As the saying goes: Oranges grown in Huainan are called tangerines, and those grown in the north of Huaibei are called tangerines.
Training of players in youth training is actually similar to this.
Just like French forward Antoine Griezmann, who is currently performing well at Real Sociedad, if we look at the standards of the French youth training, it is impossible for him to get ahead.
Griezmann was born in a small town called Macon, 65 kilometers away from Lyon. Influenced by his father, he began to be exposed to football at an early age and received basic training at Macon United.
It wasn't until he was seven or eight years old that his family realized Griezmann's potential, so they took him out of Mâcon and had trials all over France, including Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain, Auxerre, Saint-Etienne, and Souvenir.
Shaw, Montpellier, etc.
Griezmann has innate excellent skills and extraordinary playing intelligence, but he also has a very fatal flaw, which is his slow speed and short and thin stature.
France's youth training selection standards are very clear. Professional football must be based on the body. Players who are strong and fast are more popular, and players like Griezmann are destined to be eliminated.
After hitting a wall at every turn, it was not until 2005 that Griezmann was noticed by Real Sociedad's amateur scout Eric Olhatz during a trial in Montpellier, and he was strongly recommended to Real Sociedad's sports team.
Director Roberto Orabe.
Speed, strength and physical deficiencies are not actually a problem for Spanish football, even for clubs located in northern Spain, a region famous for its rough style of play.
As a result, Griezmann successfully entered Real Sociedad, grew up smoothly in the echelon, and performed very well. He soon entered the first team and became the core player of the current first team, shining brightly.
In Gao Shen's previous life, as Griezmann performed well at Real Sociedad and became famous after moving to Atletico Madrid, his deeds gradually received reports in France, which began to trigger France's reflection on youth training selection.
"Why do French clubs pay more attention to [what they are like now] when selecting players, while Spanish youth training pays more attention to [what will happen in the future] when excavating players, and are better at exploring the potential and talents of players?"
This famous reflection did not attract much attention because it gradually lost its voice.
But in fact, Gao Shen once discussed this issue with Zidane and many people in the industry. The answer is that French football is too happy.
According to French official statistics, the total population is more than 6,000, ranking second in the European Union after Germany. At the same time, France has 6 to 7 million immigrants from Africa and other regions, only a small part of which have obtained
have acquired French nationality, and the other millions of people are all migrant workers.
There is a statistic in the book [Football Economics], that is, almost all successful professional players come from poor families who lack opportunities for advancement.
For children from these families, playing football is their only way to change their destiny.
It is conceivable that this group of immigrants from Africa is providing France with a steady supply of talents.
Therefore, throughout the past few decades, a large proportion of France's famous football stars are of African descent.
Anyone who has studied history knows that western Africa was once a French colony, and immigrants here preferred to go to France.
When French clubs have a steady supply of talent, the standards for talent selection are naturally set higher.
Even young players must not only be in good health, but also be fast and have outstanding skills.
What?
future?
We’ll talk about what happens next.
Therefore, those who win at the starting line, those young people who are faster and stronger, are often more popular.
On the other hand, people like Griezmann who have excellent skills but lack body and speed can't expect to stand out.
Of course, Griezmann's speed also limits his upper limit.
In professional football, talent is something you are born with.
Just like Cristiano Ronaldo, he was born with African blood, his muscle group is different from others, his speed and explosive power are fast, so what!
Also like Mbappe, he was born to be a strong player and is not easily injured. What can be done?
When white players with outstanding speed such as Gareth Bale, Robben and Owen are frequently injured there, little rockets with African descent like Ronaldo and Mbappe can squander their speed and impact without restraint.
.
This is something no one can envy.
But Gao Shen has always been thinking, what if these players have more sophisticated skills?
Why did Cristiano Ronaldo transform into a scorer? Why did many people later think that Cristiano Ronaldo could no longer excel?
The answer is simple, because speed depends on youth.
You can be unscrupulous when you are young, but what about after 25? What about after 28?
Not to mention the increasing age, or even just an injury, a lot of things have changed.
There is a problem in attaching importance to speed and body and despising technical training.
Don't think it's alarmist, in fact, this situation has already happened.
For example, this season, the French newspaper L'Equipe conducted an investigation and pointed out that there is a problem in Ligue 1, that is, it is very common for young players to suffer muscle strains.
"Usually, muscle strains occur more often in older players. Looking around the world, this is basically the case, but it is different in Ligue 1, even in reserve teams and youth teams below U19."
