Imagine that you're an eighteen year old who has been given the opportunity to learn and develop at Barcelona's famous La Masia complex. Imagine also that you're so good that Pep Guardiola occasionally adds you to the first team; even giving you playing time in pre-season friendlies and Copa del Rey games. And, on top of all of that, imagine also that the club has such faith in you that they've offered you a three year contract. Life, one would imagine, would pretty much be perfect.
For Guy Assulin there was no need to imagine: this was his life. Only that in his eyes life wasn't perfect. So much that when Barcelona offered him that three year deal he turned it down. He didn't want to keep on playing for Barca's 'B' team, where the club's coaches felt his development would be facilitated, but instead wanted to play on the big stage.
So instead his contract was torn up and he opted to join Manchester City. Not only was this a club that had ambitions that matched his own, it also claimed that it was willing to turn to youth to fuel it's growth.
Whilst it is true that City are working to reach a point whereby they too, like Barcelona, have a team centred around players that have been developed at its academy, for them that is a longer term goal.
In the short term it is money and the players it can convince to join them which will allow them to fulfill their ambitions. And with that money they tend to fill any gaps in the squad by buying ready made players.
Which left Assulin in a very difficult position. Rather than closer to the first team, he found himself further away. To play at a senior level he had to go out on loan at Brighton but even there he played on only seven occasions. Too little to really make an impact. Too little, also, to convince Manchester City who opted to release him at the end of the season. Probably not what the boy once likened to Lionel Messi expected would happen when he moved to Manchester.
There is, of course, no guarantee that his career would have turned out any differently had he opted to stay at Barcelona. Similarly, for a player with such a reputation, Assulin shouldn't have too many problems finding a new club. He is also young enough to go on to fulfill his early potential.
Yet it is impossible not to look back at these past two years and wonder about what might have been. Not only was Assulin at one of the most successful clubs in modern history but it also happened to be one famed for the faith it held in the players developed through its system.
This he swapped for a club where the pressure to succeed was so high that it was always going to be improbable that a young player would find any way through.
It goes to show that, no matter how good the coaching and the structure, ultimately it depends on the players and those around them. Some show patience and bow their heads to what other more experienced people tell them. Others, however, take their talent for granted and assume that hard work isn't something that applies to them. Success, they believe (or are led to believe) will accrue to them by right.
It is the curse of the talented. And why so many fail to make it to the levels they had the potential to reach.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Inside Barca's Talent Factory
There are
few clubs as fascinating as Barcelona FC.
Not only do they play the best football on the planet but they've been
incredibly successful with it. Yet the
real admiration for them does not stem from that but from the make up of their
team that regularly includes some seven or eight players who have been with the
club since childhood.
How did this
production line start?
Barcelona's
success in this respect is often attributed to a good youth system but, whilst
fundamentally true, that is a simplistic way of looking at it. Barcelona have managed to do what they have because
they developed a philosophy and weaved it into every aspect of how their
football club is run: scouting, training, recruiting of players, everything is
driven by a common vision.
Most of this
work is carried out at La Masia, where Barcelona have established their cantera. Many have made the trek there
to try and analyse the reasons for their success, but few have done so with as
much interest as Marti Perarnau.
An athlete
who represented Spain in the high jump in the 1980 Olympics, Perarnau
subsequently turned to sports journalism authoring a number of books including
Senda de Campeones (Path of Champions) where he looked in detail into what goes
on at La Masia to ensure that so many players graduate to regulars at the Nou
Camp.
Barring
those who actually run La Masia, he is perhaps the most knowledgeable person to
talk to about what has made Barcelona so successful.
How did your
interest in player development begin?
I have
always been very interested in the careers of young players to see whether they
can fulfill their early promise or, in case they don't succeed, try to find out
the reasons for that failure. In recent years I have been interested primarily
in the work of the major Spanish canteras:
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad.
When did you
decide you wanted to write a book about this and how much help did you find?
In summer
2010 I made some special reports for a sports newspaper on the most promising
then Barça B: Thiago Alcantara, Marc Bartra, Sergi Roberto, Andreu Fontàs, Marc
Muniesa. After I had finished this report I realized I had a lot of good
material, enough to structure a possible book on how players in Barca's La
Masia are trained. I found a neutral attitude at the club: they were
outstanding in allowing me access to some information, but also quite reluctant
about how young people were trained. I felt fine with this as Barca were only
seeking to protect their kids. They do not want the pressure of the media
distracting them from their path.
How did this
production line start?
In the 70's
through Laureano Ruiz, a Barca manager who was tasked with sowing the
seeds. Of course, over the last 40 years
football has changed a lot but along the way Barca took some important
decisions. With the arrival of Johan Cruyff in 1988, Barca's youth system was given a phenomenal
boost: he implanted a unique idea of play, a training model, Established the
kind of player needed...in short, the main features and characteristics of a
Barca player today.
What makes
it so special?
It is a sum
of things: the idea, the model, teachers who have spent years and years leading
the way, the special type of the player, and the institutional will of the club
to fill the first team with players from their youth system.
How
important are the results?
A lot. Pep Guardiola says that you cannot separate
training and competition. You aren't there not to lose: you are there to win.
Winning or losing is part of the comprehensive education and the club looks to
win always, but through a set way to play. In this they are ruthless: you have
to do everything possible to win, but with an undisputed way of play.
What are the
facilities like?
The Ciudad
Deportiva Joan Gamper (the name of club's founder) contains all of the football
club, from Guardiola's first team to the kids' U8 team and the women's teams.
There are a dozen training pitches and complementary facilities that are
occupied almost every day of the season.
How are the
players chosen? What skills do you want?
Technique,
tactical intelligence and mental speed. These three traits are the ones that
matter. Players with very good technique, who are able to understand the game
(not just play, but also understand it) and speed of mind.
Is physical
strength and height given much importance?
None. Barca
does not care about the size of the player. The three parameters I mentioned
are the only ones that matter. Not even if you stand out during a tournament.
