http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/11196506/Revealed-How-Stuart-Lancaster-transformed-England-from-national-laughing-stock-into-World-Cup-hopefuls.html

Pep Guardiola: all I do is look at opponents and try to demolish them

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/oct/15/pep-guardiola-bayern-munich-pep-confidential-book-marti-perarnau?CMP=twt_gu

http://leftwingsoccer.com/iceland/

St Mary's is the perfect academy for youngsters at the Southampton dream factory
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/southampton/11199367/St-Marys-is-the-perfect-academy-for-youngsters-at-the-Southampton-dream-factory.html

Don't underestimate Rodgers - he's tougher than you think
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/dont-underestimate-rodgers-hes-tougher-than-you-think-30711043.html

THE MODERN EVOLUTION OF WINGERS AND FULL-BACKS
http://www.theoriginalcoach.com/#!the-evolution-of-wide-players/c1vkf

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/12/kids-football-parents-bad-behaviour-andrew-anthony?CMP=fb_gu

Kids' football: when dads go bad

https://www.the-newshub.com/stories/de-toekomst-a-tryst-with-the-world-famous-ajax-football-academy

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29647841

Harder, faster, stronger - creating tomorrow's footballer

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/oct/07/nathaniel-clyne-england-debut-brixton-volunteers
The Brixton volunteers who made Nathaniel Clyne an England player

http://whitehouseaddress.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/an-insight-into-birmingham-city-academy.html#!/2014/10/an-insight-into-birmingham-city-academy.html
An insight into Birmingham City Academy

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/nov/05/southampton-reaping-rewards-philosophy-new-training-ground
Southampton are finally reaping the rewards of their long-term philosophy

http://www.blueprintforfootball.com/2014/02/from-economics-to-football-from.html
From Economics to Football; From Cambridge to Crewe

http://bundesligafanatic.com/tuchel-modern-tactics-mainz05/
Thomas Tuchel’s Modern Tactics

http://www.blueprintforfootball.com/2014/06/when-it-is-too-early-to-predict.html?m=1
When It Is Too Early To Predict


http://farpostfooty.com/2014/06/23/the-futsal-shadows/
The Futsal Shadows

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/josip-simunic-just-one-of-a-growing-lost-generation-of-socceroos-20140321-hvl8e.html

Interesting article, although depressing to read.

One HAL youth coach told me when he was in one state it was easy to recruit the best payers, because most were playing in the NTC.

Then he moved to another state and he thinks some NPL clubs like to hide their talented players. He receives little cooperation from them in trying to progress their young, talented players to HAL level.





Edited by Decentric: 17/11/2014 08:57:58 AM

http://www.espnfc.com/blog/espn-fc-united-blog/68/post/2125800/arsene-wengers-belief-highlights-the-flaw-with-the-academy-system

Nov 4, 2014
Arsene Wenger's belief highlights the flaw with the academy system

Funny actually, because in Australia we are bemoaning the lack of strikers, relative to other players too.

http://www.socceramerica.com/article/60932/the-sisterhood-factor-in-coaching-girls-joan-st.html

The 'Sisterhood' factor in coaching girls (Joan Steidinger Q&A)
by Mike Woitalla, October 10th, 2014 2:04PM

http://www.espnfc.com/blog/espn-fc-united-blog/68/post/2161758/how-attacking-footballs-evolution-has-impacted-defending
How attacking football's evolution has impacted defending

http://www.theoriginalcoach.com/#!the-lost-art-of-defending/cs2m
THE LOST ART OF DEFENDING: WHY SO ATTACKING?

http://www.theoriginalcoach.com/#!the-death-of-the-centre-back/cnpq
THE FORGOTTEN MAN: DEATH TO FOOTBALL'S CENTRE-BACK

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/11202272/Premier-League-football-is-witnessing-the-death-of-defending-as-I-knew-it-and-its-not-coming-back.html
Premier League football is witnessing the death of defending as I knew it - and it's not coming back

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/mar/27/the-question-lost-art-of-defending-football-tactics-premier-league
The Question: have football teams lost the art of defending?
Jonathan Wilson

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Sports+Academy+Teaching+lost+tackle/10332250/story.html
Sports Academy: Teaching the lost art of the tackle Coaches should praise and develop defensive skills just as much as the offensive set

A whole lot of pdf from an assortment of clubs and coaches on training drills, carriculum and more.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rveaq01l9n7sli0/hG-UvGumEB

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who posts on this thread. Got a lot of information out of it and best thread on 442.

