Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Toffa”
Diego Maradona’s prolific ability was the accumulated result of hours upon hours spent playing in the streets.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s brilliance is the result of hours upon hours of purposeful, expert practice.
British Olympian Matthew Syed articulates this view in his excellent talent development book Bounce.
Deklan Wynne, in action against Portugal in the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup Round of 16 match
However, a longer term consideration is how this ruling will impact on talent development in New Zealand.
Uruguay’s Diego Godin battles with Javier Mascherano from Argentina in the recently contested Copa America 2015
Right now, the best defenders (and attackers for that matter) are from South America.
Adnan Januzaj represents the next generation of Belgian talent.
Empoli FC is a wonderful example of this mindset. Despite being located in a city of just 40,000 people, 11 home grown players were in Empoli’s Serie A squad during the recently contested 2014 / 2015 season.
Pep Guardiola has had Manuel Estiarte (right) in his backroom team at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich
“An intelligent coach learns from all countries.”
Those seven words from Mirko Mazzantini, coach of the ACF Fiorentina U-14 squad, reinforce the value of constant learning to ensure the very best coaching experience for youth players.
