Kashima Antlers boss Toninho Cerezo has had a remarkable two seasons with his J. League Division One club despite his short coaching experience.

News photoToninho Cerezo

Cerezo, 46, had coached at two clubs -- Brazilian clubs Atletico Mineiro and Vitoria both in 1999 -- before taking the helm of the J. League side in January 2002 thanks to an offer from his old Brazil teammate and Kashima technical director Zico.

At Vitoria, he helped the northern Brazil club finish third in the Brazilian Championship in 1999.

In his first season at Kashima, Cerezo guided the Antlers to the J. League title, the Nabisco Cup and the Emperor's Cup, making the Ibaraki Prefecture team the first club to achieve the domestic treble in Japanese soccer.

Last season, the Antlers defended the league title after beating archrival Jubilo Iwata in the two-leg J. League Championship.

Shortly before going into the new J. League season, the Antlers bowed out of the Asian Club Championship in the quarterfinals, but they are eager to become the first J. League club to win the J. League championship for three straight years.

Cerezo sat down with The Japan Times to take stock of what he has achieved and what the new season may hold for his team.

*    *    *

Japan Times: This offseason must have been shorter than usual because of the early start to the new season. How have your team's preparations gone?

Toninho Cerezo: I'm afraid that our players haven't fully recovered from their hard work from last season. I wish we could have given them more time for a rest, another week or so. But we had to compete in the Asian Club Championship in February.

Preseason training is always important, but this time it was short and we couldn't do as much as we wanted. But our team is young and I hope they can manage to overcome this shortcoming. In this case, mental attidude matters more rather than technique.

What do you expect the new season to be like?

I think the coming season will be a harder one for us than before. We have many players who are and will be involved with national team activities. I really hope we can stay away from injuries.

I'm sure that all the other teams will be more determined to beat us after winning the league two years in a row. They don't want to be losers again and they actually have worked hard on building their teams since the end of last season.

We haven't managed to do well in the first stage over the last two years so we want to do better in that. The first seven games of the season (before the World Cup break) will be important.

You haven't made too many inroads into the transfer market this year, have you?

We've actually cut down the number of players in our squad this season as I want to work with a smaller number of players. Our club also has a policy of developing youngsters and that's another thing I'm responsible for. We have good young players, who will be the backbone of the Antlers in the future. I hope our veteran players can help these young players focus on their game in our daily sessions.

Many of your players have improved their game recently, midfielders Mitsuo Ogasawara and Koji Nakata in particular. Have you given them any special advice as you also played in midfield?

I always try to hand down some of my experience to our players. I also like to vary our training sessions so the players don't get bored.

I cannot play any longer, so these young players can run on the pitch and play the game for me, as if they are wearing my boots.

Apart from the two players you mentioned, other young players have also improved a lot, and veteran players have shown their character more, too. Our younger players and veteran players are making an effort to improve the standard of the whole team. That's what I'm most happy about. The players are the leading actors. They're the ones who have to work hard and get things done. We coaches only can assist them.

We haven't made many signings over the last two years because our players are growing well. Kumagai has got his place on the first team so as (Akira) Narahashi, Nakata, Ogasawara, (Yutaka) Akita, (Atsushi) Yanagisawa, Takayuki (Suzuki) and (Masashi) Motoyama. (Takeshi) Aoki hasn't played so many games but he's more aware of his role on the team now. We had two national team goalkeepers, (Hitoshi) Sogahata and (Daijiro) Takakuwa (now on loan to Verdy) last year, which also indicates our team's growth.

I'd like to have our young players gain experience gradually and transform our team into a younger generation.

Ogasawara played well in the second stage of last season and took responsibility at dead-ball situations that Bismarck handled before. Is Ogasawara the one to fill the hole left behind by Bismarck?

Bismarck is such an experienced player and has played in Japan for eight years. He knows what soccer is all about, and can settle the game down when he gets the ball and has a wide view of the game. It is difficult to fill the hole left behind by a player like him.

Midfield players in general need some experience as in the case with (Parma's Hidetoshi) Nakata, Jubilo's (Hiroshi) Nanami and (Toshiya) Fujita. Ogasawara is only 22 years old. We shouldn't give him too much pressure to perfectly fill the hole left behind Bismarck. We should create an environment in which Ogasawara will be able to reach that standard naturally, which will eventually compensate for the departure of Bismarck.

In other words, how to support Ogasawara will be an important factor for your team to play well this season?

That's right. Ogasawara will play alongside Motoyama this season. It'll be a different style from the team we had Bismarck in. (Midfielder Takuya) Nozawa has shown some improvement and Hirase is now challenging to play in the midfield, right behind the forwards.

It must have been a good experience for Ogasawara last season. He actually scored more goals from long range than anyone in the team and he was the first one to put pressure on his opposing defenders. His passing skills are perfect.

This means that he's qualified as the No. 10 player and shown the potential to become a great No. 10 player.

It seems that Kashima has many players with strong character on and off the pitch. How do you control them and combine them as a unit?

It's nice to hear that, as I thought they were too quiet on the pitch (laughs). When I came here, nobody said anything. The veteran players did fairly well but the younger players didn't have the courage to do so.

This must have something to do with Japanese culture and custom. But whether you are senior or junior, it doesn't matter when you are one of the 11 players on the pitch. You have to make your presence felt and call for the ball if you are in a better position than anyone else.

That was the first thing I told my players and I've been telling them the same thing for the last two years. I think they are changing for the better but it takes time.

You didn't have much of a coaching background before coming to Kashima, but you guided the team to the treble in your first season and defended the league title in the second season. What has been the key to your success?