After reading Bergkamps biography in particular Johan Cruyffs take over of Ajax in Chapter 21 is very interesting.

One for you Decentric and how he (Cruyff) is different to KNVB even more now.

http://www.2shared.com/complete/W7JfnhpZ/Rapport_Cruijff.html

"The club’s youth teams were still good enough to win trophies, he noted, but the academy
(immodestly called De Toekomst – The Future) had turned into a weird soccer version of Stepford.
‘It was as if all the kids had been made in the same factory. It felt strange. They were all good, tidy,
rather technical players, but they weren’t special or flexible or creative. They did what was asked of
them. They knew their positions, played their roles, but even in the first team they had so little
creativity. When they had to improvise they’d look helplessly to the touchline as if to say: “Now what
do we do?” All the teams played four-three-three the way you’re supposed to at Ajax. But it was
completely uninspired, totally lethargic. The right-winger kept nicely to the right wing and did all the
little things a right-winger is supposed to do, like getting to the goal line and putting a cross in. The
left-back played exactly like a left-back and the defensive midfielder played like an Ajax defensive
midfielder. It was all by the book, but the heart was missing. I didn’t see one of the typical old Ajax
lads with that cheeky attitude: “Let me have the ball, I’ll do something good with it.”
Page 141 Stillness and Speed my storey Dennis Bergkamp

The plan had taken physical shape in the form of a report written by members of a circle close to
Cruyff and reflecting his ideas. The authors were Wim Jonk, Ruben Jongkind, an athletics trainer who
specialised in improving performances and who had worked with Jonk on an experimental training
programme, and Todd Beane, Cruyff’s son-in-law, an American coach who had spent eight years
developing the international dimension of Cruyff’s football institute, which helps educate youngsters
who want to build a career in sport – and prepares them for life afterwards. The report envisioned a
root-and-branch transformation of the club through its youth. The old, Van Gaal-style focus on tactics,
systems and teamwork would be swept away and replaced by a new intensive approach to
developing extraordinary individuals. De Toekomst would become less like a football factory and
more like a workshop for encouraging and educating genius:
Pg 142

‘The only team that needs to win trophies is the first team. The youth teams don’t need to win, they
just need to make their players better. So what does the individual need at a certain age? Should you
talk tactics to a player before the age of fourteen? At that age it goes in one ear and out the other. It
really doesn’t mean anything. pg 145

Juego de posicion – A short explanation
Filed under Tactical Theory {1 comment}

“Juego de Posicion” is a widely unknown concept in Austria and Germany. To coaches in Spain and the Netherlands it is a philosophical ideal that few know how to coach. In German-speaking countries, however, “Positionsspiel” has a different, more simple definition that loses many of the important aspects. But, more importantly, what is “Juego de Posicion”?

An Offensive Concept

Juego de Posicion comes down to giving the offense a set of guidelines to play within a structured scheme. The playing field is divided into specific zones with four vertical lines and some horizontal lines. Here is an example from Pep Guardiola and FC Bayern’s Säbener Straße:




Is it dogmatic?
Is this how Guardiola's pitch always looks like?

Is this how Guardiola’s pitch always looks like?

This basic idea is used by Louis van Gaal who is also accused of being highly dogmatic and using a rigid system. However, this misses the point. The goal of “Juego de Posicion” (or “Positiespel”) is that the zones and the tasks within them are flexible and can be occupied and used by different players. There are usually problems in the implementation in training or the adjustment and understanding of the players. Rigid positions and an extremely dogmatic style are created specifically for when the players don’t know when to leave their positions or aren’t confident in the other positions.

