Malawi: Youth league to form better players and better people

(FIFA.com) 28 Jan 2016

© FIFA.com

• 0

When Nobel Prize laureate and former goalkeeper Albert Camus scribbled one of his most famous phrases - “all that I know most surely about morality and obligations I owe to football” – he meant it in his existential, very personal way. The French author probably couldn’t then imagine how much the game he loved would grow to become such a powerful tool to nurture and instruct young kids; to the point now that when the pioneering project of an under-15 league gets underway in Malawi in 2015, it openly doesn’t focus solely on discovering new elite talent, but also on educating a generation.
“I know it sounds harsh to say this here, in this specific occasion, but we’ve got to be realistic,” started Benjamin Kumwenda, as he watched the opening round of the maiden season of the league in Blantyre. “Out of a group of 400 players, if two or three make it to the senior national team, it is a great result from the sporting point of view. Hands down. But, as a society, what do you make of the other 398?”

“Most people don’t make it as professionals. Not in Malawi, not anywhere in the world. The difference in a country like this is that you must really have gone to school properly to make the ends meet,” explained the 45-year-old, who is the secretary general of the football coaches association of Malawi and the man in charge of the Ntchisi district team in the newly-launched youth league.

He is one of the 36 coaches who went through a course led by FIFA instructor Dominique Niyonzima in early October, one month prior to the league’s kick-off. The idea of a two-coach tandem for each of the 18 teams was designed to place education as a priority: either the head coach or the assistant coach had to be a schoolteacher, from primary or secondary level. 

One step back, two steps forward“I took the phone and I called a number of CAF-licensed coaches in the country, including people who have been working with senior teams for a long time,” recalls the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) technical director John Kaputa, who is responsible for the youth football league project. “I told them: ‘You will have to take a step that may look like one step back for you, but it’ll actually help Malawian football take an enormous step forward. We need your expertise.’ They were all up for it, so we chose schoolteachers to work alongside them – who have now become FAM-licensed football coaches themselves.”

The outcome of the teacher-coach tag team is palpable at first glance. When the current head coach of Malawi’s national team Ernest Mtawali – arguably the best player in the country’s history - visited the Chiwembe technical centre to watch the league’s opening round (and look for a future playmaker for “The Flames”, as he assures), it only took him a few seconds to understand it.

“Look at that!” Mtawali, 51, shouted as he excitedly pointed at a huddle of kids from the Dedza team, sitting in a circle and paying careful attention to their coaches’ pre-game instructions. At every concept they grasped, the 20 youngsters nodded, synchronised and respectful.

“At that age I’d never even have thought of trying to understand the game. If I had, I’d probably have had a better career. I’m sure this has to do with the presence of teachers in the staff. They know how to deal with the kids and they command that respect. Take that, plus the commitment to attend school that is required from these children, and you’re talking about raising better human beings. This is the bottom line of all this,” said a shiny-eyed Mtawali, admiring the team preparations as he echoed Albert Camus’ words. “And we owe it all to football."

James Galanis and the story behind Carli Lloyd's success

(FIFA.com) 27 Jan 2016

• 0

When Carli Lloyd completed her hat-trick in the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Final after 16 minutes, it was not destiny. When she stood in front of the football world to collect her FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award, it was not fate; it all came from hard, unparalleled work.

Among the people she thanked in her victory speech was a name many would be forgiven for not knowing: James Galanis. His name may be unrecognisable, but his influence and mentorship with Lloyd is most important when trying to understand the No10’s charge to becoming one of the greats in the women’s game. FIFA.com sat down with the man from Melbourne’s suburbs to learn how he created a star.

FIFA.com: When did you start training and mentoring Carli Lloyd?
James Galanis: When Carli was 16 years old she was playing for a club called Medford Strikers. I happened to be working at the same club and with the goalkeeper in Carli’s team, and I watched Carli play for a couple of years. I saw a player with great skill and savviness without the ball, but she really didn’t have the right habits on the field – she worked hard when she felt like working hard. Her father approached me four years later while I was putting some training gear in my car. He said, “My daughter needs you.” I said, “Who’s your daughter?” He said, “Carli Lloyd.” I said, “I remember her from back in the day.” Her father then told me she was on the U-21 team and got cut and she was going to quit completely at the end of the college season, but it turned out someone got hurt, and she had been re-invited back in. He thought with my reputation I could reignite everything in her, because she had her mind set on quitting after her college season. Two weeks later, she gave me a call and we set up an evaluation.