Indeed, Barcelona often signe kids that have gone unnoticed in a tournament,
but have those three potential features.
What is the
training like? What aspects are given more importance? Technique? Tactics?
By the time
they reach the first team a player will be already have practiced over 10,000
hours of training and games: games of position, piggy in the middle, hours and
hours of trying not to lose the ball and great technique. The tactic becomes
second nature and players learn that this is how they see the game.
A lot of
clubs to produce good players who cannot make the final step and fully realize
its potential. However, Barçelona seem to do it over and over again. How do
they manage it?
Pep
Guardiola says that there aren’t any major differences between the Barca cantera and others. The difference that exists is that the club
uses its homegrown and makes them play with the first team. The latter is true:
there is a great boldness in the entire club. They are willing to do almost
anything for young people to succeed. That said I do see that there are differences with
other canteras.
Although you
can never generalize, despite the talent and success is no arrogance among the
Barcelona players. People like Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Pique and Puyol all seem
very humble. Is this down to the way
they are brought up at La Masia? What factors contribute to this?
There is a very strong desire at La Masia to
educate all young people holistically, not simply to focus football. This is
done in basic values such as effort and work, solidarity and commitment to the
group, honesty and cleanliness in how they behave, humility in success and
sobriety. Of course, this is what they
try to teach but everyone takes what he wants from these values. Not all are like Xavi and Iniesta, but overall
there is a high rate of well educated people.
There is
much talk about how the players train, but what about thecoaches? How are they
chosen and prepared?
This is a
very important aspect for the future. They are chosen by club managers among
graduates in physical education and football coaches. They hire those who seem better trained and
talented, but in recent times the club has gone a step further and also set up
a sort of school for coaches. It will
not be easy to achieve, but they will try.
Inevitably,
there will be clubs that try to copy the what Barca have done, but in my opinion,
few will succeed unless they have a philosophy of play of their own. You can
take something that the club is doing and copy it, but you have to put in their
own ingredients. Do you agree?
Absolutely. The basic aspects of Barca’s
system was to have an idea of how to play the game, create a training model,
find the type of player that adapts to it and spend many years and energies in
this operation. But each club should put
in the pot their own ingredients, no doubt.
One way of clubs
have tried to copy Barca is by hiring their youth coaches: Luis Enrique in
Rome, Josep Colmer in Qatar, Rodolfo Borrell at Liverpool. Do you see this as a problem?
I think they
are very different attempts from one another. Perhaps the most interesting one is that of
Liverpool, where there are two former Barca coaches in Pep Segura and Rodolfo
Borrell, who lead the Academy and reserves.
However they do so with a style of play and training model that is adapted
to their realities and needs. It is a very interesting experience to observe.
This summer,
Barcelona let a player like Oriol Romeu go. Why, given his talent? Have they reached a stage where they can start
exporting players?
First of
all, not all players fit into the first team. There is a significant over flow
of talent and some promising player should be transferred. Secondly, Guardiola did
not seem very enthusiastic about Romeu: he prefers other midfielders.
Historically,
teams haven’t managed to keep producing generation after generation of great
players. Do you think Barca will succeed? If so, how and why do you think so?
Probably
yes, but another Messi, Xavi or Iniesta is practically impossible. However there are very talented players aged between
14 and 19, boys who are very promising. Not only that but every year refinements are
made to make the system better and more sustainable. A great future for Barça’s youth players is
predicted.
Thanks a lot to Marti Perarnau for his help. An English version of his book Senda de Campeones is in the pipeline but, in the meantime there is his on-line magazine that is bursting with intelligent articles that, with the magic of Google Chrome, one can enjoy even if you don't know Spanish.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Sacchi's Criticism of Italian Football
But Sacchi was much more than that; he was a man who revolutionised the game. At a time when football was dominated by the ultra-defensive catenaccio inspired tactics, Sacchi had the courage and vision to build a team that pressed constantly to get the ball whilst doing away with man-to-man marking in favour of the zonal system. More than anything, he wanted his teams to play fast, attacking, attractive football.
It was a winning style but, physically, also a very demanding one. Eventually his players couldn’t keep up with the intensity he required and his methods became less effective. He moved on to manage Italy and led them to a World Cup final in 1994 but never achieved the wide acclaim that such a result deserved. When, two years later, Italy failed miserably at the European Championships he was dismissed and subsequently shunned by Italian football.
No one wanted to hear what the Profeta di Fusignano (Prophet of Fusignano) had to say.
No one bar Demetrio Albertini. When the Milan legend was appointed vice-president at the FIGC in 2007, he turned to his former mentor tasking him with co-ordinating the technical side of Italy’s youth teams.
There have long been debates about Italian football's declining standards at youth level but matters seem to be getting progressively worse. Last year there were four international youth football tournaments: the European Under 21 championships, the Under 17 and Under 20 World Cup and the European Under 17 championships. Italy failed to qualify to all of them.
That is why Italian football has once again turned to Sacchi's vision. And, true to form, he isn't holding back.
As from next season, the Primavera (as the main youth football league is called) will be restricted to Under 18 players, thereby putting an end to the common practice of including some overage players.
It is a move that was instigated by Sacchi. "I hope they all get in line with the new age limits we've set in place for next season," he said during a brief visit to this year's Torneo di Viareggio, perhaps Italy's most popular youth football tournament. "Here I'm seeing ninteen and twenty year olds. These are men, not kids. In other countries at that age if you're good enough you're playing in the first team."
"The Spanish U21 side that won the European championships had a much younger average age then most of the clubs here at the Viareggio. It is unthinkable. In Italy we've become used getting last (to change) but we need to change quickly. Without new generations coming through, our football is in danger of disappearing."
Equally scathing were his views of the managers in charge of these teams. "I've read and heard some absurd interviews. Managers who talk of their team as if they were in charge of a group of Serie A professionals. Here they're thinking only of winning and of the tactical ways to achieve this. They tell the kids to hoof the ball so as not to run any risks or that they should all stay behind the ball so they don't concede any goals. Nothing could be more wrong in youth football."