There are also guidelines for this. Triangles should be formed in order to maintain short passing combinations. The ball carrier should have two or, ideally, three passing options (in diamond rather than triangle shapes) nearby. Further passing options extend from these shapes and should arise throughout the team in an organized and connected manner. The triangles emerge from the fact that no more than three players may be in a line horizontally and no more than two players in a line vertically. If a player moves onto the same line as another player in order to offer himself for a pass, the other must switch to another line.

By doing so, you can pass around the opponent or draw him in and then shift. At Bayern, you can see this on the wing; if Robben hugs the touchline, then the full-back indents or pushes inward. However, if the full-back pushes to the wing, then the winger moves towards the half-space. This ensures the nearest eight or the defender at the back always have two passing options.

The pass patterns, the formation and the tasks of the ball carrier and the players near the ball depends on the playing philosophy of the coach. Thus, in addition to the positions occupied and the short passes, the possession and rotation of the ball is crucial. This can also lead to dogmatism.
Possession as a tool: Possession is not a philosophy

The fundamental reason behind the high possession percentage of “Juego de Posicion” is that the rotation of the ball is a tool to outplay and open the opposition. You allow the opponent to shift, lure him in, and open specific spaces or play through balls to win space. “Dominating possession” is not just a Spanish or Dutch playing philosophy, but a tool of “Juego de Posicion.”
Could a grid also look like this?

Could a grid also look like this?

It is not an end in itself but is designed to move the opponent so that you can get through them with your attacks. Only if that doesn’t work are you allowed to circulate the ball for a moment without attempting to attack. You regroup, take shape around the opposition and try again. However, there is also a perversion of this idea that causes a lot of criticism.
Possession as a Philosophy and the resulting misunderstanding of Spain’s Tikinaccio

If possession alone is the philosophy, then there are problems. The Spanish national team under Del Bosque has not implemented “Juego de Posicion” yet the Spaniards have always enjoyed a lot of possession. This was primarily used in 2010 and 2012 as a defensive method. This “Tiki taka” does not reflect the basic intent of “Juego de Posicion” and can be practiced without even using positional play.

Teams that use tiquitaca are often susceptible to having a lot of ineffective possession. This is not a tactical method but a consequence of lacking effective positional play. It will be difficult to generate attacks, requiring you to restart your buildup over and over again, and in doing so become sluggish, which leads to absurd possession numbers.

This should not, however, lead to criticism of positional play itself. It is a neutral concept that has many advantages and does not follow a particular philosophy.
Conclusion

As you can see, Juego de Posicion is an interesting offensive concept which is often neglected in many other countries. Every coach has his own mechanisms and can install his own patterns into the structure. The basic ideas can also be used on defense. Roger Schmidt uses similar zones to Pep Guardiola to serve as landmarks for his team’s defensive work.



Coaching this style is complex. The trainer must be aware of the impact of the ball’s position on the structure of the game and know the characteristics of his players in order to design the formation, processes, and tasks; not to mention how he will coach them. A coach has several tools for training the concept including verbal coaching, using lines painted on the field as landmarks, designing situational exercises, and creating training games.
http://spielverlagerung.com/2014/11/26/juego-de-posicion-a-short-explanation/



Edited by Arthur: 12/12/2014 06:30:13 PM

A good introduction of how to structure an offense Arthur, do you know of any videos where we can see this sort of session being coached? I know leopold method has had a few similar articles. Here is one where instead of using the field as a guide the focus is on providing angled support from the foundation of your teammates position.

Leopold Method - Angles of Support

Edited by tjwhalan: 16/12/2014 02:36:12 PM

http://www.prozonesports.com/big-event-big-data-world-cup-2014-evolution-football/
Big Event, Big Data: World Cup 2014 and the evolution of football

http://m.ajs.sagepub.com/content/38/9/1752.short
Effect of 2 Soccer Matches in a Week on Physical Performance and Injury Rate

http://talkingeducationandsport.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/six-strategies-for-improving-learning.html
Six strategies for improving learning in sport

http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/2292/editorials/2013/06/25/4072392/grassroots-special-environment-matters-for-young-footballers
Grassroots Special: Environment matters for young footballers

