Former head coach of the Reggae Boyz Winfried Schaefer says while football in the Middle East may have irresistible appeal for its big spending club owners, the overall growth of the game lags when compared to other parts of Asia.

The German says football in Japan and South Korea, for example, has stronger foundations and pathways to growth as evidenced in their club and national platforms.

Schaefer, who is on his second sojourn in the Middle East having first worked in the region as coach between 2005 and 2009, thinks the national football product suffers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in particular, due to a focus on importing international, over local, talent.

That approach, according to the journeyman coach, will not support the pillars of building a strong national team.

“These coaches want very good [foreign] players, and hope they will have success,” Schaefer told the Jamaica Observer.

During his previous and current stints in the oil-rich region, he said his philosophy has always been anchored on the principle of giving the best local players opportunities to develop and less reliance on foreign imports.

“In all clubs I work, four or five players of my teams go in the national team of the Emirates. All clubs I was at — Al Ain [Abu Dhabi] and Al Ahli [Dubai], and recently in Baniyas — I get the local players as that is good for the national team.

“Every time [we have a game] there are seven or eight local players on the field at a time, and that is very important,” Schaefer reasoned.

Schaefer, who recently held head coaching positions with Esteghlal of Iran and Baniyas in Abu Dhabi, believes that football in the Middle East has the potential to grow with the money available there, but states that the game in East Asia has grown exponentially due to cultural differences and corporate approach.

“In Asia, the football in South Korea and Japan is better…they [focus] on starting out earlier [in developing players]. And those countries in the beginning of their football had very good German coaches, and Japan, of course, [follows] the German philosophy,” Schaefer explained.

The 71-year-old, who recently took the reins of Qatar-based Al-Khor Sports Club, says he hopes his Jamaican assistant Miguel Coley, who is living in the UAE, will join him in Qatar to continue their coaching journey in the Middle East.

Both men have forged a coaching partnership which started with Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz in 2013 to 2016, then to Iran’s Esteghlal from 2017 to 2019, and Abu Dhabi with Baniyas from 2019 to 2020.

“Yes, Miguel and I have worked very good together, and we had success in both clubs. I am now in Qatar with Al-Khor and I hope he comes and joins me,” Schaefer said.

“We were successful with this team Esteghlal, which was the ultimate club for sure. This club has millions of supporters [in Iran], including my neighbour and people on the streets. The supporters are beautiful people, so were my other coaches; my media men were also very fantastic,” he added.

Schaefer believes that while his stay in Baniyas was short, he thinks some objectives were met in laying a foundation for the Abu Dhabi club to grow.

“I was only in Baniyas for one year and I know the mentality of the people. Baniyas was one of the easy clubs [to work with], but we built a very very good team for the future, which will make success easier for the new coach,” said the former Cameroon national coach.

Schaefer, who played more than 400 German top-flight matches, with 62 goals over a career spanning 17 years, says he will continue to be involved in the game as along as his passion burns for it.

“No, [I don’t plan to quit] any time soon. I love football, and when I was a young boy, I played on the street with older boys and friends. Football is my life, and I played and coach football with my heart.

“Football is fantastic and part of the problem is that many people don’t love football, they love other things [related to football]. That is the problem. When it comes to this game, I cannot stop,” Schaefer said.