"When are we going to teach them to play, to take risks, to finish moves where all the team play a part? We have to take back the abc of technique, create a solid framework of basics. Then, through the play, you'll see that the results will come. Instead they want to win everything instantly. Too often a manager isn't chosen or judged because of his intelligence or his ability to teach but for the honours won. A disaster."
"There is a lot of talk about investment in youths," he continued, with focus shifting towards the Serie A. "What investment if in Italy we're barely spending a quarter of what Real Madrid or Barcelona are putting in? And what sporting culture is there if the only thought is to bring foreigners to Italy without paying attention to the best local talent? Not to talk about the difficulties that the few talented Italians have to find a bit of space in the Serie A"
His words might not be comforting but, then again, they're not meant to. What's important is that people listen to what he's saying and act on it. The future of Italian football depends on it.
Quotes from an interview made by the Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo.
Monday, August 1, 2011
A supremacy in peril?
Original text in French by Sylvain Sro, translated by Puchkin
Once again elected the best Academy in France, Stade Rennes is reaping the fruits of years of work, with the massive integration of quality young players into its professional squad. But the award should not let the club forget that behind, the competition is improving.
After 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, Stade Rennes has won again clinched the title of best academy in France at the end of this season 2010-2011. A reward which certainly isn’t surprising, considering the number of players trained at the club who completed a professional squad heavily rejuvenated by Pierre Dréossi and Frédéric Antonetti last summer.
Mainly focused on the chance offered to young players in Ligue 1, this ranking from the National Technical Direction (DTN) is indeed the reflects of efforts made years earlier. From the most senior (Romain Danzé, Sylvain Marveaux) to the youngest (Abdoulaye Diallo, Dimitri Foulquier), they were all recruited many years ago. In other words, action taken today clearly conditions the results of the future
Once again elected the best Academy in France, Stade Rennes is reaping the fruits of years of work, with the massive integration of quality young players into its professional squad. But the award should not let the club forget that behind, the competition is improving.
After 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, Stade Rennes has won again clinched the title of best academy in France at the end of this season 2010-2011. A reward which certainly isn’t surprising, considering the number of players trained at the club who completed a professional squad heavily rejuvenated by Pierre Dréossi and Frédéric Antonetti last summer.Mainly focused on the chance offered to young players in Ligue 1, this ranking from the National Technical Direction (DTN) is indeed the reflects of efforts made years earlier. From the most senior (Romain Danzé, Sylvain Marveaux) to the youngest (Abdoulaye Diallo, Dimitri Foulquier), they were all recruited many years ago. In other words, action taken today clearly conditions the results of the future
The Academies, the future of French football
Although Stade Rennes can hope to fly over these rankings for a while longer, the club will also need to consider a reinforcement of the competition. In its communication, Rennes naturally tends to value the quality of its youth training and the trust put by the club in its young players. Some question the viability of this policy, consisting of a perpetual gamble on the future rather than on a clear present project. Without getting into the detail of all the advantages offered by a top-level Academy, it has to be admitted that many clubs are following sensibly the same way.
Because of the financial difficulty faced nowadays by many a Ligue 1 team, youth training remains indeed a safe placement… Even for a club like Marseille, whose reputation certainly isn’t this of an Academy-focused club. “If we are somehow realist about a modifying football economy over the next few years, we will regularly need talented players who will occupy a first eleven position at OM before, possibly, move abroad and bring a consequent amount of money to our club. This is probably the economic model we have to build the club’s future on”, Jean-Claude Dassier explained last January.
Because of the financial difficulty faced nowadays by many a Ligue 1 team, youth training remains indeed a safe placement… Even for a club like Marseille, whose reputation certainly isn’t this of an Academy-focused club. “If we are somehow realist about a modifying football economy over the next few years, we will regularly need talented players who will occupy a first eleven position at OM before, possibly, move abroad and bring a consequent amount of money to our club. This is probably the economic model we have to build the club’s future on”, Jean-Claude Dassier explained last January.
Only words ? Possibly. However, the Marseille management has certainly be encouraged by the examples of Samir Nasri and Mathieu Flamini in the past, or by the present emergence of the Ayew brothers. Insisting on the culture of a club spirit (which is always important to the supporters) and giving a positive image, youth training remains a fragile way to follow however, especially for clubs used to big name transfers.
A recent example is the PSG. Often mocked for its inability to retain the many talents growing in the Greater Paris Area [1] The club from the capital seems to have taken a new direction over the last few years, piling up titles and international caps in the youth categories. But the most difficult, yet most important part remains to be achieved: to make space for these young talents within the professional squad. Last year, several players trained at Paris Saint-Germain managed to make a place for themselves in Ligue 1, in the footsteps of an example such as Mamadou Sakho. But in the future, with the arrival of a Qatari investor, which coach would take the responsibility of launching a youngster, rather than give playing time to an element purchased for huge sums of money?
The months and years to come will show whether Paris continues trusting its youngsters, or if the club from the French capital forget about this new policy that early in the process. In the first case, the Parisian club could continue evolving as a heavyweight rival for Stade Rennes, especially when it comes to the recruitment of players from the Île-de-France region.
The months and years to come will show whether Paris continues trusting its youngsters, or if the club from the French capital forget about this new policy that early in the process. In the first case, the Parisian club could continue evolving as a heavyweight rival for Stade Rennes, especially when it comes to the recruitment of players from the Île-de-France region.
Nantes survives, Brest patients, Lorient rises
Even among its close neighbours, Stade Rennes experiences a rise of the competition. The former example, having gone through times of distress, FC Nantes has now started to revive its tradition in terms of youth training. This season, Landry Chauvin will be able to rely on a squad majorly coming from la Jonelière. But the FCN has been heavily hit, and the club will struggle to prove attractive again for as long as it will remain in Ligue 2, as the recent departures of Lionel Carole and Loïc Négo illustrate.
