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What's the story?
Richard Hood, head of player development at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) recalled his treasured moments of sharing the same air with current Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, an opportunity that he got in June as part of a postgraduate programme that he was pursuing at the University of Lisbon.
Richard, who holds a UEFA 'A' licence, which allows the holder to coach a professional second tier-club credits Mourinho for transforming into the person he is today and also spoke highly of the Portuguese' words of wisdom.
In case you didn't know
Having played a lot of football in his teenage days, an unfortunate accident at the age of 19 saw his future as a footballer crumble right before his eyes. However, he shifted his focus to coaching with the experience he had gained over time.
In 2013, Richard Hood became the youngest Indian to pass the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) licensed course and has served as the coach of the U-19 Bengaluru FC team.
Heart of the Matter
Hood fondly recollects "Jose spoke to us about his game preparation and match analysis. There were 16 of us and we all had a chance to spend a day with him. There was also a good Q&A session," as quipped while speaking to TOI.
Hood also emphasised on what he respects about Mourinho and added that his ability to motivate millionaire footballers was one of his biggest strengths.
While the ex-Chelsea manager's tactical shrewdness left Hood in awe, the 54-year old's perseverance and personality impressed Hood, who said, "Jose's personality makes a massive difference. There could be 10 different coaches who put out the exact same session but the most successful one will be the one who can attract maximum emotion and attention."
Drawing inspiration from Mourinho's rise from having played no high-level football to managing top-tier teams in the Premier League, Hood mentioned that although he learnt a lot from Mourinho, his line of thinking was slightly different.
What's next?
When asked about whether he himself, like Mourinho, would like to take up management in football in the future, Hood remained humble and said that he would prefer to work on youth development for now.
Author's Take
While Richard Hood continues to train many young and aspiring footballers and models them into stars for the future, his journey also serves as an inspiration for many other coaches to take a leaf out of his book and mould the future of Indian football.
