With the elections for the U20 coach approaching everyone has to think about the characteristics of the ideal candidate. Here is in my opinion the key strength a manager should have to fulfill the demanding role of U20 coach:


- hard worker: it is work to prepare a world cup, to contact all managers, scout opponents, follow-up the young players and the 17yo (even if that last point is not really the generation of the NT coach, knowing how strong the new generation is, helps preparing the plans for the next seasons)

- communicator: the national coach should be a explaining his findings and visions as early as possible. Any problem should also be anticipated. The communication concerns at least 3 levels: the managers of potential national players, the public of the conferences and his scouting/support team

- languages: good written english first, as in my opinion it is the best way to communicate with every one interested, luxembourgish, german and french are an asset

- tactician: national teams are far more flexible than club teams as you are not tied to certain tactics by your training and the U20 coach should have the appetite to learn and understand the variety of possible tactics. There is nothing worse than a predictable tactician during national competitions

- some club success: good games versus older or better opponents are usually a good sign that the manager has understanding of what hattrick is about

- experience: of reading what happens in both the NT, clubs and in HT. It is a changing world but knowing a wide variety of aspects in the game and what happened in the past in similar situations will help the U20 team

- unselffish: promoting all co-workers and the national team to create emulation and get the most of the motivated people

- patience: well what to say, not all managers are easy to work with…