Training Camps in South America

[pulsar]

Am i beating a dead horse? Am i wasting precious time not being in the coffee line up as i write this? I think we should look at an adaptaion training method. Start training and playing more games in South America. I think we can keep up to the Europeans but latin football is definitely our Achillies heel. Yes, our MNT tied Venezuela but they are considered minnows as well....especially in SA.

Now I am not a technician here. I was a keeper for years and know the back end of the game better then i do up front; but tactically, i am a spaz. Does anyone out there have any ideas as to how we can better prep our boys for the South Americans.

The counter arguement would be we beat Brazil and played well against Argentina but i can't buy into that %100.

Feel free to enlighten me people

[jpg75]

I don't think that's necessary. What we need our boys to learn at an earlier age is how to play cynically and use all the professional tricks of the trade. Much like the Americans who have become quite good at these tactics. It doesn't mean learning to dive, or anything down right negative. What i am refering to is one-on-one ball possession skills, shielding the ball better, closing space between you and the ball, getting between the opponent and the ball, shirt pulling etc. Just generally being more difficult to play against.

I offer an analogy, think of the Canadian Junior Hockey team and how schooled they are in the details of the game. Picture them playing against say France or Denmark (some obscure B pool team who gets lucky one year and wins B pool and returns no one the next year when they go up to A pool) and think of the difference in one on one battles for the puck. The Canadian kids get their bodies in front of the puck, use their stick, skates and hands to fend off defenders etc. Likewise, they try to get any type of wedge on the puck possessor and will use whatever means necessary to get the puck.

Here's another thing, they are NEVER afraid of getting the puck because they are CONFIDENT they can do something useful with it. Our U20's did not look confident with the ball and looked like they wanted to blast away and play defense for 90 minutes.

[River City]

We'll never be as skilled as the Brasilians/Argentinians and now Chile (although we can beat them at the Senior level) until we do what they do which is have continual contact with the ball.

Ideally our kids should have coaches that can develop their individual, on the ball skills with the emphasis being on attacking. As they get older, then they can learn the defensive and tactical aspects.

[pulsar]

I agree with all what has been said. But these ideas ( no disrespect intended ) are nothing new. There is a glimmer of hope and I like the hockey analogy but i think we need steady exposure to the SA game. Our u20's have a great deal of confidence but they need a to play with a little more style. I am not going to go over the debacle on sunday night again but we have to adapt to a style where we can at least string 3 passes together.

[Jeffery S.]

A few secrets to modern tactics, as talking about latin style is silly, the S. Americans have evolved watching Europe, the Africans with European coaches, northern Europe has looked to southern in youth development and especially in certain ball skills. The game is more and more international, and you can take a few basic ideas and apply them.

1) Take your time. There is no hurry. When you have the ball the opponent does not, thus cannot score. And it is easier physically to have it than not have it. And more fun.

2) Pass onto your teammates foot, not into space, except when the occasion requires it.

3) When you have a clear pass to a teammate, it is always preferable as close to the ground as possible. Direct line, on the carpet. No direct line, all lines covered? Your teammates are not moving enough, the mids especially should be always in movement to find that straight line along the grass to the person with the ball. When all else fails, or in trouble, or when things are getting tangled up on one wing, or when you have a teammate open and far off, send it high. Straight line, on the grass, no straight line, over the defender.

4) When you lose the ball, get it back as quickly as you can and start again. Pressure the ball in a pack, tight, and when you get it back spread out. The whole team defends, including the keeper coming out of his box and cutting off long balls. Pressure up high, the striker is the first defender. Sure, he needs to run his butt off, but if he is not chasing long balls into space all game he'll have more energy to pressure the defenders. You might have to sub him 2nd half. Play the whole team tight defending, play the defense further up, play the offside trap. Riskier, so you don't have to go overboard, but tactically considered more and more more effective. Need a fast centre back for this, so if you don't have one, then play further back, sure.

5) Practice hard defending and attacking free kicks and corners. Set plays are key in tight games when you need a goal, vs. good defenses. Sometimes they are your only chance. Do this well and it could be the difference between success and failure. Your best free kickers should be staying AFTER practice to work on this (with your second or third keeper to be sure). Key to getting free kicks: a winger reaches the end line and attacks his defender, who fouls him. So be daring and don't be afraid to fail, you get free once out of half a dozen and there you are, a scoring chance. Or a free kick from the foul.

6) Practice at game intensity, at fever pitch, at least 20 minutes each practice session. As if you are on a hockey shift, all out. Our Canadian kids should understand that. The rest of the practice, with almost all physical work with the ball at the players' feet. You can sprint with the ball, you can run a circuit touching the ball between sections. Just physical training with no ball is only really necessary for pre-season anaerobic work and for stretching and muscular work in the gym during the season.

That is about it as far as I can see. Do this from age 9-10 up and play other teams training the same and you will get close to the better teams in the world, especially the ones with the so-called Latin style (I did not see Chile but Uruguay-Spain was two teams trained this way).

[striker]

quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

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5) Practice hard defending and attacking free kicks and corners. Set plays are key in tight games when you need a goal, vs. good defenses. Sometimes they are your only chance. Do this well and it could be the difference between success and failure. Your best free kickers should be staying AFTER practice to work on this (with your second or third keeper to be sure). Key to getting free kicks: a winger reaches the end line and attacks his defender, who fouls him. So be daring and don't be afraid to fail, you get free once out of half a dozen and there you are, a scoring chance. Or a free kick from the foul.

