Injuries are on the rise in youth sports. A 2009 study published in the American College of Sports Medicine has shown that in the United States, between 15-28% of youth baseball, basketball, soccer and football players are injured each year. The same study found that, in New York State alone, the number of anterior cruciate…
We live in a ferociously competitive world in all areas and the Soccer industry is not different. Today we can say that we are the luckiest generation ever regarding tools, learning ways and accessibility so we must take advantage of that in our favour but in a clever and selective way. If on one hand…
As the more worldly of our two interviewees, Fernando Valente took it upon himself to dish out some advice, advice for football and indeed for life: “Yes, we want to win. Everybody wants to win. But the way we win can make the difference. For me, that’s the story of my life. I win, I…
“They are the best. Nobody can organise better; nobody can have the coaches that they have. The relationship, the combination, between sport and business. America has got good things, bad things – but in professional sport, nobody can do better than them.” For whatever reason, football in America is often the subject of derision from…
It is common to hear that a football academy’s mission must be to develop football players and prepare them as citizens for their adult life. Most times, clubs know this, however, a common tool every club uses during this process is the loan and, in several cases, the decision-making process to assess the loaning club…
I am in Porto, Portugal, writing this but if I stop and suddenly decide to go to London, for example, I have several options. I can go by Train, Car, Plane, Bus, Ship, Bicycle,Walking or even Hitchhiking. I just make my decision, I pack, make all the arrangements and I can go by the way…
“In these days of uncertainty because of the pandemic situation, it’s good to have this kind of chat,” says Hernâni Borges. The hour-long conversation that followed was conducted via video call, both speakers backlit by the glow of their computer screens. In an era characterised by unfamiliarity, adapting to new realities is the order of…
For more on this topic check out our FREE webinar – Prescribe & Monitor Training Load Without Expensive, Time Consuming & Hard to Use Technology Periodization is fast becoming a popular buzz word among soccer coaches and fitness coaches. Last summer, the city of Toronto became captivated by the Toronto Raptors’ first-ever NBA Championship, spearheaded by the incredible…
When Trevor Francis became the first million-pound footballer in 1979, he was the subject of endless hyperbolic headlines. It was news, not just within the world of football, but in the mainstream media too. Nowadays, things are a little different; with billions upon billions pouring into the game from kaleidoscopic revenue streams, seven figure-sums are…
“We live in a world that is made by rules, and you need to follow them,” says Pedro Caixinha, a man who knows a thing or two about the discipline required to make it to the top. When a club appoints a coach, Pedro believes, “you are not buying a name, you are buying ideas.”…