French women's soccer coach uses poetry to get players amped up

According to a New York Times article, Bruno Bini, the coach of the French women’s soccer team, reads poetry and sings self-penned ditties to his players instead of the usual old rah-rah-rah.

From the article:

Each day, the 56-year-old Bini posts on a board his thoughts, words of encouragement and inspiration. Sometimes, he shows movies, like “Dead Poets Society” and the football film starring Al Pacino, “Any Given Sunday.”

He explains:

“That’s my way of life, of working.... Literature and poetry and music are my instruments to convey my messages to the team.”

As we all know, or in some cases find out from articles like this, France and USA are set to face off in Women's World Cup Semifinals, and it's a bit heated:

When told that the Americans had complimented the French players, saying they had guts, Bini said, “This is football, not a charcuterie.”

The match comes at a time of sensitive relations between the United States and France, given the visible and now-teetering sexual-assault case in New York involving Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who had been considered a candidate for France’s presidency.

Midfielder Caroline Pizzala was asked if the French were playing for the cause of women in their country. Before she could respond, Bini said, “We are here to discuss soccer, not political matters.”

The American team probably gets in the mood with this classic standby.