Tom Howe, one of the founders of the illustrious youth club Scott Gallagher SC in 1976, spoke to Soccer America's Mike Woitalla in March 2011. Among other topics (long-term player development vs. short-term results and the inceasing youth soccer industrial complex), Howe addresses style of play for young soccer players:
I wish everybody would try and play like Barcelona. If all
the clubs across the country did that you’d have some pretty smart players when they hit the ages of 18, 19, 20. And there’d be more people wanting to watch soccer in this country. Barcelona’s the best team I’ve ever seen. They’re just fun to watch.
Update: Though Howe summarizes the Barcelona style of soccer he'd like to see more American youth coaches employ, Michael Cox of Zonal Marking just published an in-depth look at the ten principles of Barcelona's success, nine of which have to do with their style of play. Even though the article looks at those principles through the lens of former Barcelona youth coach Luis Enrique's implementation of those styles of play at AS Roma, it complements today's recommended article perfectly.
- John C.L. Morgan
No comments:
Post a Comment