With the Nantes example collapsing, Rennes’ success in the field of youth training has become the model to follow for its neighbours and rivals, which Lorient president Loïc Féry admits without a problem. Despite the announced objective of a more regional team, Brest or Lorient have very few players trained at the club among their regular starters. Last year, Jérémy Morel was the only one for Lorient, while Brest didn’t even field a single player trained at the club. The task is huge for these clubs, far from the results of Stade Rennes, and its squad 50% trained on the grounds of the ETP Odorico.
With the Nantes example collapsing, Rennes’ success in the field of youth training has become the model to follow for its neighbours and rivals, which Lorient president Loïc Féry admits without a problem. Despite the announced objective of a more regional team, Brest or Lorient have very few players trained at the club among their regular starters. Last year, Jérémy Morel was the only one for Lorient, while Brest didn’t even field a single player trained at the club. The task is huge for these clubs, far from the results of Stade Rennes, and its squad 50% trained on the grounds of the ETP Odorico.
In Brest, the club doesn’t even have its own academy. Disappeared with the bankruptcy of the Brest Armorique at the beginning of the 1990s, it was never to be reopened. But finally, the return of youth training in the Finistère is a project that should become reality in 2012. An absolute necessity for Brest, who were forced to let go a player like Mathias Autret to Lorient without having a say, simply for not having the youth training infrastructures and the semi-professional contracts these can deliver [2]
In Lorient, the development of the Academy enters in the logic of making the presence of the club in Ligue 1 durable. In the top flight for the sixth consecutive season, the club from the Morbihan has earned most of its success this far in the managing ability of Christian Gourcuff, and also in its good recruitment. Satisfying, naturally, but not necessarily viable on the long-term.
Highly competitive, the Stade Rennais academy allows the club to constantly feed the professional squad, and rapidly cover for poor recruitments if needed, brushing away the perspectives of relegation in the same time. To achieve the same thing and make up for their delay, Lorient are going through the necessary step of modernising their infrastructures, as Stade Rennes did at the beginning of the 2000s. Alongside the renovation of the Stade du Moustoir, the “Merlus” will soon witness the erection of the “l’Espace FCL”, a complex which will become the training centre and Academy of the Morbihan’s club.
Highly competitive, the Stade Rennais academy allows the club to constantly feed the professional squad, and rapidly cover for poor recruitments if needed, brushing away the perspectives of relegation in the same time. To achieve the same thing and make up for their delay, Lorient are going through the necessary step of modernising their infrastructures, as Stade Rennes did at the beginning of the 2000s. Alongside the renovation of the Stade du Moustoir, the “Merlus” will soon witness the erection of the “l’Espace FCL”, a complex which will become the training centre and Academy of the Morbihan’s club.
«We are not playing in the same category, but we are growing up»
Of course, the « Merlus » are not planning a mere duplicate of the Rennes project. They are rather taking inspiration, adding a playing touch proper to FC Lorient. On target, the perspective of setting up a common playing project from the youngest categories to the professional, as it is done at FC Barcelona, the reference for Christian Gourcuff. Work is also done on the process of recruiting youngsters, in order to compete directly with the Stade Rennais. “We are not playing in the same category, but we are growing up”, Hervé Guégan, the head of the Lorient Academy affirmed to L’Équipe affirmed in April. I position myself on the recruitment of players also chased by Rennes, which I wouldn’t have imagined doing just two years ago”.
Admired for its playing style, the FC Lorient benefits of a positive image, this of a family-minded club, the ideal environment for the blossoming of young talents. Although the “Merlus” are not yet a true Academy-based club, they are already managing to recruit young players desired by Patrick Rampillon and his team. And this, even for youngsters from the Parisian region. “We want to regionalise the recruitment, as per the advice of the DTN, Christian Gourcuff précises. But we don’t plan to be like the Athletic Bilbao, who only accept Basque players”. So far, few Breton players in L1 have avoided the Stade Rennais.
Admired for its playing style, the FC Lorient benefits of a positive image, this of a family-minded club, the ideal environment for the blossoming of young talents. Although the “Merlus” are not yet a true Academy-based club, they are already managing to recruit young players desired by Patrick Rampillon and his team. And this, even for youngsters from the Parisian region. “We want to regionalise the recruitment, as per the advice of the DTN, Christian Gourcuff précises. But we don’t plan to be like the Athletic Bilbao, who only accept Basque players”. So far, few Breton players in L1 have avoided the Stade Rennais.
Directly involved in the recruitment of the youngsters, Gourcuff knows that his club’s ability to train youngsters will be a major issue for the future of FC Lorient. At the moment, the club from Morbihan should prove its ability in the domain, and show that it is capable of turning its youngsters into good Ligue 1 players.
Despite the growing competition, even among clubs that haven’t got an history of young players training, Stade Rennes remains the undisputed reference up to this day, starting in Brittany. But a reference with no time to rest on its laurels over the coming years, or it could fall from its throne.
Despite the growing competition, even among clubs that haven’t got an history of young players training, Stade Rennes remains the undisputed reference up to this day, starting in Brittany. But a reference with no time to rest on its laurels over the coming years, or it could fall from its throne.
Footnotes
[1] Amongst other examples in Rennes, Yacine Brahimi and Yassine Jebbour played for the PSG’s youth teams before choosing to continue their training in Brittany.
[2] Without youth training infrastructures authorised by the federation, a club is not allowed to offer aspirant or trainee contracts to its player, which would protect them from external interests. Also, no professional contract can be offered to a player under the age of twenty.
Pep Segura Explains Strategy Behind Liverpool's Academy
Rafael Benitez will always be a divisive subject even among Liverpool fans. Those who point at his Champions League tend to be met by others with a list of mediocre players that he brought to the club. He took the club to within four points of winning the title but he also oversaw their seventh place finish. For every positive there seems to be a negative.
There is, however, one area where the criticism dries out. For years Benitez had asked to be given control over the club's academy, something that he eventually got which allowed him to revolutionise the system.
