said his biggest influencers were two professors at the University of Porto, Vitór Frade and José Guilherme Oliveira. Frade implemented a methodology that is called tactical periodization, which one of the greatest Portuguese coaches of all time was the first one to use.
That coach’s name is José Mourinho.
“Before, soccer and sports were very divided in the elements, there was the tactical part, the physical part, the mental part and that was a lot of work in separate ways,” said Dos Santos on TSN Radio on Monday. “The physical was given to the fitness coach, the tactical for the coach, and Mourinho was the first one to bring everything together, to build exercises that would always have the four components.”
- FULL INTERVIEW: Dos Santos on TSN Radio 1040's Halford & Brough
Dos Santos said that this specific strength side of soccer was very real back then. Now, it’s something that is worked on more often in the world. If you take a look at how the game is played nowadays, intensity is one of the components that has changed drastically thanks to how the game is currently coached.
“The intensity of the play, I think that’s what has grown in the last three or four years. I don’t believe only in the quality of the player alone, I don’t think that’s enough,” said Dos Santos. “I think that when you look at how soccer is being played in the world, it’s scary, because the best teams in the world are more intense. Last year, it affirmed to me that we didn’t have enough of that.”
This season is different, however. The club's current roster is littered with players who fit the club's profile.
Case in point, the last outing prior to the season coming to a pause. Dos Santos said that a player’s intensity throughout the match can be contagious for his teammates.
“Against the Galaxy, the game ends 1-0 where Lucas (Cavallini) misses a penalty shot. But he deserved to score the penalty shot just because of what he did in the game,” Dos Santos. “If you look back and go see how he played that game, he was the first guy in the frontline to pressure the opponent, to set the tone, to close down, to battle with the centre backs, and that became contagious for Tos (Ricketts).”
Ricketts, of course, scored the game-winning goal.
“I would say we have a lot of guys this year that fit in that mould and that is an example of why we won.”