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sport/football/article-2888728/The-five-year-plan-helped-Southampton-target-four-spot.html
REVEALED: The five-year plan which has helped Southampton target top four spot

http://backpagefootball.com/freddy-adu-everything-nothing/89288/?utm_content=buffera5a7a
Freddy Adu about everything and nothing at all


Edited by Arthur: 28/12/2014 05:36:21 PM

https://footblogball.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/ulf-carlsson-gothenborg-football-association/
Swedish development

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/dec/31/chelsea-cesc-fabregas-premier-league-statistics-manchester-united?CMP=share_btn_tw
Chelsea’s Cesc Fàbregas tops Premier League statistics but there are surprises

http://www.espnfc.com/german-bundesliga/10/blog/post/2219877/issues-looming-for-germanys-footballing-landscape
Issues looming for Germany's footballing landscape

http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/soccer-home-field-conundrum
Soccer’s Home-Field Conundrum

http://www.thetacticsroom.com/articles/2014/12/30/how-jose-mourinhos-chelsea-have-mastered-game-management
How José Mourinho’s Chelsea Have Mastered Game Management

http://ja3football.wordpress.com/2014/11/07/in-defence-of-literal-translation-counterpressing-and-half-spaces/
In Defence of Literal Translation – Counterpressing and Half Spaces

http://www.barcelonasoccer.club/infographic-10-facts-about-soccer-that-you-probably-dont-know/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=influencers&utm_campaign=influencers%2010%20facts
10 Facts about Soccer that You Probably DON’T Know.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/dec/29/tactical-review-of-2014-three-at-the-back-back-in-fashion-football
Tactical review of 2014: three at the back is back in fashion

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/dec/30/tactical-review-of-2014-tiki-taka-exile-counter-counterattack?CMP=share_btn_tw
Tactical review of 2014 part two: tiki-taka’s exile and counter-counters

http://thisguytoph.wordpress.com/

COACHING POSSESSION SERIES: The Final Third

http://thetalentcode.com/2014/08/19/10-surprising-truths-from-the-worlds-most-successful-talent-hotbed/
10 Surprising Truths from the World’s Most Successful Talent Hotbed

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jul/07/can-science-spot-talent-kaufman?CMP=twt_gu
What is talent – and can science spot what we will be best at? \

http://www.pelinks4u.org/articles/conatser1109.htm
Utilizing 'Differential Learning' & "Dynamical Systems" in Physical Education
Written by: Phillip Conatser; Contributing Author: Eric James

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/11335368/Harry-Kanes-incredible-journey-from-Arsenal-reject-to-Tottenham-hero.html
Harry Kane's incredible journey from Arsenal reject to Tottenham hero

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21640629.2013.790167#.VKqqfMm2V2A@tandfsport
Performance during performance: using Goffman to understand the behaviours of elite youth football coaches during games

http://socceranywhere.com/raymond-verheijen/

http://www.bayerncentral.com/2015/02/youth-development-german-football-investing/

http://static.bundesliga.com/media/native/dfl/gb_dfl_bl_report_2015_150dpi.pdf

Great stuff, Arthur.:)

Hawthorn's lesson for the competition

Jake Niall
Published: March 7, 2015 - 8:24PM

Hawthorn's edge over the competition has been apparent in three spheres: kicking, the needs-based recruitment of seasoned players and coaching innovation.

Unsurprisingly, rival clubs are following Hawthorn's lead in foot skills and position-specific recruiting from other clubs. Geelong, who once relied almost exclusively on drafting kids, has turned Copy Cats and sought to recruit a raft of experienced players - Hamish McIntosh, Jared Rivers, Mitch Clark, Rhys Stanley and potentially Patrick Dangerfield - to fill the craters that have suddenly opened up as champions exit.

But another significant, albeit less-sexy, Hawthorn edge has received little recognition or imitation. For if the Hawks have taught the competition the value of kicking, they've been much less successful in teaching their rivals the value of teachers.