How did you know she was going to become one of the best players on the planet at some stage?
I met her at the soccer field where she grew up playing and did a skill evaluation and discovered a player that had good skill but was obviously very unfit. I basically discovered a player that really didn’t know how a professional thinks. Based on what I remember from her off-the-ball movement, I knew she was skilled, and I knew that she had a street savvy. She knew what to do without the ball, and she was real crafty. I knew that if I could get her physically fit and fix her mind, teach her how a professional thinks, turn her into a fierce competitor, instil some discipline in her, I could have an amazing soccer player here.

What did you do specifically to guide her through that mental process?
I sat her down and explained that there were five pillars in order to be a champion player: Technical skills, tactical awareness, physical power, mental toughness and character. I told her she had the first two, but if we can grab her weaknesses and turn them into strengths, she could go on and be the best player in the world. I told her that back then and she didn’t believe me. In fact, nobody did, not even my wife believed me! She was a sponge, she was just looking for someone to guide her.

What convinced you, even when everyone was telling you that you were crazy, that she would become a star? 
She was this athlete that was a sponge and willing to do anything. I explained the changes she needed to make in her personal life, and she made them right away. I told her it had to be her priority: forget about family, forget about friends, forget about boyfriend, forget about everything, they’ve got to come second. If you really want to do this, it’s got to be No1. She said, “I’m in.” We trained six hours a day, three hours in the morning, and three hours at night. Never once did she look disinterested or look like she was bored. She’d go home and prepare herself for the next day. I knew within a month she was buying into everything, and that’s what convinced me.

I told her that back then and she didn’t believe me. In fact, nobody did, not even my wife believed me!

Carli Lloyd's mentor and trainer Jame Galanis on telling her she could be the best in the world

How did you go about turning her mental weaknesses into strengths? 
I told her that she doesn’t compete against anybody, but only against herself. I told her that her competition is who she was yesterday and to make sure she was better today than she was yesterday. I told her, “You don’t play against anybody on matchday. You’re playing against your previous performance.” Carli took to that, and she understood that and still today, she plays against that. She never plays against Japan, Brazil or Germany, she plays against her previous performance. That’s a big reason why she continuously improves. I told her to worry about the things she could control, that was a really big one. Today, she’s a master of it. Moving on from your mistakes is another big one. You learn from it and you move on, right away. Having two lives: your life with your team and helping your team achieve its goals and then having your own personal training life. The mental part is ongoing, it’s every day. These are the things I’ve been able to guide her through over the years.

How did you balance coaching her but also letting her grow and develop on her own? 
There’s times when I stay silent because I want her to learn on her own. And there’s times when I’m there guiding her. The non-important games, I let her fail and under-perform, so she can feel like she’s got a lot of work to do and get back to reality. In the big tournaments I’m there for her 24/7 to help her out. I don’t hold her hand the whole time. After the 2008 Olympics, I just let her go. She had a horrible season, went to Chicago Red Stars and I wanted her to have a horrible season because it sort of brought her back down to reality. She got back to the underdog mentality again. In 2012 she was put on the bench, and that was good for her. I didn’t speak to her for 4 or 5 days about it. I let it burn inside of her. And then I spoke to her about it. I’ve picked my moments of when to get in her mind and help her out and when to stay away and let her figure things out on her own. I think a combination of the two has built the mental machine that she is.

How important is it for players to have a mentor in the game? 
I think every player needs a coach or a mentor. There’s a lot to navigate through as a professional player – everything from dealing with team-mates, coaches, losses, wins, injuries and media. There’s a lot that comes your way and just to have somebody that you can bounce things off and they can redirect you, I think it’s huge. Every single professional athlete needs somebody they can talk to.

What is your advice to players in the early stages of their development? 
The biggest thing is to not rely on your team to make you better. You need to take ownership in improving. The more you can do away from your team, the better off you’re going to be. The players that reach the top, they get there simply because they’re clocking in more hours than everybody else. If you’re a player that relies on your team to take you to your dreams, it’s not going to happen. You need to make sacrifices in your own personal life and find ways to get better.

