SC Heerenveen
Ron Jans,
Issue 54, November 2011
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contents
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16 Tactics
the editor 5 FROM A New Team scenario..... After a relatively successful spell for Ron Jans at FC Groningen (his previous club), at SC Heerenveen (his present club) he has experienced what many competitive coaches would at that stage with things not going so well....
Dan Micciche: Attacking centrally from midfield
24 Philosophy
Coaching Behaviours: Working towards a Greater Coaching Philosophy
38 Training Sessions Attacking Phases, Part 2
48 TACTICS
Passing and Shooting: the Y-exercise
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COVERSTORY
56 NEW ONLINE SHOP
Ron Jans,
sc Heerenveen Ron Jans does not like to be reminded of his somewhat indifferent, first season at SC Heerenveen. Nevertheless, the coach who previously had eight successful years at FC Groningen, does point out that the difficult year has made him stronger as a coach. “Last year I experienced things that I had never experienced before. In particular, the personal criticism I had to deal with. That made me stronger, both as a person and as a coach.�
58 Brazilian Corner
No. 54 November 2011
Issue 54, November 2011
SoccerCoachingInternational is an e-magazine for soccer coaches all over the world from the publisher of TrainersMagazine, the Dutch magazine for soccer coaches. The magazine publishes 10 Issues per year. Chief editor Paul van Veen Beatrixlaan 21, 2811 LZ REEUWIJK THE NETHERLANDS paul@soccercoachinginternational.com Publisher Sportfacilities & Media BV Visiting address: Steynlaan 19 B-D ZEIST THE NETHERLANDS Postal address: P.O. Box 952, 3700 AZ ZEIST THE NETHERLANDS info@soccercoachinginternational.com Phone: +31 (0)30 697 7710 Fax: +31 (0)30 697 7720 Project Manager Floris Schmitz f.schmitz@sportfacilities.com
Managing Editor and Translations Maaike Denkers maaike@soccercoachinginternational.com Copy Editing Michael Francis Pollin Graphic Design Anton Gouverneur Tania Dimitrova Rumen Krastev studio@sportfacilities.com Editorial Staff Bruno CamarĂŁo, Rogier Cuypers, Maaike Denkers, Hanne Meijers, Dan Micciche, Michael Francis Pollin, Paul van Veen, Jan Zoutman. Copyright All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission of the publisher.
ISSN 1571 - 8794
From the Editor
A New Team scenario..... After a relatively successful spell for Ron Jans at FC Groningen (his previous club), at SC Heerenveen (his present club) he has experienced what many competitive coaches would at that stage; with things not going so well. Results are not meeting expectations, and at that level of the game that means your position as the coach is at risk. This is always a questionable and somewhat strange phenomenon, as generally speaking a coach will get the results if given time. Even through settling in, embedding your principles, knowledge and philosophy that come from previous experience, this does not make any coach immune to being made the scapegoat if things are not going right. Especially, as it is (somewhat inappropriately) portrayed in the media. Ron Jans has had to deal with all this, as he was faced with a lot of negative publicity. And while he was itching to react, he chose to ignore it and not to pay too much attention as it would only stoke the media fire. In the interview we had with him, he chose to look towards the future rather than dwell on those negative past aspects. He has kept his head throughout, remaining focused on the task in hand, applying his coaching skill and ability within his work with the team. This is a good example for any coach to follow, as you will never to able to control everything. Stay focused on the task, trying to improve your team with your knowledge to get the best out of them. We hope this wise lesson from Jans, and all our other articles and interviews will help you to contribute to your coaching and your team.
Yours in Soccer Maaike Denkers - Managing Editor
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Ron Jans does not like to be reminded of his somewhat indifferent, first season at SC Heerenveen. Nevertheless, the coach who previously had eight successful years at FC Groningen, does point out that the difficult year has made him stronger as a coach. “Last year I experienced things that I had never experienced before. In particular, the personal criticism I had to deal with. That made me stronger, both as a person and as a coach.� SoccerCoachingInternational talked to Jans about the future for SC Heerenveen, and himself. By: Rogier Cuypers Edited by Michael Francis Pollin
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Ron Jans, sc Heerenveen: “High pressure defending demands a lot from your team” Ron Jans and SC Heerenveen finished in twelfth place last season. Disappointing for a team considered to be one of the challengers for the traditional top five clubs in the Dutch Eredivisie. Jans does not like to dwell on the past, and would rather talk in the here and now, but he does realise last season was very educational for both him and the team. “I developed my ability to deal with adversity last year. Last season I experienced things that I had never experienced before,” says Jans, “in particular the personal criticism I had to deal with. Last season we performed below our ability, but the stories that appeared in the media were not completely true. In the beginning, I thought, ‘what is this?’ I wanted to spend as little time as possible defending myself from the criticism, because it will only make it worse. You must try to remain calm and quietly analyse everything, but even then you run the risk of losing the trust of the club. That almost happened too, but ultimately we continued and we are now
on the right tracks. When you learn to deal with adversity, you will only get better and stronger. Fortunately I am a positive and calm person by nature and that works in my favour in times of adversity.”
Attacking football Let us leave the past for now as Jans wants to talk about his vision and the development for his team. He has a point. After two big defeats against Ajax and FC Twente (both 5-1), the Frisians are climbing back up, and just before this interview, Jans and his team managed to beat FC Utrecht (1-4). The coach has a great offensive line with guys like Dost, Assaidi and Narsing, and that fits with his offensive vision. “When you talk about a game strategy, most teams in Holland want to be in possession and I am no different. You want to build up from the back, play a solid positional game and I am in the fortunate position to have players at SC Heerenveen that can do this and also beat their opponent in a 1v1.”
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But Jans also has a vision on how to play with opponents in possession, but was forced to alter his strategy to minimize the amount of goals the team was conceding. “I prefer to play with full pressure defending. If we are not ready to play full pressure, you have to look for alternatives that match the team’s abilities. Fast and full pressure asks a lot from your team; every player must be willing and able to apply pressure on opponents in their own half.”
Pressurising “You have to be able to judge the situation and everyone should participate,” explains Jans illustrating the level of difficulty. “When a player does not cover close enough, for example, on a midfielder or attacker, the opponent will be able to switch play to the other side.” The star striker at SC Heerenveen, Bas Dost, was often criticised by Jans last year for not being defensive when required, but that criticism is now history. “Bas has really developed his defensive qualities and his ability to recognize when to apply pressure. A striker is the first line of defence/pressure when not in possession, and he determines the moment to apply pressure on a defender and other players will react appropriately.
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That has improved tremendously over the last year. We have wingers who are often positioned very deep and that means they are not in a position to apply pressure. Whenever your striker executes pressure in that situation you could be beaten quite easily. Our attackers now recognise this and act accordingly.”
