The Psychology & Philosophy of Football ft. Wenger, Sir Alex, Pep, Klopp & Cruyff

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you build a player like you build a

house with a basement you know the basis

of the player is the technique you get M

between seven and 14 years of age then

the second part is uh the physical

aspect the first floor is the physical

Talent of the player unfortunately that

is decided between 14 17 where you see

okay we'll be quick enough strong enough

uh and then the second floor is the

Tactical aspect does he understand the

game how can I relate to you if you have

the ball do I understand where to go and

then the final part that is decided at

18 19 years of age is how much do I want

to be

successful I play a Young Central

defender of 20 years old I know he will

cost me points in the season and I have

to stand up for that if I play a 28y old

Center back maybe be less

talented it will me cost me less points

but I will not give a chance a young

player and at some stage I must say as a

manager sometimes you feel lonely to

stand up there and say no I want this

boy to play because he deserves it but

just to deserve it I know as well that

he will make mistakes because you learn

your job at the 23 years of age 23 24

you have a player but until 23 we make

up and down the stamina in the

motivation is more important than the

intensity of the motiv ation that means

those who resists to

frustration when a guy has a low rate

for example not to 10 is the two or

three in stamina of the motivation he

doesn't survive because you have to deal

with frustration with disappointment

with not being selected and still keep

going and those who keep going make it

at some stage it is a meeting of an

attitude all these guys they have been

questioned you know with he make it or

not and you had people who said no he

will never make it but they kept going

and at some stage when you have the

attitude you meet somebody I give you a

chance and that is always a meeting

between an attitude and somebody who

gives you a chance in life that's

absolutely 100% for

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everybody

what about reacting to the experience of

defeat why why is that such an essential

part of what makes a winner defeat

happens I can accept defeat no bother no

no problem for me maybe when I was very

young I found it difficult but you have

to have the dignity to eventually be

able to accept defeat and be a good

loser but it doesn't mean say you don't

forget it my purpose after that was make

sure it never happened again I just

hated losing that way uh I would tell my

players at the end of the game and KN in

certain terms and would always try to

find the reason why we lost that game

but the next match was another world and

I made sure I was going to win that next

match and that purpose and determination

something is in you is that there or not

there and you know there are some good

examples about how you handle defeat I

just like to address the football side

because to me that's why these Lads they

are a symbol all you players at this

club that's your symbol that's your

symbol people have worked hard all their

life forget the ability to achieve in

life you need something extra inside you

a Dynamo that says I'm going

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somewhere how many kids arrived at

United when they're 14 years of age

that's what they had they want to go

somewhere and the desire on top of the

ability because the two things marry

they they work with each other there's

no question with that but they that work

ethic which you really need in

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life nobody comes to your door and bangs

on your door and gives you money believe

me you have to go to that Bloody door

and earn it and working hard is

definitely a talent believe me and if

you work hard all your life that is

amazing

thing go on work hard and be I'll tell

you something also if when your manager

your coaches are hard on you you know

why because you need to develop your

character that you never let you down

never let you

down I know when that to of mind when

out the the F old tord never went me

down no we never win every game

obviously we never win every game we'd

love to have we try to you know

something they never did they never gave

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in to be active don't wait what they do

the opponents you know we decide what we

want to do in our game that is the main

thing and to do that you have to have

the ball so you have to play with the

ball that I think is one of the keys of

our game so all our training session

with the ball all we want to want is

Play and play and play and play and

after that when we we talk about

defensive is okay is we have to regain

the ball and we want to do is that that

is the big fundamental so that the big

part of our our idea is try to play with

the ball and run like an animal

everybody to regain the ball and play

again and play again and play again

sometimes you can get a lot of passes

sometimes because the opponent make it

uncomfortable they for example when you

have a team like press so high and so

intense it's impossible because once you

make two or three passes you have to

attack quick when when a team defend low

block and just wait you have more

chances to make a lot of passes it

depends of that but the essence is that

it's play Play Always I believe the

players want to play with the ball uh I

have to respect their desire their

wishes and always we we try to do

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it

it's a very natural game first of all

the more you the more you do with the

ball the more you play with the ball the

better you will get nobody should think

that any worldclass

player recognize with when he was 10

years old this a ball that makes it

quite easy for youth coaches then

because we all think what man do we have

to start with tactical things and all

that stuff tactical think they are

because of the game the first touch for

example the first touch is perfect and

every everybody us could train the first

touch so then you have time to see

what's around if you need 5 Seconds to

control this thing of leather

then everything changed already around

you so do this and when you have this

and you have to over you then you can

use the pitch and you can learn all the

rest it's a players game it's a team

game but in all the in very of very

early in their life we give them the the

feeling that they

really have to show that in that they

are better than all the rest that

doesn't work together we're giveing a

ball and I do something special and we

sit outside oh yeah it's good in in

tripping but he don't use his teammates

and and and he doesn't use his teammates

and all that stuff so that's that's part

of the game so that's why I'm real I

really fight for giving um them time to

develop you cannot go only to training

and play football there that's NE that's

never enough you have to do a lot by

yourself and it's a nice thing you can

keep it up at home home in your room so

maybe at the beginning a few Windows get

broken but then in in the end

everybody's safe around you so and

that's how all should start really get

familiar with the ball helps a

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lot there's a contradiction in that

we're a room in a room of Specialists

who develop systems and who maybe could

fall into the same trap of saying

players do it my way and then taking

away the capacity for the players to

think do you think that systems in

football that structures um run the risk

of killing intelligence creativity

interpretation in

footballers there's one of the danger of

things of course it's very dangerous if

a Coach is to dominate two certain

players and one side you understand

because the coach always be valued of

his team if he wins

if he's got a team who's losing they

said he's a bad coach it's got nothing

to do with it it's a question to educate

players and educating players is what he

knows he knows I mean you don't need to

teach him what he doesn't know he's got

to know he's got to teach him tell him

how to do it and if he's got some habits

uh which every player has if he got some

habits which are not good for the team

let's say you're very good outside

player very intelligent you're very

technical everything is perfect but you

don't defend properly in a proper way so

what I did is

done this outside right put in one month

as a right back I put the same outside

right in front of

him so he will have the problem which he

create himself is he doesn't so do for a

month he starts complaining and he's

right said exactly what you do so if you

want him to get into problems do it

properly and it's not a question of

running it's just a question of brains

getting position and you can do it

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walking