You attended the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala with Carli, what did that moment mean and symbolise to you both? 
(Laughs) For me, I wasn’t surprised at all. She deserved it. This is what we had been working for. I know that there is nobody in the world who has worked as hard as Carli to get there. I knew all along that if she kept working, she’d get there eventually. When she got picked, the first thing I said to myself while I watched her walk up there was, “I told you, you could do it.” That’s what I said to myself. When I saw Carli afterwards, she goes to me, “Man, you were right all along. I can’t believe it.”

MEN'S OLYMPIC FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT Japan, Korea Republic secure Rio spots

(FIFA.com) 26 Jan 2016

© Getty Images

• 2

Japan and Korea Republic grabbed Asia's first two tickets to the Men's Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 in dramatic fashion after winning their respective semi-finals late on against Iraq and Qatar at the AFC U-23 Championship in Doha.

A thrilling finale to the first game saw Riki Harakawa slam home a stoppage time winner, after Saad Natiq had equalised Yuya Kubo's opener in the first half. The second semi-final saw a similarly theatrical finale, with Kwon Changhoon and Moon Changjin scoring late on to secure the 2012 bronze medal winners’ passage after Ahmed Alaa had levelled Ryu Seungwoo’s opener.

Japan took the lead in the opening semi-final thanks to a flowing counter-attack. Musashi Suzuki burst down the Japanese left and sprinted clear of the Iraqi defence. The No9 put in an enticing ball that was duly converted by the onrushing Kubo. Iraq levelled things up late in the first half with Natiq eventually heading home after Masatoshi Kushiniki had made a valiant double-stop with the Samurai Blue failing to clear following a corner.

It was to be a show-stopping end to the opening game of the day, which had seemed destined for extra time. The ball found its way to Harakawa on the edge of the Iraqi penalty area and the No7 slammed home to secure his side's passage to Rio de Janeiro.

Korea Republic took the lead in the second period of their semi-final after a tense opening half. Qatar goalkeeper Muhannad Naim misjudged a superbly-weighted pass and Ryu reached the ball, poking past the stranded stopper for the opener. Qatar levelled things up with 11 minutes left on the clock, after Alaa volleyed home a Musaab Al Khidir cross, and the game looked to be heading for an extra 30 minutes before more late Doha drama.

With moments remaining, Kim Hyun set Lee Seulchan free inside the Qatari penalty area and his cross was converted expertly by Kwon Changhoon to kick off wild celebrations. Moon then made sure of his side’s passage to Rio when he curled in the Taeguk Warriors' third goal of the night.

Qatar and Iraq will face off in Friday’s match for third place to determine who will join Japan and Korea Republic with the third and final Asian spot at Rio 2016. The victorious semi-finalists will contest the AFC U-23 Championship final on Saturday.

Growing up with Cristiano

(FIFA.com) Monday 25 January 2016

Share

0

It must be surreal to hear a childhood friend touted as one the greatest at anything, particularly in a field as pervasive as football – perhaps akin to having known Marlon Brando or John Lennon as a teenager. Even though Jose Semedo knew his room-mate was all but guaranteed to be a pro, he never expected the countless accolades and worldwide adulation that has come.

“Everyone at Sporting knew he was going to be a professional footballer,” Semedo said of academy team-mate and closest confidant Cristiano Ronaldo. “Maybe we didn't imagine he'd win three Ballon d'Ors, but a professional footballer for sure.” His emphasises final two words, painting a picture of a precocious boy with world at his feet, a man Semedo still calls one of his dearest friends today.

They were both 12 years old when the Madeira-native moved to Lisbon, where Semedo – from nearby Setubal – was already housed. As the only two residents at the academy of their age, they instantly bonded as the now Sheffield Wednesday midfielder helped the overawed country-boy settle into city life.

Ronaldo arrived with pedigree already, “every tournament he went to from the age of ten he was named as the best player”, and would regularly dazzle his team-mates in training. Deft touches and top-corner free-kicks would leave his peers open-mouthed, before they tried again and again to ape him. He always played in teams of older players, Semedo explained: “only when we played teams like Benfica and Porto did he play with us!”

While firm friends, their characters were quite different. Attending a local state school, their attitudes to punctuality were certainly somewhat unaligned. Semedo described a regular scenario. “Every day I would wake up at 6.30am, slowly creep around the room and every single day he'd wake up and ask: 'Semy, where are you going?'”

