Muricy Ramalho: Brazilian Champion in 2006, 2007, and 2008

ESPN Brasil carried out a roundtable discussion with Muricy Ramalho. Here are some of the insights into this extraordinary but mild-mannered football coach.

He is soft spoken but carries a big stick. Not afraid to bench or sub anyone, he rules supreme at Sao Paulo, and is not afraid to state this outright to his hosts at ESPN. Proof of this is seen not only in his incredible record but also smaller victories such as Adriano's recovery and discipline under Ramalho's watch.

His accomplishments are highlighted by a record three in a row Brazilian titles for Sao Paulo, but it must also be mentioned that he came in second with Internacional in 2005, winning at least the state championship for Inter that year.

So it is fair to say that Ramalho is the most successful Brazilian coach for the last half decade or so. However, as the ESPN crew admitted, he is hardly ever highlighted by the media, except for this year with the hat-trick.

Perhaps this is due to his quiet personality and very secluded life. He very often does not even go out with the winning clubs to celebrate, preferring to return to his nest where Ramalho says he feels best.

"Family is everything," he declares. He also says he does not particularly like to travel and close to home is where he will probably always stay. That's bad news for clubs and countries worldwide who no doubt have their eyes on him.

Sao Paulo played with a record 11 youth players in the first team winning group this year and Ramalho had this to say:

"I always give preference to our youth players. I go down to their trainer, look him in the eyes, and I ask for an animal, a monster, more or less or pretty good won't cut it. If he says all he has is good then we must look elsewhere for playing in the Brazilian league or Libertadores is only for the very finest; just good is just not good enough."

So sometimes players are bought or borrowed from Europe, Brazil, or elsewhere but the focus is always to approach the youth base first.

Ramalho also said that the constant sale of players to Europe and also the Brazilian squad calling players for friendlies, World Cup qualifying, Olympics, etc. was not a problem.

Sao Paulo has a policy of selling players and he lives and works within this policy. The youth base is very strong and he never "cries" over any player. This kind of "crying," as he puts it, dampens the spirit of the group and lowers the self-worth of the replacement player.

Manchester United could take a page from Ramalho's book and just let Cristiano go to Real, as no doubt this must be affecting the entire group. But those are just my thoughts coming out of the bleachers so to speak. Now back to Ramalho.

Ramalho did say that he was disappointed with Adriano leaving so soon, however. Adriano had shown fantastic progress, but the recovery job was not quite over and perhaps a year would have been more appropriate. His sudden departure also affected the group as Adriano had become an integral part of things.

Mourinho will no doubt agree as Adriano today is a shadow of Ramalho's version.

When asked about his failures at Libertadores he declined to use the word "priority," claiming that this was a dangerous word. However, in a very roundabout way he did say that the priority was given to the state championship where the major fanbase is and of course the Brazilian championship. Perhaps next year may be different.

Someone shouted the name "Ronaldo" and there was a brief hush. Ramalho then said that he was dining with Zico when on the television the Ronaldo Corinthians story started to show.

He was immediately taken aback by Ronaldo's face, which was thin. He said that this is good for Sao Paulo's state football but how it hurts the Sao Paulo Club we will soon know.

"He is definitely to be respected even though he may play a different role nowadays much closer to the area as I doubt he can still do those 20 yard runs. He looks very fit and training in an academy has paid off. We will watch his return closely and prepare our defense," Ramalho declared.

Also questioned about defense in the modern game, Ramalho conceded that defending has become very important. He made comparisons to the NBA where players are taught to play even harder without the ball.

Gone are the days of Pele and Santos where you could let the other club score four and then simply score six yourself.

If your opponent is swamping you then there are huge gaps in their side of the field.

One of the most beautiful goals this season was on the counterattack versus none other than his old club Internacional.