Inside FC Barcelona's La Masia Academy with Albert Puig: How Messi, Xavi, and Yamal were developed

Albert pu is a former FC Barcelona youth technical director has coached professionally for several teams around the globe holds a UEFA Pro license and is the founder of apfc courses a program that teaches Barcelona's methodology a globally respected leader and Player Development who just famed laasia developed the likes of andrees Iniesta Gerard P Carlos puol lamin yamal and Leno Messi Alber is joined by his Tech techical director at apfc for not Frank how do you how do you say it Frank Fran a soccer coach myself and a disciple of Barcelona's positional play System I am so very excited to welcome both of you to the show today alar I'm going to start with you what are what are some of the biggest lessons you learned from teaching and coaching in the Barcelona Academy okay this is a good question I think laasia is as a uh I don't know what to explain first sorry for my English you I not really American has been here four years but my accent it's not more perfect sorry of that it's okay okay laasia in the youth development is the the formation in the is the is the highest Place probably the world I'm just yeah it's there I don't know it's one two second place in the world uh after many years in with with with working coaching players when you go to laia that is the is the Silicon ballet really of the of the sare yeah after this is it's hard it's hard because it's many pression okay thinking you work here in in something on technology and someday Google say okay come here and you are the CEO no what what is strong yeah before yeah I I worked I enter in the Mia in the minimum place in the minimum I grow up until the end I was the the the director okay because in the director it's all it's you are technical director you are residents you are the players you the contracts the coaches absolutely all and the lesson the lesson is it's it's hard but when you go away it's nice when when you stay there oh you enjoy is very difficult yeah it's very difficult enjoy the because of the pressure PR yes yes because it's usually it's it's first your job other the people want your job yeah inside this kind of Corporations inside is a jungle yeah but uh when you say many times soccer is the same with the life the same you have a Google you have a hospital where you are okay okay and after he combined two things combine your job and combine your passion because I am from Barcelona when I was kid and when you combine that two things it's it's hard because you are professional but you are fun and every job you do you're thinking oh it's for my club and you put more and that it's more beautiful but really for you it's very hard mhm mhm and you mention mened uh yesterday I was chatting with both of you and that you when you started or I guess when anybody starts in Barcelona you're paid $200 a month no this is the coaches get PID $200 a month not in laia laia is probably more but the rest of the clubs in Spain we just get like paid to for the gas basically yeah and lamazi I think H seven aside it's like a parttime job where all the coaches have other jobs you so I think it's like when you make it to under 13 14 11 aside that you will job is the being a coach of lamia full time but before that um they have two jobs and the rest of the clubs in Spain like youth academies all the youth coaches must have another job yeah so we do it more for the passion yeah rather than it's not a job for us it's like a hobby and it's in our culture because you love it we love it we love it no but uh before I was a director uh no are professional it's is strange but with many millions of budget the coaches are not professionals right when you play to the other club say not it's impossible the Mia you're thinking all the coaches are are professionals no you know when I was coach and when was I in laia many years 2003 yes I Reed 200 because my job is legal yeah and but when you was the director say no I change yeah yeah and I put much money and I put because it's incredible is uh probably the budget it's less than 1% and the revenue it's crazy the other day was doing the the numbers of all the players that he signed and he coach you were writing down all the numbers and I think the revenue that you generate for the club but maybe not Revenue but the value of these players in the transfer market thef Market that's the officials to know how much is the value of the player I think in this moment is 500 million this the players that he work with the on that he recruit and the ones that he coach like you generate 500 million and you're not taking care of the youth coaches really yeah it's it's crazy yeah and and really the budget of this not the bar B because the bar B is a club MH but under 19 who is really the Mia I remember the the budget is 4 Millions yeah 4 millions and the budget the club is 1,000 million right what one a over a billion dollars for yeah yeah that's incredible but but like you said there are hundreds of people waiting to take your place yes because everybody wants because they love it so much yes but the same in every company yeah okay right but soccer what happened soccer you go to a hospital a doctor need study five years six years and job an engineer and silicon at how do you know you don't need any degree yeah I mean there is no like a specific way to reach uh the goal to being a soccer coach you know there are many ways yeah you can go A to B you can go a to c