For information about the world of soccer scouting, I found Michael Calvin’s book, The Nowhere Men: The Unknown Story of Football’s True Talent Spotters, to be revealing. I also learned a great deal from Youth Development in Football: Lessons from the World’s Best Academies by Mark Nesti and Chris Sulley, a detailed look at best practices for producing the sport’s next generation of stars. I visited Manchester City’s academy, where the director at the time, Mark Allen, kindly walked me through their system for developing talent. I also spoke with coaches and scouts from other top clubs along the way, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.
To learn what researchers and scientists have to say about the process of discovering and training elite athletes, I read The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performances by David Epstein and The Gold Mine Effect: Crack the Secrets of High Performance by Rasmus Ankersen. I also read Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman to better understand how top athletes and other experts think. For a more soccer-specific focus, I relied heavily on the book Science and Soccer: Developing Elite Performers, which was edited by A. Mark Williams, the chair of the Department of Health, Kinesiology, and Recreation at the University of Utah. I also interviewed Dr. Williams, and he helped me to better understand what researchers currently believe are the most important factors that determine whether or not a young player will be successful. I conducted interviews with several other soccer researchers as well, including Dr. Daniel Memmert, head of the Institute of Cognitive and Team/Racket Sport Research at the German Sport University of Cologne, and Barbara Huijgen, a sports science lecturer at the University of Groningen.
To supplement these discussions, I read nearly 100 academic papers covering various aspects of soccer talent identification and development. The academic works referenced in the book include the following: “Football Academies and the Migration of African Football Labor to Europe” by P. Darby et al., published in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues in 2007; “Escape to Victory: Development, Youth Entrepreneurship and the Migration of Ghanaian Footballers” by J. Esson, published in GeoForum in 2015; “The Developmental Activities of Elite Soccer Players Aged Under-16 Years from Brazil, England, France, Ghana, Mexico, Portugal, and Sweden” by P. R. Ford et al., published in the Journal of Sports Sciences in 2012; “Determinants Analysis of Change-of-Direction Ability in Elite Soccer Players” by A. Chaouachi et al., published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2012; “Using Physiological Data to Predict Future Career Progression in 14- to 17-Year-Old Austrian Soccer Academy Players” by C. Gonaus and E. Müller, published in the Journal of Sports Sciences in 2012; “Talent Identification in Soccer: The Role of Maturity Status on Physical, Physiological, and Technical Characteristics” by C. Meylan et al., published in the International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching in 2010; “A Multidisciplinary Selection Model for Youth Soccer: The Ghent Youth Soccer Project” by R. Vaeyens et al., published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2006; “No Relative Age Effects in the Birth Dates of Award-Winning Athletes in Male Professional Sports” by P. R. Ford and A. M. Williams, published in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport in 2011; “Soccer Skill Development in Professionals” by B. C. H. Huijgen et al., published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine in 2009; “Prognostic Relevance of Motor Talent Predictors in Early Adolescence: A Group- and Individual-Based Evaluation Considering Different Levels of Achievement in Youth Football” by O. Höner and A. Votteler, published in the Journal of Sports Sciences in 2016; “Skill Level and Eye Movement Patterns in a Sport Orientated Reaction Time Task” by D. A. Tyldesley et al., published in the Proceedings of an International Symposium on Motor Behaviour: Contribution to Learning in Sport in 1982; “Identifying the Processes Underpinning Anticipation and Decision-Making in a Dynamic Time-Constrained Task” by A. Roca et al., published in Cognitive Processing in 2011; “Perceptual-Cognitive Expertise, Practice History Profiles and Recall Performance in Soccer” by A. M. Williams et al., published in the British Journal of Psychology in 2012; “Developmental Activities and the Acquisition of Superior Anticipation and Decision Making in Soccer Players” by A. Roca et al., published in the Journal of Sports Sciences in 2012; “The Role of Deliberate Practice and Play in Career Progression in Sport: The Early Engagement Hypothesis” by P. R. Ford et al., published in High Ability Studies in 2009; “The Attention Window: A Narrative Review of Limitations and Opportunities Influencing the Focus of Attention” by S. Hüttermann and D. Memmert, published in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport in 2017; “Does Grit Influence Sport-Specific Engagement and Perceptual-Cognitive Expertise in Elite Youth Soccer?” by P. Larkin et al., published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology in 2016; “Psychological Talent Predictors in Early Adolescence and Their Empirical Relationship with Current and Future Performance in Soccer” by O. Höner and P. Feichtinger, published in Psychology of Sport and Expertise in 2016; “Increased Cortical Thickness in Sports Experts: A Comparison of Diving Players with the Controls” by G. Wei et al., published in PLOS One in 2011; and “The Hidden Foundation of Field of Vision in English Premier League (EPL) Soccer Players” by Geir Jordet et al., presented at the Seventh Annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in 2013.
