Australia Need To Develop 'Messi & Ronaldo'
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 6:53 am
Exclusive: Australia Need To Develop 'Messi & Ronaldo' - Han Berger
It's an ambitious claim from the country's technical director...
18 May 2009 03:35:27
Roma Finale 2009: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) vs. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Related LinksAustralia will need to develop a "Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo" if they are to achieve their goal of competing at the highest level of football by the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, according to Australia's National Technical Director Han Berger.
In an exclusive interview with Goal.com, Berger outlined Football Federation Australia’s (FFA) plan to take the nation to the top echelon of world football within the next 10-15 years.
The Dutchman’s ambitious claim has coincided with the release of a new National Football Curriculum, which sets the standards by which youth development as well as elite - and community-level football – for both coaches and players – will be now be governed in Australia.
Central to this doctrine is a focus on skill development as opposed to strength and conditioning at young ages.
“This is a long-term project and as I said, there are goal settings to take Australia to the highest level of football in the world,” Berger told Goal.com
“Australia are not only organising to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup but also to compete at the highest level and so that we are able to do that, we need to develop high-level players that are able to fulfil these goals.
“If you put too much emphasis on the result at too young an age then you tend to choose strong players instead of skilful ones and you forbid players to take risks and initiative instead of encouraging them to do so.
“At the end of the day you get punished for that because at the top level the game is not decided by the strongest and the fittest players because all players are strong and fit.
“At the top level the game is decided by players like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – the skilful ones – and if you want to go this high level you need players like that.
“That’s more or less my message and why we should put more emphasis on skill development as opposed to strength and conditioning at a young age.”
Berger’s goal to have Australia developing world-class players such as Messi and Ronaldo might be considered unrealistic, but the former director of youth teams for the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) says it is an achievable goal.
He continued, “I know one thing for sure – Australia doesn’t have to change on my behalf but then it will be very difficult to go to the next level.
“If everyone wants to keep it at the level that it is currently on then we should just continue doing what we are doing.
“If we want to improve and go to a higher level – and again, that’s the goal-setting of Football Federation Australia – then there is no other option than to make changes.
“Absolutely there will be arguments, people resisting, people disagreeing and I hope I can convince as many people as possible.
“Yes, it’s a big challenge but if I had a feeling it was impossible I wouldn’t even begin on this project.
“We will go for it and time will tell.”
Chris Paraskevas Goal.com
It's an ambitious claim from the country's technical director...
18 May 2009 03:35:27
Roma Finale 2009: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) vs. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Related LinksAustralia will need to develop a "Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo" if they are to achieve their goal of competing at the highest level of football by the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, according to Australia's National Technical Director Han Berger.
In an exclusive interview with Goal.com, Berger outlined Football Federation Australia’s (FFA) plan to take the nation to the top echelon of world football within the next 10-15 years.
The Dutchman’s ambitious claim has coincided with the release of a new National Football Curriculum, which sets the standards by which youth development as well as elite - and community-level football – for both coaches and players – will be now be governed in Australia.
Central to this doctrine is a focus on skill development as opposed to strength and conditioning at young ages.
“This is a long-term project and as I said, there are goal settings to take Australia to the highest level of football in the world,” Berger told Goal.com
“Australia are not only organising to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup but also to compete at the highest level and so that we are able to do that, we need to develop high-level players that are able to fulfil these goals.
“If you put too much emphasis on the result at too young an age then you tend to choose strong players instead of skilful ones and you forbid players to take risks and initiative instead of encouraging them to do so.
“At the end of the day you get punished for that because at the top level the game is not decided by the strongest and the fittest players because all players are strong and fit.
“At the top level the game is decided by players like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – the skilful ones – and if you want to go this high level you need players like that.
“That’s more or less my message and why we should put more emphasis on skill development as opposed to strength and conditioning at a young age.”
Berger’s goal to have Australia developing world-class players such as Messi and Ronaldo might be considered unrealistic, but the former director of youth teams for the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) says it is an achievable goal.
He continued, “I know one thing for sure – Australia doesn’t have to change on my behalf but then it will be very difficult to go to the next level.
“If everyone wants to keep it at the level that it is currently on then we should just continue doing what we are doing.
“If we want to improve and go to a higher level – and again, that’s the goal-setting of Football Federation Australia – then there is no other option than to make changes.
“Absolutely there will be arguments, people resisting, people disagreeing and I hope I can convince as many people as possible.
“Yes, it’s a big challenge but if I had a feeling it was impossible I wouldn’t even begin on this project.
“We will go for it and time will tell.”
Chris Paraskevas Goal.com