Wesley Sneijder has gone from playing street football in the Netherlands to becoming a Champion’s League-winning superstar. We caught up with Wesley to discuss his development, how he has transitioned between football cultures on his journey, and what he believes best enables creativity to flourish. Wesley Sneijder has played for some of the biggest clubs and in some of the biggest games of the last 10 years including FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League finals. A graduate of the famed Ajax Academy in Holland, Sneijder broke…
real madrid
El Clasico is the most anticipated regular football fixture on the planet. Player Development Project Lead Researcher, James Vaughan was fortunate enough to experience the rivalry himself in early 2017. The legendary Barcelona vs. Real Madrid fixture got James thinking about the history of his adopted home in Catalonia and the way it has shaped FC Barcelona. In this two part article, we follow James’ match-day experience and find out how Catalan and Barcelona history and social construct interlink. I emerge from the metro in Badal…
In the second part of this ethnographic insight on El Clasico, the biggest match in world football, PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan continues with his observations from his experience watching a masterpiece inside Camp Nou… My friend and I part ways as we reach the Camp Nou and I walk the well-travelled path through access 18, in gate 39 and up to level 3. As I climb up and out into the open-air stadium I see the green grass and the colossal circular stands, and my heart…
Hakon Grøttland is the Head of Player Development for the Norwegian FA. The Player Development Project were lucky enough to have an inside look at how Norway develops young players and how this is influenced by the nation’s culture. Hakon Grøttland never played football at an elite level due to injury. However, he counts himself lucky in that the series of events which led to the end of his playing days meant he could start his coaching career early. It is clear from talking to…
As coaches, it’s crucial we do our best to develop players in our respective environments. But are we harming their development by being too vocal? How much noise is too much? When is saying nothing more powerful? PDP Editor & UEFA A licensed coach, Dave Wright discusses coach communication and interventions. There is research to suggest that the more information a player receives under pressure, the more their game has the potential to ‘fall to bits’. By being a vocal coach, you could in fact…