He brought in Frank McParland to oversee the administration, Pep Segura to set out the technical strategy and Rodolfo Borrell to manage the U18 side. The results that these men have managed to achieve have been nothing short of astounding.
A sign of this came at the recent U17 World Cup where Liverpool had seven players: Tyler Belford, Raheem Sterling, Matthew Regan, Brad Smith, Adam Morgan and Jack Dunn for England plus Tom King who was in the Australia squad.
Yet, although much has been said about the excellent work that has been done at the Liverpool academy, very little is known about the actual strategy behind their work. Everyone has been saying that they've brought over Barcelona's model without knowing what that model is about outside of vague concepts.
Yet there is now more clarity thanks largely to a presentation made by Pep Segura at a football conference organised by the Catalun INEF (a physical education programme) and RCD Espanyol.
What follows is a summary of Segura's talk, translated from the blog of well known Catalan writer Martin Perarnau and presented with his permission.
The 'target' of the Liverpool Academy is twofold: to implement a common style of play in teams through all categories, and to provide players for the first team. When Rafa Benitez hired Pep Segura as head of the academy, Liverpool FC had three areas that were working completely seperately from each other:
- Scouting
- Technical Staff
- Sports Science (doctors, physios, trainers)
The target was to implement an integrated model of the style that currently exists in many Spanish clubs, so that all departments work in the same direction.
The Liverpool training centre consists of four large age groups:
1) Year 1 > Playing games, technical skills
2) Year 2 + Children + Cadets > technical skills, tactical work starts, physical work starts
3) Youth + Amateur Year 1 > technical skills, tactical work, physical work, psychological work
4) Amateur + Reserves > technical skills, tactical work, physical work, psychological work
The second group participates in the Under-15 Championship, the third group includes the U-17s and U-18s, and the fourth group plays in the Under-20s tournament and the Reserves. This team has been included in Pep Segura's area of responsiblity during the season just ended. The Academy focuses on organising the boys' training, education, and family accommodation in Liverpool.
Pep Segura's Academy work is divided into five major areas:
1) Facilities
2) Selection of players
3) Coaches
4) Program (Syllabus)
5) Management of the player
For reasons of time, he could not detail each of these areas, but he did mention aspects of several of them.
Facilities
LFC have twelve training camps, ten on natural grass and two with artificial turf, plus one indoor for winter work. The facilities, according to Segura, are excellent, and not more physical infrastructure is needed.
Selection of players
Scouting is the responsibility of the department. Keep in mind that English law is very strict. Some examples:
- Players up to 14 years can't be signed beyond a radius of 150 kilometers from the club (Liverpool competing in the same environment as Manchester United, City, Everton, and so forth)
- The player is owned by the player’s home club /first club forever, this is the main reason why any price tag rises up.
- You can't sign players outside the community (150km) until they are 16 years old
- All games U-16 and U-18 are played on Saturdays at 11 am and from other categories, Sundays at 11 am This avoids the coaches come to watch opposing players of interest. Another peculiarity: the U-15 takes place on Wednesdays, which is almost unfeasible to train more than two days a week
Liverpool work the Academy for sporting and economic necessity and because "we want to work with our players, but do so with our style of play." Segura found, after some time, Liverpool was repeating a pattern that he had already lived in the Barcelona: "Most youth players came from a particular geographical area and, especially, of a particular school."
For scouting the club uses three essential parameters: selection from very young age, constant monitoring of all of them, and determining the precise moment of joining the club. The relevant department raises three questions: a) What is the player profile? B) Is player for Liverpool; c) will he make us grow as a team?
We analyze four factors:
- Technical: We appreciate the passing game (passing game)
- Tactical: Your ability to play without the ball
- Psychological: Your willingness to be professional
- Physical: We value speed, strength and size (English football)
Teams from different categories are structured in the form of a double pyramid
- Between 8 and 11: 3 teams per category
- Between 12 and 14 years: 2 teams per category
- After 15 years: 1 team per category
In the two years since Pep Segura as technical director, the Academy has doubled the number of players at his disposal. In the selection process, all are subject to a battery of physical and technical tests. These tests are also done to those at the Academy itself at sever instances each year to establish internal and external comparisons.
Liverpool FC have identified three types of targets in the catchment:
- Focus A: 14. Local Players
- Focus B: 16. The 2 best in England plus 2 best foreign
- Focus C: 18. Best English and / or foreign to compensate for the shortcomings identified in the Academy
Program
"The program is a great tool to implement and not just having a good criteria for selection of players. It's the idea and style that make an organization strong." Segura says an idea of strategic thinking is needed and from then on a basic understanding of principles of play and style, and an idea to work efficiently and consistent with the philosophy of the club.
Segura says in this regard that the success of Spanish football are based on working with the Academy, which has created an excellent selection pool of players and it has put Spain at the top of European youth football, followed by France. However, he also believes that there si something wrong with Spanish football since that success does not correspond with the actual number of youth players who are actually getting a chance at senior level.
The technical program of the Academy is based on a 4-2-3-1 system of play implemented by Rafa Benitez "although I would have preferred a 4-3-3, but England has historically used the 4-4-2 and we had to adapt." In the case of Liverpool, "using it as a key tool because our style is the passing game, where os our greatest impact".
Stratification of training is as follows:
- 8 to 12 years: 35 weeks of competition / weekly sessions 3
- 13 to 15 years: 35 weeks of competition / weekly sessions 4-5
- 16 to 18 years: 40 weeks of competition / weekly sessions 7-8
- 19 to 21 years: 42 weeks of competition / weekly sessions 7-8
The structure of a typical training session is as follows:
1) Warm up
2) Technical skills: especially in the passing game and to be offered before the pass
3) Tactical skills: Automating offensive and defensive work, possession, Gale Related (reduced situations: from 1 to 1-5 against 5)
4) Part games: Application of the stuff they've worked on
5) End section: Gym, pitch work and stretching
Automation: Work in all phases, from starting to move the ball in defense to the last pass, creating a meaning and order of play. "The small details are the ones that make them grow as players: body position, speed when striking the ball, the timing of his move at the right time ...." Games of position, with special incidence in the circulation at high speed, knowing the positions of the companions are defined and known.