you can go like I don't know you know and all of them are valid and you know like it's kind of tough to just follow like academical way you are head coach yes you need the W Pro no for or profession but you are the director of the M really you don't need any yeah and and thinking how many people do you want and that's good great the problem of soccer is that there is no um meritocracy um for example in the rest of the jobs in the in the world if you're working really good as engineer probably after 3 years you will get like promoted and then working really well you get promoted you know in soccer especially in Youth Development um you can work really good but for some people that you're doing good means winning for other ones mean that you are developing players that right way because the players are capable to join the next team the next year H there are like different ways to like kind of track what are you doing it good or bad so it's like a I know like many youth coaches that I am being doing like ibly and they are so good but they are not reaching the the goal you know like being like a professional coach because it's it's hard to like track uh the what is he doing right or what he's not doing right for me what Alber is doing right is that he has developed many players that now are professional but maybe another guy in another club he would not hire Al there because the results of those teams maybe were not that good it's it's an example right right the results were good but you know yeah it's it's I don't know it's kind of difficult well it seems like you don't always know because it's a long-term process I mean your philosophy is talking about we don't need with younger players we don't need to win today we're developing for the long term yes and it could take five years for to know more or more right for this player to develop into something special yeah but for win win is important because soccer is a game yeah okay you you play the chese chess chess for what you play to win you play a pocker for what you play to win all the gamees win yeah okay that's good but the important is not put the win as the objective you try win absolutely every time every second but know your target is win yeah you understand so so the target is something else yes is you grow up better every day that is your target yeah yeah but in the match you try win every moment which is part of the process of developing yes that competition in you development it's competing with your identity because the moment that you are not competing with an identity identity understood as using the soccer language meaning like using the concepts a kind of play that it's associative where the players dominate the ball because it's the best tool for the Player Development if you compete with this identity then you are competing in your development but if you use another way to compete then you are carrying corners and they not competing you're skipping the way you're just going to the end goal you know yeah so competing in professional level all the ways are valid but competing in Youth Development you must follow the the ball the language of the ball yeah and those Concepts because if not you're just cutting Corners to get the goal shortterm but the picture needs to be like a global picture you know you can win today but you are not developing right so the development is the biggest long-term goal but part of that development is we want to we're going to do everything we can to win today yes but serving the larger goal of development yes and after no what do you do this what they say you enter in organization what I want yeah I want be a professional I want go College I want only for ration I want only for education so knowing what your goals are yes is really important for the players and the coaches yes but all that you do when you are a match is for win yeah but with with the rules with with all no no because the the war competition seems look more about how fighting against they are no compet comption the first competition and The Morning competition important is competition your yeah it do is life when you go your job you competition with you if you are every day are better you probably win much money you are better is the competition is against us against not us against yourself that is the the big competition well I think that word competition comes from uh it's Latin compe which means to seek with to seek with and I always thought that was interesting because like the um like before it was impossible to run a 4minute mile impossible no one could do it humans could not do it until someone did it yeah this one guy did it and then multiple people sudden once they knew they could do it and I thought that was an interesting way to think about competition which is that we really are competing with ourselves but it you have to involve other people because it lets us know what's possible it pushes us to new levels yeah the power of the mind yes when you have a reference then you know how far you should go you know yeah yeah with the kids I always put an example sometimes when um we start a training session and the first drill uh is not good or sometimes the first drill I um I don't know I'm not that active you know because if I'm really active I know the drill is going to work really well you know and then when I'm not active the drill goes back and I tell the kids hey um you don't have to play really good because I'm on fire you have to play really good because you and