Celebrated Turkish football manager, Bülent Uygun, launched his book: ‘Trending Training Drills in Football and a Contemporary Look at Football’, on October 29.
For the 46-year old coach, who played for the national side as an attacking midfielder and even captained Fenerbahçe during his playing days, said, “the book is an attempt at bridging the gap between players and coaches in the best possible way.”
Launched amidst a bevy of shutterbugs and sports writers at the plush The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, the book undoubtedly is a fine training manual for the players and coaches alike as it covers a wide varied of topics including the much-talked about subject - sports psychology.
Uygun, who managed Qatar Stars League Club, Umm Salal SC, for a year before moving to Gaziantepspor last year can be credited with the meteoric rise of Turkish club Sivasspor.
Starting in 2006, after having retired from professional football two years earlier, Uygun lead the small club based in Central Anatolia to such heights that it qualified to the UEFA Champions League in 2008-09. The club entered the third round as the best-placed path for non-champions.
Sivasspor went on to become such a powerhouse that UEFA had to stand up and take notice, analysing Uygun’s coaching methods. In fact, his methods have also been an inspiration for José
Mourinho and experts from the Netherlands and Brazil.
The same methods have now been included in the book – a one stop shop for soccer greatness. Shaped like a football, the training guide, brought out in Arabic, English and Turkish, by Hasan Kalyoncu University Publication, Turkey, deals with subjects like nutrition for athletes, strength, speed, aerobic and anaerobic endurance and so also sports psychology.
Apart from training, the manual also contains playing positions, drills, exercises, field positions and set pieces used by famous soccer clubs and so also UEFA course practices.
Endorsed by Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose words, “Read, think, apply, conclude” offer a simple yet perfect opening for the book that encourages the reader, notably a football aficionado, or a young player to carefully read and put in practice the styles of the game.
As a mark of respect, the guide bears the image of founder of the Republic of Turkey, His Excellency Mustafa Kemal Atatürk among the initial pages, while His Highness The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his father His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s images endorse the concluding pages.
Undoubtedly the book is priceless as it literally has no price tag attached to it. Still, Uygun announced that the proceeds from the sale would go to the families of the soldiers, who died defending the country during the unrest of July 2015.
