Pinto honed his art under Dutch master Michels
At this point in the World Cup, the Dutch know plenty about Costa Rica, once one of the surprise packages of the tournament.
What they may not have heard is that Costa Rica’s Jorge Luis Pinto learned his coaching from the Dutchman who invented ‘total football.’Pinto, a welltravelled Colombian, studied at the University of Cologne early in the 1980s when Dutch coach Rinus Michels was coaching the city’s Bundesliga club.
“In those years I spent my time watching him training and talking to him. When I didn’t have classes, I went to see the club practice. I saw many things and learned a lot,” he said.
Michels was a good teacher, a few years later he would lead the Netherlands to its one and only international title, the 1988 European Championship, having pioneered the ‘total football’ approach, where players can change their positions during a game. Now Pinto aims to stop the Dutch taking another step towards their first world title when his Costa Rica team meets the Netherlands tomorrow in the quarterfinals at Salvador’s Arena Fonte Nova.
It is not only Pinto who knows the Dutch game well. Bryan Ruiz had a successful spell with FC Twente before joining Fulham and now plays at PSV Eindhoven alongside likely Netherlands starter Georginio Wijnaldum and super-sub Memphis Depay.
Ruiz said he has shared what he knows about the Dutch players with his coach. “Pinto asked me about it and I provided a bit of analysis of the ones I know. I haven’t had any contact with Memphis or Georginio. Of course, the day of the match, we will greet each other, chat a bit and then get focused,” he said. Ruiz has teamed up with a strong, fastpaced striker in Joel Campbell,
IN THOSE YEARS I SPENT MY TIME WATCHING HIM TRAINING AND TALKING TO HIM. WHEN I DIDN’T HAVE CLASSES, I WENT TO SEE THE CLUB PRACTICE. I SAW MANY THINGS AND LEARNED A LOT
JORGE LUIS PINTO, Costa Rica coach
propelling Costa Rica to the surprise top spot in a Group D that also included England, Italy and Uruguay.
Pinto’s team also has a miserly defense that has conceded just two goals in the tournament so far.
“Costa Rica has a very good team,” in-form Dutch forward Arjen Robben said. “I think before not a lot of people would have expected them to go through to the next round but I think they are a very strong team and it’s going to be another very difficult game for us where we have to give everything to go through to the semi-finals.