To understand how the soccer world is changing through an increasing reliance on the kind of data-driven analysis made famous by Michael Lewis’s Moneyball, I read Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Spain, Germany, and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia—and Even Iraq—Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World’s Most Popular Sport by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski and The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong by Chris Anderson and David Sally. I subsequently interviewed Anderson, a behavioral scientist and former semiprofessional player who works with top clubs on the use of data analytics. I interviewed several others working in the field as well, including Daniel Altman, the founder of North Yard Analytics, and Paul Power, a lead data scientist at the company STATS. I also spoke with Ernst Tanner, the academy director at FC Red Bull Salzburg, which has been using data analytics in innovative ways at the youth level.
Finally, while I would have loved to have met some of the top stars mentioned in this book, like Messi and Neymar, I had to rely instead on books describing their rise into the soccer stratosphere. Particularly helpful were Guillem Balague’s biography, Messi, and Luca Caioli’s book, Neymar: The Making of the World’s Greatest New Number 10. Graham Hunter’s book, Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World, was also illuminating in its description of the history and culture of Barcelona.
Photograph Credits
p. 7 © Justice Oteng
p. 26 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 35 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 54 © Amadou Traoré
p. 66 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 72 © Karim Jaafar / AFP / Getty Images
p. 86 © Karim Jaafar / AFP / Getty Images
p. 88 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 107 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 130 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 144 © Photo Visual Pro
p. 154 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 173 © Press Eye
p. 182 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 205 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 210 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 229 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 232 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 236 © FC Barcelona / Autor: German Parga
p. 242 © Sebastian Abbot
p. 253 © FC Barcelona / Autor: Victor Salgado
Index
Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.
Note: Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.
Adebayor, Sheyi Emmanuel, 144
Africa:
national teams in, 141–142, 147, 156
soccer players recruited in, xi–xii, 5–6, 12, 47, 57, 78, 96, 122, 245, 246,
258
soccer schools in, 53, 57–58, 245
soccer stars from, xiii, 56
soccer talent in, 56, 76, 80
stereotypes against, 112–13
street soccer in, xii, 112
young players taken away from, 11, 94–98, 117, 123, 186
Africa Cup of Nations, 141, 142, 148, 163, 167, 169, 190, 210, 225, 234, 239
age:
birth certificates, 161, 164, 166
cheating, 161–67, 180, 182, 224, 247
estimations of, 46–47, 245
and growth rate, 46, 167
MRI scanners for, 166, 167
and peak height velocity test, 46–47
and player transfers, 116, 182, 183, 184, 186–88, 200, 212
and potential, 19
relative age effect, 20–22, 42
underage players exploited, 96