Change in tactics Every player should carry out his defensive tasks and there are no exceptions to this rule for Jans. “Everything you do, both in possession and out of possession, should be done collectively. Everyone must participate. That may sound strict, but that is the only way to win prizes.” After the big defeats against Ajax and FC Twente, Heerenveen started to change its strategy, and the change in strategy has led to conceding less goals. Applying more pressure was exchanged for playing more compact. “You should never give up on your strategy; however, we tried to apply pressure in many different ways, but were forced to eventually change our strategy. Now we play a very compact game in defence and midfield whilst out of possession.” This change did not directly come as a result of the 5-1 defeat against FC Twente. “We decided to put pressure on FC Twente’s central defender Douglas, with the intention being that this would lead
to them being forced to play the long ball to their striker Janko, whom we felt we could defend against. However, at 0-3, Janko was able to easily receive the ball, turn and finish on goal. Our defensive positioning was off and the strategy failed. We either underestimated FC Twente, or overestimated ourselves. Regardless of this, a big defeat like this is not a reason on its own to change your entire strategy.”
Training after a such a defeat Confidence is a huge issue for every player. A defeat is an opportunity for Jans to instil and build players’ extra confidence. “After a defeat you should never tell your players what is going wrong and hammer-on about those aspects. You should make sure they continue to have confidence. Of course you analyse what went wrong and point things out, but the way you do this is crucial. Mario Been decided to go paintballing with his players after they suffered a couple of defeats in a row. It helped, whether it was the paintballing or something else does not really matter. The important thing is keeping the confidence level high. A win is ultimately the best remedy.”
Unrest surrounding positions The transfer window can cause a lot of unrest in a team. The best players are being sold at the end of August, but buying new players in this time can also
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“Everything you do, both in possession and out of possession, should be done collectively�
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cause unrest. “Right before the end of the transfer window closed, we bought a new defender, Ramon Zomer. This caused some unrest in the defence, as players want to secure their position. You cannot talk to every player individually about this, and buying a player at that time sends a clear signal to all; you will have to fight for your position. At Heerenveen there is a lot of competition, and that works as a motivator for most players, but some players have difficulty dealing with this. Young players are used to it, they know they have to fight for their position, but older more experienced players sometimes have a hard time dealing with this.”
Vision When asked about what makes him distinctive as a coach, Jans said, “I do not like talking about what I think of myself as a coach, those opinions can be formed by others. What I do like to talk about is my vision on how to deal with a team as the relationship between a coach and his players is very important. Every position has tasks and functions that players have difficulties with, as a coach I like working on those aspects. A coach does not make a player better, the players do that themselves and are guided by a group of people around them. The coach is part of that group, and therefore plays a very important role.”
Thinking about the game of football is crucial in achieving the best according to Jans. “The best cannot be achieved if you do not think about yourself, what you are doing, what you are good at and what your weaknesses are. That is my vision on how you, as a coach, can help your players to achieve their best. When you merely do what people ask you to do, you can develop yourself, but I like players who know what their qualities are. A lot of players, especially foreign players, have not been taught to think (reflectively) about themselves and the team this way. You have to make sure players define their own goals and then evaluate their progress. We draw up profiles of players’ characteristics. This helps them to become better players and people.”
People manager Jans spends a lot of time on the groupforming process. The relationship with the team is important to him and that is why he was surprised that the media continuously insinuated that he had problems with his players. “I try to motivate my players, support them, guide them and correct them when necessary. That is how I deal with groups and I know that is one of my qualities. I do not like dwelling on the past, but I was flabbergasted at how the media portrayed me last year, resulting in an image that was the complete opposite of who I really am.”
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“I have developed as a coach”
Teacher “I used to be a teacher, and before that I was a footballer for 14 years; these experiences have definitely helped me in my coaching career. I taught German for thirteen years, and standing in front of a class taught me how to plan my work and how to deal with groups, and also how to deal with difficult personalities or how to push highly motivated people that bit extra. On top of the experience of working with people, I also experienced life outside football, working for a average wage, as working class if you like, this I am glad I did as it instilled value and meaning.”
Coaching “I would now say that I have developed as a coach, as in the past I was more a trainer than a coach. Nowadays, you have the help of assistants and specialists and I enjoy having them as support for my work and my input for them. When you start at an amateur club you are doing everything by yourself, or possibly with an assistant. Now I can delegate and give others the room they need to do their job, meaning I can focus more on observing, watching and delegating; seeing it all function is an interesting process. You have a team, and within that team you all have your own roles, function and tasks. Every player has his own needs and being able to provide that a player with those needs is part of the coaching role.”
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Progression
- Divide your players into groups of 6 players - Players are positioned as illustrated
- 1 passes to 3 - 3 wall passes to 2 - 2 passes to 4 - 4 wall passes to 3 - 3 passes to 5 - 5 wall passes to 4 - 4 passes to 1 - 1 wall passes to 5 - 5 passes to 2 - 2 wall passes to 1 - The player who passes the ball pressure the wall passer (so 1 pressures 2), forcing him to quickly play the ball - Rotate positions : 1-2 / 2-3 / 3-4 / 4-5 / 5-1
2
Organisation
Warm-up: Passing
EXERCISES
Organisation
1
13
5+GK v 4
- Play 5V4 with goalkeepers - Systems of play: 1-3-1-1 vs. 2-2 - Coach the yellow team - Pitch: half a pitch - Duration: 2 x 8 minutes with 2 minutes rest - Play always start with goalkeeper - Yellow team pressure in such a way that the blue team cannot pass the ball to their 11
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Organisation
9V9 game
- Pitch: half a pitch - Play 9V9 with goalkeepers (no goals) - Team in possession tries to pass the ball into their goalkeepers hands = 1 point - Team not in possession pressures the opponent (full pressure) to regain possession and prevent the opponent from passing the ball to the goalkeeper - Players closest to the ball executes full pressure, the other players cover and try to shield the passing lanes - Goalkeepers are allowed to move anywhere on the pitch
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Organisation
EXERCISES
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8v8
- Pitch: 2/3 of the pitch - Play 8V8 with goalkeepers - Duration: 2 x 10 minutes with 2 minutes rest - Coach the yellow team - Normal rules - Yellow team immediate pressures the blue team (high pressure) - Switch after 10 minutes, the blue team now pressures the yellow team
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Tactics TACTICS
There has always been a need to produce midfield players that are; agile, imaginative, quick thinking and technically able players with lots of energy. What has changed perhaps is the space these players are now expected to play in and the speed they are expected to operate at. By: Dan Micciche Edited by Michael Francis Pollin
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Tactics
Dan Micciche, MK Dons academy:
Attacking centrally from midfield Midfield players have always come in different shapes and sizes and with very different characters and attitudes. Makelele, the deep, holding deep protective player, Gerrard, the marauding all-action box to box type, Iniesta and Xavi, both clever with intricate passing ability, with movement to match. These are just a few examples who exhibit the different nature of midfield play. Essentially though, in the modern game they perform the same function as always, linking the back players with the front players, but in today’s game it tends to be in more confined spaces and at greater speed than ever before. The greater physical ability of players today enables them to shut spaces down much faster than before and with more frequency. This increases the imperative for clubs to produce young midfield players that can deal with these demands, even from a very early age.
