Aldo Duscher’s new step: Scaloni’s example, being a coach to reclaim Newell’s values ​​and why Argentine football “leaves much to be desired”

Aldo Pedro Duscher has no doubts about it. At 44, with a firm voice and confident expression, he says he is ready to take the next step in his life: formally begin your career as a technical director. The former midfielder who left Newell’s and with a great career as a footballer in Europe (Sporting de Lisboa, Deportivo La Coruña, Racing de Santander, Sevilla, Real Español, Barcelona from Ecuador, Enosis from Cyprus and Veria from Greece) has the license of UEFA and tries to launch himself as head coach reclaim the values ​​of the leper school where he trained and which allowed him to reach the Argentine national team.

“Preparation leads to success or failure. Beyond the experience as a footballer, the coaching career is something else. It’s putting yourself in front of another person and teaching. But for this you have to prepare because you can’t teach if I didn’t learn the libretto,” says Duscher Clarion from Madrid in an extensive speech that retraces his thoughts, his research in this new stage, the example of Lionel Scaloni (with whom he shared a team for many years) and his critical vision of Argentine football.

After eight months managing Newell’s Reserve, he crossed the Atlantic to settle in Spain and train. After experiences in lower divisions in La Coruña and Getafe, he says he is hopeful “a serious opportunity” start. “I believe in work, discipline and values. I believe in long processes. The most important thing is to reach the player”, he underlines.

-What is the most effective way to reach the player?

-The only way to get to him is when the player says “this guy knows because he has a game plan, a training methodology”. “Come on, come on”, “hit, hit” or “press, press” no longer work.

-Is there a lot of “go, go” and little work in football?

-There is always more preparation. It is good for the person, beyond the footballer, to teach him and make him learn something. It makes me happy to see my former colleagues working with passion, desire and preparation. I’m going that way. This is the way. There are some who follow other paths and it is totally acceptable.

-Is it more difficult to reach today’s player than the player of your time?

-Communication as a coach is key. Today the footballer has a lot of information. Players watch training sessions a lot more and care more about tactics. They have the power to watch matches from anywhere in the world through different platforms that we didn’t have before. There are also cultures. Directing in Argentina is not the same as in Europe. For example here (in Europe) the majority of young footballers study at university and the clubs put in coaches who can continue with the dynamics of a boy who studies. And there they get the card because if you are not up to it… The boy comes from listening to a medical professor and if when you face him you don’t know how to reach him from your wisdom it becomes difficult. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. Over there, the passion that Argentines have for football, they don’t have it here. It should be a mix of both.

-Have you had offers from clubs to manage?

-We have had meetings with important clubs, but we are not on the same line. We have to wait for that club that looks at sport; most look no further than Sunday’s result. It’s a race where you can crash very quickly. If I analyze that it’s a league or a club where you lose five games and don’t have much of a future, I won’t go there. I believe that I must defend my group and that we must not throw away all the work we have done. Mind you, I don’t think I’m interesting or special, but I have a belief and if I’m not working it’s because I’m not going anywhere. In the meantime we prepare and I enjoy the process, analyzing the matches, the tactics. We meet three or four times a week. At some point we will have to prove it.

-Do you have a style defined as DT?

-The way of training must be clear. Today football is made of transitions, back and forth. A coach who wants results must know the moments of the matches. We all want to play like Guardiola, many have tried, but the difference with Guardiola is how he trains. We all know how his teams play and which players he has, but we know little about how he trains.

-You had many coaches as a player, from whom did you get the things you apply now?

-I am of Newell’s philosophy. I grew up there. He got me to the First Division, he got me to Europe and he marked me because he repaid me. From Jorge Griffa’s team, who unfortunately left us, through Carlos Picerni, Roque Alfaro and Marcelo Bielsa, who I had in the national team and I know what he did at Newell’s. I believe in that philosophy, that of discipline, of work, of promoting young people… The number of players he has produced is evident. It’s a club that has always opened its doors to me.

-Will you start managing Argentine football or would you rather wait for something from Europe?

-It’s hard for me to come back sometimes. I see a very difficult system, a system that if it doesn’t change will not move forward. I’m talking about Argentine football, where they change coaches every five games. The player is the most important thing and remains at the third level. If you change manager every five games you leave nothing for the player. You mess with his head. Don’t help him. There are clubs in Argentina that work well and I take my hat off, but they are very few. I know the culture of European football perfectly because I have spent a lot of time here and I look for that, that the processes are respected and that they let you work. Let the manager be someone trained. Don’t get carried away by the result. I don’t like someone pointing the finger at me for a Sunday’s result. As a fan I tell you that Argentine football is one of the three best in the world. Now, if we go deeper, it leaves a lot to be desired.

-Can it change or is it already part of Argentine culture?

-Obviously it can be changed. You have to be brave. Leaders must be courageous. People want to win, but to win there has to be a process because that gives you an identity. The result comes at the end. There are new leaders who are on the right path. You have to give them the opportunity.

-You know Scaloni very well and he burned all the manuals. Is this just an exception to the rule or proof that those with no experience can do great things?

-When Scaloni’s name began to be heard, no one knew what he had done, but Scaloni prepared himself. He followed the course. He was with Jorge Sampaoli. Success is not having been a coach for 20 years. How many coaches have been coaching for 25 years and haven’t won a championship? Scaloni prepared, had the opportunity and exploited it with excellent management. He got what he got because there was something behind it. It’s not that he stopped playing and became a coach. There is also the case of Martín Demichelis. Turning off Gallardo’s light a little is very difficult, but you can see Martín stuck in the River. He was prepared five years earlier. Experience is very important, but passion and desire go hand in hand. There are buses that arrive at 9 in the morning and leave at 12 and these guys can stay there all day. People don’t see it. The job of a coach is very complete and there is more criticism than anything else.

-How do you deal with criticism?

-You must like quilombo a bit. If you don’t like quilombo, stay home.

Newell’s present: “Losing a classic is like losing three games in one”

He left his native Chubut full of fears and hopes for Rosario, which became his new home. Newell’s protected and raised him and at the age of 17 opened the doors to the top division for him to begin an extensive and successful professional career. There he played 31 games in total and scored one goal (against Independiente), but Aldo Duscher was lost forever by the Rosario club.

“I always watch Argentine football and football from all over the world. From Argentina I also watch a lot of Reserve games which are shown on YouTube. And I always watch Newell’s. If he plays at 3 in the morning I watch him,” he says. Duscher regarding his fanaticism.

And he analyzes the present: “At Newell’s with Heinze’s trial there was a way of training with the idea of ​​a long trial. This is a game and also requires its share of luck. I have seen many games in his cycle in to which he “I missed that luck. To win. It came nine times and the ball wasn’t going in. This is football too. Currently, with a new coach (the Uruguayan Mauricio Larriera), he has started well. Whatever manager he is, I always wish him the best and support the club. I hope we will recover.”

The 1-0 defeat in the classic hit Lepra hard, who is trying to recover. Duscher experienced it from afar: “Losing a classic is very tough, it’s like losing three games in one. Unfortunately in recent years it has been difficult for us against our eternal rival, but we are Newell’s, a great training club that is I will get well.”