My first year of coaching was at Vitoria. That was for six months and we eventually finished third in the Brazilian Championship. Then I got a chance to come over here.

I won many games and lost many games as well. That happened throughout my playing career as well. The interesting thing is that I remember losing games more vividly than those I won and think more and was asked by the media about the reasons why I lost and what was missing. Sometimes you lose a game although you play well, according to your plans. That happens. But what I cannot stand is to lose a game without doing the things we were supposed to do.

Life changes much faster than before these days and the playing career of a player would probably last 10 years at most. I demand from myself the best that I can do for the team and I think our players also have a strong sense of crisis management.

I have to think of ways to make our team win as many as games as possible over a limited period of time and I have an idea that we can do it well if we do this now. Sometimes it doesn't work well but things come from my experience. The only thing I can do is to hand down things from my experience. But I think I'm doing that alright to some extent. We can learn many things from losing and we know we can improve them in our training sessions. Our players are ready to accept that message.

Do you think you can use your experience from your playing career better in a game or in training?

In training sessions, no doubt about that. In a game you only have halftime, which is so short. My translator often relays my instructions, but it's hard for players to fully get and accept the instructions during the game as they are tired and mentally not capable. So, training does matter and I work on making our players understand our play as much as possible.

Sometimes you try something with your players and if you find that it doesn't work well, you've got to give it up immediately. That's important. If you ask them to do too much, they cannot handle it and fail to perform well. You've got to see the balance.

I also want the younger players to understand that it is important to do the simple things properly. They tend to do difficult things that aren't necessary.

When did you decide to become a coach?

I played for 23 years and quit due to my age. I made up my mind to become a coach around that time. I took some coaching courses while I was playing, and got the third grade coaching license in Italy. I took a course in Brazil and then went to Italy two years later to get the second grade.

When I eventually retired as a player, I was hoping to work with a good coach, but it didn't work out.

Why didn't it work out? I couldn't settle down after suddenly being cut off from the dynamics of life as a player -- the playing and traveling. But I got a director's job at my old club Atletico Mineiro. I was able to readjust myself and my feelings while I was working there.

Then one day the president of the club told me: "We're going to fire the coach and let you take over for two months."

I started well and we advanced to the final of the regional league. In the two-leg final, we played archrival Cruzeiro, but our team had many injured players and trouble with players' payment. We lost the first leg and the second leg. The second leg we lost 5-0.

Although I had a good reputation as a player, it counted for nothing then and the supporters started to get on my back because of those results.

My son, who was 19 at the time, flew from Italy to attend the final and said to me: "Dad, you've done a lot for them, and they are treating you like this just because of the results from two games. It's not worth it."

It was hard for me to make a decision as it was the club that had looked after me since I was a child. At that moment I resolved to become a good coach and wipe out the shame. I was determined that I would reach the top in this field and I believed in myself.

So I left Atletico Mineiro and went to join Vitoria after receiving an offer from the club's president. He and his club directors knew what I had done at Atletico and trusted me. Vitoria eventually finished third for the first time ever in the Brazilian Championship.

Who has been the biggest influence on your coaching career?

Nobody really. I very much wanted to be involved in soccer and thought that I could use my whole playing experience. I've learned new things such as psychology at coaching courses. It's an interesting job.

What fascinates you most in coaching?

When our players are happy and excited, I am happy as well. I can understand how they feel from my experience. But our players don't know that life also has its hard times.

What is the most difficult aspect of coaching?

Substitutions. I know I've got to change a player but the game goes on and on and he makes a stunning play (laughs). I decide on substitutions because of the whole movement in the game and I know I shouldn't hesitate to replace him just because of one single play. But it's hard.

I know no one wants to be replaced. But they should accept the substitution for the sake of the team. Players often ask why they are dropped from the starting lineup, but they never ask the reasons for being in the starting lineup in the first place (laughs).

Do you often talk to your players?

I think so. I can tell if a player is in good spirits one day or if he feels less focused another day by looking at their faces.

But my interpreter tells me: "You'd better not act like a samurai all the time." And our players often tell me in a game, "Coach, calm down, calm down."

I seem to show my fighting feelings a bit too often (laughs).

How is Zico involved in your coaching business in helping you establish your team?

He's been with Kashima so long and knows the personality of all the staff and front office people here. I think one of the reasons why we've been doing well is that we are a good group with a good personality. He sees what we are doing from the very top. Everybody respects him and he is recognized as not only a great player but also for his achievements as technical director.

But I have to make the small details by myself. I cannot depend on him. If I had a serious problem with one of our players, I might ask him to help me. But I have never had such a situation. He comes in here a few times a year, but things have gone all right without bothering him too much.

He gives a good balance to the team. His image goes well with Kashima, which is fixed domestically and internationally. I think it's good for a club to have a pillar of support like him.

Do you have any requests for the J. League?

It would be better to increase the number of players on the bench. We have the league, Nabisco Cup and Emperor's Cup and this year we have the World Cup. The competition is very hard and we have to play sudden-death extra time in the league, which is very exhausting for players. If we can get more players on the bench, we can protect our players from injuries and also maintain the level of the game by using fresh substitutes.

I'm sure you will be aiming to win the league for the third straight year -- can the fans expect that from you and your team?

It all depends on the feet of our players. You never know what happens in soccer. I cannot guarantee that we will win it again, but nothing comes from coincidence. You achieve success from hard work, and a last-minute winner can be created from your effort such as checking the moves of a goalkeeper or something like that.

I have a feeling that our players can do it after having worked so hard with them. Everyone here is putting in a lot of effort every day. They are the leading actors. It all depends on how they perform in the season.