I put always an example that I have them jump from my line white line they have to jump yes and and what does jam mean like jumping oh oh jump jumping but H try to jump with the two legs being static far away yes and the first jump let's see the guy is here that he jumps here yes and then the same player I tell him her jump again and then she jumps here yeah and then do it again and jumps more here and what I'm trying to say with that is hey why your first jump was not the best one yeah why is the third one the best one no and I try to tell them that these kind of things cannot happen because first of all you compete with yourself yeah you know and these kind of examples are really important another example I was coaching in Barcelona um a club there I was coaching the under 18 and one day I that time I was taking the waa license and I had an incredible teacher um a coach that told me hey try this and I was driving my car and I called the the captain of the team I said I'm involved in a car accident I'm not going to come to the training session but please H we have an important game tomorrow try to work on this on this I send you the drill try to do whatever you can do yes and I went to I went to the facilities and I hide myself at the roof yeah with a camera yeah and I record the session they didn't know that that time we don't have like video cameras I had like to I was at the roof of the facility yeah and then you could see like three four players when I was not there uh training incredibly incredibly and the rest goofing around yeah next day I go to the game and these three players I start them and some that usually were starters starters but they train bad I didn't put them and they were like so mad at me you didn't come yesterday what kind of coach is that and then you put me in the bench and I then I played the video yeah and I said that's what you did yesterday and not because I'm not there your level means it has to decrease that much you know yeah and that kind of image when the players see themselves is when they are like wow they realize like okay I have to compete against me because I knows this all the players that make it bro it's like this mentality they are obsessed about themselves nothing else yeah and it's it's the biggest skill that you have to develop when the player are like 15 16 17 that's the mental skill it's crucial crucial yeah in anything yeah but yes for that for me many time you think oh soccer or NBA or NFL oh my God because you thinking are different na see alien people MH oh my God it's the same of every the only difference is the social rep rep no it's is a social the results IM your life is social your life is it's the only difference yeah it's the only difference but you is exactly uh uh lock room for NBA or soccer is not a strange is not on my oh this a charge no you know it's it's exactly the same that The Rock a fireman in a hospital in a business in a in a it's the same exactly it's exactly the same but this kind of sports how a social is very important have Mass million yeah and the people look oh social million wow we saw that's not person people it's Stars yeah people normal people right right is good people money yeah but he's exactly that deal exactly yesterday you said something about soccer and life where when you're on the field do you want to be the type of person who's passive and doesn't want the ball yeah or do you want to be the type of person who wants to wants the ball wants to dominate the ball and I think wouldn't you want to be the same type of person in life I was just wondering if you could just run with that and cuz you said it better than I just did just now no no I explain is more easy have other people have many styles no is two styles half the ball no half the ball no I want the ball I don't I don't want the ball okay the same my life I want be active to make something or I am passive to White what is the moment strategic to go there are people who is Brave other people who is more cold or more afraid that's life I prefer go other people white I was more typical say oh I want to be millionaire I want be a player I want be I don't know doctor and is in the in your home look the TV and no if you want something go go ahead for something mhm but the is the same the ball is the is the center of the game okay play one I W the B easy yeah depending of you what you want there's this story you tell me if it's true or not but about um uh Pedro who came up to the academy big famous player yeah scored a big goal against man united in the Champions League final first one scoring all the finals yeah that's right that's right but the story was that they were on the verge of dropping him for a number of years in the academy but somebody saw him every every time they would see him outside of training he'd be knocking the ball against the wall he'd be he was always doing something trying to get better he never stopped playing outside the training sessions they said H we'll keep him around for a little longer um it's in a book by I believe the author's name is Graham Potter on Whata in the p uh with yeah uh is fire better fire it's it's the results of your Rand it's not very for the people fired by the club not for Pep and for fire from to fire yes and in this preseason the B don't find a club to to L it long K uhuh and In This Moment ditto vova uh who know this category say hey this guy like all in season why not and say okay why not go to the prison then or we see yeah and that is