Wenger discusses talent development at coaches' conference in Freiburg

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txj
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Wenger discusses talent development at coaches' conference in Freiburg

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Arsène Wenger has been FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development since November 2019, and it was in this capacity that he took part in the International Coaching Conference organized by the Bund Deutscher Fußball-Lehrer e.V. (BDFL) in Freiburg from 23 to 25 May.

Arsène Wenger has been FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development since November 2019, and it was in this capacity that he took part in the International Coaching Conference organised by the Bund Deutscher Fussball-Lehrer e.V. (BDFL) in Fribourg from 23 to 25 May.

The BDFL, the German professional association of coaches with a UEFA A or Pro licence and football instructors, wished to benefit from the Frenchman’s vast experience, as well as that of Ulf Schott, the Head of FIFA's High Performance Programme.

The pair presented FIFA's new policy on the promotion of talent and elite football and explained the wish of world football's governing body to improve the competitiveness of national teams by reducing the gap between the game’s most powerful nations and those with fewer resources to develop the discipline.

EUROPE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
Wenger insisted in particular on the need to detect and develop young talent. "Talent-spotting is not working well enough," said the former coach of Arsenal and Monaco, among others. "We’re missing out on a lot of talent because we’re not able to identify them," he said, noting how the talent-spotting system was misfunctioning in some parts of the world.

"Kylian Mbappé has African roots but was trained in Europe," Wenger added, using the example of the French striker of Algerian and Cameroonian descent to illustrate his point. "If he’d been born in Cameroon, he wouldn’t have become the striker he is today. There’s Europe and there’s the rest of the world. The latter needs help, otherwise we’re going to miss a great deal of talent."

If unearthing talented youngsters is the first step, then logically the second is to train them – which is why Wenger and his team have set themselves the goal of improving the overall quality of coaches. However, to train young players properly, you also have to train their instructors. "Between the ages of five and 12, it's better to have no coach at all than a bad one," says the veteran Frenchman, who admits to not having had a coach until he was 19. "We need to train coaches better so they can do a good job," he insists.

Among FIFA's global development initiatives for the game is the creation of the FIFA Training Centre, which is proving an invaluable tool in the training of coaches. Instructors can benefit from a wealth of technical information, analysis and resources designed by renowned experts and coaches.

Through this policy of identifying and developing talent, players and coaches on a global scale, Wenger hopes to see a narrowing of the development gaps between different regions, as evidenced by the current dominance of South American and European nations in world football. By further developing the conditions and structures necessary for the expansion of elite football, FIFA aims to help all countries reach their full potential.



https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/n ... eiburg.php
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Re: Wenger discusses talent development at coaches' conference in Freiburg

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CONMEBOL slams FIFA's Arsene Wenger over player development comments
11:27 PM ET


CONMEBOL rebuked the comments of FIFA's chief of global development Arsene Wenger about player development. Getty Images
CONMEBOL has rebuked FIFA's chief of global development Arsene Wenger for suggesting Africa's infrastructure is inadequate for talent development and that Europe is the only continent where rising stars can reach full potential.

The governing body for South American football said on Tuesday it had sent a letter to world football's governing body to "condemn the very unfortunate expressions of the high FIFA officer."

Wenger, the high-profile former Arsenal manager, said while speaking at the International Coaching Conference in Freiburg, Germany, in May that if French striker Kylian Mbappe "had been born in Cameroon, he wouldn't have become the striker he is today."

"There's Europe and there's rest of the world," Wenger added. "The latter needs help, otherwise we're going to miss a great deal of talent."

CONMEBOL said frequently in its response that the "most objectionable prejudices are disguised as reasoned and intelligent reflections."

"Wenger's words, beyond showing an unusual ignorance about the valuable input of African players in world soccer, and particularly in Europe, show a denigrating twist that hides the effort of footballers and sporting institutions that are not in Europe," the CONMEBOL statement said.

"Just like Africans, we South Americans know first hand that kind of behavior that comes from the belief that the world begins and ends in Europe."

FIFA did not immediately respond a request for comment from The Associated Press.

CONMEBOL also criticised FIFA's unilateral decision to allow five replacements per team per game instead of the current three. It said the move "took place without a process of consultations and debate."


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Form is temporary; Class is Permanent!
Liverpool, European Champions 2005.

