Derby day memories: Getting in the right frame of mind… preferably without witch doctors

Mixu Paatelainen

WHEN I was at Cowdenbeath, we played against Arbroath in just a normal league game at home.
Straight from the kick-off we passed the ball out to the wing to Markus, my brother, and he went for a run and this opponent came in and went right through him.

It must have been less than 10 seconds and he was booked for it. The whole match was like that – they were a big, powerhouse side and they kicked lumps out of us.

For the next match, a couple of months down the line, in the whole week beforehand – well, two training sessions – I emphasised how we must stand up to them physically.

I told the players they could not be bullied and they had to stand firm and look after themselves. We ended up getting three players sent off and getting beaten 4-1! I had to apologise to the players after the game and tell them that I took responsibility. That can happen, so it is very important not to wind the players up too much.

Sports psychology is a massive part of the game and is very important, absolutely vital. I think players get the benefit from that.

Whether you should bring in somebody else is a question, but every coach at the club should talk to players and make sure they are in the right frame of mind and are positive. They must be motivated and confident.

Csaba Laszlo

JUST BEFORE I arrived in Uganda they played Rwanda. I think they kicked off at threeo'clock and the game finished at seven due to the witch doctors over there.

A Ugandan player took a shot from about five metres out and it hit both posts and came back out. He found some small bones in the net which had been put there by a Rwandan witch doctor to stop the ball crossing the line.

It started a big fight because he tried to take the bones out of the net and then people invaded the field.

A bit later he shot again and the ball hit the bar and came down on the wrong side of the line again. Then they found bones in the other net: it was a circus.

When I was there we drew with Angola and lost 1-0 to a last-minute goal against Nigeria. We had a goal disallowed in that game and all the time you had witch doctors running up and down in front of your bench.

The papers said the next day that they had won the game for Nigeria. The players use them as well.

We played at home against Angola, and when they were playing the national anthems he danced in front of the opposition team and they looked one way, then the other because they daren't look at the witch doctor's eyes.

I could write a book about Africa and their football.

Taken from the Scotsman