An interview with coach Kurt Maginely

A coach with more than a decade of experience under his belt.

A coach who emphasizes on the basics as a pathway to success, Kurt Leon Maginely has travelled the world delivering the Arsenal module of coaching and training – a module which has produced household names in English football from time to time. In his second year in India, under the Tata Tea Arsenal Soccer Stars programme, Kurt has taught his apprentices to learn and play the Arsenal way as most of them would agree.

Debanjan: Hello sir, could you tell us something about yourself?

Kurt Maginely: I have been coaching at Arsenal for 10 years. I started as a trainee, which included two years of qualification, and during those two years I managed to qualify as one of the youngest level 2 coaches. From the age of eighteen I have actually gone on to manage and run my own soccer school. At the age of nineteen I launched the first Arsenal Soccer School abroad, in Egypt. Then I launched my own schools in England from there I progressed.

Kurt Maginley

Debanjan: Tell us about the kids u deal with in the various academies you run.

Kurt Maginely: We deal with boys of all levels of ability. The boys that we deal with are actually elite, brought in by a scouting team. They go from U-8 to U-9 to become academy players.

Debanjan: Have you ever played professional football before?

Kurt Maginely: At U-11, I was at Chelsea. I trialed for Arsenal and during that period got injured. So I never really had a professional contract. However I have been coaching from the age of sixteen.

Debanjan: What inspired you to take up coaching as a career?

Kurt Maginely: Probably because of the fact that I couldn’t play at a high level. Not only that, working with kids and seeing them develop and that with my guidance and encouragement they might have the belief to achieve has really been my driving force. Kids can be developed even if they feel that they are not good enough. For me development is the key in it, and if you give them the belief, that’s how they move forward.

Debanjan: What is your view on the type of programme being undertaken by Tata Tea as a corporate and Highlife Management as an event organizer?

Kurt Maginely: I think Highlife Management is doing a great job for the Indian community. This is not only a life time experience for the boys, it’s also a massive development programme giving them an opportunity to work hard to be successful and then the rewards come. It doesn’t matter from what situation you are in life, things like these when come up can be life changing. Tata Tea as a company has done brilliantly for funding this project. I think without Tata Tea’s help, these kids would not have had an opportunity to work with me and I would not have had an opportunity to work with these boys either. I think Tata Tea and the Highlife Management team as a whole and linking up with Arsenal Football Club is a massive production.

Debanjan: What have you observed over the period during which the kids have trained under you? Where do you think Indian Football is heading with the current talent in hand?

Kurt Maginely: If they wanted to concentrate on the development side of football, take care of pitches and develop leagues, they probably could. I know there is a certain standard of youth football in India. As far as I have seen if they concentrate more on the youth, building schools as well and realize that football is a way of bringing people together, building bonds then none other than Indian Football will benefit. This will give an opportunity to kids to play any sport, not just football. An opportunity is an incentive for any child.

Debanjan: You have coached kids of the same age group back at home and you have now coached the selected kids here. How would you compare the two groups? Do you think there is a huge difference in talent?

Kurt Maginely: I wouldn’t say there is a huge gap. The standard of some of these boys are tremendous. The passion for the game, the understanding of the game, it all mounts to what they see. The difference in levels is due to the facilities available. If you look at the facilities in England, and the facilities in India, for me the standard of football they play in India is a good standard. The standard that they play in the European countries with great facilities is the standard where it should be.

Debanjan: Of the thirty three children training under you do you think any of them have the potential to make it big someday? Maybe to some European Club or some top club in the I-league.

Kurt Maginely: For me any child has the potential. There are probably one or two boys that have the desire and the hope. Nowadays we take in kids when they are eight years old and build them in the system from that age. They train three times a week, playing competitive games, so I would never say never. Because any footballer can make it. Ian Wright made it when he was twenty six years old. These kids are only sixteen. With right nurturing, right training, right food and as well as good coaching anybody can make it.

Debanjan: So you say nutrition, upbringing and education about the sport is the right step forward

Kurt Maginely: In a footballer’s digestion? Yes definitely. Because they need to practice for repetition. They need to maintain a standard. There is a saying that ‘You could have the ambition, you could have the talent, you could have the skill, but without the sweat you have nothing.’ So these kids along with their desire, ambition, talent and skill, have to be guided in the right direction for progression. In England, they are playing tournaments and academy football from when they are eight or nine years old. So Arsenal would play Fulham or Tottenham from this age. So they are already in that competitive spirit and that state of mind of wanting to win games and wanting to develop as footballers. Which is massive.

Debanjan: You have been here before, you are here now, I’m guessing you would be coming back again!

Kurt Maginely: This is my second year and I have to admit that I have enjoyed the project. Because of the fact that it is actually a project that is different from what I normally do. When I’m coaching in the thirty different countries where Arsenal has soccer schools, I’m normally coaching the coaches. That is, delivering them the Arsenal module. This project gives me an opportunity to use my coaching abilities to identify talent, and develop that talent into a team. That’s the core cohesion of building a structure. If you can develop an individual, yes, but to develop the individuals into a team is a bonus.

Thank you very much for your time.