“If the boss finds out we miss school we'll get kicked out!” Semedo would reply, only to be met with a response of: "No, stay here and sleep with me. We'll be footballers any way, we don't need school!" It would often be 10am before Ronaldo joined him in class!

A crucial intervention
Their fledgling friendship was almost cut short though. After about two years at the academy the decision was made for Semedo's residency to be cancelled, with him to make the one hour journey from his family's home. Ronaldo knew this could be the end for them.

Semy, as he is known to his friends, hailed from a tough part of Setubal – riddled with poverty and crime – and as one of ten kids from a poor family, it would likely see him go the way of many of his friends, being locked up or a victim of violence. “It was a really difficult area for a mum or dad to bring up their son to become a good person," he reflected. "Football saved me."

But when he told Ronaldo he would be leaving, the future superstar did not accept it. “He said: 'no, if you do I won't see you any more. Your area's difficult for you guys and you don't have much help – they'll have to put an extra bed here. You'll stay here and we'll share'.”

A word with the director and it was done. How? “'Because I'm the best player here',” Semedo recounted Ronaldo saying. “'They have to look after me for me to keep doing well. I like you so much I don't want to lose you'.” In hindsight, Semedo is clear what that act of kindness did for him: “He changed my life.”

Without a doubt he's the best sportsman on the planet. When he plays the world should stop and watch.

Jose Semedo on his friend Cristiano Ronaldo

So from then on the pair shared their wardrobe space, squeezed an extra bed into the room and lived in each other's pockets. They became thick as thieves, a fact that greatly helped Ronaldo as fame began to grip him soon after.

“It was really difficult for him at school aged around 14, 15. Every guy was jealous of him. Firstly, because of his name, he was called Ronaldo! Secondly, because he was considered in almost every newspaper as the best player under 15 in Europe – he was in the news all the time. And all the girls wanted him!”

As a result the pair got into their fair share of scrapes as Semedo supported his friend and, after one school move did not work, Ronaldo had to get a private tutor. “I had to protect him!” Semedo said. “It wasn't his fault, he was famous already. He was special.”

While academically things were not going so smoothly, their thirst to improve on the pitch was unquenchable. Semedo laughed with glee as he recalled midnight training sessions for the pair, breaking into the handball court or gym and dodging security guards, with Ronaldo regularly strapping weights to his feet as he practised taking on the defensive midfielder. “We ran away from the [usual life of a teenager] and we worked every single day and night just with the aim to get stronger and get better.”

It is an attitude that has seen both exceed expectations. “The most beautiful thing Ronaldo said about me, which I will never forget, was: 'Semy, I'm really proud of you'. I laughed and asked why he was starting this conversation. He replied: 'There were a lot of players [about 50 or 60 at Sporting] and of all of us you were the least gifted with talent. Only we made it from our generation as professional footballers'.”

Fighting for progress
This fact exemplifies 'The Warrior Spirit', a trait Semedo writes about in his recent book Win the Day – of course featuring a foreword by the FIFA Ballon d'Or winner – which looks at how positive thinking can impact help you in life. “That warrior spirit has always been inside of us,” the English Championship player explained. “It's more difficult to see in me, because of the level I'm at, but with him you can see that he doesn't give up on anything.”

“He always tells me: 'with the most difficult things, don't give up, you will get there eventually'. We grew up with that mentality.”

The fact Ronaldo's career has followed his plans almost to the letter shows he rarely suffers from a lack of positivity. “Even then he would say 'I will play for Manchester United first, then I will sign for Real Madrid'. When I think back now, everything that he said has happened.”

As Semedo has seen his friend blossom from prospect to superstar, boy to father, he has seen one of the icons of the game develop before his eyes and he is the first to insist Ronaldo is doing something special. “Cristiano is writing an unforgettable story in the world of football.

“Without a doubt he's the best sportsman on the planet. When he plays the world should stop and watch as when he retires we will cry when we are left without players like him. He shows that anything in football is possible. He's another level.”

Win the Day, by Jose Semedo and Sam Kotadia is available now

The kid who was signed on a napkin

(FIFA.com) Monday 25 January 2016

Share

0

“When I saw him at the airport, I said to myself: ‘This kid’s too small to play football.’ I thought they’d tricked me.” When the kid started kicking a ball, however, any doubts about his ability were quickly dispelled.