"Young players all over France are more prone to muscle strains, which is not normal."
L'Equipe believes that this generally reflects that there are problems in France's youth training, not only the backwardness of physical training, but also problems in the direction of player training.
And the whole world knows that in England, there is never a shortage of players with fast speed and excellent physical fitness, but the players trained in England's youth training are not good at foot skills.
What Gao Shen does at Leeds United is to take root in England and cultivate young talents from all over the world.
Many people think that Leeds United is trying to reform their youth training, just like the youth training reforms of teams such as Liverpool and Arsenal, but this is not the case. Spanish youth training will not work in England.
But there are some essential things worth learning, such as the training of players' skills in Spanish youth training and the exploration of players' talent potential. These are obvious advantages.
Whether you admit it or not, the essence of football ultimately comes down to controlling the ball.
What we are talking about here is not possession of the ball, but control of the ball.
For example, shooting, passing, passing...
These are all ball control, and behind this all we must pay attention to technology.
Leeds United's philosophy is all-round development, not just physical and speed, but technique and consciousness are also particularly important.
The main reason Gao Shen visited Leeds United this time was because Paco Cerullo and Juan Vera submitted a proposal.
…
"Sports Technology Innovation Seminar, as the name suggests, we hope to invite experts and scholars from all over the world to gather together to discuss how to use new youth training concepts, training methods, and data analysis to improve team training and
The results of youth training.”
Paco Cerullo introduced his plan to Gao Shen and Su Qing.
"We have been in contact with many colleagues, and they are all very interested in us at Leeds United, especially our big data center and the AXA Center we are building."
At the AXA Center, Leeds United's big data center cooperated with Huawei to develop an Internet of Things system that can detect and analyze various activities of players in the training base, including training in the gym, and provide daily training and training for the coaching staff.
Provide real-time data support for young player development.
This is the first time in the world.
Similar data analysis is actually not new anymore, but the difficulty for Leeds United this time is behind the big data, how to establish a data statistical analysis model, how to rely on data to formulate the team's tactics and cultivate young players, etc.
These were difficult to achieve before, but now, Leeds United has to use a whole system to present it.
Of course, this is just the beginning.
Leeds United alone is not enough as a club, so it needs to constantly communicate with the outside world and attract talents.
The Sports Technology Innovation Seminar is a platform and an important measure to promote Leeds United.
Gao Shen had already studied with Su Qing, Lucas and Borrell before and basically agreed to create this summit, which would last for two days. The first session planned to invite two to three hundred experts from all over the world, including the NBA and NFL.
In this regard, the United States is undoubtedly leading the way.
And the investment will be quite a lot.
But as Su Qing, Lucas and Borrell said, hosting such a summit, the first of its kind in the industry, at Leeds United’s new training base will undoubtedly have an impact on Leeds United’s influence, especially on the industry.
, will be a huge improvement.
The requirements given by Gao Shen are also very simple. If you want to do it, then you have to do it.
"And we can't just hold it once. We have to stick to it for a long time and make this summit a tradition and a golden signature of Leeds United. Our team is bound to benefit a lot from it."
Modern football is all about openness and communication. Just like a team, it makes no sense to immerse yourself in training on the training ground. If you want to improve your strength, you have to go out and play more games against strong opponents.
Contest.
The same is true in the youth training and coaching fields.
Communicating more with experts and scholars from all over the world and professionals in other fields will definitely be of huge benefit to football in the new era.
If nothing else, at least we can keep pace with the times and keep abreast of the most advanced science and technology.
Technology is the primary productive force!
Of course, in order for others to come up with something useful, Leeds United must first come up with something good.
It’s impossible to keep it to yourself and ask others to share the latest scientific research results with you, right?
Therefore, Gao Shen's attitude in this regard is very clear, and Leeds United's philosophy is the same.
"We never rest on our laurels. On the contrary, we are very happy to communicate with experts and scholars from all walks of life around the world, share our research results, and make progress together!"
“Not only sports performance and data analysis, but also club management, social responsibility, fan interaction, etc., as long as it is sports-related industry content, we can discuss it. We must learn from the strengths of others and make up for our own shortcomings.
"
Immediately, Gao Shen made a decision, with Lucas taking the lead to make an implementation plan for the next three years.
"We are the first to create it and make it a benchmark summit in the industry!"
This is also in line with Gao Shen's consistent style, either don't do it, or do your best if you do it.
According to the past, this should have been something the wealthy teams would do, but since they haven't done it, let us, Leeds United, take the lead!