Recordings: The Academy records every game and every practice session with a very interesting point added: they also record the coaches' voices giving advice during sessions. It was a research conducted by the Liverpool University who took up the oral communication, which has yielded great results: "We have seen the deficiencies of the coaches and have corrected the messages. Some always corrected the same concepts and not others more important, or were fixated with some players."
Finally, for Pep Segura the criteria to improve tactics are:
- Everyone must do the same work
- We must be inspired by street football
- Street football is gone and we have to work hard to make up for it
- We must use rectangular surfaces to work on depth and breadth
- We must always breathe offensive spirit
- Explain to children the meaning of 4-2-3-1 to understand it
- Develop the game from the defensive line
- Teaching the collective game based on our system
- Emphasize creativity: the English player is disciplined and easy to learn automation and order, but Spanish is more creative and we must move in this direction
- The Game Related is difficult to apply to players and coaches because they are awaiting orders. When they do receive it, they work hard, but they suffer when they have to bring own creativity
Although centered around Barcelona (and in Spanish), it is highly recommended that people follow Martin Perarnau's blog even if through Google Translate as it is a mine of thoughtful pieces about football. There is a good discussion about this topic going on over at the Red And White Kop forum or, alternatively, you can let me know of your thoughts both through the comments on this blog and on Twitter.
There is, however, one area where the criticism dries out. For years Benitez had asked to be given control over the club's academy, something that he eventually got which allowed him to revolutionise the system.
He brought in Frank McParland to oversee the administration, Pep Segura to set out the technical strategy and Rodolfo Borrell to manage the U18 side. The results that these men have managed to achieve have been nothing short of astounding.
A sign of this came at the recent U17 World Cup where Liverpool had seven players: Tyler Belford, Raheem Sterling, Matthew Regan, Brad Smith, Adam Morgan and Jack Dunn for England plus Tom King who was in the Australia squad.
Yet, although much has been said about the excellent work that has been done at the Liverpool academy, very little is known about the actual strategy behind their work. Everyone has been saying that they've brought over Barcelona's model without knowing what that model is about outside of vague concepts.
Yet there is now more clarity thanks largely to a presentation made by Pep Segura at a football conference organised by the Catalun INEF (a physical education programme) and RCD Espanyol.
What follows is a summary of Segura's talk, translated from the blog of well known Catalan writer Martin Perarnau and presented with his permission.
The 'target' of the Liverpool Academy is twofold: to implement a common style of play in teams through all categories, and to provide players for the first team. When Rafa Benitez hired Pep Segura as head of the academy, Liverpool FC had three areas that were working completely seperately from each other:
- Scouting
- Technical Staff
- Sports Science (doctors, physios, trainers)
The target was to implement an integrated model of the style that currently exists in many Spanish clubs, so that all departments work in the same direction.
The Liverpool training centre consists of four large age groups:
1) Year 1 > Playing games, technical skills
2) Year 2 + Children + Cadets > technical skills, tactical work starts, physical work starts
3) Youth + Amateur Year 1 > technical skills, tactical work, physical work, psychological work
4) Amateur + Reserves > technical skills, tactical work, physical work, psychological work
The second group participates in the Under-15 Championship, the third group includes the U-17s and U-18s, and the fourth group plays in the Under-20s tournament and the Reserves. This team has been included in Pep Segura's area of responsiblity during the season just ended. The Academy focuses on organising the boys' training, education, and family accommodation in Liverpool.
Pep Segura's Academy work is divided into five major areas:
1) Facilities
2) Selection of players
3) Coaches
4) Program (Syllabus)
5) Management of the player
For reasons of time, he could not detail each of these areas, but he did mention aspects of several of them.
Facilities
LFC have twelve training camps, ten on natural grass and two with artificial turf, plus one indoor for winter work. The facilities, according to Segura, are excellent, and not more physical infrastructure is needed.
Selection of players
Scouting is the responsibility of the department. Keep in mind that English law is very strict. Some examples:
- Players up to 14 years can't be signed beyond a radius of 150 kilometers from the club (Liverpool competing in the same environment as Manchester United, City, Everton, and so forth)
- The player is owned by the player’s home club /first club forever, this is the main reason why any price tag rises up.
- You can't sign players outside the community (150km) until they are 16 years old
- All games U-16 and U-18 are played on Saturdays at 11 am and from other categories, Sundays at 11 am This avoids the coaches come to watch opposing players of interest. Another peculiarity: the U-15 takes place on Wednesdays, which is almost unfeasible to train more than two days a week
For scouting the club uses three essential parameters: selection from very young age, constant monitoring of all of them, and determining the precise moment of joining the club. The relevant department raises three questions: a) What is the player profile? B) Is player for Liverpool; c) will he make us grow as a team?
We analyze four factors:
- Technical: We appreciate the passing game (passing game)
- Tactical: Your ability to play without the ball
- Psychological: Your willingness to be professional
- Physical: We value speed, strength and size (English football)
Teams from different categories are structured in the form of a double pyramid
- Between 8 and 11: 3 teams per category
- Between 12 and 14 years: 2 teams per category
- After 15 years: 1 team per category
In the two years since Pep Segura as technical director, the Academy has doubled the number of players at his disposal. In the selection process, all are subject to a battery of physical and technical tests. These tests are also done to those at the Academy itself at sever instances each year to establish internal and external comparisons.
Liverpool FC have identified three types of targets in the catchment:
- Focus A: 14. Local Players
- Focus B: 16. The 2 best in England plus 2 best foreign
- Focus C: 18. Best English and / or foreign to compensate for the shortcomings identified in the Academy
Program
"The program is a great tool to implement and not just having a good criteria for selection of players. It's the idea and style that make an organization strong." Segura says an idea of strategic thinking is needed and from then on a basic understanding of principles of play and style, and an idea to work efficiently and consistent with the philosophy of the club.