this career yeah but that is more typical in all play and in in many players for jpk is the perfect start seven years until the end yes there are moment who go to Manchester is a bad moment in Manchester was young in SAR but okay that's the typical but there are many many many have a moment have Acky mean mean ala bu all all the players is the same life have a moment you decided I get the train I don't get the train no what do you mean by you get the train or don't get the TR the train is coming train the train is coming yeah yeah yeah and many people say enter to a train or no I know because this moment I don't know I have this oh the St I have this moment that is the 90% of the pick uhhuh the rest of 10% decided inside yeah sometimes the train great velocity and crash yeah and sometimes is a sucessful yeah but the 90% of the people don't get the train yeah yeah but it's not is get the train or I'm going to explain example of my brother he plays now in La Liga but was coached by Alber yeah in the laasia Youth Academy for 14 years he was there um the last year uh before joining barav um the club told him your fire it's over and that was I don't know I don't Jun first whatever yes and then uh June 5th bar realized cannot sign players because the FIFA yes they had like a something that happened there that they couldn't assign players and all the new players that were coming the to take his position were not able to sign him right and then they told him wait wait stay and then he was competing against kukura that time mhm and kukura up being bench for the whole season and he end up playing yeah now K is in Chelsea you know big difference but still like that moment um that that FIFA thing that happened that the other kids that were coming to take his position they could and he end up staying and he end up having the best season of his life but but many people say no that is lucky no because your brother can decide that oh I am I am sad because the club while fighting or say wow it's a great opportunity get to tr so that reframing yes it's not all people thinking oh was lucky that the for the FIFA rules cannot sign no it's opportunity yeah so you would say for his brother even if Barca had let him go and he had to leave he would have found another way yeah maybe yes but a long way yeah long way other way like he reached La Liga three years ago maybe he would have reached La Liga at his 33 years old in in in five years that's the typical thing that happen with all the players three years before that I I was a director his brother have a many D in all the coaches D and told me no Al okay I decided but and all the coaches said I speak three months before we CH that I say they prepare prepare and read Because probably and but but in all the practice I I I see this guy thinking that but it's a strong no no no go down fighting more yeah and say you're coming 3 years more s yeah because he had the picture of the projection you know and and look at this um we always talk about Player Development how hard it is H all the parents here in the US they think that all the kids that play laia they going to become Pro but from the generation of my brother which is the 97 the only two players that are in La Liga are my brother and Seri canos in in Valencia yes H so it tells you like two players made it from the 97 and the best generation of the history Barcelona it's the 8 87 tho Messi CES Victor Vasquez and 87 no Messi B and Victor Bas and Victor and it's known for the best generation of the history because four made it out of out of how many are in a class 20 21 yeah but if you count every single year that that basa kind of fire some of the kids total of 10 years is like 10 I mean 100 players that came to that Squad yeah from 100 players that came to the squad the best generation made four yeah so that tells you like how hard and usually it's not the best ones usually are like the the the ones that more more strong mental yeah yeah if you want to go to high level and everyone if you don't have a strong mentality is impossible yeah and you want be the best if you are big and what I said many times you broken your family you broken your friends you are a stupid man you are Eggo man you are disaster as a human people probably you get to the force pleas we're not saying that this is good but it's the pattern of no because it's Obsession it's Obsession if I want to be the first in something and I propose sure yeah but this Obsession it's 24 hours no people no wife daughters friends It's Only Money I wanton be millionaire is easy yeah it's easy but you want to stay 24 hours 10 10 years working for that and and nothing family and and and fighting with old people do you want yes we're we that sureh but that is important for B I want to make sure we touch on the differences between what you've seen in training coaching the players the culture in Spain versus the United States and something that popped into my head is how we put such a big emphasis on being big fast strong looking for athletes here and I mean my college coach he would always say you can't teach Pace you know really valued raw speed physical speed now what would you say you're looking for in a player because it sounds to me like it's something it's something different but it's is first two things first America as you say it's one world yeah and the rest of the world is one wall okay in America the society work in this uh is working in in this stman in in in the same America okay and one guy one girl