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Practice must replicate the demands of the game and whenever we practice midfield play we should consider carefully the amount of space and time we are prepared to give players to execute their skills and make their decisions. The younger players, at say 8 or 9, will need more time and space to work in, with less decisions and choices to make. But even these need a realistic challenge directly related to the spaces they will have in a match at the weekend.
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The following practices are examples of the work we do at MK Dons when coaching midfield play. The practices are not meant to be easy for the players, and include a lot of problem-solving and decision-making. We tend to focus our early work on attacking centrally from midfield because we believe that if we get this right and create players that can attack efficiently and fluently down the middle of the field by playing between ‘banks’ (or
Tactics
lines) of defences, it will eventually enable us to create more opportunities down the wings as defenders ‘narrow off’ to try to counter the threat. We encourage our players not be afraid of pressure or tight spaces (in congested areas) and instead use this to their advantage by finding and using ‘pockets’ of space that appear and then taking advantage of defenders’ uncertainty.
The practices are set with areas sizes resembling the spaces they will encounter in a match. Often we will train in much smaller areas to ‘hone’ the players’ touch and instinctive skills, and even from the youngest ages players will be expected to experience and eventually deal with matched up and/or outnumbered scenarios.
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Organisation Progression
Receiving & Turning / Playing through Midfield
• Defenders outnumber attackers in each end • Blues outnumbered in midfield • Blues; keep possession working through the middle and end to end • Reds: break up the play and attack either goal as quickly as possible • Develop by changing overload in midfield (4V4, 3V5, 4V3) • Reds; free to go wherever they want to win the ball back • Blues; keep shape not position (changing roles)
GK
GK
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EXERCISES
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Attack V Defence
• Reds attack the goal 6v10 • Two support players in end zone to help reds keep the ball • Support players are ‘safe’ (unopposed) • Support players can rotate positions with the outfield players • Blues; try to attack the Support players 2v1 and score in the mini goals
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GK
Tactics
• Two teams play 6V6 • Coach (c) passes ball to blues • Blues keep the ball until reds win the ball back • When reds win the ball back two players drop out into end zones and then reds try to work the ball from end to end using the ‘drop out’ players as targets - playing 4V6 • Develop as required
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Organisation
Possession game
C
Line Ball (1)
• Reds in possession & play 1:3 and try to work the ball over the blues end line (line X) who have got 4 in the middle • Safety zone for reds for the deepest midfielder • If blues win the ball, one player drops into • Blues safety zone and reds play with 4 in middle zone • Blues play first pass backwards to set up possession in a 1:3 formation
Blues Safe Zone Line X
Line X Reds Safe Zone
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EXERCISES
Organisation
3
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Organisation
Line Ball (2)
• Two equal teams • Both teams score by getting the ball over the line (X) either by dribbling or a player receiving in that Zone • Players ‘offside‘ if they receive a pass too early • Players can continue to attack the goal only if they have a touch of the ball in the zone first • Blues score at the opposite end into two mini goals • Team in possession can use their own end zone as a safety zone to help them play out and forward • Zone at mini goal end narrower than other end
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EXERCISES
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GK
Line X
Line X
Zonal Game
• Defenders outnumber the attackers in the end zones at both ends • Blues in possession; make 3 passes and then play into the middle zone • Midfielders must try to combine with the neutral player before they can pass into the forwards • Forwards try and score in the mini goals • If reds win the ball back they must try to score at the opposite end using their midfield players • Develop as required
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GK
N
Tactics
• A server passes the ball into the blues who attack the reds 3V2 and try to get into the drop zone • Two red defenders then come off the baseline and defend the goal 2V3 • Reds cannot enter the drop zone until they win the ball back • Blues attack the goal • Reds attack the two mini goals 4V3 once they win the ball back • Develop as required
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Organisation
Rep Circuit
EXERCISES
Organisation
7
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S
GK
DROP ZONE
Up, Back & Through
• Both teams work from end to end using the Target players (TP) to score • Support players on the outside to help the team in possession keep the ball • Support players are on one touch • Encourage defending team to push up to the halfway line to compress the game and to try to catch the attackers offside • Team in possession score with this move, i.e. reds • Pass into TP • TP one touch back into one of the reds • Reds one touch forward pass for a player making an overlap • Overlapping player replaces TP in end zone • At opposite end reds replace blue in end zone and now attack that end
TP
TP
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Philosophy Michael Francis Pollin (University of Southampton) interviewed Ben Bartlett (as an emerging prominent figure in English football learning) extensively about coaching behaviours in the modern game; how behaviours are acquired and how they influence the coaching philosophy. This sequential article is complimentary to SCI articles - ‘Independent Learning; A Coaching Philosophy’ (2010) & ‘Coaching Behaviours; Silence is Golden,’ (2011). Alongside a semi-professional career in English non-league, Ben has worked and contributed significantly to coaching of Elite Player Development at Chelsea & Colchester United. As a prominent coach educator within the esteemed and world-renowned system of coach education in England, Ben has innovatively contributed to the design and delivery of English Football Associations’ coach education programmes and coach development. These coaching aspects have witnessed a revolution in recent times in England, as, within the themes of this interview, Ben details pedagogical aspects and the importance of a balanced use of coaching behaviours to accommodate learning, development and progress of players and the team, but also to ensure that your Coaching role objectives are also achieved. By: Michael Francis Pollin No. 54 November 2011
Philosophy
Coaching Behaviours: Working towards a Greater Coaching Philosophy An Interview with Ben Bartlett
Introduction Ben Bartlett applies his philosophy and practice across a number of coaching players and coach education areas. Ben is qualified at UEFA ‘A’ level and as a Coach Educator (English FA’s), educating and assessing coaches throughout a variety of levels including UEFA B. Through a wealth of various experiential roles Ben has had a semi-professional playing career (in English non-league), worked with criminal offenders, developing and coordinating extensive community projects. In addition, Ben has contributed significantly to the elite development of players at Colchester United and Chelsea, as well as working with a number of illustrious coaches at pro and national coaching level. As Coach Education Manager and Ladies/
Girls Manager with Chelsea FC, Ben established and implemented an extensive coach education programme, and coupled with his time as Assistant Chief Executive and Football Development Manager at Colchester United FC, he has developed 22 International players (male and female). This experience has enriched his understanding of age-specific learning and development relating to football coaching of especially youth players. The wealth and depth of conscious playing and coaching experience have afforded Ben a perspective that is rich in pedagogical principles and an awareness of coaching behaviours. This is important as an effective communicative aptitude in coaching, and equally important in education the coach.
