Svetozar Cica, FC ‘AJAX’ Novi Sad The ‘Cobra’...

1A complete soccer coaching experience

No. 11 - october/november 2005

FC Ajax Novi Sad in Serbia & Montenegro was founded follo-wing the spirit of the club in Amsterdam. The club was establis-hed in the town of Novi Sad which has a population of about500.000 people. The founder of the club, Svetozar Cica holds adegree in training and he established a complete soccer school(academy) through the club. He is the principal coach for allage groups (five groups from the ages of; 7-10 years, 10-12years, 12-14 years, 14-16 years and 16-18 years). He is alsoresponsible for the organization of the technical staff, theselection of players as well as selecting the coaching suppor-ting staff.

Preparation of the players in the club is accomplished in parti-cular ways and with individual effort from everybody under the

supervision of Svetozar Cica. Many famous players have playedfor him in Yugoslavia; including Mateja Kezman (PSV EindhovenHolland, FC Chelsea England, Atletico Madrid), Savo Milosevic(FC Parma Italy, FC Aston Villa England, FC Zaragoza Spain),Dundjerski Ljubisa (FC Atalanta Italy), Leo Lerinc (FC Red StarBelgrade ).

Cobra“In order to describe the organization and the system of thegame, the team is symbolically represented as a cobra and asa snake jumper at the same time. While it is resting, that is indefense when defending the access to the goal, the team istwisting and rolling itself, trying to make it impossible to breakthrough. However, when in possession, the team suddenly das-hes out of the coil, blinding and overtaking the opponent withgreat speed, approaching the opponent’s goal with the mini-mum of three, perhaps only two moves.”

Modern Soccer“The modern game of soccer demands more and more fromplayers. When thinking about modern soccer we come acrosstwo terms we are frequently confronted with: ‘total football’ and‘universal player’. In the past sprints during the game were

Svetozar Cica, FC ‘AJAX’ Novi Sad

The ‘Cobra’ tacticsSoccerCoachingInternational’s Dusan Petrovic talked to FCAjax Novi Sad’s Svetozar Cica about what he calls the ‘cobratactics’. Besides supervising and coaching the players,Svetozar is also the founder of FC Ajax Novi Sad. Here hetalks to Dusan about the spirit of the club, his cobra tacticsand player selection.

Dusan Petrovic



about 10-26 meters, at the most. Today sprints are acrossdistances of about 30, 40 and sometimes even 50 meters.Systems of training have improved from year to year, with con-stant new and rich soccer tactic in all variations. If we look athow attackers play nowadays, with frequent moving and chan-ging positions, we realize this kind of play was not possibleuntil we changed the way we looked at the system of training.”

Modern selection of football players“This new model of European soccer also dictated a change inthe way we select players. The selection process will be moreeffective only when the developed training program and plan isrespected. Those programs and plans must be based on scien-tific research connected to the first selection factors, the physi-cal demands of a growing young body, its anatomic, physicaland psychological characteristics. Fitness and ability to play isthe first selection principle, then speed and high degrees ofmuscle and nerve reaction. The speed ability is very importantand is 95% genetic.”

Stabilization of football habits“The psychological mechanism of football is quite complicated.Resistance which soccer players have against new materialshould be limited. The resistance is the main obstacle, whichshould be treated. Training helps to remove tension and solvesuch resistance. Such conflicts could be removed by dynamicscreated by training.”

Carpenter“There are a lot of different systems of training in different con-ditions. A coach’s role in this is very important, because thesystem of training changes almost every year. The coach hasto be knowledgeable in many different areas and not a specia-

list in one particular area or field. You cannot categorize coa-ches as youth coaches or adult coaches. For example, a car-penter who knows how to make small chair also knows how tomake a big chair. The only different is the size. The same thingapplies to soccer, the only difference is the intensity during trai-ning and the coach has to adapt the level of intensity andamplitude to age of the player.”

Social surroundings“Players must be maximally concentrated and psychological

prepared for every training; this is basis for elevated levels ofconcentration during the game and in turn contributes to thebest possible result of that game. Players need a stable perso-nality and high levels of emotional energy. At Ajax Novi Sad wework on achieving this level of concentration during every trai-ning, and try to elevate the personality of the players to a much

First programmed football steps – Svetozar Cica, FC “Ajax” Novi Sad

Group Beginning of training Type of training

First group 7-10 years Playing-with two goalsFree playingFree creative training

Second group 10-12 years Directive playingOral directionFree creative training

Third group 12-14 years First specializationIndividual trainingFree creative training

Fourth group 14-16 years Second specializationConfirming gained knowledgeon higher levelFree creative training

Fifth group 16-18 years Third specialization- The highest level training



higher level. However, another important factor in achieving thislevel of concentration and psychological stability during the trai-ning and the game is the social setting. As a coach it is someti-mes hard to deal with and/or solve problems which arise dueto the social surroundings.”