if you want be a professional in something you can you you know hear the rules yeah okay but if you want be the best in the world in the real world you need hungry need hungry hunger yeah and they're hungry here life easy life yeah okay there are many exceptions many sure but in general you don't see the same hunger yes yeah yeah yes yeah no and understanding like talking more about the the coaches know what they look for here the problem you have is the influence of other sports you know um there are other sports that um the physical aspect is really important sometimes the the action that you have to do is the same action 10,000 times no and you need like that strength that speed you know like you got to do this in 10 seconds or in 8 seconds because the other sports you play here but the beautiful about soccer is H all the actions are different from the last ones there is no a pattern that repeats you know right so here is when it becomes more like um the decision making for the player it's crucial there is an obsession for speed this for skills you know but then the the real creativity or the real technique is the one you can apply at the same time you make decisions you know and the game Mak decisions constantly and these decisions are of the ball with the wall and the lack of um teaching Concepts and the lack of coaches looking for projections versus performance uh transfers into in the future you are not capable to develop the right player because the right player is not the probably the one that is good today the one that is good today has a problem that his perception is bad decisions are bad but the execution is well and the coaches focus on the execution for example bad head up bad body position Bad Touch to the wrong space but because he's fast he's successful and Ki off but the good player is good position good decision Right Touch to the right space put the arm in the right way he used the right surface of the touch the ination is good but loses the ball because the opponent is faster and then the coach would say ah this player is and here the focus is into the execution yeah and that's the biggest mistake because then this kid that was doing everything really well grows yes like all the best place in the history of so Messi Nesta Maradona they were little they grow after and when you match perceptional decisions with the execution and your physicality then you are a machine but this player was having a success at early stages of Player Development because uh she or he grow really fast then when she is 18 she crashes because when she needs the perception the right space the right decision the Right Touch she never had to do it yeah and in life we only do things when we need to yeah and the problem of you soer in the US is that if you identify a player that is doing things good just because exe execution not because the decisions this player put her or put him two years up or one year up but the problem in the US is that there's no like a club identity is every coach is in is their own wall and all the coaches want to keep their players and the and the clubs they don't have here like formation rights that they make money from selling players in Spain we do have this the same clubs here they are like a money machines so they don't really care for this player to become Pro they just want that this player place in his age so his team wins but if the club didn't make the money from the parents if the club made the money because the formation rights like in Spain U then the the message from the coaching director from the board is this kid that he's doing the best at his age put him two years up because if your kid is the best one at 8 years old we have a problem because all the kids need to be feel stress yeah without the stress don't improve yeah and I think that kind of picture is the problem of of here of the US if you had to choose between physical speed and speed of Mind to be which which one which one is more important uh both both the perfect it's speed and after speed you are speit here yeah and really depending on position there are some position then you you don't need very speed but in the modern soccer usually you think up what good body yeah and good reaction yeah but in general the first is the good decision yeah yeah because you have very speed you are very strong but your decision is about nothing yeah well I mean I I noticed you guys spent a lot of time analyzing Sergio buset yesterday and I thought it was really interesting that you said a lot of the execu moves that he executes are things you said your grandmother could do yeah uh very simple stuff but the decision making the thought process the speed of thought he's in the right position before the ball comes it's it's all that speed of thought is what allows him to be so successful even without the explosive speed or all the moves or all the skills how many influen from from the American Football the NFL yeah have decision in the NFL who take the decision to NFL the coach the many coaches many and everything it's set pieces it's no creativity you have to memorize the set pieces that's all okay baseball too baseball too but in soccer it's every time every second half it's different games yeah but people here for influence like this and thinking the soccer is the same yeah sure he's different right very different and and buet coming back to wet's topic his biggest skill as I said is that he never feels press because in so it's not the same being press