We watched this very boring video, 500 times, of Sacchi doing defensive drills, using sticks and without the ball, with Maldini, Baresi and Albertini. We used to think before then that if the other players are better, you have to lose. After that we learned anything is possible – you can beat better teams by using tactics." Jurgen Klopp
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Re: Wenger discusses talent development at coaches' conference in Freiburg

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Wow.
This thread has received zero attention.
I don’t know how I missed this but Wenger has a point, while CONMEBOL are playing to the gallery.
If we make this about the Nigerian situation we can move it to Eagles Nest where it will receive better attention.

I particularly like this statement,
However, to train young players properly, you also have to train their instructors. "Between the ages of five and 12, it's better to have no coach at all than a bad one," says the veteran Frenchman, who admits to not having had a coach until he was 19. "We need to train coaches better so they can do a good job," he insists.
I believe that the carefree, structureless environment in which our kids first learn the game is responsible for the emergence of the phenomenal amount of natural talent we see feeding our state and national youth teams.
It’s is how to harness and then develop that talent from their early teens that we have a serious problem with.
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Re: Wenger discusses talent development at coaches' conference in Freiburg

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Wenger is wrong here. He should have said player development and not talent spotting. There are European agents all over Africa looking for the next George Weah. And talent is still being discovered and developed in Africa as it was from the days of Abedi, Eto, Weah, Kanu, Finidi etc. They were not discovered in Europe but Africa by mostly local coaches.

But we cannot deny the fact that Europe has better facilities and football education that can enhance development and nurture the talent to become a great player. But talent discovery is not the exclusive preserve of European coaches.
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Re: Wenger discusses talent development at coaches' conference in Freiburg

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This player cost 80 million pounds was born and developed in Europe...

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however this thread should be in world football forum
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Re: Wenger discusses talent development at coaches' conference in Freiburg

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Damunk wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 6:51 am Wow.
This thread has received zero attention.
I don’t know how I missed this but Wenger has a point, while CONMEBOL are playing to the gallery.
If we make this about the Nigerian situation we can move it to Eagles Nest where it will receive better attention.

I particularly like this statement,
However, to train young players properly, you also have to train their instructors. "Between the ages of five and 12, it's better to have no coach at all than a bad one," says the veteran Frenchman, who admits to not having had a coach until he was 19. "We need to train coaches better so they can do a good job," he insists.
I believe that the carefree, structureless environment in which our kids first learn the game is responsible for the emergence of the phenomenal amount of natural talent we see feeding our state and national youth teams.
It’s is how to harness and then develop that talent from their early teens that we have a serious problem with.

I UNDERSTAND CONMEBOL'S INSTINCTIVE RESPONSE, BUT...


...I'm in total agreement with Wenger. I mean, who can argue the fact that Africa in general offers totally inadequate discovery & development support to its youth, even much less for the women. There are hardly structures in place and kids are under-equipped. (damunk: thats what I was alluding to in the Commonwealth thread in "Other Sports", that the "success" of the Nigerian team (or more correctly women) should not blind people to the fact that the environment is hardly enabling. And everybody made it sound as though I was pooh pooing them.)

CONMEBOL'S reaction is not surprising because it was taken as another put down of sorts by the developed countries. I have no doubt that there'd be significant improvement in performance if proper programs are put in place. I'd like to think that the likes of Okocha, Kanu, Oshoala, Amusan et all would be at much higher levels had they grown up in W. Europe. Right now, the system is little better than wild farming where the plant grows naturally without any nurturing and the farmer shows up, when it's time, to collect fruits.

FIFA, as the trustee of world soccer, is somewhat to blame not calling for, and suggesting, improvements. It seems totally comfortable with W. Europe being the only place where meaningful soccer is played today. S. America and Mexico used to be very good but now all their best players want out.
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Re: Wenger discusses talent development at coaches' conference in Freiburg

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What’s obvious to me is the context. It’s an exploitative take on Africa. Develop them so they can come to Europe and make money for us.
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Re: Wenger discusses talent development at coaches' conference in Freiburg

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scholl wrote: Wed Aug 10, 2022 12:57 am What’s obvious to me is the context. It’s an exploitative take on Africa. Develop them so they can come to Europe and make money for us.
WELL...


...that's the second part of the plan: keep them at home under the right conditions. That would require availability of a real league of which I've previously proposed two alternatives here.
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