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So Ben, what would you say has contributed or influenced your coaching behaviour and understanding to effectively deliver learning and development opportunity to players and coaches? “In my formative years of playing football, and as a coach, exposure to coaching was often in the context of a very distinct coach-centred approach, where information was delivered (instructed or demonstrated), and then success would generally be determined by whether players repeated from the model (instruction or demonstration) provided. This was not unusual. In fact it could be paralleled to the way many children were parented and educated, and also in (English) adult non-league football; with selection in the side dependent upon performance, my absolute personal preference was for the coach/manager to tell me what they wanted me to and I would try to play to their instructions. The coach who influenced me most in my early coaching experiences, whilst being very knowledgeable, had a clearly defined idea of how the game should be played and a fairly uncompromising method of, a) delivering it and also, b) of educating his coaches to deliver it. This, on the surface, seemed to be quite effective as the message was delivered and those coaches
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and players in receipt of the message did it. On reflection, it worked for many, instilling in them the ability and durability to implement or replicate key tenets. There are times when coaches can feel pressure (externally, internally/perceived) and in such times, quick outcomes can be achieved through the delivery of ‘direct instruction.’ As a coach, anytime I deliver something new, unusual to me or when I perceive pressure; I am aware that my default setting (naturally and subconsciously) is to do this and it is undoubtedly an effective tool for coaches.
Philosophy I am not sure that any absolutist (total) approach is helpful though, and whether one’s preference is to lead or to allow the players to self-regulate; a coach may want to consider their ability to work across a variety of coaching behaviours. In more recent times, my approach has shifted to being ‘less direct’ and seeing the benefits of affording players, and coaches, greater ownership and responsibility for their own learning and development. This has been interesting in that if such an approach is unfamiliar to the audience (or if the audience is unfamiliar with me) then it can take time to build the requisite
trust that allows people to move freely within such an environment. Admittedly, the mistake that I now realise has been to assume that each group I coach or educate knows and trusts me from the outset. Additionally, if at the end of a course there is a test or assessment that the players/ coaches have to pass (being selected, winning, passing an assessment); then it is only human to want to know exactly what one needs to do to pass the test. Then the challenge can arise of, ‘how would I do it?’ versus ‘how does he/she want me to do it?’ Often it is equally important to manage how the coach approaches ‘the test’ as it is the preparation.”
“From knowledge, experience and having a clearly defined idea of the game, a coach is able to deliver to players, and also to educate coaches to.”
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How do coaching behaviours work in relation to having a pedagogical understanding of how to deliver learning and developing effectively to players? “All of us as coaches seek to both understand and have the capacity to exhibit a range of coaching behaviours. Within any group of players there will be different learning preferences, varying levels of experience, broadly ranging resources of confidence and a maze of profiles of strengths & weaknesses in relation to technical ability and tactical understanding. With each player being individual, our task is to find a way to maximise learning and development for every player which includes knowing when to leave them alone! For coaches this can be very much a process of trial and error and possession of some of those subtler, less championed attributes of being frank, being open with a willingness to admit mistakes. This is as important as the knowledge of learning/ education. Motivation is also a consideration. Why are your players playing? For some coaches, the players might be utilising football as a social forum when learning and developing are low priorities for them. For others, the players may be pursuing prizes of contracts, first team spots and may have a clear picture on how they intend to do
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that, which may not fit with our idea around what they need. Whatever the scenario, this relationship-building is crucial to learning and development. If we can aspire to know the players, build relationships with them and foster an environment where they feel worthy then we may just earn the opportunity to inspire them to learn, improve and continue to love the game.” In relation to that previous explanation, what coaching behaviours are most appropriate to deliver technical and tactical understanding to players? “All of them! Observers often say to me that coaching has a conflict of styles; is it about command style or should we let the learners be independent? As with any debate, preference and personal experience often forms opinions, but I am not sure that polarisation is helpful. In my mind, it is not ‘one or the other,’ more like ‘one AND the other.’ Sometimes players just need to be told (command style or direct instruction), other times supporting self-discovery is more powerful and seeing the players developing an understanding of tactics and becoming good technicians as a long term piece of work. Further, whatever method is deemed preferable it is crucial that the coach has a good understanding of tactics and how to develop technique themselves, as this forms the foundations from which the method of implementation grows.
Philosophy
Finally, this should probably be ageappropriate. Encyclopaedic knowledge of tactics is a great resource which then needs to be palatable for the ability, age and experience of the players they support.� Also, how is it important to have a pedagogical understanding of how to deliver learning and develop players to their potential? “Remembering that learning is an individual thing within the variant dynamics of a team framework, and linking this to what happens in coaching sessions and to matches; is a key skill not to be overlooked. As the coach you need to support your players to set improvement challenges in competition and in training based upon; a) theirs (and your) beliefs about what they want to improve, and b) what has been practised in training. This aspect is contextualiser that links training objectives to competitive games. For example, with my group of Under 14’s this season, we discussed after our first game what we do well tactically and also not so well whilst in possession. We converged on when we try to keep possession and when we risk it, based upon the discussion that we played forward at every opportunity, which often led to conceding possession. We then spent a half term (6 weeks) with this as our focus
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for training (4 hours a week) and as a team target for competition, identifying how we thought we were getting on as a focus for discussion at the end of periods of play. Interestingly, after the first week we tried to play to keep it too often, and this encouraged pressure, so from one extreme to the other. After 3-4 weeks we were making progress, and at the end of the 6 weeks the players felt more comfortable and had subsequently highlighted that if we used the width of the pitch more effectively it may add to our work (which became the focus for the next 6 weeks work). For me, learning has been effective as a theme and consistent across a 6 week period, linked to players own observations (ownership) and was considered and measured in competition (relevance). Subsequently, as penetration is one of the principles of play, it links to the game and can be re-referenced regularly. Players also identified individual challenges that they wanted to focus on. For example, one of the defenders identified that he wanted to improve being able to identify, and when to; follow strikers short and when to leave them. This was his individual target for those 6 weeks and with myself, his dad and some of his team-mates he discussed how he was getting on. In summary, collective targets identified in
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discussion with the players will determine the direction of the technical/tactical programme, and also for individual targets (optional) specific to players and referenced to team-based & individual improvements, which are agreed upon with players. And also worth mentioning; in terms of learning periodic reviewing, evaluating and planning are imperative.�
Philosophy
parts of the team and the whole of the team, as well as setting intrinsic challenges/ goals for players. Also supporting players continued development, by reflecting upon aspects of their work that went well and elements of their coaching and match-day management that they could enhance. Having a mentor or a mate (who may or may not be a coach) who they can discuss things with, and seek to continually develop their coaching practice, whether in the context of formal coach education or a more informal workshop event, this will add depth to the learning.
