At the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup™ in Qatar, Switzerland again wants to make headlines. This is only the second time that they have played in an U-17 World Cup, following a sensational tournament win in Nigeria in 2009 – their only appearance to date.
Following a 16-year absence, Swiss head coach Luigi Pisino successfully guided his team through the qualifiers and now will play Mexico, Korea Republic and Côte d’Ivoire in Group F. A native of Nyon, the coach came through the Swiss U-17s himself as a player and was able to gain first-hand experience in what it takes for a national youth team to succeed.
Pisino sat down recently with FIFA to talk about those experiences, youth football in Switzerland, and his coaching philosophy.
Luigi Pisino: We’ve used that time very deliberately. Out on the pitch, of course – with training camps, one-on-one coaching, integrating tactical principles. But also mentally: we’ve been repeatedly emphasising to the players what it means to play in a World Cup. It’s a dream for these young guys, and my job is to combine that dream with reality and hard work. The World Cup doesn’t begin in Qatar, it begins in every training session, every drill.
We know we’re in a really strong group. Every opponent has earned their spot at the tournament through positive results at home – we’re no different. We’re facing very different but very high-quality styles of play. We’re well aware of what we’re up against, but at the same time we’re focusing on ourselves more than just who we’re playing, and we’re concentrating on how we can bring our own identity onto the pitch.
We want to embody strong values across all our national teams: humility, courage, passion, discipline, work and team spirit. The most important thing for us is to work as a team. That’s what will enable us to play bold, enterprising football – with a clear identity and the willingness to implement our strategy, while at the same time maintaining a flexibility that allows us to react to different situations. Our team is like a family – we all look out for one another.
Turning out for your national side – either as a player or a coach – is always a unique experience. It fills you with pride and it drives you to show the rest of the world what we’re capable of, both individually and collectively. Measuring yourself against the best international teams allows you to take huge strides forwards and shows how football is developing here in Switzerland. And it’s developing really well.
I had the opportunity to win a number of different national titles – and the common factor across all of those teams was their strong values. Qualities are important but without the right mindset, they’re worthless. That’s precisely the foundation we want to build our national team on.
At a club, you see your players every single day, you spend months with them, years even, so you’re working with them continuously. With the national team, that contact time is shorter, more intense and a lot more condensed. It’s about putting a team together, instilling clear principles in them and, at the same time, supporting players in their individual growth, all in a very short space of time. It takes clear communication and excellent planning. We also monitor our players very closely when they’re with their clubs – both during league matches and in training – which allows us to maintain a close relationship with them.
I see myself as a coach who sets high standards, but who is also approachable. The key is clarity and structure – the players need to know exactly what’s expected of them. At the same time, I always try to listen to them. Young players need a lot of trust and guidance, and to feel like they’re allowed to make mistakes. My style of coaching is based on respect and authenticity: I communicate directly because it saves all of us so much time. My goal is to set clear boundaries, whilst allowing the players enough freedom to read situations correctly for themselves, so that they can get the very best out of their qualities.
That’s one of the biggest challenges for us. It’s a process that starts early – with the U-15s and U-16s – preparing the players for the values that best represent us as Switzerland and which are important in life in general, not just football. We continue this approach consistently across all stages of selection. We work with little rituals, common goals and clear values. Every player needs to know that when he puts on that red shirt with the Swiss cross, he’s representing both the team and the country. We also encourage dialogue between camps – through video meetings, feedback and regular contact. Ultimately, though, the best way to build team spirit is by sharing experiences on the pitch – by winning matches, but also coming through tough moments together.
Switzerland’s made huge leaps and bounds in the last few years. We’ve got a great infrastructure in place, clear training plans and loads of dedicated coaches. Obviously there are countries with more resources – but our strength is the way we train versatile and tactically smart players. Our linguistic and cultural diversity also means we’re bringing through players with very different profiles. We have the ability to compete on the international stage as long as we keep our self-belief and teach our players about the intensity and mentality of elite football early. These qualifiers are a great example of that: nothing was just given to us, we earned it through the work of the clubs and the Swiss Football Association. In Europe, you have to be in the Top 11 out of 54 teams – that’s a huge mountain to climb and making it to the top is no accident.
We’re not kidding ourselves, but at the same time we’re going to Qatar with a lot of ambition and drive. For us, every game is an opportunity to show who we are. Our values are going to be key and, as always, what will make the difference is the quality of our preparations. We want to earn the chance to experience those big, emotional moments. And we’re prepared to give it our all. You can’t write us off!
Photos courtesy of the Swiss Football Association