Now, over 15 years later, the diminutive genius in question is the proud owner of five FIFA Ballons d’Or, while the man recalling the very first day he set eyes on him is the proud owner of a napkin, a very valuable napkin, one that changed the history of FC Barcelona.

That man is Horacio Gaggioli, a football agent long based in Spain, who had heard great things from his Argentinian partners of a very talented boy from Rosario by the name of Lionel Messi. The kid was only 11 when those reports started coming through, which was too young by Gaggioli’s reckoning.

Two years later, however, and he was ready to cross the Atlantic, as Gaggioli explained in an interview with FIFA.com: “The family wanted him to try out with a European team, in whichever city I was living in so that he’d have a contact there. At the time I was about to go and work for a company in Madrid and I asked them to hold on so I could sort out my future and see where he could have his trial. If I ended up going to the capital, we’d have a try-out with Real Madrid or Atletico.”

As it turned out, Gaggioli did not go to Madrid, and when Messi arrived that September he trained for a couple of weeks with Barcelona. “After the trials they returned to Argentina and I had meetings with the club,” explained the agent. “They liked the look of him but some of the coaches weren’t that convinced. Time went by and in December the parents said they had to find out if Barcelona were interested or not, so that they could look for alternatives.”

Their ultimatum had the desired effect. Carles Rexach, the club’s director of football at the time, watched the youngster in a youth match. His decision to leave after just ten minutes caused concern among Messi’s family and representatives, though the fact was he had already seen enough to make his mind up.

Quickly convening a meeting with them, and with nothing else to hand, Rexach took hold of a napkin and wrote the following on it: “In Barcelona, on 14 December 2000 and the presence of Messrs Minguella and Horacio (Gaggioli), Carles Rexach, Director of Football of F.C.B., hereby agrees, under his responsibility and regardless of any dissenting opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi, provided that we keep to the amounts agreed upon.”

I can’t even tell you how many I get. I always ask for proof, but I still haven’t seen anything like him.

Agent Horacio Gaggioli on the number of messages alerting him to the 'next Messi' he receives

And there were dissenting opinions, voiced by some who felt the club had more pressing needs than a teenager who would solve nothing in the short term. Then there were those who said his frail physique did not point to a bright future.

“I have to say, my first impression was the wrong one,” said one expert on youth football, who has seen many a hugely gifted youngster fall by the wayside. “Leo was very small, very thin and he had his problems. Barça weren’t sure because they didn’t know how it might turn out. Football is very complex and it’s difficult to get it right with a boy of that age.”

“You can spot a 15-year-old with a promising future, but you can’t be 100 percent sure,” he added. “There are lots of factors that can then influence their sporting development and things can go wrong at any moment. There are some players with a huge amount of talent who never make it because they start to go out, go clubbing, etc. There are a whole host of things that are not compatible with football.

“The ones who make it do so because they make a huge sacrifice, as do their families. Messi made that sacrifice, a massive one, and he was very disciplined. His life was football, football and football, and that’s why he’s reached the top.”

It was another two months after Rexach scribbled out that unusual contract before Messi arrived at La Masia, Barça’s fabled training academy, and even then the problems were not over, with the kid from Rosario being unable to play for six months due to his transfer being delayed.

“It was hell for him,” explained Gaggioli, who would work with the player for another five years. “He really suffered because all he could do was train and play the odd friendly. It was really tough. Leo has the perfect mental approach to football, though, and he knew how to deal with it all.”

As time has shown, the move proved to be a fortunate one for Barcelona and for the player too, as his then agent added: “I’ve always said that Leo was very lucky to land up at a great school of football. It was very important for his professional and personal development.”

“Messi has always kept himself to himself but he was fortunate enough to end up with a group of really nice kids who helped him a lot, like Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas, Toni Calvo and Marc Valiente. He had some amazing kids around him. The poked fun at him because he was very shy, but they looked after him. He only spoke with his feet, but that was more than enough.”

Even today, Gaggioli receives hundreds of emails from people claiming to have spotted the “next Messi”. “I can’t even tell you how many I get,” he revealed. “I don’t like saying no to anyone because you never know. I always ask for proof, but I still haven’t seen anything like him.”