For coaches to have the aforementioned attributes and behaviours; how and/or where are they acquired; socially constructed, innate predisposition, learned and developed? “Coaches, through practice, have the opportunity to learn and develop such skills, and can rehearse a variety of different coaching styles; intervening for individuals,
The social constructivist element has a key part to play in this acquisition too; with the environment also key. If coaches and parents promote ‘winning at all costs;’ children will pursue that outcome. If coaches would like their players to ‘trial and error’ and learn from mistakes, the environment should allow those mistakes to be learning opportunities, and not inhibit practice where they stop experimenting. Similarly, if a Club/school/ development programme promotes creative, child-centred, experimental coaching, then the coaches within that environment will have the opportunity, with appropriate support, to develop into coaches who model, are enthused and promote such an approach.”
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On reflection, are coaching behaviours important, and if so why? “Undoubtedly style and substance work in tandem. Consider the responsibility of the person speaking (the coach) to communicate the message clearly and unambiguously. The level of knowledge possessed by a coach is only as useful as their ability to share that knowledge so that those in receipt can ‘understand, utilise and retain it. Whether it is a concise command as a question that probes and encourages a discussion where appropriate information can be shared to guide players to demonstrate what they can perform; coaches can help them with the next part as constructivist learning. The art many of us are working with is knowing when which player(s) require which approach.” What do you consider to be important behaviours (instruction, re-modelling and corrective, inclusion, accommodative, liberal and open)? “Understanding the players you work with and developing relationships with them, aspiring to develop that encyclopaedic knowledge of the game of football complement the use of a variety of coaching behaviours. Knowing your players, and the game, will help the coach with how to support each individual within the team,
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and by applying the appropriate behaviour relatively in relation to the situation, the benefits should be felt throughout.” Are the processes for learning and developing appropriate coaching behaviours sufficiently effective? “The information and the opportunities for coaches to affect their coaching development are out there. National Federations, coaching bodies, professional clubs, private enterprises and a range of other non-sport organisations have education programmes and resourceful publications that support coaches to learn and develop their coaching behaviours. Much of education has seen transformation around learning processes in the last 20 years, and sport is no different. Part of the cultural challenge is maintaining a healthy balance of education being seen as an ongoing process of improvement and a means of acquiring the relevant and related employment rewards. There is also the issue of placing sufficient emphasis on learning as a long term continual process to accompany the ‘standardised test mentality,’ where competency is assessed against a performance on a given day against a preset criteria.”
Philosophy
What types of sessions (Game sense, Tactical Games Approach, Modified games, TGfU etc) best capacitate learning and developing? “There is a balance to be found. Repeating techniques in isolation (e.g. driving the ball over 30 yards) can have value in the same way that the operation of practices with higher context to the game of football do. Finding the most useful way to use the limited time you and the players have together and encouraging the players to use the additional minutes they have independently of a structured coaching environment is very important. Polishing and refining contact with the ball, accompanied by relevant game related practice, under-pinned by the principles of the game can encourage players to have the ability to select and perform the appropriate technique relative to the context and situation occurring in the game. Such game related practice can also be utilised to build awareness off the ball (where players spend a good percentage of the game), supporting their team-mates and also maximising their own effectiveness when gaining possession (as a team).” Give your opinions on Independent Learning: “Placing a level of ownership in the hands of the learners, allowing them to choose what they need and want to learn; having the capacity to enhance motivation for learners and encourage individuality. This is
where originality and creativity are born out of through a self-motivated learning journey that allows experimenting and mistakes. This contributes to greater problem-solving and decision-making players with more acute anticipatory skill gained through selfinitiated learning experience. Support from practitioners and education providers to advocate and administer such a process would undoubtedly contribute to this, with the potential outcome being an acceptance and celebration of divergence in both; what employees could bring to employers, and also; players to teams and coaches to the development of players, teams and clubs.” How does this relate to learning and development for footballers? “Supporting players to get a balance between what they may need to learn to achieve their objectives and what they want to learn would be a consideration. This could significantly contribute to that changing tide of player development. Players may have a more rounded education, and coaches may have a deeper understanding of delivering a more rounded education. Ultimately, the deciding factors might be, a) does it support the development of top level players? and b) does it increase the number of people learning, playing and staying within the game at whatever level?”
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Would this impact on football coach education in the general perspective? “Maintaining a formal coach education process to achieve industry standards could then be accompanied by a more tacit, mentor associated, continued education plan based upon the needs of coaches within their own environment.” How does this effect coaching behaviour? “Potentially it is adding to the requirement for coaches to understand what their players need and how they seek to meet their needs, possessing the knowledge and ability to adapt their approach and behaviours in line with those objectives to support players and instil and develop their independent learning within the frame of a team.” What is your philosophy of coaching based around your experience and what you feel is required as your coaching behaviour? “During my coaching experience, my focus has been mainly based on player development, with success measured upon the progress of individual players; this is opposed to the objective of match results, titles and trophies. The attention to the learning, development and progress objectives has also to be considerate of the technical and tactical aspects for both individuals and the team. This has invariably influenced my coaching philosophy, my approach, and also my actual coaching
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behaviours; which I base upon the following principles: 1. Support players to be equipped for the modern game where enhancing individual ability (physically & technically) to; ‘retain, release and run with the ball’ are brought to life by an ability to select, execute and improvise under pressure of time, space and/or opposition. This would be allied to the skills of defending around and away from the ball as an individual and as part of team. 2. To aspire to achieve whilst inspiring others to achieve within the laws of the game and the spirit of competition. 3. Allowing equal opportunity for all within the team/squad/programme to develop. 4. Seeking to establish a playing philosophy where players have the ability to recognise the unfolding events of the game and adapt the style of play accordingly Finally, is Silence (as passive, part-active and non-active) an actual coaching behaviour, and if so; what are the benefits? “Yes, I believe silence is a coaching behaviour. It may be that a player has identified a challenge/task for themselves to work on or develop (learn). In relation to the independent Learning process, silence could provide the opportunity to observe performance and progress whilst the player(s) practice to further enhance
Philosophy
their performance from either some collaborated or pre-discussed suggestions or solutions, or possibly from their own evaluative processes of in-action analysis (reflection). This would suggest that if the coach accommodates the opportunities (as appropriate), the players are capable of initiating the challenge or task, and that they are able to develop and self-analyse, possibly through mistakes. Silence could be that accommodator. The observation part (of silence) becomes key if the player is (possibly) observed to
