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Norway's style won't change without Olsen
Posted: Sunday June 28, 1998 12:46 PM
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Norway gave Olsen everything it had in moving to the second round, but now it faces life without him (AP) |
AIX EN PROVENCE, France (Reuters)
-- Norway's
long-ball/single striker style will survive the departure of coach Egil
Olsen after eight years in charge.
Olsen will be succeeded by former youth team coach Nils Johan Semb, and
Semb is expected to stick with the tried and tested formula that brought
unprecedented success to Norway.
"It will be interesting to see the sort of changes he'll make -- probably a
few but not many," defender Dan Eggen said. "It'll be the same base I'd
think."
Striker Tore Andre Flo does not expect much change under Semb either. "I've
known him from when he was coaching the youth team and he has a little bit
of the same philosophy," Flo said.
Olsen stepped down after Saturday's 1-0 second round defeat by Italy and is now
wondering what to do next.
"I have not [had] many offers, I have a few," he said on Sunday. "I could
have been coach in Vietnam but I said no. It's too far away and I don't
understand the language."
So has he had any offers from England, where
14 of his 22 squad members were based? "No I haven't. And I understand
why," Olsen told a news conference on Sunday.
"The style and philosophy in England is very different from my style and my
philosophy. They have developed a more possessionary style of football that
I don't believe in."
Olsen has come under fire for taking to extremes the long-ball game suited
to his tall, physically strong squad and for a solid, defensive style with
a lone striker up front.
But he has forged a team of great spirit and endeavour and their record is
excellent for a small soccer nation.
Olsen twice led Norway to the World Cup finals and, until the reverse
against Italy, his team had been unbeaten in 19 matches in a run stretching
back to January 1997.
"I guess in football it's mostly the results which count," Olsen said on
Sunday. "I think 88 matches, 16 losses. That's the hard facts."
That includes two wins over world champions Brazil in the
past 13 months, including Tuesday's astonishing comeback which gave Norway
a 2-1 win and a place in the second round.
"He's been great for Norwegian football," said Flo.
"He's lifted our game very high. It was very bad before he took over but
now we can compete with the best in the world. It [Olsen's style] certainly
suited me. I've enjoyed every game I've played."
Eggen agreed. "He came with a style of playing and strategy quite different
from all the others.
"He has been shown to be very effective. The way he wanted the team to play
has been very successful. His style has brought the Norwegian team a lot
further than when he took over," the central defender said.
"But we'll get a new one [coach] who's not bad either."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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