Q&A with Black Stars video analyst, Aleksandar Rosic

Published on: 31 August 2011

By Ameenu Shardow

Not too often especially in our part of the world would you find the post of a video analyst within the technical staff of either a national team or a football club.

This innovation has however been incorporated in Ghana's senior national team, the Black Stars upon the arrival of head coach Goran Stevanovic.

But how critical is the audio/visual input in making a team successful, Aleksandar Rosic who has been employed by the coach to oversee such a duty shares its all when GHANAsoccernet.com caught up with him at the team's camping base in Accra.

GSN: Thank You for speaking to GHANAsoccernet.com, first and foremost who is a video analyst?

AR: Thank you for this question, it is very simple, basically it is an emerging coaching specialty that involves the gathering and interpretation of information through video for the advantage of your team.

GSN: Could you please give us a detailed explanation of your job description?

AR: In this modern era of football where almost every match is on TV, it is important that one takes advantage of this tool for the benefit of your team. It gives you the platform to properly explain to players what their weaknesses and strengths are; be it in goalkeeping, defence, midfield or attack. It also gives detailed information on what the next training session of a team should focus on and also could be used in mapping out a strategy against the opponent.

GSN: But this can be done by the head coaches or don't they also watch matches?

AR: Yes they could and I am sure they do watch a lot of matches but the fact is that the modern coaching job is too broad for one man to handle everything. Every modern national team, every good club have someone doing that job because one person cannot lead a group and at the same time how to lead training sessions and at the same time do video analysis because it demands a lot of time. For instance, how your team defends set pieces, offensive or defensive corner kicks, what was good for us and what was bad for us, how to rectify these in the next training session etc. These are very important details that not only a coach can handle and therefore the need for someone and not just anybody but a qualified person to do this job.

GSN: What do you mean by not just anybody, I as a layman also watch matches and sometimes could point out a team's frailties?

AR: Well, maybe you can but then would you know the proper way to solve such a problem? that is why it is important for any video analyst to be a coach because without that, you cannot technically, offer the right suggestions to the coach and even players.

GSN: So tell me how you go about discahrging your duties

AR: OK, first I gather all the video clips that I need, watch them as many times as I could and do some cuts to them. This is to ensure that only the vital spots are shown to the players or even coaches. This is because if you replay the whole 90minutes to them, they'd probably sleep so you just take the essentials to show. After showing them, you then come out with ways either problems or performance of the individuals can be enhanced which will eventually translate into a team.

GSN: So how do you then manage to get vidoe clips of opponents who probably don't record their matches?

AR: I dont't see how that is possible in this modern era but then I have a satelite firm in Belgrade who provide me with video clips for analysis. Sometimes head coach Plavi even asks me to get clips of our players at their clubs for analysis. The thing is a computer guy can do this job but cannot make the essential cuts and interpretation when it comes to it because he is not a coach.

GSN: So are you saying for instance you have the video clip of Swaziland who we play on Friday?

AR: Yes, I even this afternoon showed it to the players and I even have that of Sudan, the team we next play, both their home and away matches.

GSN: So how do you tell players in their face their mistakes and how to rectify them.

AR: This would have been much difficult without the video cuts. It serves as evidence, otherwise you'd have the situation where you tell a player how bad he was in a game and he engages you in a debate. But then with the video cuts, you just show the player the scenario and then you go on to suggests ways that can be solved and you'll have no problem at all. So it serves as evidence in doing your work.

GSN: So how important is your job to the success of a team?

AR: There is always a saying that coaches should play the game before the players even come on the pitch. Most of our players play for top clubs and therefore don't need to be taught how to play football. What you doi is trying to mend them as a team and to do this you need comprehensive information about the players, their opponents and things like that.

GSN: So apart from you doing your video analysis, what other thing do you do for the team?

AR: Look you cannot be a good analyst if you are not coach, I coach. But I came here to make video analyst because already in Ghana here there are already good coaches. Kwasi Appiah is great coach, great guy but the main thing I do is to assist coach Appiah and head coach Plavi with a lot of video analysis.

GSN: Sow how prepared are we going into the game against Swaziland in terms of video analysis?

AR: As I told you, first I we analyzed our last match against South Korea actually today we had a meeting with our defenders and central midfielders concerning some mistakes we made in that game and that is what we would be treating in training. That is the beginning, on the other sides we show to the players Swazialnd, where they are good, where they are bad and see what we can do, this is normal precedure.

GSN: So now tell us a bit more about yourself, where do you come from, your age and stuff like that

AR: I am Serbian and I am 30-years-old. I finished Faculty of Sports in Physical Education in Serbia. I started working in football since i turned 20 and was a junior coach in Malta for one season. I then spent three years as part of the coaching staff of Serbia national team where did the same job I am doing here and then I cam here.

GSN: Once again, thank you very much for sharing with us what your job entails.

AR: Thank You.

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