wrist examinations, 166
X-ray tests, 166
Ahmedu, Sam, xiii, xv–xvi
AJ Auxerre, 137
Ajax, 38, 44, 75, 76, 77, 132, 137, 142
Alba, Jordi, 251
Alcántara, Thiago, 186
Ali, Seth, 5–6
Al Jazeera, 70
Allen, Mark, 43–44
Al Meshadi, Nasser, 111
al-Naama, Tariq, 89
Al Rayyan, 111
Altman, Daniel, 93
Alves, Dani, 251
Anagblah, Jordan, 146
Anang, Abraham, 158, 176
Anderlecht, 174, 175, 178, 179, 183–84
Anderson, Chris, 91–92, 249
Anglo-Persian Oil Company, 68
Ankamah, Shadrack, 14, 15, 27
Ankersen, Rasmus, 20, 32, 137–38
Ansare, Elizabeth, 4, 5
Appiah, Bernard, 3–8, 7, 88, 221–33
and age testing, 165–66, 224, 226, 247
approached by recruiters, 5–7, 114–15
Barcelona club as goal of, 111, 121
and Brazil vs. Aspire, 98–100
and Colomer, 15–16, 24–27, 39, 48, 86, 88, 103, 114, 119, 121, 166, 221, 224–25, 230, 233
departure from Aspire, 121–22, 147, 176
determination to succeed, 84–85, 103, 109, 113, 115, 231
in Doha, 79, 83–84, 86–87, 88, 102–4, 108, 111, 142
faith of, 106–7, 231, 233
family of, 4, 7–8, 26–27, 226
and Football Dreams, 8, 11–16, 25–27, 50, 62, 100, 165–66
in Ghana, 145–47
and Hamza, 104–6
and Messi, 15, 27, 114, 221
and Miracle Land, 228, 229, 230, 232
player’s license of, 117–21, 146, 166, 221, 232
return home, 121–22, 146, 185, 246, 257
talent of, 7, 14–15, 85, 103, 109, 112, 113–14, 223–24, 227, 230, 246
Appiah, Eric, 4
Appiah, Josephine, 4, 119–20, 231
Appiah, Noah, 4, 7, 118, 119–21, 226, 231
Appiah, Stephen “Tornado,” 5
Arsenal, 75, 77, 91, 128, 201–2
ART TV channel, Dubai, 80
Asamoah, Samuel, 145, 148, 150, 186, 202, 208, 246
Asante Kotoko, 227
ASEC Mimosas, 57–58, 201
Ashanti Gold, 76, 77
AS Monaco, 184
Aspire Academy:
club (Eupen Pandas) bought by, 190, 196–200, 202, 207, 216
and Colomer, 77, 78, 145, 188
competition with Brazil, 98–101, 106, 113, 139
critics of, 246
and Diambars, 127–28
and FIFA rules, 96, 123
financial aid from, 61, 76, 77, 78, 82, 83, 87, 89, 108, 116, 119, 184, 226, 243
and Football Dreams, 10, 13, 54, 61, 85, 89, 97–98, 100, 105, 115, 122–24, 147, 188, 207, 245, 255–59
launch of, 74, 108
and Mediterranean International Cup, 170
and Milk Cup, 168–74
and naturalization of players, 111, 123
and player age, 47, 163–64, 166–67, 188, 245
and player licenses, 117–21, 232
players’ frustrations with, 176–83, 185, 186, 188, 190, 238, 244, 246
players let go from, 243
and player transfers, 116, 185–91, 201, 209, 221, 223
in Qatar, 71–78, 81, 97, 101, 103–4, 107, 108–9, 115–16, 122–23, 127, 144, 251
recruitment program of, 10, 13, 15, 76–77, 96, 97, 258
schedule in, 131–32
soccer facilities of, 65–67, 66, 80, 85, 101, 122, 127
sports medicine hospital of, 82
training techniques of, 112, 137, 242–43
Australia, youth soccer players in, 43
Australian Institute of Sport, 17
Bakary, Arabo, 99
Balague, Guillem, 21
Bale, Gareth, 18–19
Ballon d’Or awards, 15, 21, 132
Balotelli, Mario, 106
Barcelona:
and Aspire Academy, 77
Ballon d’Or, 132
B team, 185–86, 209, 235, 252–53, 253
in competitions, 139
and Diawandou, 186, 208–9, 220, 234–37, 236, 250–54, 253, 255, 256
and FIFA restrictions, 57, 116
keep-away games (rondos) in, 133
and La Masia, 132–33
and national teams, 142
player transfers to, 185–88, 208–9
soccer stars, 169
training methods in, 133, 136, 137, 203
Bartra, Marc, 19, 250
Bassey, Anthony, 84, 130, 202, 206, 208, 246
Bayern Munich, 65, 135, 137
BBC Sport, 168
Beane, Billy, 91
Beckenbauer, Franz Anton, xi
Beckham, David, 169