Trust“Psychological mechanisms ofsoccer players are very specific.Coaches are often confrontedwith resistance from the playerswhen they have to accept some-thing new. This is difficult and animportant factor to eliminateduring the training. The coachhas to understand that the purpo-se of training is not to entertainplayers, parents and attendingfans. Training is hard work, forcoaches and players alike and itis not a show. Very importantaspects of training are the dyna-mics of the exercises and thework-rest ratios. A demonstration

of the exercise by thecoach is a way to keepthe level of concentra-tion raised during theexercise. In addition italso shows the playersthat the coach knowswhat he is doing, as weknow actions oftenspeak louder thanwords. Successful trai-ning sessions andgames are based on theauthority of the coachand the trust betweenplayers and the coach.”

Tactics & System“If we want to attain thebest result we have touse maximum capacityfrom our team.Sometimes only onegreat player could be the

foundation for standard of value, and show us the road towhere we have to go. Some time ago it was Johan Cruijff, todayit’s Ronaldihno. Training systems are changing every year andare being developed to perfection. With this change we createthe possibility to change systems of play, with new and freshtactical variants. If we now, for example, analyze the attackingsystem of play, with frequent moving and positional changes,we can conclude that it was not possible without changing thetraining system. When we look at tactics, we have basic charac-teristics by means of which we mark every tactical system.Those characteristics are going to enable and realize all tacticalsystems during the game:

“The opponent should be cleverly attacked

while they are still on their own half

so that the players are not be able

to lead the ball easily.”



• Every in advance prepared action must to respond to thepossibilities of every player in the team,

• Every player has to be prepared to change the tacticalsystem quickly and to adjust this system according to theopponent. Sometimes without command of the coach.

• Rich with all tactical and technical elements. Team has to berich with new elements and technically prepared to use them.

• Abilities to surprise, using unexpected actions at unexpectedmoments.

“In accordance with those basic tactical characteristics, we cansee that every tactical operation has a frame, which providesthe players with guidelines and a wide array of freedom in theinterpretation of football. This relation, at first glance, mayseem illogical, because we are asking from the players to playwithin a strong tactical system, but also asking them to be cre-

ative, imaginative and interpretative. By means of the tacticalsystem we are preparing the road, which players use during thegame, but on that road they could find many problems and diffi-culties. Those problems could be solved only with talent for cre-ativity, imagination and unexpected solutions. The coach has tofind the balance between the tactical system and creativity.Players with a rich imagination and good preparation couldsolve all tactical problems which arise.”

Passport Svetozar Cica

Date of birth: 01.03.1957 (Duboki Dol, former Yugoslavia)

Player experiences:FC “Novi Sad”, Novi Sad, Serbia & Montenegro,FC “Velez”, Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina,FC “Sloboda”, Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina,FC “Maribor”, Maribor, Slovenia,FC “Leotar” Trebinje, Bosnia & Herzegovina,FC “Belasica” Strumica, Serbia & Montenegro

Education:Graduate: Superior Football Coach, degree obtained in NoviSad, University of Physical education in Novi Sad.

Coaching career:FC “Vojvodina” Novi Sad, first team coach (reaching the UEFACup in 1996). FC “Vojvodina” Novi Sad youth Coach (no defeats) FC “Cement”, Beocin, Serbia & MontenegroFC “Agrounija”, Serbia & MontenegroFC “Toplicanin” Prokuplje, Serbia & Montenegro FC “Novi Sad” Novi Sad, Serbia & Montenegro FC “Al Wahda” Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

Svetozar Cica has coached many famous Yugoslav footballersthat play all around Europe and has been equally successfulwith adult and youth players. He is an universal coach, andfounder of various football schools in Yugoslavia, including FC“AJAX” Novi Sad in 1999. Svetozar Cica is known in Yugoslaviafor his work with youth players. He is characterized as a coachwith great football knowledge and has great pedagogical influ-ence on youth.