Segura says in this regard that the success of Spanish football are based on working with the Academy, which has created an excellent selection pool of players and it has put Spain at the top of European youth football, followed by France. However, he also believes that there si something wrong with Spanish football since that success does not correspond with the actual number of youth players who are actually getting a chance at senior level.
The technical program of the Academy is based on a 4-2-3-1 system of play implemented by Rafa Benitez "although I would have preferred a 4-3-3, but England has historically used the 4-4-2 and we had to adapt." In the case of Liverpool, "using it as a key tool because our style is the passing game, where os our greatest impact".
Stratification of training is as follows:
- 8 to 12 years: 35 weeks of competition / weekly sessions 3
- 13 to 15 years: 35 weeks of competition / weekly sessions 4-5
- 16 to 18 years: 40 weeks of competition / weekly sessions 7-8
- 19 to 21 years: 42 weeks of competition / weekly sessions 7-8
The structure of a typical training session is as follows:
1) Warm up
2) Technical skills: especially in the passing game and to be offered before the pass
3) Tactical skills: Automating offensive and defensive work, possession, Gale Related (reduced situations: from 1 to 1-5 against 5)
4) Part games: Application of the stuff they've worked on
5) End section: Gym, pitch work and stretching
Automation: Work in all phases, from starting to move the ball in defense to the last pass, creating a meaning and order of play. "The small details are the ones that make them grow as players: body position, speed when striking the ball, the timing of his move at the right time ...." Games of position, with special incidence in the circulation at high speed, knowing the positions of the companions are defined and known.
Recordings: The Academy records every game and every practice session with a very interesting point added: they also record the coaches' voices giving advice during sessions. It was a research conducted by the Liverpool University who took up the oral communication, which has yielded great results: "We have seen the deficiencies of the coaches and have corrected the messages. Some always corrected the same concepts and not others more important, or were fixated with some players."
Finally, for Pep Segura the criteria to improve tactics are:
- Everyone must do the same work
- We must be inspired by street football
- Street football is gone and we have to work hard to make up for it
- We must use rectangular surfaces to work on depth and breadth
- We must always breathe offensive spirit
- Explain to children the meaning of 4-2-3-1 to understand it
- Develop the game from the defensive line
- Teaching the collective game based on our system
- Emphasize creativity: the English player is disciplined and easy to learn automation and order, but Spanish is more creative and we must move in this direction
- The Game Related is difficult to apply to players and coaches because they are awaiting orders. When they do receive it, they work hard, but they suffer when they have to bring own creativity
Although centered around Barcelona (and in Spanish), it is highly recommended that people follow Martin Perarnau's blog even if through Google Translate as it is a mine of thoughtful pieces about football. There is a good discussion about this topic going on over at the Red And White Kop forum or, alternatively, you can let me know of your thoughts both through the comments on this blog and on Twitter.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Success of a Different Nature
In football, success is almost always determined by whether you win or not. Yet there are (many) instances where the result is immaterial and what really matters is the social impact that the game has as this unusual story of a group of kids in Thailand proves.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Toying with Youth
Michał Zachodny
When the league board decided to set up youth league for clubs competing in Ekstraklasa few years ago, it was regarded as a good idea, an example taken from better leagues. In the fourth season of Młoda Ekstraklasa, as it is called, many still are uncertain whether plan to make it easier for clubs to bring up young players, has any chance. In fact, some are suggesting that league board handed Ekstraklasa clubs toys but forgot to show how to play with them.
Although that comparison may not be the best one, it surely shows how part of the clubs feel about having their reserves in this league. In the very first season Widzew Lodz refused to take part in this competition feeling it is a waste of money but, since league made it obligatory to play in it, nobody stepped out and complained about it like they did. Surely there must be some unhappiness in the league – especially those poorer ones that would get on with spare few hundred thousand to spend on their first squads rather than team from which only three or four will be good enough to make it to senior Ekstraklasa. At best.
But that, again, depends on clubs approach. Legia Warszawa, Lech Poznan, Wisła Krakow, Ruch Chorzow and Zagłębie Lubin all took their chances well and now can take some positives from the decision to invest and rather than simply wait, expect them after even such short period of time. As league board points out, some decent players came through the Młoda Ekstraklasa – Artur Sobiech, Maciej Sadlok (both bought from Ruch Chorzow by Polonia Warszawa for over 1,500,000 Euro), Ariel Borysiuk (now first choice midfielder in Legia) and Grzegorz Sandomierski (the only keeper from Polish league in our national team) - they may be just a lucky fluke but could the decision about the future of youth league depend on opinion rather than fact?
Unfortunately, it is a war of opinions, as always, but I agree that there are some arguments against Młoda Ekstraklasa and problems needed to be solved – the sooner the better. But if the debacle will ever be set up, nobody should let in the voices saying, for example, that contracts handed by clubs to their youngsters are spoiling them. Once again, I’m not saying there is no such problem but it’s rather headache caused by the whole lot of older professionals that set up bad example, not those who are at the start of their careers and look at them for inspiration.
As I said, there are bigger problems ahead of league board but there is no point of stopping the project that already is running and, not without troubles, taking the very first positives, not necessarily just in examples of players progressing to the main Ekstraklasa. Finally clubs, or at least part of them, knows that there is sense in investing money in the background, creating youth systems, create scouting webs in and out of Poland, send coaches for training courses abroad, learn from better organized and more experienced marks in football. Also there are fans – the growing interest in youth league among them is something I wouldn’t expect if not the creation of Młoda Ekstraklasa, really. That pushed one of sports channels to even sign a deal for broadcasting single games from it.
