How Will Chelsea's Strikers React To Anelka's Signing?

From Alan Hylands,


I may have bemoaned the lack of genuine talent being transferred in this January transfer window but this week made me eat my words a little as Nicolas Anelka finally left the purgatory world of Bolton Wanderers and a relegation dogfight for the more rarefied air of Stamford Bridge and Chelsea's battle for silverware on multiple fronts. I'm a long term admirer of Anelka (despite his supposedly sulky demeanour) and have been surprised that a bigger club haven't taken advantage of his undoubted talents before now. Liverpool had their chance when he was there on loan and blew it and it's taken a few years and nearly thirty million for them to get a striker anywhere near his quality in Fernando Torres. An expensive lesson learnt. Chelsea's main problem with Anelka's signing will be in keeping their current band of strikers happy and finding a system of play that suits them with the added dimension of Anelka in their attack. Didier Drogba has made no public secret of his desire to leave the club in the aftermath of Jose Mourinho's "sacking" and having told countless media outlets that he didn't even want to come to Chelsea in the first place and cried the night before he signed the (multi-million pound) contract I can't see the Ivorian lasting beyond the summer which at least solves the problem of finding a system to incorporate Drogba and Anelka who thrive on very types of service. Andriy Shevchenko has looked a spent force since he signed for Chelsea and the old myth of quality European player only signing for English clubs once they are past their best and ready for a large pension fund can be summed up easily in two words: Andriy Shevchenko. He's lost the yard of pace that set him apart and the hunger that made him one of the world's most feared strikers in the red and black of AC Milan and I'm surprised he wasn't moved on in the summer. A definite departure in the summer if not before. I'll sum the other Chelsea strikers up in two words: the rest. Claudio Pizarro is a perfect example of the kind of sub-standard player available on a free transfer when Roman Abramovich closed his transfer purse to Jose Mourinho and while he's a solid player he is nowhere near the standard required for a club pushing for the trophies Chelsea aim for. Salomon Kalou is of a similar standard, a good player but not a potentially great player who will NEVER score 20 plus goals for Chelsea in a season. The bottom line is that Nicolas Anelka can strike up a quick partnership when Didier Drogba comes back form the African Nation's Cup but he needn't get used to playing with him because I have a funny feeling he'll have a new multi-million pound strike partner come August 2008. From a selfish point of view I just hope he isn't a Bulgarian with first hand knowledge of the English Premier League and London football....

source: http://worldsoccer.about.com/

How to Kick a Soccer Ball – A Youth Coach’s Nightmare

Submitted by coachv

How many times have you heard it shouted from the soccer coach’s and soccer parents? “Don’t kick with your toe, use your laces.” Sounds like a simple request, but most people working with youth soccer players find this to be a major stumbling point.

Don’t feel bad if you have a soccer player or soccer team that is struggling with the basics of kicking a soccer ball or passing. I have had the pleasure of working with some of the greatest youth coaches that hold a C – A certification and they struggle with the same issue. One of the biggest problems with teaching the correct soccer kick form is that people see this as one simple issue. In our research we found that there are several issues that need to be dealt with.

If you start as we did on the Blast The Ball video, you start with the “evolution of the soccer kick”. You MUST learn WHY youth soccer players kick with their toe before you can correct it. Simply telling them to switch to a “lace kick” will not only confuse them and frustrate them, but may also cause serious physical injury.

Pointing the toe DOWN will cause the toe to impact the ground and cause a horrible strain to the top of the foot. This injury will last for several days, but more importantly the psychological impact will last for months. They will fear performing this kick because they know, “it hurts”.

Learning how to “shorten the leg” through a V swing and starting with an angle kick is the first step. This allows the soccer player to freely move their foot through the ball without fear of “hitting the ground”. Yes this takes time and must be done at a slow pace, but after they learn this method it will be automatic and become a muscle memory.

The next step is to make sure that players get the feeling of LOADING their leg prior to starting the kick. One of the simplest movements yet least understood movements in soccer today is the Soccer Hop. When we show it to professional soccer players, they are simply amazed. They find themselves “soccer hopping” around their living room.

Sadly we often hear many in the youth soccer community say, “kids learn soccer by playing the game”. I think this is one of the most detrimental phrases in youth soccer today. How many golfers (hackers) are 60+ years old and still hitting a bad slice? They have over 8000 hours of “playing time” yet haven’t learned a thing. On the reverse side, why is it that the top golfers in the world spend hours upon hours at the driving range refining their skills when they are already at the top of their sport?

They understand like we in youth soccer need to understand this important point. You learn the GAME of soccer by playing the game. It creates overall awareness, creativity and teamwork.

You learn the needed SKILLS to play the game by programming muscle memory and correct swing (kicking) thoughts until they become instinctive.One of the biggest mistakes I see in youth soccer coaching today is the lack of a “step-by-step system” or understanding to teach players basic kicking skills. When we created www.BlastTheBall.com we were dedicated to making it as thorough as possible. We wanted every soccer player, soccer coach and soccer parent to understand every part of kicking form and ball flight.

Remember that all great athletes work on refining individual movements. They then take those movements to their sport so they can be at the top of their game.

Source: ArticleTrader.com