Expertise is like a hair comb to look good: Crespo  

DOHA: Former Argentine and Parma striker Hernan Crespo shared his philosophy on the second day of Aspire Academy Global Summit here on Tuesday.

“Coaches don’t make a player, but it’s what the player has inside him, that coaches work with and refine, polish and help to become outstanding,” said Crespo in a Star Chat at the seminar.

Crespo, who scored 35 goals in international games, is Argentina’s fourth highest goal scorer behind only Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Batistuta and Lionel Messi.

The 44-year-old rued that commercialization has affected the player’s focus to a great extent.

“We need to help players get back the soul of football once again. The business around and accruing from playing football such as advertising, commercial marketing and social media means that the player’s focus is no longer only on football,” he added. “We should go back to the principal goal of playing football.”

He spoke on the second day of the 5th edition of one of the biggest gatherings of football youth coaches and experts in the world.

Crespo, who recently coached Argentine premier division team Banfield, has scored plenty for his first European club Parma after he left River Plate in 1996.

He also had successful spells at Lazio, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Chelsea.

The Argentine, who represented in three FIFA World Cups from 1998 to 2006, said, “A coach should not feel that he is more important than the players. He should see his role as that of helping players develop their skills.”