BALI – FC Bayern Munich legend Giovane Elber is pleased to learn that a familiar name from the Bundesliga – Thomas Dooley – is helping Philippine football grow and wished him all the best.
“Good man,” Elber said of Dooley in an interview with Pinoy scribes at the Allianz Junior Football Camp’s Asian sessions, making the thumbs-up sign as he remembered the German-American who saw action for FC Homburg, 1990 Bundesliga champ Kaiserlautern, Bayer Leverkusen and 1997 UEFA Cup winner Schalke 04.
Asked what advice can he give Philippines football, the Brazilian scoring machine said it’s all about going to the grassroots and being patient.
“The biggest thing is everything takes time, especially football. You can’t expect to have something very big in a couple of years so in my opinion, you really have to invest in the kids because kids will be your foundation for the future and if you start doing things right, in five, 10 years, they will be in the national team,” he said through an interpreter.
“And Thomas being a great coach and former player in Bundesliga, he will definitely help his part on the success of the team,” he added.
Elber also has kind words for Bayern stalwart David Alaba, the Austrian international mainstay who is half-Filipino.
“He’s definitely a topnotch player and off the pitch, you can see his lifestyle and cheerful personality…I’m always happy to see him on the pitch and even if he’s so young, he already has such a lead role at Bayern Munich and that makes me proud of him. I definitely hope he will stay for many more years at Bayern Munich,” he said.
Elber, along with another Bayern great Klaus Augenthaler, oversaw the four-day AJFC Bali camp attended by 49 youngsters from eight countries. Allianz PNB Life sent five Pinoys to the camp in Aeron Tenollar, Konrad Keim Sollorin, JM Mitra, Jasper Beruan, and Jeofrey Fresado.
The 45-year-old Elber said he was generally impressed with the Filipino kids.
“The kids were really good but I think they might be a little bit timid and shy. They should be a bit more outgoing and socialize with other kids,” he said.
Overall, he said the camp is a good experience for the Filipino kids. "These three, four days here, it’s not only soccer skills but also interpersonal skills, learning a new country, meeting new people from other countries."
On his second year at the AJFC, Elber said he finds great satisfaction in teaching kids.
“It’s really the kids that keep me going. Being an ex-professional player, it really warms my heart to see kids inside the pitch and having fun. When we’re trying to teach them something and they adapt very quickly and translate that, I’m full of joy,” he said.