On Sunday, Rob McCartney will be sitting on the bench at Shepparton's Deakin Reserve, alongside the resting Hawthorn players, as the bulk of the premiership team have their first rigorous match practice of 2015 against North Melbourne. It is a ground that McCartney, Hawthorn's latest addition to the coaching panel, knows well. He was school principal at Shepparton's Guthrie Street Primary School from 2007 until the end of last year, and has worked as teacher, assistant principal or school principal since 1990.

McCartney is 46 and never played VFL, much less AFL. Reared in Nhill, a short gallop from Alastair Clarkson's home town of Kaniva, he didn't progress beyond the station of very capable country footballer. While he has extensive coaching experience in the bush - twice coaching Numurkah in the Murray Football League - he hasn't coached a local senior team since 2006.

Hawthorn were untroubled that McCartney had no AFL pedigree, was middleaged and hadn't even coached at senior country level for more than eight years. In effect, he's replaced Luke Beveridge - now senior coach of the Bulldogs - on the Hawthorn coaching panel, although he fills a more junior role in development and honing the leadership of younger players.

The Hawks had confidence in McCartney because he has a serious track record, not simply in local footy, but as an educator. He can teach. Clarkson also knew him from their teenage years in the Wimmera. "They go back a long way," explained Hawthorn's football operations manager Chris Fagan.

Hawthorn prefer players who can kick and coaches who can teach. Whereas many rivals have filled their coaching ranks with distinguished ex-players, the Hawks have more ex-teachers in their coaching panel and football department than ex-AFL players.

Clarkson, an ex-physical education teacher, has a panel that resembles a school's staff room. Fagan, like McCartney, taught at primary school. Brendon Bolton, who coached the club during Clarkson's illness last year, and Damian Carroll, are also former phys-ed teachers without AFL playing records; Bolton studied the teaching of teachers in England.

David Rath, the club's in-house science boffin, has lectured in biomechanics (he was Clarkson's first hiring in 2004), while player welfare manager and football administration head Jason Burt, too, came from teaching. Mark Evans, the head of football at Hawthorn until his ascension to the AFL, was another ex-teacher. Of the coaches, only Box Hill coach Marco Bello, Adem Yze, ex-Carlton coach Brett Ratten, Cameron Bruce and opposition analyst John Wardrop are without formal teaching backgrounds, but they wouldn't be hired without some teaching aptitude. Bruce's father was a school principal.

To coach doesn't require a teaching background, but the ability to teach is essential. Robert Walls and David Parkin were trained teachers, Allan Jeans was a policeman, Kevin Sheedy a plumber, yet all had a capacity to impart knowledge to players.

One of the advantages of hiring ex-teachers with minimal - or zero - AFL playing resumes is that they are accustomed to teaching wages (median of $60,000 for high school teachers), not AFL player rates ($283,000 average in 2014). In a competition that has introduced a cap on football spending, this saving frees up money for everything else

Why would clubs pay a distinguished ex-player, who has never coached, $200,000-plus to be an assistant, when the likes of Carroll, Bolton and company can be hired for nearly half that amount?

Over summer, Clarkson visited English soccer's nouveau power, Manchester City, and the Philadelphia 76ers, coached by ex-Australian Boomers coach Brett Brown. Typically, the Hawthorn coach uses these jaunts to pick up ideas that might be transferred to the AFL. Tellingly, Clarkson and his lieutenants don't simply focus on how a soccer club moves the ball, or basketball and ice hockey teams defend. They focus heavily on how these teams impart information, teach or drill their players. An innovative game plan that can't be implemented is futile.

"Coaching is teaching," wrote David Wheadon, the long-time assistant coach with various Victorian club in his textbook The Art of Coaching. "The next edge in individual and team performance in football will come from improvements in teaching and people management - the art of coaching."

AFL clubs would do well, thus, to re-imagine their football operations as a small school, or a classroom, in which there are about 10 teachers and 45 pupils, plus support staff. The expansion teams, with their unusual volume of high draft picks, can be likened to an elite government school - such as Melbourne High School. Their challenge is to ensure that their gifted students realise their potential; if they retain the brightest kids and teach them well, they'll post the best scores.

The Hawks are more akin to a small, elite private school with significant teaching resources and facilities. They're about value adding to the cohort, turning a B student into an A-grader via expert tuition.

