Thread by @Munik86, Determination and desire; The cornerstones to player development What makes a player [...]

Determination and desire; The cornerstones to player development

What makes a player great

[THREAD]

What makes a player get to the very top of the game? There are very few players that have the ability to make it at the top level, and more importantly stay at that level for years and years.

It is the ability to maintain that level of consistency that separates the good

players from the great ones.

Go around to any football league in any country and you will find flashes of brilliance. You will see players from Bundesliga III scoring overhead kicks, players from League 2 run the length of the pitch in a one man scoring mission.

But these incidents are few and far between from these players. As is the case in any profession, there are people who will always be at the top of the game due to their dedication and desire to succeed, and the countless sacrifices to get themselves there.

Let’s talk a bit about the things that make a footballer get to that elite level, and more importantly, stay there.

Dedication being the most important trait in my opinion. The game is littered with countless talented players, but it is the dedication to succeed that sets

players apart. The best players in the world make it clear how much they have often had to sacrifice to get to the levels they are.

Personal sacrifice for one, but also from their families.

There is a time in a players career that he must decide if it is the money

that is most important thing to dedicate towards, or, the ultimate dedication to be the most successful player your ability will allow you to be.

The Premierleague sadly is an example of too many players paid too much, too soon.

”Youngsters are getting big money for achieving nothing,” these were the words of the current England manager Gareth Southgate, when asked on the next generation of footballers.

Back in 2020 the average Premierleague wage stood at just over £61,000 per week.

A figure that rose more than £10,000 over the previous two years.

In 2016 the average wage in the Premierleague stood at £44,000

Back in 2010 Ryan Giggs spoke out against young players getting paid way too much too soon.

”A lot of players now, before they’ve established themselves, get a lot of money, which i never got. Now, before you’re proven, you’ve got the money - a four or five year contract”

Being a footballer is all about taking responsibility. This is your career, and you decide

how you want to make it.

Being overpaid too young has ruined many of the Premierleague’s younger prospects.

Many players nowadays think they’ve already made it at 18/19, they’re paid crazy salary’s and this clouds their judgment of what they want out of their careers.

”Some players can handle it, some players don’t,” said Ryan Giggs.

The Premierleague has always been about the image it portrays to the world, it’s image, fake or real as the most exciting league in the world.
Part of this is seen to have the most promising youngsters

playing in their league. Players nowadays, often English players, are paid ridiculous fees to get them to stay, and to let the Premierleague hold on to this image. However this does not help the players, it gives them a false image that they’ve already achieved.

They buy the flash cars, the big mansions, and they forget about the determination that got them into the game, the desire leaves them.

They have this image that they are already ‘stars’ and think they can do what they want.

Incidents that have seen Mason Greenwood, Phil

Foden and Harry McGuire in trouble over the last year, and the feeling of indigence on their part, only gives further credence to the argument that too much too soon is damaging.

Self discipline is a massive part of what makes a player committed

To becoming the best. Couple that with the desire to succeed, those players will achieve more with that mentality than players with half their ability.

Self discipline and sacrifice often go hand in hand. Without these you can not possibly make it to the top of the game.

You need to be disciplined to know how to train right, to be disciplined enough to know that an early night is vitally important. Perhaps not phoning up hookers is a good way to describe what not to do.

” If you don’t have that inner drive, there’s a danger you’ll never

actually get to be a top professional or be a first team player. For a short period of time that won’t have any impact on them financially, but in years to come they could look back and have huge regrets.” Said Gareth Southgate.

In football, and in the culture that surrounds

it, you have an environment, that you as a player are involved in. Being disciplined as a sportsman is something that comes from you, it can not be taught to you. YOU decide what is most important, and if you are genuinely willing to commit to every part of being a professional

footballer. It is not about controlling the players and what they do or don’t do, the environment they choose should create that for them.

You have maybe 20 years, if you’re lucky, in the game, you must decide what you want to achieve whilst you’re involved in the game.

You as a player have been given a special gift. But you also have a responsibility not only to yourself and the culture of the game, but to your club and your community, what you do and how you come across affects more people. You are now a role model.

It takes a special type of person and ability to make it at the very top of the game and stay there. What we don’t see are the countless hours of sacrifice they’ve taken to getting there.

” I have only one understanding of development and of making success, and that’s by going

It takes a special type of person and ability to make it at the very top of the game and stay there. What we don’t see are the countless hours of sacrifice they’ve taken to getting there.” I have only one understanding of development and of making success, and that’s by going

step by step,” said Jurgen Klopp.

This rings true for players nowadays, it is a gradual journey to the top. You can not get thrown too much too soon and be surprised that these kids can’t handle this pressure.

I have always loved the quote from Leon Goretzka, when asked

about Bayern’s triple success: “It was our MiaSanMia mentality that set us apart”

It just showed to me that he and the team knew they had worked so hard to get where they are. And when the chips were down, the ultimate goal is trophies and not financial goal.

The main thing is that to succeed in this game it needs only one person to do that. You. As the player you are the one who chooses what you get out of the game. The media don’t help with their ridiculous overhyped behaviour, but the strongest people make the best footballers

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