Training 1



This training is practiced during competition, usually in themiddle of the week with a total duration of 90 minutes.

Introduction and preparation phase

– 20 minutes

Introduction phase – 10 minutes- Jogging around the field- Stretching of main muscle groups- Complex exercises for flexibility

Preparation phase – 10 minutes

Objective:- Preparation of basic phase of the training- Duration: 45 seconds - Fast running with a work/rest ratio of 1:2.

Organization:- Player B passes to player C, and quickly runs around him - Player C passes back to player B, who brings the ball back to

the starting position and passes to player A. B and A executesame exercise again

Progression:- Exercises 45 sec. – then rotate player’s positions- Each player executes the exercise 3 times

Basic phase – 60 minutes

Work on durability of fast running

Objective:Three players start from the center of the field and cross and

run out on the wing position, finishing with a shot from thecenter position. After finishing on goal that same player runsback very fast and repeats the action two times more. Thisexercise asks for very fast running and is repeated ninetimes with a work/rest ratio of 1:2.

There are three groups of three players (A, B, C).

Organization:- Player B passes the ball to player A, then player B changes

positions with player C and sprints into the free space. - Player A passes the ball to player C, and sprints to the first

goalpost. - Player C passes the ball to player B in free space, and quickly

runs to the second goalpost. - Players then sprints back to their starting positions.

Progression:- Change groups after three attacks - Three attacks are equivalent to approx. 300 m of sprinting,- Exercise is repeated 9 times which is a total of approx. 2700

m of sprinting.

Coaching:- Stimulate action to achieve higher level and let players move

and pass faster- Control and fix mistakes.

Final phase – 10 minutes- Slow running- Stretching

Training 2



This training is practiced during competition, in the middle ofthe week (Tuesday or Wednesday) with a total duration of 70minutes

Introduction and preparation phase – 20minutes

Introduction phase – 10 minutes- Jogging- Stretching- Complex exercises for flexibility

Preparation phase – 10 minutes

Middle intensity sprinting

Organization:- Two players from both sides are starting simultaneously- Sprinting:

• From starting line up to the middle line and back (100m), • From starting line up to the 16 m line and back (30m), • From starting line up to the 5m line and back (10m), • From starting line up to the 16 m line and back (30m), • From starting line up to the middle line (50m) where isthe finish.

- Repetition 3 times with work/ rest ratio of 1:1


Work on sprint durability

Organization:- Sprinting:

• 1 repetition is: 20m, 20m, 30m, 30m, 40m, 40m, 60mand 60m• Total: 20m, 20m, 30m, 30m, 40m, 40m, 60m, 60m x 10times = 3000 m

- Work/rest ratio 1:1 – 20 minutes- Players from group A start simultaneously, after they finish

group B will start

Final phase – 10 minutes- Jogging – 5 minutes- Stretching – 5 min.

Training 3



This training is practiced during competition, usually in themiddle of the week, and with a total duration of 90 minutes

Introduction and preparation phase – 20 minutes

Introduction phase – 10 minutes- Jogging- Stretching- Complex exercises for flexibility

Preparation phase – 10 minutesCombinations with fast and middle fast intensity

Setup:- On one half of standard pitch with combination of fast andmiddle fast intensity

- Two groups are covering both halves of the pitch

Organization:- Two teams are playing on one half in the following way:

• Fast intensity – two touch of the ball, only long passes• Middle fast intensity – passing only with left foot, (right footfor left footed players)

- Both games are playing without goalkeeper, scoring only withhead

- During the game change intensity with ratio of fast intensity andmiddle fast 1:1


Work on durability of fast running

Setup:- Playing in small space- Man to man with two touches of the ball- 3 x 3min, 3 x 4min- Work / rest ratio 1:1 - During the resting period use exercise of long passes between

two players- Have balls readily available on sidelines for continuation of play

Organization:- In marked space play 4 against 4, with two goalkeepers in the

following way:• Man to man (in each team one player is free)• Two touches of the ball• Team which scores regains possession again

Center shoot and finish action from booth sides

Organization:

- Execute exercise from both sides 1 x left side, 1 x right side,and groups change positions after several repetitions

- Executed in middle fast intensity- Work / rest ratio 1:1- While resting players pair up for long passes

Final phase – 10 minutes - Jogging – 5 minutes- Stretching – 5 minutes

Svetozar Cica, FC ‘AJAX’ Novi Sad The ‘Cobra’...

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