But coaching in the AFL differs from the school classroom in this important respect: that whereas a teacher's mission is to instruct and inspire each individual, the coach's end-game is to gain a collective outcome - victory on the field. In seeking team success, a coach has to jettison students - sack them, move them to positions they don't like and so on. The coach is a teacher, but his job description also has a ruthless, military element. He is judged on team performance, not the flowering of individuals.

Clarkson carries both a touch of the inspirational teacher and the feared general. And, at his behest, the family club has become the teacher's team.

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/hawthorns-lesson-for-the-competition-20150307-13y06n.html

Are Academies Restricting Creativity?
On the night where Suarez scores four goals for Liverpool it seems fitting to discuss something which Dennis Bergkamp discusses in his book Stillness and Speed. Suarez is a fascination because he is something almost unseen in English football. He is unorthodox to say the least and has moments where he crosses the line, yet there is something remarkable about Suarez, yet as this article discusses will English football ever develop a player like him?


This week there has been some stern criticism about the English school system and how poorly it performs against other countries around the world. What is the problem? Archaic teaching methods? The acquisition of knowledge yet a lack of application? It would appear that there is a lack of modernity to the approach as well as a simple lack of hours and commitment.

The amount of hours students spend in extra studies at home and in school is paled in comparison to other nations. Quite simply there is a lack of drive, dedication and investment in learning. Therefore it is little surprise we are developing intelligent children.

This is not too far away from England’s ability to compete with many of the top nations in regards to football. The frustration of England’s youth development, the seeming lack of progress and of course England’s inability to compete with the top nations, as well as those with ‘small’ populations in Holland and Belgium point to serious issues.

Where's the creativity

Perhaps the issue in both school and football is that there is a distinct lack of creativity and freedom of expression afforded English students. England has always been a very structured, regimented and analytical in its approach. This is seen in the school system and which has been taken into the world of football development.

In an excellent talk from Ken Robinson titled “How schools kill creativity” he discusses how pupils who possess creative flair (or for schools should I say disruptive attitudes), are attempted to be changed to fit the norm. School he argues is a place to develop University lecturers, and little else. The system neglects and laments creativity, much like English football has done for decades.

Skill, expression, creativity has been looked on negatively by an FA who valued structure, organisation and conformity. A coaching culture was developed with these ideas and beliefs which meant England developed players whose skill and creativity was often coached out of them.

When we wonder why we lack players with skill then we must look at our coaching culture. It would appear that the Academy system, which in some places (Southampton & Everton) has sought to develop skilful and intelligent players has generally been a place where skill is diminished.

Much like schools, players are often coached to limit their skill and craft, coached not to try things as to not make mistakes. Academies like the school system has become a place of conformity, if you don’t fit in with what is asked then you are released. However some of the greatest players, the genius’ of the game were often non-conformists, they had their own way and style. Would they make it in today’s academy structure?

And it’s not just in England. Dennis Bergkamp in his excellent book discusses his concerns with over-coaching of players in Academies.

If you look at the coaches we have now, they're so different. They all have their badges, and they are all very sympathetic and know exactly how to play football and what kind of exercises you should do, and for how many minutes, and the distances between the goals, and where the cones should be where you're playing positional games. And they know not to play too long - one and a half hours maximum. Maybe that's the problem. We never had that sort of attention, so we were more self-taught. Even with all the shouting, you just created your own thing.

He makes the point that this culture has produced players who struggle to make their own decisions and when confronted with a problem of which they have not been introduced, look to the side for answers instead of seeking to solve it themselves.

It was really quite free for you to teach yourself. There's no shouting or military guys any more, but it's more strict in a football sense. Everything is done by the book. Is it too much? Probably. Everything is done for the kids now. They're picked up from school by mini-vans. The food is there, the teaching is there. Everything, How can they develop themselves if everything is done for them? As soon as it's a bit different it's "Oh no! I don't know what to do!" You see them looking at the bench to find out what they should do.

