FDA Blog
A tale of two cultures
Posted 14 Mar 2010 07:59AM
Sir Alex Ferguson grew up in a working class suburb of Glasgow in Scotland where values were instilled in him from an early age. Honesty, hard work, respect and loyalty were engrained in his psyche and for the past 25 years his football teams have been a mirror of his own unique character. His players, young and old, are balanced, down to earth individuals who grow on and off the pitch under his expert guidance.While Valencia and Nani tirelessly tracked the runs of the AC Milan full backs and Rooney made life hell for their defence on Wednesday evening, Real Madrid were falling to pieces at the Santiago de Bernabeu.
Having conceded a fatal away goal to an excellent Lyon on 75 minutes, Real Madrid’s team and manager were overcome by an overwhelming sense of panic.” Los Blancos” passing game disappeared and instead of the team working together to find a solution to the impending exit from the Champions League, individuals tried in vain to turn things around all on their own. Kaka was replaced by Raul.(!?) A holding midfielder was then introduced for a full back!
How many times have Sir Alex’s Manchester United teams been in a similar predicament over the years and come back from the dead to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?
It’s no coincidence. He has created a truly unique winning and football playing culture throughout the club from the Academy teams through to the first team and the foundation of his success is based on consistency and hard work.
When you walk through the museum at the Santiago de Bernabeu you come across a shrine to the amazing Real Madrid team of the late 50s when the they won 4 European Cups back to back. While the game has moved on since the 1950s surely the club could benefit from reflecting on the wonderful values and camaraderie of its past heroes instead of working on the finances to support the signing of the next ‘Galactico’.
In Football,as Lyon proved on Wednesday night, the team will always prevail against individuals no matter how talented they are.
(written & posted by Cormac Begley)
Values and respect make a true champion
Posted 8 Feb 2010 09:08AM
In the world of professional sport more and more attention is been drawn to the instability of the top athletes through their off field misdemeanours.
Thankfully there are still many amazing role models in sport who everyone young and old can look to for inspiration: Roger Federer, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are some key names that spring to mind.
So how come after so long at the top of their games these individuals haven’t come off the rails?
Besides the fact that these guys are incredibly gifted and driven to succeed, an aura of humility surrounds them. They do their talking on the field of play and in their down time they train hard, rest and spend time with their families.
Underlying all of this is an upbringing where they learned respect for others. Parents and families nurtured their passion for their sport and stay close to them to this day.
And so look out for the young player who looks his coach and fellow players in the eye and shakes hands after every training session and helps put away all of the equipment rain or shine because he or she is the true champion. It’s likely they will carry these values throughout their lives and inspire many others around them to also behave with similar maturity and respect. If the player does eventually scale the heights at the top of the professional game these same values and good people around them will give them best opportunity to stay there. (written & posted by Cormac Begley)
Warm up before playing football - a blog entry from our resident Strength & Conditioning Specialist Robbie McCullagh
Posted 28 Jan 2010 01:05PM
Warming up
The concept of “a good warm up” before undertaking in vigorous activity such as a football game as been around for decades. Over time, methods have changed but nearly always come back to striving for the same goals:
Elevating the core body temperature
Simple low intensity aerobic tasks for 2-3mintues will usually achieve this. Use of extra clothing can be useful if the ambient temperature is low. As football is a 3 dimensional game, jog with varied movements forward, backward and lateral.
Establishing fluid Range of Motion (ROM)
Types of stretching:
• Passive = Supported limb stretch
• Static = passive but must actively hold the limb in place
• Dynamic = Moving the limb gradually through the ROM
• Ballistic = Uses speed and momentum to push the limb through the ROM
• PNF = Static stretching, relaxing and opposing muscle contraction
• Neural = Dynamic “tethering” stretch to free up nerve compression
Traditionally, static stretching was done before exercise and it was believed to decrease the risk of injury during the game. Current research is now showing that static stretching will decrease the risk of injury as it helps promote better overall flexibility in the player but doing it before stepping out on the pitch won’t better your chances of staying injury free. Keep static stretching for after training and increase your overall ROM.
Dynamic stretching before a game has now been shown to be the best practice. Dynamic stretching helps promote fluid ROM, increase ROM and maintain the elastic properties of the muscle which footballs want to utilize during the game. The bonus is that it can also be done in movements very specific to those of a football game such as lunges, leg swings, hip rotations etc. The other types of stretching all have their purposes and should be used as techniques of overall wellbeing of a footballer. There’s plenty of information out there on them but remember, before a game, stick with your dynamic movement specific stretches and you will increase your chances of staying injury free.
Preparing the mind and energy systems
The last part of the warm up should prepare your body for the intense game ahead by firing up with mind and energy systems. Small, sharp games that have simile psychological and physical demands are the best and easiest way.
by Robbie McCullagh, FDA Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Lionel Messi: A brilliant role model for young players
Posted 29 Dec 2009 02:38PM
In Australia the small skilful players are too often overlooked at all levels when junior selection takes place for teams. If you’ve played football you know that small, fast players with a good touch on the ball are a nightmare to mark and play against and a prized asset for any team.This is why Lionel Messi is such a wonderful role model for young players all over the world. He is 22 years old, 1.69 m tall and has scored 96 goals in 184 appearances for Barcelona since making his debut in the 2004-05 season.
However the phenomenon is not just in his amazing goal scoring statistics and the trophies he has won it’s also in the truly unique way in which he plays football. When in full flight the speed at which he accelerates and changes direction with ball stuck to his feet leaving defenders for dead is inspirational.
Despite this brilliance which he has shown since his first senior appearances with Barcelona and Argentina, size and strength in the form of Julio Cruz was preferred to Messi in the Quarter Final of the FIFA 2006 World Cup Quarter Final. He could only watch with immense disappointment from the bench as his side went on to lose on penalties and were eliminated from the tournament.