Oh yes, problems, haven’t forgot about them. The biggest issue for me is that this league is in constant balance between being reserves or youth teams, not turning into one direction which is confusing at least for bigger part of the league participants. Some decide to run simultaneously reserves that play in lower divisions and other youth team that plays in Młoda Ekstraklasa (like Górnik Zabrze), while there are examples where managers uses those teams only as the place where unused footballers from the senior squad get minutes on the pitch or are sent there as a punishment (like Polonia Warszawa). It is about time to decide which way to take and I’m almost sure there is only one right direction for Młoda Ekstraklasa.
As prime example of problems in English reserves football and the growing importance of youth teams there shows, it is wiser to make Młoda Ekstraklasa a real background for players that are up to nineteen and they have the privilege to compete against top sides in the country, not only the ones in their region. Centralization of youth system, at the top for a start, should be good move for the clubs as well – squads overcrowded with players in mid-twenties, in hang between first team and reserves, are stealing not only place but some part of wage budget in every club. The preferable choice would be to have only twenty senior players in the squad and the background – team in youth league where players are up to the age of nineteen. That should be the rule in my reckoning.
Even those clubs that would create reserves side, like Górnik Zabrze is doing now, would quickly see the advantage of this solution. If not, then maybe, when the money and club management will be much better in Polish football, think about separate league for reserves but not earlier. There is also possibility of creating Youth Cup, to let other teams compete against the elite of Młoda Ekstraklasa, but knowing the will inside Polish FA that refuses to do anything even for the sake of the domestic senior cup, there is more than a single doubt over this idea.
Those decisions should not wait as maybe not the youth/reserves league called Młoda Ekstraklasa is harming talents itself but the attitude of some clubs is the problem and biggest for the idea. With my constant believe that finally clubs that can afford to look at western examples of well run football marks do so, the youth system is one of most important issues that is crying out loud for a solution. I’m fully aware that the youth league I’m writing about is just a top of the whole pyramid and that the basics should be build before but at least something is being done in that area – we simply cannot afford to toy with another generations of talents that end up reaching only half of their maximum potential.
Thanks for this article go to
When the league board decided to set up youth league for clubs competing in Ekstraklasa few years ago, it was regarded as a good idea, an example taken from better leagues. In the fourth season of Młoda Ekstraklasa, as it is called, many still are uncertain whether plan to make it easier for clubs to bring up young players, has any chance. In fact, some are suggesting that league board handed Ekstraklasa clubs toys but forgot to show how to play with them.
Although that comparison may not be the best one, it surely shows how part of the clubs feel about having their reserves in this league. In the very first season Widzew Lodz refused to take part in this competition feeling it is a waste of money but, since league made it obligatory to play in it, nobody stepped out and complained about it like they did. Surely there must be some unhappiness in the league – especially those poorer ones that would get on with spare few hundred thousand to spend on their first squads rather than team from which only three or four will be good enough to make it to senior Ekstraklasa. At best.
 |
| Grzegorz Sandomierski |
Unfortunately, it is a war of opinions, as always, but I agree that there are some arguments against Młoda Ekstraklasa and problems needed to be solved – the sooner the better. But if the debacle will ever be set up, nobody should let in the voices saying, for example, that contracts handed by clubs to their youngsters are spoiling them. Once again, I’m not saying there is no such problem but it’s rather headache caused by the whole lot of older professionals that set up bad example, not those who are at the start of their careers and look at them for inspiration.
As I said, there are bigger problems ahead of league board but there is no point of stopping the project that already is running and, not without troubles, taking the very first positives, not necessarily just in examples of players progressing to the main Ekstraklasa. Finally clubs, or at least part of them, knows that there is sense in investing money in the background, creating youth systems, create scouting webs in and out of Poland, send coaches for training courses abroad, learn from better organized and more experienced marks in football. Also there are fans – the growing interest in youth league among them is something I wouldn’t expect if not the creation of Młoda Ekstraklasa, really. That pushed one of sports channels to even sign a deal for broadcasting single games from it.
Oh yes, problems, haven’t forgot about them. The biggest issue for me is that this league is in constant balance between being reserves or youth teams, not turning into one direction which is confusing at least for bigger part of the league participants. Some decide to run simultaneously reserves that play in lower divisions and other youth team that plays in Młoda Ekstraklasa (like Górnik Zabrze), while there are examples where managers uses those teams only as the place where unused footballers from the senior squad get minutes on the pitch or are sent there as a punishment (like Polonia Warszawa). It is about time to decide which way to take and I’m almost sure there is only one right direction for Młoda Ekstraklasa.
As prime example of problems in English reserves football and the growing importance of youth teams there shows, it is wiser to make Młoda Ekstraklasa a real background for players that are up to nineteen and they have the privilege to compete against top sides in the country, not only the ones in their region. Centralization of youth system, at the top for a start, should be good move for the clubs as well – squads overcrowded with players in mid-twenties, in hang between first team and reserves, are stealing not only place but some part of wage budget in every club. The preferable choice would be to have only twenty senior players in the squad and the background – team in youth league where players are up to the age of nineteen. That should be the rule in my reckoning.
Even those clubs that would create reserves side, like Górnik Zabrze is doing now, would quickly see the advantage of this solution. If not, then maybe, when the money and club management will be much better in Polish football, think about separate league for reserves but not earlier. There is also possibility of creating Youth Cup, to let other teams compete against the elite of Młoda Ekstraklasa, but knowing the will inside Polish FA that refuses to do anything even for the sake of the domestic senior cup, there is more than a single doubt over this idea.
Those decisions should not wait as maybe not the youth/reserves league called Młoda Ekstraklasa is harming talents itself but the attitude of some clubs is the problem and biggest for the idea. With my constant believe that finally clubs that can afford to look at western examples of well run football marks do so, the youth system is one of most important issues that is crying out loud for a solution. I’m fully aware that the youth league I’m writing about is just a top of the whole pyramid and that the basics should be build before but at least something is being done in that area – we simply cannot afford to toy with another generations of talents that end up reaching only half of their maximum potential.
Thanks for this article go to
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