be continually struggling in both action and correcting errors, then it may be that a different coaching behaviour would help (although coaches may want to consider the risks of repeatedly intervening). Additionally, if the player is repeatedly succeeding with ease, again, a different coaching behaviour may be required to further challenge. The observation aspect of silence can facilitate this need; then it needs to be supported by other behaviours to ensure the objectives of learning, development and progress are achieved.�
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Ben Bartlett Biography Coaching career - FA Advanced Coaching Licence (UEFA ‘A’) - FA Youth Award Module 1, 2 & 3 - FA Coach Educator Level 1, 2, 3 (UEFA B) - FA Youth Award Tutor – Module 1, 2 & 3 - Regional Coach Development Manager – East – The Football Association (2011 – Present) - Regional Coach Development Manager (5-11) South East - The Football Association (2007 – 2010) - Chelsea Football Club: Coach Education Manager/Women’s & Girls Operations General Manager (2006 – 2007) - County Football Development Manager - Berks & Bucks County Football Association (2005 – 2006) - Colchester United Football Club: Assistant Chief Executive/Football Development Manager (2000 – 2005) - Football Project Co-ordinator - National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO) (1999 – 2000) - Colchester United FC: Assistant Football in the Community Officer (1997 –1999)
Playing career Farnborough FC (Southern League) (2007-2009) Witham Town FC (Ryman League) (1997 – 2005)
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Philosophy
Interviewer Biography Michael Francis Pollin has worked, studied and researched in a number of fields of education, which of course includes football coaching. Whilst collaborating with a number of Grassroots clubs and Academies, he has carried out extensive research with The (English) Football Association (The FA) on Coaching Behaviours, and how these may be affected through participation in coach education. Michael has developed the notion and paradigm of Independent Learning from academic research of Early Years and Primary education in Italy and England, and has conceptualised and applied the ideas to Youth Football Coaching (5 – 11 year olds). He has taken the ideas to the wider range of age groups, and is now researching the pedagogical principles of Independent learning as it relates to coach education and coaching behaviours; to create more ‘pedagogically skilled coaches.’ To all coaches, managers and players with a passion for learning and developing in football coaching; if you would like to contact Michael with any feedback, thoughts, ideas or proposals, you can contact at: michaelfrancispollin@hotmail.com
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Training Sessions
training sessions
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Training Sessions from around the World
Attacking phases, part 2 Edited by Michael Francis Pollin
No. 54 November 2011
Anyone who knows anything about football will know that it is the only sports in which a team can dominate an entire match and still lose. A team could dominate possession with the higher percentage of play, have many chances to score, gain a superior number of set plays, and yet still fail to win the match. Football, like all invasion sports, can be broken down into ‘phases of play,’ with the team that demonstrates competence in most of these phases, theoretically, having the better opportunity to emerge victorious. By definition, a phase of play involves at least two lines of a team, such as the defensive and midfield lines, or the midfield and forward lines; very often at least part of all three lines are involved.
Natursports / Shutterstock.com
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training sessions
Training Sessions
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Training Sessions
training sessions
The Attacking Phases
• • • • • •
Attacking and build-up play Build-up from the back Transitioning to attack Build-up on the opponent’s half The moment of transition Counter-Attacking
In this part of training sessions from around the world we will focus on the second of these six phases: Building-up from the back.
Zone 2: Building-up from the back Once a team has won the ball what will it do? While this is dependent on a number of factors, there are some decisions to consider. Do you play the ball through the midfield or bypass them with the long pass? Does the team have a ‘playmaker’ that will take the responsibility or is it every man for himself? Will the team exploit space on the flanks or through the centre? If the team has a strategy on how to build-up attacks, then greater coordination and team efficiency will be possible. In order to construct good build-up, whether it is a counter-attack or a period of possession play, there are a number of basic skills a team must possess; passing, controlling and dribbling form the foundation of any build-up. No. 54 November 2011
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Besides passing, controlling and dribbling another basic and very necessary skill in any build-up is support. The team must provide options for the player with the ball to maintain possession; with off-theball movement essential to this and the actual build-up. Be very specific and give examples to your players of how to provide support, and in attack it is effective to use the width of the pitch. When your team is in possession, there should always be at least one or two players who check to the ball by moving towards the ball carrier. The best way to check for the ball is by running back, towards the sideline (so that you eventually become square to the ball carrier). This pulls out the opponent’s defence. The following exercises will help you team to better understand and execute this phase of play.
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training sessions
Support
Training Sessions
Warm-up
training sessions
1
1
2
6
3
5 4
• Position 6 cones and 6 disks as illustrated • 6 players positioned at the cones • Player 1 starts by dribbling from cone 1 to and halfway around disk 1 and passes to player 2
Phase: Build-up from the back warm-up Team function: Warm-up Objective: Improve dribbling and passing Age: U19-adults
Organisation
42
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Training Sessions
4 + Goalkeeper V 3
training sessions
2
43
Team function: Attacking Team task: Build-up from the back Objective: Improve the build-up from the back
Organisation
Phase: Build-up from the back
• Goalkeeper always starts with the ball and passes to one of his defenders • Defenders must make sure they are free to receive the ball from the goalkeeper and must move off the ball to create space for the other defenders • Defenders can score on low goal on the other side • Attackers execute high pressure on the ball at all times • When defenders score = 1 point • Attacker can score on large goal with goalkeeper = 2 points
Pitch size: 30 x 40 metres Opponent role: High pressure Age: U17-adults
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Training Sessions
Flank play
training sessions
3
1
5
8
2
6 8
6
4
3
Phase: Build-up from the back Team function: Attacking Team task: Build-up from the back Objective: Improve the build-up from the back along the flanks Pitch size: Half a pitch Opponent role: High pressure
Organisation
1
• Half a pitch • 4 defenders and 2 defensive midfielders against 2 attackers, with goalkeepers at each end • Pitch split in half, play 3v1 on each side
Progression
44
• Central defender (3) moves off the ball to the inside • Goalkeeper (1) starts play by passing 3, 3 must be turned open and passes to 6 • Defensive midfielder (6) receives the ball, turns and passes to the wingback (5) • Wingback receives the ball, while 6 runs off the ball to take position in front of the goal • 3 overlaps 5 and receives the ball in his run • 3 crosses the ball to 6, who is being covered closely • 6 tries to finish on goal • Same organisation on the other side
Age: U17-adults
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Training Sessions
5V5 with Goalkeepers
1
Phase: Build-up from the back Team function: Attacking Team task: Build-up from the back Objective: Improve the build-up from the back Pitch size: 40 x 60 metres Opponent role: High pressure Age: U15-adults
Organisation
• Play 6v6, including goalkeepers • Forwards on each team may only play on their attacking half • The other three can go forward but they must retreat into their defensive half as soon as possession is lost • Before the team in possession can attack the goal, the 3 players on the defending half must string together a certain number of passes • The opponent’s 2 forwards execute pressure, trying to prevent the team in possession from passing the ball • Players are playing 3 + GK against 2 on the defensive half • Once the defender have attain the number of set passes they can progress the ball into the attacking half and join the attack • No one is allowed to shoot on goal until all members of the offensive team have touched the ball
Progression
1
• Allow the 2 forwards to go back into the defensive half during this possession time or include the forwards as checkers to receive forward passes followed by drops back into the defensive half. The GK should definitely be included in the build-up process. • At some point remove the midline and adjust restrictions to encourage possession with a focus to go forward when the opportunity presents itself.