The moral for all young players is to keep practicing, enjoying and believing in your football despite any selection setbacks and you’ll always come back a stronger, better player.
The Legend of Lionel Messi :
Let the kids play for the love of the game
Posted 8 Dec 2009 12:03PM
It was refreshing to find a very simple line in the mission statement on a football (soccer) academy website this week that read: “All we ask is that they (the young players) love soccer and want to be part of the game”.In today’s world of junior football, academies, coaches and parents are driven to find the next Messi and this agenda is destroying the game for many young players and in many cases turning them off the game for life.
Playing football at a young age is all about enjoying the game and having the confidence to play. Yes some players will certainly be stronger than others and it is important that players of similar abilities train together and receive intelligent input from their coaches however it is equally important that the children are happy to practice and play with each other regardless of their abilities.
This was the essence of park and street football which in today’s world of junior football is extinct in the majority of cultures. These “ancient” football environments were where friendships were formed for life and a true love of the game was nurtured without a parent, coach or dubious scout in sight. Instead today everything is focussed on elite selection, overseas contracts and winning games and championships at all costs to the detriment of the most important people involved in this circle: the young players.
There are however some clear rays of light. Last night I took part in an U12-13 training session game where a group of outstanding young players played with a group of players who are newer to playing the game in a structured environment. The atmosphere was fantastic throughout the game and it was the parents who pointed out afterwards how good it was to see the two groups who normally train separately play together.
These are the players and parents who will keep our football dreams alive.
(written and posted by Cormac Begley)
FIFA's Hand of God the worst World Cup incident of all
Posted 21 Nov 2009 12:32PM
While the debate rages around the world following Titi Henry’s double hand ball that has given France and undeserved berth at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa one has to question the increasing influence the World governing body is having on the most anticipated sporting event on the planet.
A last minute seeding system for the second place teams in Europe to give the stars, money and FIFA voting powers of France, Portugal and Russia the best possible chance of qualification.
A Concacaf versus South America play off to give an additional Asian nation a much easier pathway into the competition against weaker Oceanic opposition. This switch may even be an even be a bigger tragedy than the UEFA play offs as Uruguay and Costa Rica live and play a wonderful style of football and both sets of players would certainly bring great flair and invention to any tournament.The outcome of the New Zealand and Bahrain play off was always going to produce the weakest team to appear at next year’s finals.
Things were set up beautifully by FIFA but didn’t quite go according to plan.
The question is moving forward with so much money involved in the world of football today can a nation qualify for the World Cup on merit or is there a Hand of God at work in the background exerting an increasing amount of influence on who will make the cut.
Moments that shamed the World Cup:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/international/article6922630.ece (written and posted by Cormac Begley)
Defending still a major problem for Real Madrid
Posted 23 Oct 2009 01:11PM
Several weeks ago Real Madrid travelled to Sevilla for their first major test of the La Liga season. Sevilla played with incredible speed and intensity and inspired by the brilliant Jesus Navas they should have been leading 4-0 at half time. Time and time again Navas exposed the left side of the Madrid defence with his trickery and skill and must have been wondering when one of the oppositions defenders was going to get close enough to him to challenge for the ball.
Once again last night the “Los Blancos” defending against Milan in the Champions League was catastrophic for the second and third goals. Taking nothing away from Pato’s brilliant finish for the winner Marcello’s positioning was so bad that one only wonders what Pelligrini’s thoughts were on seeing the replay. Pelligrini and the Madrid camp are continuing to hide behind the team in transition line however as FRAN VILLALOBOS from Marca reports the Bernabeu faithful’s dream of playing the in the Champions League Final at the Bernabeu is for now only a dream. http://www.marca.com/2009/10/21/futbol/liga_campeones/1256161425.html
(written and posted by Cormac Begley)
FIFA 2010 World Cup Play Offs
Posted 20 Oct 2009 09:24AM
Updated on 11 Apr 2010 03:02PM
What a nice surprise for FIFA to decide to seed the second place teams for the FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifying play offs in the European section. With two games to play in the section the organisers realised that the possibility of seeing Bosnia Herzegovina and the Ukraine at the Finals instead of France and Portugal could be disastrous for the organisers and have a significant effect on the attraction of the event. So who will prevail in these treacherous play offs and who would you rather see at the World Cup in South Africa next year? Dzeko or Ronaldo? Henry or Kilbane? The essence of a great World Cup Finals is a balance of experienced stars that we recognise from their high profile clubs and the UEFA Champions League and players and teams hungry to make their mark, who play like their life depends on this once in a lifetime opportunity.
While FIFA have done their best to reduce the chances of the “unseeded” nations qualifying for next year’s finals via the play offs in the European qualifying section let’s hope Slovenia, Bosnia Herzegovina, the Ukraine and Ireland can continue the great form they showed over the course of the qualifying rounds and ask some serious questions of Hiddink, Queiroz, Domenech and Rehhagel. (written and posted by Cormac Begley)
Don't blame the beach ball!
Posted 20 Oct 2009 09:24AM
Updated on 11 Apr 2010 03:03PM
No Stevie G, no Torres, no chance for the reds. Liverpool has already thrown away any chance of winning this year’s English Premiership and it’s only October. Four defeats and with Man Utd, Arsenal and Manchester City to play home and away it looks as if it will be a long season ahead. As everyone talks about the decision to allow Darren Bent’s goal that deflected off a beach ball past Reina, Liverpool fans cannot hide behind the fact that the team did not create one clear cut opportunity in ninety seven minutes of football against Sunderland and in truth should have lost by a much bigger margin. For how much longer can Rafa Benitez leverage his 2005 UEFA Champions League victory to stay at Anfield? (written and posted by Cormac Begley)
