Adhering to the 'Heese code'

You would expect Horst Heese, Malta's national coach, to ease up and relax in the final days of his long coaching career. You would also expect his final conversations with the media to be full of nice comments about his experiences in Malta but as Kevin Azzopardi found out, Heese's resolve to leave a lasting imprint on local football, coupled with his outspokenness, yielded a catalogue of striking comments in this farewell interview.

I met Heese in his office at the MFA Technical Centre, Ta' Qali.

He was sitting in front of a laptop computer, his eyes fixed on the main page of the Kicker website, a leading football publication in Germany.

"I am trying to find some information on Bulgaria but it's very difficult to get anything about them," Heese told me. "The Bulgarian alphabet is full of strange characters which makes it hard for foreigners to understand their language."

Malta's qualifier against Bulgaria today brings to a close Heese's second spell as coach of our national team.

Having occupied the same position between 1988 and 1991, Heese was aware of the magnitude of the task awaiting him when he agreed to combine his new role as MFA technical director with that of national coach.

"My memories are not restricted to particular games and results," Heese replied to my question about his ups and downs here.

"What happens around the team is also important for a national coach. I can safely say that when I coached Malta for the first time 15 years ago, things were easier.

"The national team players were professional, they trained and ate together for the best part of the week. The priorities were clear and the coach could stick to a clear schedule.

"The situation is very different today," Heese continued.

"The professional scheme has long ceased to exist and having the domestic fixtures changing all the time only serves to complicate matters.

"In the past, matches were played on weekends but today you have fixtures on different days."

His striking comments about the changed realities of Maltese football lead to another delicate topic... local clubs and the national team.

"Dealing with the clubs is an on-going struggle for the national coach," Heese, 62, claimed.

"I know it's not easy for the clubs to have their best players away for some days but they must also understand that our efforts are aimed at boosting the level of the national team and the players.

"Clubs here speak about players as if they are their own properties but fail to appreciate that the national team offers the best facilities which most of them don't have.

"I have never questioned the ability of coaches at Maltese clubs but this is all about having the best players working in a proper professional set-up. And I can tell you, I have always trained the boys well."

As I'm sure you have already realised, Heese is not the type who shies away from controversy, the boldness of his speech very much reflecting his style of leadership.

At the news conference announcing his appointment as national coach in 2003, Heese made it clear that his priorities were to modernise Malta's playing style and make the team more accessible to players.

Heese set about his task by discarding the archaic libero system in favour of a four-man defence. Drastic changes in personnel quickly followed as members of the old guard and others who showed reluctance to adhere to Heese's strict code lost their place in the squad.

Heese's modus operandi did not win universal approval, leaving him prone to sharp criticism but the German has no recriminations.

"I would do exactly the same if I had to start afresh," Heese remarked before his mind wandered back to his early days as technical director.

"When I began my job as technical director, I worked very closely with Norman Darmanin Demajo.

"He was very familiar with the Maltese mentality and he was powerful within the MFA at the time.

"If I needed to get something for the technical centre, I could go to Norman and everything was done without delay.

"After Darmanin Demajo left, only Dr Joe Mifsud had the power to authorise certain decisions. However, I didn't feel like going to Dr Mifsud for every small thing."

Darmanin Demajo left his influential seat at the MFA after a bitter rift with Dr Mifsud but five years on, Heese is still sad about what had happened.

"Darmanin Demajo was the ideal football person to work with," Heese added.

Heese makes no effort to hide his dissatisfaction at the animosity of some Maltese coaches towards him and other foreign coaches.

"The Maltese coaches can't fight with each other and some of them try to make life difficult for the foreign coaches working here," Heese said.

"Whatever I did, they disagreed. When I took over the national team, I had a clear mind as to what needed to be done to try and lift the standard of the side.

"Having watched many games, I was convinced that Malta would never make significant progress if the team continued to play with that style.

"The old libero system needed to be ditched in favour of a back-four or even a three-man defence.

"The original plan was to have Carmel Busuttil working alongside me with the aim of handing him the reins of the team at the end of this qualifying campaign.