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4
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Training Sessions
4v4 with neutrals
training sessions
5
Team function: Attacking Team task: Build-up from the back Objective: Improve the build-up from the back
Organisation
Phase: Build-up from the back
Pitch size: 40 x 60 metres Opponent role: High pressure Age: U17-adults
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• Play 3 + Goalkeeper (yellow) against 4 (blue) • 2 neutral players, who play with team in possession • Goalkeeper start play and passes to one of the wingback • Other players move off the ball to create space • Neutral players function as midfielders and ask for the ball • Normal rules apply • Yellow team tries to score on low goal (without goalkeeper) • Blue execute high pressure and quickly counterattacks whenever the gain possession
Training Sessions
7 + Goalkeeper against 7 + Goalkeeper
1
3 9
2
5
6
7
4
6
4
7
9 3 2
5
Rules: Normal rules, but without corner-kicks, start possession at your own goalkeeper Pitch size: Just over half a field Opponent role: High pressure
Variations
Team function: Attacking Team task: Build-up, scoring Objective: Improve the build-up on the flanks (and defending it)
Coaching
Phase: Build-up from the back
Organisation
1
• Half a pitch • Both teams play 1 - 3 - 3 - 1
• Add ball limitations • Reduce pitch size • Covering through on the wingbacks
• Quickly re-organise after every transition • The wingbacks must be strong on the ball and go deep on the flanks
Age: U15-adults
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6
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TACTICS
There are a lot of passing and shooting exercises in football and it is certainly not our intention to describe them all. However, within all of the passing and shooting exercises available there are a number of similarities, which we will seek to highlight. In this part of our ‘Small-sided games in football’ series, we will focus on one of the most common passing and shooting exercises; the Y-exercise. The Y-exercise derives its name from the positions in the exercise; if you draw a line from beginning to end this exercise will outline a Y-shape. Text: Jan Zoutman Edited by Michael Francis Pollin
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Tactics
SMALL-SIDED games in football (8): Passing and Shooting: the Y-exercise
Technique
that type. Besides that, you can vary the speed of the ball, the direction of the ball and you can also pass the ball through the air. Firstly, we look at the different forms of shooting technique and the most important coaching points within that. After that, we will look at the different types of resistance and condition you can implement in this exercise.
Whatever passing and shooting exercise you use, for every coach it is important to guide or improve the technical execution. The pass with the inside of the foot, the pass with the outside of the foot and the instep pass are, of course, the most used passing and shooting techniques. There is also the heel pass, but there are not many trainers who will use their training time on
In general you can say that the pass with the inside of the foot is the most common in football. Especially in youth football, because the instep pass is quite difficult at this level. But is it also commonly used at the higher levels, because it is a clean pass and suitable for passing across shorter distances?
There are a lot of variations to think of when performing this exercise. We will outline the most commonly used variations, but without a doubt there are a lot more variations to think of and the more creative coaches amongst us, probably already have.
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So if you and your team choose the short build up from the back, you will have to perfect the inside foot pass. At youth level, you still look at the technical elements, like opening the foot accurately, kicking the ball in the middle, keeping the body bent over the ball and using the arms for balance. Whilst, at the senior level, it is more about the speed and the direction of the ball? Are those technical or tactical elements? I am inclined to say that they are tactical elements, because of the several tactical elements involved, such as positioning, the pressure from the opponents and the objective of the pass; to play an important role in the correct execution. So you cannot say that every ball must be passed as hard as possible, or that a striker that opens up with a defender in his back, must be reached with a much more sensitive pass. He already moves towards the ball and will therefore prefer a softer pass. Also the defender must than cover bigger distances (to the striker), so the space increases for the striker or other players. So it is more complex than just passing the ball as hard as possible.
Body The difference within different shooting techniques involves several aspects, namely; which part do I hit the ball, which part of my foot hits the ball and how is the position of the rest of my body, especially
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my upper body and arms? It is important to note that everybody is different, which means that passing and shooting is also something personal. Because Ronald Koeman has small feet, he can hit the ball beautifully with the instep in the sweetspot of the ball, whereby he places his foot straight against the ball. You can imagine though, that a player with larger feet must slant his foot slightly, because he will otherwise risk shooting into the ground. And we all know how that feels! You can hit the ball in different places. But in general if you want to keep the ball low, you have to hit it through the centre. If you want to kick the ball through the air, you have to hit the ball slightly below the centre, and if you want to play the ball with effect, you have to hit it slightly on one side. A great example is Roberto Carlos’ free kick, as he kicks the ball with the outside of the instep and slightly on the side of the ball and consequently was able to surprise many goalkeepers with his infamous swervers. Besides the different places to hit the ball, you can also use different parts of the foot to kick the ball; inside and outside of the foot, instep, and, of course, the inside instep or the outside instep. All these forms of passing and shooting demand a lot of practice to perfect them. You as a coach
Tactics
must always ask yourself what is important. If you are limited in your training time, you must ask yourself how much time you must spend on training without resistance or conditions, the direction and finishing. The more training time there is available, the more time you have to perfect the passing and shooting technique. These techniques can also be coached by the players in small groups outside the regular training sessions. An area which is often overlooked is the correct use and posture of the body when passing and shooting. For example, the position of the standing foot is very relevant for a good execution of a pass or a shot, and is different for various techniques. If you want to keep the ball low, the body must be positioned over the ball, and the standing foot must not be too far behind the ball. In general the foot must be positioned at about the same height as the ball and if you want to play the ball through the air, the standing foot should be a bit more behind the ball. This way it is easier to hit the ball a bit lower, which is required to play the ball through the air. If the standing foot is placed too far forward, it is very difficult to gain power and lift, in this case you will hit the ball too soon and will have not reached maximum speed. That is how so many shooting chances (in and around the penalty area) are wasted.
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TACTICS Tactics
No. 54 November 2011
Tactics
Another important area of attention is the direction of the standing foot. The standing foot should point in the direction you want to pass or kick the ball. At the highest level there are of course players who can camouflage this really well and are able to trick the opponent in this way. Finally, I emphasize the importance of using the arms for good balance. Just like with walking or running, your arms swing along in the opposite direction, but often you see that with shooting that the arm swing is not totally completed, whereby the player is offbalance. Or you see one arm swinging along in the right direction, but the other in the wrong direction; that will have an effect on the execution of the shot or pass. So passing and shooting requires a lot of technique and it is crucial to pay the necessary attention to perfecting these techniques. When a player trains often, these things will become automatic and you can start to perfect the execution, but bear in mind that the player’s physique plays an important part in this and may not be forgotten.
