By Denis Dau Karam
There are very few characters whose echoes continue when they leave the earthly world. Such thought applies to our friend and brother Jorge Lazo, who left his unmistakable marks as a father, was a leader as a player, iconic as a coach, and lauded for the titles he won with the teams he managed. Today his soul is in another home, a home full of lights.
Jorge never refused to stay updated in football matters; his vertical teachings, his pupils, journalism, and his professional colleagues described him as a didactic coach.
A few days before he left, he made an effort to write his final advice with symmetry and methodology; they were:
Learn to understand that the field is not flat to the view.
Travel the field with your eyes to move forward and backward.
Learn to walk and understand the different terrains in their magnitude.
Learn to have knowledge of the value of distance.
When players reach certain areas of the field, they have to go to a zone they do not dominate, as if they were walking on a forest, lagoon, or muddy ground.
A player who plays with his head down does not work and is not useful.
Look ahead! Not just at the goal, but to generate play options.
The essence of the game is the goal, that's how some great cracks lived.
Really, he was a prodigious coach; what if metaphorically we ask Jorge in his new dwelling the following questions: How is football practiced up there?... How many fans go to the games?... How are the World Cups played?... Do Barcelona or Emelec fans predominate?... How do the fan groups behave?... Could you coach those new souls?... And finally, do you guarantee being a champion?
We await his answers... (O)