Simone Jatobá on coaching Brazil’s football DNA

The Pro Licence holder served as head coach of the Brazil U-17 women’s national team for almost six years, during which she led the team to compete in two FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cups™. She also had spells coaching Brazil’s U-15 and U-19 national teams, and in this interview, she discusses her transition from playing to coaching. Jatobá describes football as her life, her passion, but originally did not see herself as a coach. During her years as an elite footballer, she saw gaps in the women’s game, and as she moved into the later part of her playing career, she began working through her coaching licences with the intention of making a difference.

• A good coach can change a player’s career. By getting to know their players as people first, coaches can create environments where everyone thrives.

• Technique is a defining pillar of Brazil’s football DNA, particularly in producing players that can change a game with a moment of sheer magic, but a challenge for coaches is balancing that creative freedom with responsibility to the team.

• The coach's behaviours have a significant impact on the players' behaviours, so the coach must live the non-negotiable values they promote within the team.

Part 1: Journey into coaching & Brazil’s national teams
Coaches can have a huge impact on a player’s career trajectory, and Jatobá explains how important it is for a coach to understand the player as a person to get the best out of them. In Brazil, academy structures for girls are still developing, so when young female players are called up at the youth international level, Jatobá highlights the need for extra tactical and technical support to help bring them to national-team standard. She emphasises how quickly the women’s game continues to develop globally, and this is why the technical and tactical demands on elite players will continue to require development, even at the senior level. Modern football demands more than just natural ability, and while technique is a cornerstone of Brazil’s football DNA, the modern player needs to be physically, tactically and mentally strong.

Part 2: Coaching Brazil’s football DNA
For Brazil teams to succeed, individual technical ability must be interlaced with the team's overall tactical strategy, and finding that balance between freedom and responsibility is a key coaching challenge. Young players nowadays frequently use social media and the internet, and can have shorter attention spans. Learning the mental skills to focus and concentrate for longer periods on the pitch is vital. It is also important to remember that players develop in stages, particularly at the youth level. Jatobá feels that an overemphasis on getting results can deflect from the key developmental work required before moving from one phase to the next. Jatobá believes that focusing on development in the earlier stages ultimately produces players who are better equipped to learn how to win. Environmental factors also contribute to the stages of player development. Discipline and good habits are non-negotiable for a player who aspires to reach the highest level of the game, and for Jatobá, the coach must also live by those values.