Tactics In passing and shooting exercises, you as a coach can also implement different resistances and conditions, whereby the exercises become more realistic to the game situation. We mention a number of those examples here to illustrate how to do this.
Direction By including a finish at the end of an exercise (on a goal with a goalkeeper or by dribbling across a line after a 1v1), the technical aspects have more meaning. For the players, it means that the ball must be passed in such a way that your teammate can easily give the next pass, or that receiving the ball is aimed to finish on goal, or to get into the 1v1. You can also make the exercise more demanding by setting a maximum number of touches, as this puts emphasis on their first touch, which has effect on their next touch, and so on. Another important condition is, of course, to play with one or more defenders, which can be done by letting a defender cover the ball line, so the ball speed must be fast, so the defender cannot (so easily) intercept the ball. The player who receives the ball, must adopt a position to receive it, before deciding what to do next; run off the ball, away from the defender. As mentioned earlier you can also put a defender behind an attacker, so the attacker must become open to receive the ball. The timing of the run off the ball and the ball speed are two important coaching points. If as an attacker you run too soon, there is a big chance that the defender will close in when you receive the ball. If you run too late, a good defender will be able to intercept the pass. These exercises are therefore a great way to train the timing of a run off the ball.
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Tactics
Communication Passing and shooting are also excellent exercises to improve the communication; not verbally, but by looking closely at the pass of your teammate you can influence on the speed of the game play, as a possible advantage. You could decide to pass directly in some positions, or to touch the ball twice to improve receiving the ball, but it is even more effective if the players have to make that decision for themselves. When the ball is on his way from player A to player B, player C must already decide if player B is able to pass the ball to him (subsequently),
or if the player B must control it before passing it to him. Player C must be able to estimate whether the pass is good enough for player B to pass it to him in one touch or not. If you are able to estimate that correctly you will almost always make the right choice when timing your run off the ball. This is probably the most difficult aspect in football, especially if there are defenders in between who are pressuring the ball. But on the highest level, it is this aspect that decides if a team can easily pass the ball around or not, and that football actually looks very simple. Look at Barcelona or Ajax under Louis van Gaal.
Progressing from easy to difficult It is not recommended to challenge players as beginners with a lot of resistances and conditions. Like with all techniques this must also be improved step by step, and more and more tactics and technical detail are progressively added. These aspects should also be monitored in matches. Which pass is used most often by the players and what is their shooting strength at any given age? Of course you have to adjust your exercises to that. Where are your players positioned and how do you want your strikers to be reached? However, you must be aware of the fact when you are playing a match there is an opponent, and they are positioned in between your players. The opponent will try to interfere with your play. There are a lot of passing and shooting exercises to consider, and it could be useful to look at your own style of play to decide what is right for you and your team.
No. 54 November 2011
This online application, is called MySoccerExercises.com and was developed for soccer coaches. This application will allow coaches to easily draw their own diagrams, exercises and training sessions, archive them and most importantly save and print them.
MySoccerExercises.com The best part of this application is probably the price. All SoccerCoachingInternational
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Brazilian Corner
Edited by Michael Francis Pollin
Atletico-MG enhances cultural exchange Atletico-MG Under 17s have drafted in a young player from Kazakhstan who goes by the name of Rauan. The young player is not part of the clubs exchange programme (which is in place for the exchange of players from other countries who pay the club to train at their youth academy), but this talented Kazakh caught the attention of the scouting department because he was the top scorer of the U-17 Paulista Championship last year at Ole Brazil. The coaching staff were impressed by Rauan capabilities, saying, “When we saw that he was a striker with interesting characteristics, great finisher with both feet, we ask for him to be hired,” said coach Diego Giacomini.
Rauan Sariyev, born 22 January 1994, signed a three year contract with the Galos in August 2011. He is one of the biggest talents among the twenty-six Kazakh youth players trained at Ole Brasil Futebol Clube football academy between 2009–2011, which is sponsored by Kazakhstani Government. His brother Sayat Sariyev is also a footballer playing for FC Zhetysu.
Players from 68 nations will participate in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League The 2011/12 UEFA Champions League is about to finish their group stage, and the CIES Football Observatory has been studying and analysing the entire competition from start to finish and will be publishing regular and exclusive statistical data as the competition progresses. The latest CIES Player Observatory statistics record, and compare, the Champions League (qualified) teams.
No. 54 November 2011
The 2011/12 analysis reveals that Spain is the nation from which the most players originate (81), closely followed by France (78) and, interestingly from outside the EU, Brazil (69). This confirms the extraordinary role played by the Brazilian workforce in the world football economy. In total, footballers in the 2011/12 competition come from 68 different national associations from all continents.
Santos organizes Futsal and football exchange Atletico-MG Under 17s have drafted in a young player from Kazakhstan who goes by the name of Rauan. The young player is not part of the clubs exchange programme (which is in place for the exchange of players from other countries who pay the club to train at their youth academy), but this talented Kazakh caught the attention of the scouting department because he was the top scorer of the U-17 Paulista Championship last year at Ole Brazil. The coaching staff were impressed by Rauan capabilities, saying, “When we saw that he was a striker with interesting characteristics, great finisher with both feet, we ask for him to be hired,” said coach Diego Giacomini. Rauan Sariyev, born 22 January 1994, signed a three year contract with the Galos in August 2011. He is one of the biggest talents among the twenty-six Kazakh youth players trained at Ole Brasil Futebol Clube football academy between 2009–2011, which is sponsored by Kazakhstani Government. His brother Sayat Sariyev is also a footballer playing for FC Zhetysu.
Portuguesa’s coach criticizes women’s soccer amateurism
Brazilian Corner
Portuguesa’s men soccer team is sponsored by bank Banif, Camp, Viva, and Penalty (a sports equipment supplier). The women’s soccer team have no sponsors, and according to Prisco Palumbo, the women’s head coach, there are three explanations for this: lack of organisation, lack of appropriate exposure and a somewhat fruitless search for sponsorship. “Women’s soccer has its audience, of course, but volleyball, basketball and gymnastics have higher exposure, and consequently the sponsors appear more often in those sports,” says the coach, also president of the Paulista Football Association (APF).With football it tends to be a few sporadic contributions and investments, according to Palumbo reports. Youth academies for women are almost nonexistent in Brazil. The few professional teams in the country are definitely like ‘poor relation’ compared to their American counterparts. And the difference being, in the USA the shirts sponsors are given maximum exposure through TV and other media. Today, only one TV station transmits the women’s Paulista Championshipat a ratio of one game a week. Five years from now, it will either end or will be on the same level as the U.S. women’s soccer, where there is adequate infrastructure and the athletes are paid. “It will be necessary for the heads of women’s soccer to organise the game. In order for the Brazilian federation and confederation believe and enable funds to maintain a good structure, “says Palumbo.
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