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De Vecchi is a Man on a Mission

And yet Vecchi didn’t shy away from revealing his creative desires when the Khaleej Times met the current coach of the AC Milan Youth team on the eve of the inaugural Dubai Football Sevens.

He told this correspondent that it’s always about the goals. For Vecchi, it doesn’t really matter whether you are playing a seven-a-side tournament or a proper 11-a-side event, it’s the goals that count. It’s the goals that separate the victors from the vanquished.

“It remains the same, you know. We have to score goals,” Vecchi said with a big smile when one asked him about the tactics he would use in football’s newest form.

“Whether you play 11 against 11 or 7 against 7, the basic need for all teams is goals. But, yeah, in this format, we have to play a high-tempo game. The matches are shorter, so that will allow us to play a faster game.”

De Vecchi admitted though that the sevens format would be a different ball game. “Of course, there is a big difference. First of all, the field is smaller. So, tactically and technically it will be a different game.

“I am very curious as well. Yeah, maybe, we will see more goals in this form of the game. The duration of matches will be shorter than in regular football matches. When you play 11 against 11, it’s 45 minutes. But here you will play two halves of eight minutes each.”

The Milan youth team, under de Vecchi, are in an easier pool in the professional event of the Dubai Football Sevens. The other teams in their pool are Celtic, Borndby and Leeds United.

But they are likely to face tougher times in the knock-out stage as Arsenal, Olympiacos, Blackburn Rovers and Feyenoord are in Pool A.

And yet Vecchhi is not bothered about his possible opponents in the do or die matches. “I am very confident. For my players, it’s a very important tournament. They are very young players with lot of potentials. So I am confident that they will do well,” Vecchi said. So who is the most promising player in his team?“There are three or four very talented players in my team. I won’t take their names now. You will discover the quality of our players in the tournament. I don’t want to make an announcement now….”

Such has been their confidence in their youth that Vecchi says Milan, unlike the other European giants, will not spend big money in the transfer market.“No, we are not going to follow in the footsteps of Inter. They buy lots of foreign players. We are going to focus on our junior teams.

“We would like to give more and more chances to our own young players. We want to build on our youth. So this is our future plan.

“And let me tell you this that even Kaka’s departure was not a big loss after all. We are still doing well in the domestic league. I am sure players from our junior teams will eventually make it to the senior side. “Every single day we have been working with our young players. That’s our mission.”