Yes international week is boring but as Lefty suggests it is a great time to reflect on other aspects of the beautiful game such as ‘Why do Brazil produce consistently skilful players over such a long period?’
Here are 4 reasons in my opinion that might contribute towards this.
4) POVERTY- what else do these kids have all day to do apart from kick stuff around? In many areas of Brazil, big football pitches are few and far between, so kids have to make do with smaller areas such as streets, courtyards..etc . Objects such as tennis balls are often used in place of large football which makes control more difficult and increases technique. For a lot of kids, football is the only way they might ever make money, so many go all-out to become as good as they can in the hope that in the future, they might be able to live the dream. It’s not a coincidence that many deprived areas of Britain produce good footballers.
3) POPULATION – Brazil has 200 million people living within! That’s one big pool of talent where a large proportion of males and females alike are interested football. Football is the life and soul of the country and the whole place shuts down when the national team are playing. There are other sports such as basketball, martial arts, swimming and volleyball but nothing compares or competes really.
2) STATURE - If you compare South American countries to Europe then there is noticeable difference in the average height with Europeans being quite a few inches taller in general. Messi 5ft 7, Pele 5ft 8, Maradona 5ft 5, Xavi 5ft 7, Iniesta 5ft 7, Neymar 5ft 8, Zico 5ft 7, Coutinho 5ft 7. Of course there are skilful football players that are above 6ft but you get the idea.
1) FUTSAL – How many English players have you ever seen playing Futsal!? Futsal began in the1940s in Brazil. It is like 5 a side but the boundaries are marked with lines so there are no boards or walls (preventing kick and rush). The ball is small and doesn’t bounce much on the hard court. This game is designed to encourage skill, technique, movement, creativity and passing all within a small area. This I believe is a big reason why flair is associated with countries that practice Futsal because it doesn’t matter how big or fast you are, you are forced to control and move the ball around. It has also become big in Spain which is no coincidence either. If the FA wants to seriously improve the standard of football in the UK and compete on the world stage then I believe a system such as Futsal training needs to be implemented throughout grassroots level.
Im sure this isn’t an exhaustive list but I will leave you with a link to Barcelona playing futsal. They do it often and what strikes me is that the keepers get involved as well. Pique is awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfHpFRGnn10
Also Barca and Real 'Legends' playing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jOYaf66F5I
They are fun to watch.
Why so skilful?
posted on 10/9/13
I agree with the small pitches remark. However we play football from a very young age too, and usually on streets etc..
I feel the whole youth system, mentality and ethic needs to change, in England, to get us to a world class technical level.
Eg. The best footballer at your school, I'm guessing he was a big lad too and used to use his strength and power to go past players.
And my bet is, he never made it.
How about a game, whereby the team who keeps the ball the longest, over 60 minutes, wins,. No goals.
You might start setting smaller kids, with good skill and technical ability start to come through.
We are just so reliant on physical attributes, even small players who do get through, usually excel in one area. Eg, pace
posted on 10/9/13
The Brazil example is more comparable to say someone like India. You might think India is cricket mad but in truth in most street corners the kids tend to prefer to play football.
The might not have the coaching or say ex great players to look up to but thus so far they have not produced one decent footballer.
What i'm trying to say is that if one thing works for one nation does not mean it will work in England.
posted on 10/9/13
I found when I was younger that generally when we look at a team, the best player was the one who could dribble round everyone if he wanted to. Trouble is he generally knows he's the best player on the pitch and doesn't think it's worth it to pass the ball to someone else.
We need to improve this idea of playing as a team rather than a bunch of individuals, which is what the England team has always looked liked recently.
I also think we're quite lacking in intelligence and imagination. A quick hoof up the pitch has been favoured from a young age instead of taking responsibility and looking to control the ball from the off, particularly when defending.
posted on 10/9/13
I went to Argentina last year and did some travelling about, one thing that struck me about the country from a footballing perspective was the passion. Everyone seemed to want to talk to you about football, Man City primarily because of the players and they seemed to love Tevez more than Aguero - weird. Anyway, I digress.
There are a huge number of pitches there, most in terrible condition but there always seemed to be kids of all ages playing together on them. It seemed like a community thing - you played football on the local pitch.
Personally I attribute this to a couple of things, firstly the relative affluence of England. Most kids have access to technology and would prefer to tweet, undate their status and play X-box than get out and play football. Putting it simply, todays generation would appear to prefer to play FIFA than to actually play football.
Secondly there is definitely a cultural difference. Winning is not everything, playing the game in a beautiful way counts in a way that we don't necessary appreciate. How often do you see fans and managers show pride in the fact they ground out a result or did a professional job? It's a generalisation sure but I just didn't get that sense in South America and that attitude, whether you think it right or wrong, will seep down and imbed itself in kids.
posted on 10/9/13
you do realise spain IS a european country OP
posted on 10/9/13
Its all to impress the Brazilian beauties on the beach
posted on 10/9/13
I agree that there should definitely be more emphasis on ball retention and maybe kids in this country have so many other distractions in the form of media.
Also I guess I was trying to suggest that Spain are breaking the mould in Europe but didn't really explain that very well and I was just listing shorter players who are skilful so may have merged the lines there a little, sorry.
posted on 10/9/13
Why does the England team of 1974 play in the same style of 2013 and the same for every nation? If nations play generationally in the same style then there is nothing we can do. Brazil, Germany, Italy will always do the best at tournaments. Spain have just toughened up.