Have you noticed we don't mark the posts on corners? I always thought this was a must. Is Mitchell out at sea here, or is ther another method of defending corners? I mean this seriously, not rhetorically.

[The Ref]

quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

the S. Americans have evolved watching Europe...

Where did you get that idea? South America developed their own style emanating from the lack of direction and coaching when the masses took on the kicking of a ball as their passtime and game. Kids and adults went onto streets and empty lots to play futbol with a rag ball (still do). There was never any direction and it developed into a natural style of passing the ball in short passes and doing tricks with it. A rag ball cannot be kicked for long distance. There was no watching Europe as you think, in the adult leagues or any other. Remember, there was no television, and no movies about soccer. Starting in the 50's and every 4 years there was a short newsreel about the W.C. and that was it. There were radio transmissions of games, but that hardly gives you a visual picture.

[Jeffery S.]

quote:Originally posted by The Ref

quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

the S. Americans have evolved watching Europe...

Where did you get that idea? South America developed their own style emanating from the lack of direction and coaching when the masses took on the kicking of a ball as their passtime and game. Kids and adults went onto streets and empty lots to play futbol with a rag ball (still do). There was never any direction and it developed into a natural style of passing the ball in short passes and doing tricks with it. A rag ball cannot be kicked for long distance. There was no watching Europe as you think, in the adult leagues or any other. Remember, there was no television, and no movies about soccer. Starting in the 50's and every 4 years there was a short newsreel about the W.C. and that was it. There were radio transmissions of games, but that hardly gives you a visual picture.

The South Americans have evolved watching Europe. In the present perfect tense. I am not here to explain grammar tenses, just give an opinion.

If you change it into the past and make it sound like remote history, as you are doing, well maybe not.

As is you are distorting my opinion through a grammar error, don't like that too much.

Anyways, the South Americans have evolved watching Europe and playing in Europe, that is obvious. South America does influence Europe through talented players, sure, but they adapt to Europe, not the other way around. Coaches find that out too, they cannot succeed imposing a S. American style on a European team, has never been done successfully.

South American football has changed greatly over recent years, even Brazil. And that is part of looking at Europe and having their great players and coaches learning in Europe.

I am watching Peru-Bolivia now, they play in similar fashion to two mid-to-lower table Spanish league teams, with a bit less defensive tightness and tactical discipline, but more or less there.

[villus]

Everyone learns from the tactics of everyone else. One thing is for certain when you are talking about creativity and talent SA produces way more players per capita then Europe so the SA coaching and training style is doing something I mean look at the U-20's and the dominance that SA has had over that tournament even look at the teams that are the best this year and all the south americans are up there and same thing last tournament with Colombia, Argentina and Brazil all highly rated.

In Canada we need to have the kids playing 6 vs 6 when they are young so they get more of the ball. Also I remember seeing practices with kids running a ton without the ball, this is crazy at early ages the kids should be doing everything with a ball at their feet. The major thing is the lack of good coaching at the younger levels and up.

The coaching has to get better, this starts from the top downward. Coaches need more training and the local head coaches need to be dictating down what we should be doing. Last of all the more kids develop the love for the game the more they will play and they will hunger to get better.

[Canuck Oranje]

I am not sure if I agree that the South American game was solely due to coaches and players watching Europe.

Prior to 1980s, most Brazilian players played in Brazil and there was very little connection to Europe.

Yes, some teams like the Gremio clubs and Coritiba were created by German immigrants, clubs like Palmeiras by the Italian Immigrants and others by various other ethnic groups.

Still, the Europeans cannot take credit for the development system that exists in Brazil today nor can they take credit for the development of Pele or others like Rivelino or Zico.

Having spent a lot of time in Brazil over the past four years, there is a lot that we can learn in youth development in Brazil.

I am sure the same can be said about Argentina.

The important thing for Canadian soccer is to be open to all ideas that might be able to be incorporated into a Canadian Style. Simply dismissing a source possible ideas would be naive.

On a training camp in South America, the cost would be substantially lower than in Europe.

quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

quote:Originally posted by The Ref

quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

the S. Americans have evolved watching Europe...

Where did you get that idea? South America developed their own style emanating from the lack of direction and coaching when the masses took on the kicking of a ball as their passtime and game. Kids and adults went onto streets and empty lots to play futbol with a rag ball (still do). There was never any direction and it developed into a natural style of passing the ball in short passes and doing tricks with it. A rag ball cannot be kicked for long distance. There was no watching Europe as you think, in the adult leagues or any other. Remember, there was no television, and no movies about soccer. Starting in the 50's and every 4 years there was a short newsreel about the W.C. and that was it. There were radio transmissions of games, but that hardly gives you a visual picture.

The South Americans have evolved watching Europe. In the present perfect tense. I am not here to explain grammar tenses, just give an opinion.

If you change it into the past and make it sound like remote history, as you are doing, well maybe not.

As is you are distorting my opinion through a grammar error, don't like that too much.

Anyways, the South Americans have evolved watching Europe and playing in Europe, that is obvious. South America does influence Europe through talented players, sure, but they adapt to Europe, not the other way around. Coaches find that out too, they cannot succeed imposing a S. American style on a European team, has never been done successfully.

South American football has changed greatly over recent years, even Brazil. And that is part of looking at Europe and having their great players and coaches learning in Europe.

I am watching Peru-Bolivia now, they play in similar fashion to two mid-to-lower table Spanish league teams, with a bit less defensive tightness and tactical discipline, but more or less there.