Ernest Faber's football life was largely colored by FC Groningen and PSV. Saturday, the club where he was head coach until last season (Groningen) meets the club where he is now Head of Youth Training (HJO) (PSV). A visit to Faber, prior to the game between his former and current club. 'Stevens' stability gave me something to hold on to.'
Tracksuit
A switch from tracksuit to... tracksuit. From the field to ... the field. Anyone who thinks that as HJO Faber only sits inside, holding meetings, drawing up training schedules, observing and motivating in jeans, sweater and neat shoes is far wrong. Dressed in PSV's training outfit, complete with sporty shoes and a turtleneck to protect himself from the winter cold, Faber walks across De Herdgang these days. "The dynamics of this job took some getting used to," he says in the under construction canteen at PSV Campus De Herdgang, as the complex will be called starting next season. "As head coach, you spend a week working toward an extreme peak on game day. My days are much more dynamic now. There is no real peak so I spread the energy over all the days."
Hectic
This Thursday afternoon secretly seems to be one that consumes quite a bit of energy. Between shaking hands and his first words at the table in the cafeteria, ten minutes are full of phone calls, brief conversations about youth tournaments, airline tickets and the occasional "typical" Faber joke left and right. "Pfoh what a smell," he exclaims as the door to his own little office in the temporary work facilities in the parking lot opens. "I swear, they'll all be sick tomorrow. Let's go to the cafeteria."
Field
In that canteen, Faber takes time to comment on his first six months as the person in charge of PSV's youth training program. "I was able to give it my own interpretation to some extent. Have said that if I sit behind a desk every day, it is not a job for me," Faber is honest. "I am on the field every day, time after time with different teams. Not only to observe, but also to coach every now and then, and again I don't do that only towards players. I also try to develop trainers and other employees of the club. The goal is to make everyone better in his or her area."
Ernest Faber presents acquisition Richard Ledezma together with technical manager John de Jong
PSV-DNA
Learning, improving, outlining a typical PSV-DNA. It is what Faber wants to establish at PSV Campus De Herdgang in the coming years. "This," Faber makes a big round motion with his arms, "this will soon be an academy where sports, development and innovation come together. A place where players with a typical PSV DNA are trained. That people can see that someone was trained by this club. The region in which PSV is located has all the facilities and opportunities for that. We can be proud of that and we really have to make use of it to train talent even better."
Knowledge sharing
On medical matters, Faber argues, but also on how to deal with the data the club collects. "We live in a tremendously smart region. PSV has the attraction of bringing all those parties together with the goal of getting better. We then also make that knowledge available to others who benefit from it."
Ihattaren
Among other things, PSV is therefore investing in all kinds of innovative means to create the best conditions for talent. Faber has not yet had time to elaborate on that or Mohammed Ihattaren drops in. The 16-year-old talent who joined PSV 1 for the first time last winter during a training camp gives Faber a hug, a hand and walks away smiling again. "Mo'tje is a great example of what I mean," Faber says. "Someone with guts, someone who dares to take initiative, thinks in solutions and at the same time is very cheerful and open. Exactly values the club values."
Stability
The goal is for players such as Ihattaren to become an added value to PSV 1 and for youth players who do not eventually make it to the first team to go elsewhere in professional football in the Netherlands. "It is enormously valuable for me to be able to give something fundamental back to PSV. I owe a lot, perhaps everything, to this club. As a youth player, Huub Stevens (who was PSV's HJO for ten years when Faber himself went through PSV's youth training program, ed.) helped me get to the first team. That stability is incredibly important in an organization. Especially for talents."
Development
"I have been a player, youth coach and assistant coach," Faber continued. "I also replaced Phillip (Cocu, ed.) as head coach for a while and did some scouting work. This more managerial side I know a lot less about. I'm developing in that now, which is also an incredibly nice aspect of this job."
As coach of FC Groningen. In the background Phillip Cocu, with whom he celebrated the championship in 2015