Cedric Cattenoy joined the Chicago Fireplace entrance workplace this fall from Paris St. Germain, the place he served as head coach of the academy staff. ASN spoke to him about his choice to affix MLS.
BY
Brian Sciaretta
Posted
December 01, 2016
6:50 PM
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THE CHICAGO FIRE suffered by one other tough yr, ending final within the Jap Convention for the second straight season. The membership, nevertheless, is pursuing a youth motion and this fall made a stunning announcement when it employed Cedric Cattenoy to run its academy.
Cattenoy, 45, arrives in Chicago with a really spectacular resume, having most not too long ago served on the academy of Paris St. Germain the place he ultimately turned head coach of the Academy in 2014.
MLS groups like FC Dallas have demonstrated profit of getting a powerful academy and the hiring of Cattenoy is a powerful assertion by the Fireplace—a franchise that has not reaped the advantages of the league’s homegrown participant insurance policies.
“Cedric’s services were coveted by several other organizations around the world, yet he chose to join the Fire and help our academy become a significant part of our championship program,” Fireplace basic supervisor Nelson Rodríguez stated. “Not solely thought-about an amazing instructor of the sport by gamers, he’s additionally an efficient and devoted mentor to different coaches. He embodies our values of humility, competitiveness, and respect.
“Securing Cedric because the chief of our academy is a coup for all of soccer in Chicagoland.”
Now Cattenoy will likely be working intently with first-team head coach Veljko Paunovic who not too long ago accomplished his first season and has been adamant about his need to function high younger expertise.
American Soccer Now sat down with the Frenchman to debate his imaginative and prescient for the Fireplace within the distinctive ambiance of youth improvement in the US.
ASN: Together with your resume, you have to have had quite a lot of choices after leaving PSG. Why did you’re taking this job? What did it give you?
Cattenoy: As you already know, I spent 15 years at PSG however I wished to work out of the country and study one other tradition. I’m 45 years outdated. I assumed that it was the nice second to have one other expertise. Final season in April, I began to search for a brand new venture out of the country. I had many provides from completely different nations.
The provide from Chicago was the most effective as a result of with a inhabitants of 11 million individuals and soccer rising within the U.S. I felt that it was the precise place to go to develop younger American gamers.
Earlier than accepting the academy director place, I had many discussions with Nelson Rodriguez and I preferred his imaginative and prescient. We have been on the identical web page on how we need to develop the Chicago Fireplace Academy. I knew the soccer context in Chicago as a result of I got here many occasions right here once I was accountable for the technical partnership [between PSG] and the Chicago Magic.
ASN: What are the following steps for you in growing the Fireplace’s Academy?
Cattenoy: I’ve two objectives for our academy. The primary one is to develop gamers for the primary staff. We should have within the subsequent years a number of gamers from the academy enjoying for the primary staff.
The second is that the Chicago Fireplace Academy should have the strongest presence in participant improvement. That fame should shine in the US. We’ve got to be bold. Chicago Fireplace academy should be among the finest academies within the nation inside the following few years. To succeed in these objectives, I have to have an skilled technical workers with me. I additionally want time and assist from the overall supervisor [Nelson Rodríguez], which I do know I’ve.
ASN: What are a few of the particular parts you need to put into place?
Cattenoy: I’ll use the identical philosophy right here, however I’ve to adapt my philosophy inside the context of our staff and the soccer panorama in Chicago. The event of gamers will likely be primarily based on a five-axis system. These axises are inter-related, and every is necessary.
The primary axis is the cognitive facet. The second is the psychological facet. After that you’ve the tactical facet, the technical facet, and the bodily facet. While you develop a participant, you can not say, “I want to develop a player technically and tactically.” You must develop the entire.
I might additionally like every academy staff to play the identical approach with a mode primarily based on possession as a way to management the sport and permit most alternative for improvement. I need to have individuality inside a powerful collective. For me, it is vitally necessary for all our gamers to compete for the badge earlier than themselves. Moreover, if you play properly and when you might have possession of the ball, you might have extra of an opportunity to win the sport. That is not all the time true, however more often than not when you might have a majority of the possession you might have extra of an opportunity to win.
For improvement functions, it’s also essential to construct from the again. If the philosophy is to play with quite a lot of long-balls and you’re a midfielder, it is vitally troublesome to develop your potential. That can also be why you might want to play with possession.
ASN: Velkjo Paunovic received the 2015 U-20 World Cup teaching Serbia and he desires to work with younger gamers. Given his method and your position inside the staff, it looks as if the Fireplace need to be a youthful staff. What has been your preliminary interactions with Velkjo?
Cattenoy: I’m very fortunate. I spent 15 years at PSG and the [interactions] with the pinnacle coach have been very uncommon. At PSG, I knew quite a lot of coaches however on a regular basis on one aspect of the membership you had the professional staff and on the opposite aspect you had the academy. With the Chicago Fireplace, we work collectively in the identical constructing. Pauno’s workplace is near mine. We’ve got quite a lot of discussions collectively and for Pauno the academy is essential. He is aware of rather a lot about participant improvement after his expertise with the U-20 Serbian staff.
ASN: What has been your impression of the standard younger American participant who comes from exterior of a soccer/soccer dominated tradition? What do you see the potential right here?
Cattenoy: There’s a distinction. Firstly, in France, soccer is primary and there may be nothing shut. From a younger age, you play soccer and also you watch soccer on tv. Secondly that at younger age the understanding of the sport and the strategy of a younger participant in France is approach increased than right here in the US.
Then again the work ethic of the younger American gamers is increased and higher. All of them need to work onerous, all of them need to enhance, and so they all need to be higher. The need to enhance is approach greater than in France. With the precise practices and coaching, I consider the US may grow to be one of many greatest nations on this planet when it comes to soccer.