The unorthodox intelligence

And this is where we bring in Luis Suarez. Bergkamp makes reference to when Luis Suarez was at Ajax and how unorthodox he was. He points out that he was evidently not a product of these football schools and environments, he was raw, rugged, tenacious. He would do things to win which many coaches across Europe would perhaps not approve of.

You can see the difference with Luis Suarez when he was here (at Ajax). Of course, maybe you wouldn't agree with the things he did, but he was always trying to create something, always thinking. "How can I get the best from this situation? Do I have to pull the shirt of his defender to get in front of him? Do I get out of position to control the ball?" His mind is always busy thinking. He's very creative.

It begs the question that if Suarez had developed in one of Europe’s academies would he be the player he is now, would he even have made it? A player like Suarez has made Bergkamp reassess what Ajax is doing with their youngsters. He worries they had gone too far in over-coaching and structuring the sessions. Therefore he says;

That's one of the things we try to do with the training now in Youth - give players the chance to develop themselves into creative, special, unique individuals. We can't copy what we had in the past. Somehow we have to find a different way, so the players who come into the first team are creative again, can think for themselves, can make a difference. Be special. Be unique. That's what we want.

South American flair

Right now there is an argument as to who is the best player in the Premier League; Suarez or Aguero. For me it is Aguero yet I love Suarez. Both are unorthodox, skilful, creative and very effective. The fact both are South American is not surprising. They way players develop there is very much from a street football environment.

Through futsal type games the players develop their skills, creativity yet most importantly their intelligence and decision making. Coaches evidently allow players to express and try things as youngsters because the products coming out of South America possess these kind of skills.

As well as this these players have a ruthlessness, a desire and a tenacity which although English players are supposed to possess, they actually don’t. Why? Because it is coached out of them in Academies.

In England they are too pampered and provided such a ‘nice’ environment in which to develop. The ‘nice’ players are those who often make it, others not with the right ‘attitudes’ required for top level football. Yet is there not a concern that the Academy system is simply developing one type of player, in the same way Robinson argues the school system is there to develop simply one type of person.

Do we not wish to be more creative with how we develop, recruit and promote players? While we admire and envy players like Suarez, Aguero and Tevez perhaps we should look at ways we can find and develop our own.

Solutions?

Can we replicate environments of South America? Perhaps. Yet we cannot replicate the culture or socio-economic situations. Yet we can change our culture to having children ‘play’. Too many are locked indoors after school and are restricted from playing and socialising. This is only producing a sedentary, lazy and computer focused generation.

How can young children get the hours required to compete with their South American counterparts when they are sitting in front of TV’s? Parents need to change their approach, not every child will become a Suarez yet they may be fitter, socially less awkward and have a more fulfilling childhood?

To help these kids we need to create a culture of ‘street football’ which allows players to play and develop their own creativity and decisions away from ‘coaches’ who make decisions for them. Investing in free futsal courts would be a start.

As for the coaching culture, teaching skills to players is a key part of it yet more games is key. Too many ‘nice’ practices may look good for a coach yet these are a waste of time in developing players skill and intelligence. Playing games with varied rules and thus problems will allow players to think, solve and develop. Coaches therefore need to be facilitators and guides more than “stop stand still, listen to me” coaches (products of the FA coaching system).


As Bergkamp says this is not a problem just for England but for Europe in general. The Western school system cannot help become part of the football education and with the new EPPP the intention is to make the Academy process even more structured like the school system. Whereas this may help provide more structure there is a concern it may mean more coaching and conformity.

Will players be allowed to think, express and develop their skill and intelligence with this increased structure? It is not to say we won’t develop more players through this model, yet there is a concern we will develop only a certain type of player, and a Luis Suarez type does not appear in-line with the Academy system.

Ironic that he, like Aguero is rated so highly. We may have our own, yet our system may disregard them. Makes you think doesn’t it.

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address
http://whitehouseaddress.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/are-academies-restricting-creativity.html

I liked the article on England, but not the AFL one.

Will certainly add something to the second one soon.

Thanks Arthur.=d>

he is believer in the merits of futsal as the street football replacement. However I have seen futsal sessions AFA with u8 players performing patterns rather than allowing creativity.