"I was very much in favour of that arrangement. I was willing to make unpopular decisions, you know, do the difficult part of the job and take the ensuing knocks in my stride.

"I am still sad that this plan did not work out," Heese remarked.

"Our idea was to have Busuttil and John Buttigieg, two football heroes, leading the national teams. My aim was to have a smooth continuation of the work I have started here.

"Now that Busuttil is no longer with the MFA, I think the best way to achieve continuity is by promoting Mark Miller to national coach and Silvio Vella takes over the U-21s."

Encouraging signs

Although Heese is not entirely satisfied with the rate of progress of Maltese football in the last five years, he is heartened by the performances of the team in the last few games.

"We have played some good games and the atmosphere among the players is much more positive these days," Heese said.

"I'm also satisfied with a number of new players. I'm referring to the likes of Andrew Cohen, Roderick Briffa and Ivan Woods, players who have made the grade. Then there are the older ones, like captain Gilbert Agius who has produced some excellent performances lately. Brian Said is another player you can rely on in defence."

Like many other foreign coaches who have been involved in Maltese football, Heese has often been critical of the laid-back mentality of the locals. However, he said he will take a trove of pleasant memories and experiences when he returns to Belgium, his country of residence, come January.

"I have spent nearly 10 years of my life in Malta," Heese reminisced, a broad smile forming on his face.

"Honestly, I wish I had the chance to implement all my ideas, like the setting up of a football academy but still, I am grateful for the time I spent here.

"I learnt so much. My experience in Malta softened me as a person, mainly in the way I interact with other people. This helped me to enjoy a better relationship with the players.

"People often speak negatively about the Maltese mentality but I can say that it has its positive aspects. I think the most important thing is getting the players to work in the right direction.

"Nowadays, I realise that I would have had more success in my coaching spells in Germany if I approached my job as I do now. In my early years in coaching, I was a bit rough but I have mellowed here."

After Malta's 1-1 draw with Croatia, Heese hopes to end his second stint at the head of the Maltese team with another positive result.

"It would be nice to finish with a good result against Bulgaria," Heese said. "However, we have to be careful. The expectations are high and Bulgaria will surely try to close their campaign on a positive note.

"I don't want my players to be under extra pressure but at the same time, I want them to realise that they have an opportunity to further raise their profile."

To reach their goal, the Maltese have to abide by the Heese code for one more time.

Heese's record (Dec. 2003-Oct. 2005)

The following is the track record of Horst Heese as coach of the Maltese national team. This was Heese's second time as coach after replacing Guentcho Dobrev in February 1988. He left in May 1991. Heese's first-stint record reads - P36 W3 D8 L25 F19 A73.

1. 11-12-2003	Home vs Poland: 0-4	Friendly
2. 14-02-2004	Home vs Moldova: 0-0	International Tournament
3. 16-02-2004	Home vs Estonia: 5-2	International Tournament
4. 18-02-2004	Home vs Belarus: 0-4	International Tournament
5. 31-03-2004	Home vs Finland: 1-2	Friendly
6. 27-05-2004	Away vs Germany: 0-7	Friendly
7. 18-08-2004	Away vs Faroe Islands 2-3	Friendly
8. 04-09-2004	Home vs Sweden: 0-7	World Cup qualifier
9. 09-10-2004	Home vs Iceland: 0-0	World Cup qualifier
10. 13-10-2004	Away vs Bulgaria: 1-4	World Cup qualifier
11. 17-11-2004	Home vs Hungary: 0-2	World Cup qualifier
12. 09-02-2005	Home vs Norway: 0-3	Friendly
13. 29-03-2005	Away vs Croatia: 0-3	World Cup qualifier
14. 04-06-2005	Away vs Sweden: 0-6	World Cup qualifier
15. 08-06-2005	Away vs Iceland: 1-4	World Cup qualifier
16. 17-08-2005	Home vs N. Ireland: 1-1	Friendly
17. 03-09-2005	Away vs Hungary: 0-4	World Cup qualifier
18. 07-09-2005	Home vs Croatia: 1-1	World Cup qualifier
19. 12-10-2005	Home vs Bulgaria	World Cup qualifier