Beguiristain, Txiki, 21
Bekewei, Austin, xiii, xiv, xv–xvii, xix
Belgian Cup (2004), 201
Benson, John, 76, 77, 84, 99, 100, 103–4, 106, 107, 110, 113, 120–21, 123, 244
bin Hamad Al Thani, Sheikh Jassim, 71–75, 72, 77, 78, 89, 98, 100, 103, 108, 109
bin Hammam, Mohamed, 97
bin Khalifa Al Thani, Sheikh Hamad, 70, 71, 72, 97
Blackett, Tyler, 169
Black Starlets, 142
Black Stars, 5
Blatter, Sepp, 95, 96, 97–98, 110–11
Blaugrana, 235
Bleicher, Andreas, 75–76, 78, 97–98, 110, 115, 123, 175, 188, 189–90, 243
Blizzard, The, 23, 38
Boateng, Jerome, 248
Bolt, Usain, 19
Bonus Sports Marketing, 185
Borussia Dortmund, 135
Brady, Tom, 36
Bravo, Ivan, 219–20
Brazil:
competition between Aspire Academy and, 98–101, 106, 113, 139
domination of soccer world by, 138
foreign citizenship to soccer players from, 111
national team from, 113
practice time in, 137–38
scouting activities in, 77–78
skilled soccer players in, xii–xiii
Browne, Michael, 92, 106
and Aspire, 76, 98, 100, 109
and Bernard, 84–85, 116
and Diawandou, 82–83, 84, 101
and Football Dreams, 87, 88, 89, 94, 100, 123
and Ibrahima, 126–27, 172–73
Brunkhart, Mark, 91
Bunce, James, 45
Burke, David, 109
Busquets, Sergio, 169
Calvin, Michael, 9, 45
Camp Nou, 56, 253
Casa Sport, 238–39
Catalonia, players from, 46
Centre National d’Education Populaire et Sportive (CNEPS), 31, 32
Champions League, 228, 252, 253
Charlton Athletic, 83
Chase, William, 134
Chelsea, 142, 196
chess masters, 134–35
Chibsah, Youssif, 146, 222–23
Chiri, Arenton Ofoe, 227–30
Ciociaria Cup, 138–39
Cirque du Soleil, 74
Cissé, Boucounta, 143–44, 150–51, 156, 162, 238
Clairefontaine, 22–23, 132
Club Nacional, 138–39
Coconut Grove, 117, 118–21
Colomer, Josep:
and age testing, 164
and Asamoah, 145
and Aspire Academy, 77, 78, 145, 188
as Barcelona’s youth director, 55, 56, 132, 139, 185–86, 199, 252
and Bernard, see Appiah, Bernard
and Diawandou, see Diagne, Diawandou
in Doha, 79–80, 87–88
and first class players, 176, 189, 243
and Football Dreams, xv, 81, 100, 119, 122, 124, 126, 129–31, 149, 254, 258–59
and Hamza, 105–6
and Ibrahima, 123–24, 131, 175–76, 181, 238, 241–42
intuition of, 14, 35, 36–41, 46
and KAS Eupen, 197, 214–15, 235
and Mediterranean International Cup, 170
and Messi, ix, xiv–xv, 15, 27, 85, 120, 225, 254
in Nigeria, 99
and players’ departure, 176, 181, 183, 185, 186, 187, 243
and player transfers, 189–90, 203, 209
and Qatari players, 115
recruitment activities of, ix–xi, xiii–xviii, xx, 8, 9, 11, 12–14, 25, 26, 34, 46, 47, 55–56, 59–61, 77, 78, 79–80, 87, 103, 142, 150, 151, 213, 225, 254
scouting techniques of, 22, 35–36, 42, 46, 94, 98, 100, 121, 130–31, 141, 209, 210, 244, 258
in Senegal, 122, 123, 127, 138
and Serigne Mbaye, 150, 151, 153, 157
on training hours, 135–36, 137
Colts League (Ghana), 6, 8, 27, 117
Coutinho, Philippe “Little Magician,” 98–99, 231
Crasson, Bertrand, 175
Cruyff, Johan, 132
CSKA Sofia, 184–85
Dakar, competition in, 47–49, 152
Desailly, Marcel, 228
Desportivo Brasil, 170
Dessel Sport, 202
Deumeland, Jonas, 217
Diagne, Diawandou, 28–36, 141, 144, 257
age test failed by, 162–63, 165, 247
and Aspire Academy, 66, 81, 231, 244
and Barcelona, 186, 208–9, 220, 234–37, 236, 250–54, 253, 255, 256
in Belgium, 202, 206–7, 210, 215–16, 217, 234
collection of jerseys, 234–37, 239
and Colomer, 47–49, 106, 130–31, 151, 163, 165, 176, 177, 235, 236, 252, 254
in competition, 47–49, 138, 148–50, 162
The Away Game Page 27
