Rome, Italy – El Houssine Maani has a calm, confident voice. These are features that he deems crucial in order to work in his profession as of now, namely coaching a football team in Italy. In World Cup time, the young Moroccan coach, who lives in the province of Trento, in northern Italy, claims that he has “won his first match.” Maani was chosen to coach Cembra 1982, a team from a region in which the Lega Nord, a traditional Italian party which adopts a harsh stance against immigrants, calls the shots.
Maani was born in Casablanca and tells that since he was little, he has been in love with football ever since he was little. To the chagrin of his mother, he claims, he did not study, and dedicated himself to the sport instead. His dream was to play for one of the European teams, which is the fate of many a young Brazilian player. In 1992, pursuing his goal, he packed his bags and left for Italy with high hopes. He arrived at the province of Trento, which was not famous for its teams, but rather for its skiing tradition. He was detained due to immigration red tape, and in order to legalize his situation in the country, he had to find formal employment. But not as a player.
Football was relegated to the background due to the heavy workload. But Maani did not quit because “the passion is strong,” he says in an interview to ANBA. Another obstacle came up: age. Maani was 22 when he arrived in Italy, and was considered old by the teams, who prefer to train their own athletes, and thus invest in schools or acquire young players, aged 16 to 20, as is the case of Brazilians such as Robinho and the two Ronaldos (Nazário and Gaúcho), for instance, who arrived at European football before they turned 20. An attentive observer, Maani spotted an opportunity, namely to work as a coach. "I enjoy working on players’ mental aspects and motivation," he says.
Football pays out
The Moroccan worked hard. Working the night shift as a hotel doorman, Maani started making use of his day to invest in his coaching career. He took courses, including the UEFA’s (Union of European Football Associations), and made contacts. His first gig came up at the Calisio team, as an assistant coach, working with players aged 13 and 14. The team competed against 18 other in the Trento region and won the local championship. “It is a tough championship, and we managed to win in our first year of work,” says Maani.
His performance in Calisio paved the way to other jobs as assistant coach. Maani worked for Albiano and Garibaldina, both in the region of Trento. In the latter, Maani met Ítalo Battisti, who played a prominent role in Italian football, and was the team’s coach. “I learned a lot from him,” says the Moroccan. While he became established in football, Maani also adopted Italy as his home country: he got married, two children were born, and he got a proposal to work in professional football. The coach was invited to work as an assistant at Mezzocorona, a structured team that invests in young players.
Working the nightshift at the hotel and coaching professional players during the day, Maani claims that sacrificing for football always pays out. At the Mezzocorona, he first worked with players aged 14 to 16, once again pairing up with Ítalo Battisti. For the 2009/2010 season, he worked with another coach, Nello Santim, with youths aged up to 18, in the category known as Beretti in Italian football. “Developing young players is important, even in a region such as Trento, which does not bet on football that much. We may train good players here who will later go to the large teams,” he asserts.
Future
Maani has not developed a strategy for Cembra 1982 yet, but he has arrived with much experience and drive. “Now we must wait for the World Cup to end so we can start working,” says he , who continues to juggle his jobs as a coach and doorman. The Moroccan bets on a final match between Brazil and Argentina. Who will win? “It is best to wait for the next few matches.”
Further on, Maani does not rule out the possibility of leaving Trento to coach teams abroad. He even received a proposal from a team in the Moroccan A series, but could not accept at the time. “In Morocco and in Tunisia, for instance, we may coach future stars and maybe even host a World Cup, as South Africa,” proudly says Maani, who is now open to work proposals from foreign teams. “From the Arab countries or even Brazil, who knows,” he quips.
Contact
El Houssine Maani
Telephone: + 39 339 673 1281
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
