Category Archive

ACF Fiorentina In Winter
As New Zealanders enjoy their summer holiday, the Top Flight Football Academy strategic partners Soccer Italian Style are in the middle of their winter break.

“When people talk about my free kicks they focus on the goals.  But when I think about free kicks I think about all those failures.  It took tons of misses before I got it right.”

During his career David Beckham was one of the best dead ball specialists in the world.

One thousand touches of a ball in 30 minutes.

Inside of the foot, outside of the foot, volleys with the laces, control with the thigh, chest and even head.

In 30 minutes Scotland manager Gordon Strachan demonstrated the value of a footballing philosophy that encourages contact with the ball and unstructured training.

Chris Waddle and 20-a-Side Football
Participating in unstructured games of 20-a-side and not being involved in a specialist academy environment until the age of 18 doesn’t sound like the traditional way to produce world class talent.

But this was the childhood and youth of Chris Waddle, an England star of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and standout performer in European club football for over a decade.

Intensity without the ball
“If we can set the level of intensity, we will see what we can do.”

So said Jurgen Klopp, the German manager of Liverpool, prior to the kickoff against English Premier League leaders Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Sunday morning New Zealand time.

Game Action Speed

 The modern game is forcing footballers to develop incredibly sharp decision making skills.

According the seminal book of the development of German football, Das Reboot, the game at the elite level has reached hyper speed.