An Italian Field Hockey Player “Videotactician” for the Netherlands

The NETHERLANDS team’s tactical eye

Semi-finalist for World Cup 98, the NETHERLANDS team has amazed the whole world with its offensive play. Their great skill and confidence is no fluke – the NETHERLANDS have an organised style of play and prepare their strategies before each match. And they owe it all to one man — an Italian — named Roberto Tolentino, who is the team “videotactician”. Hailing from Rome, he was hired just this year by the NETHERLANDS team to film all of their matches, to “improve team performance” as he put it. With his video camera set up behind the goal, Roberto Tolentino has an ideal view of the match. “On television, it is impossible to have a global view of the play, the cameras just follow the ball. By filming from behind the goal, I get a wider perspective of the match, of the game strategy, and of the players’ positioning.” Paradoxically, the “videotactician” is not a football expert — his main sport is field hockey. After having played professionally in Italy in 1981, Roberto Tolentino joined the NETHERLANDS field hockey team’s technical staff in 1986. It wasn’t until 1997, when he was called upon by the Football Federation, that he became Guus HIDDINK’s technical aid. “I’m involved with football because of it’s many similarities with the game of field hockey” he explained. “Although the rules are different, both sports have 11-man teams, and the pitches have similar dimensions. Also, as far as strategy goes, you can set up various different team formations in both sports, like the 4-4-2 or the 4-3-3”. When asked about possible weaknesses in the Croatian game, Roberto Tolentino declined comment, preferring to await the outcome of Saturday’s match.