don't feel press in right and uh something that we got to teach to the kids and this helps the kids also to have more confidence are those Concepts that come before you receive the ball because for wet this it's like an oan it's like the space yeah right for For Me Maybe This is I will stress yeah but our goal is that our players feel that there is an ocean between you and me MH okay and this the only way to do it is through Concepts and Bs dominate all of them and when the player just types in then he applies an skill and easy but the coaches sometimes here we just focus on the skill that buset did yeah and they will try to practice this 10,000 times repeat skill again you should have focus on the passing Lane that he is on the timing of his head up his body position and the last thing is the last right and and take care as a human as a human chill as a human person take care that's important yeah first important is take care because Bernard have sucessful in San Diego many many players methology yes it's nice because have consequence it's Improv but they lovely is his vocation he's a teacher mhm okay m is VOC vocation no that's a vocation is a job yeah it's it's from a doctor need vocation no but be aor like it's a passion it's it's you do it um it's not the same to just being a coach than being like really a teacher like being obsessed with the individual Corrections the details like a yeah from the passion if you make a job only for money you is different your passion mhm and the kid is the same on a dog smell a smell when you look at teacher have a passion laugh yeah and probably teacher fighting height but laugh because look passion the same on a dog a dog when you look a human passion good it's really the same the same so you're saying they can a kid can detect that passion yes they feel it yeah and that and girls yes but life is more simple and I think they say p the bar this is interational in all the in all the world but I think here more because the plan here is more smart and thinking more life you don't need thinking you think but no more thinking more is bad what what do you mean by that thinking more is it's thinking oh my son he have a passion for soer will be a professional but after my my son will be an engineer is the life of your son is not your life yeah relax yeah take care pay your food pay your ucation but is his life not your life you no are uh stick you bring the duration your song no no sometimes I say many times don't see the match of your son the same do you don't go every day to the school no but the same you don't go to the match and say hey I have this problem mom I have this problem it's your problem not my problem yeah my daughter always saying the same oh I have a problem in the school with the teacher it's your problem not my problem yeah my problem is if you don't don't don't get the degre you decided or you don't have effort that's my problem because but you have you must resolve problem because the life is resolve problems not that that if you as a dad mom resolve problems or your daughter your daughter don't be preparate for the life mhm the life is is is it's it's down to the hill yeah you know it's it's is have many uh breaks many breaks obstacles yes chall obstacles obstacles sometimes for your guilty sometimes because the life is the life the only the successful it's ow the people have sucessful no is the many times thousand times is broke is there if every time go down yes that's by the obstacles I think like some people here identify it as a bad thing and it's the best thing that could happen to you really and many parents like i s my gosh my daughter my son is going to be on at the B Team instead of The A Team we got to fix that relax you the problem is that parents leave their lives to their kids you know but myself I was playing and one year I had not playing that well I went to the B and the next year I went to the A and and after I stay in the a for a while because I I I remember like going down what it feels same in Spain you have promotion relegation mhm yes here you have the Disney L the Everything Is Beautiful you know yeah and I think that that your kids were for saying crash kids have to crash and and and and and parents are trying all the time to Avo Avid that crash happening so you're saying to develop that mentality where you're you're going to the the player himself will get on the train like you said yes they need to have these stresses they need to have these struggles along the way and we should embrace it not be scared of the strugle in the school the same in your life you need every time have this yeah you every time every day all the people have have problems yeah and resolve the problems yeah and probably when you're young 100 problems you resolve that 50% yes probably but you learn next in when you have 30 years 40 years old you have only 20% bad have 60 years old but the problem the life is you have only one life yeah have say CH chaping no you need two lives yeah one for for improve and the second for the action yeah you have only one it's a disaster because when you have a 70 years old probably have a few mistakes but your body is a big mistake yeah yeah yeah but no it's it's pretty here it's more in America have many very things and I love America but each futter have for me very good and very bad and here is more protector mhm but it's crazy because it's more protector until the cour yeah after it's and and another scuter is no no protector no more protector but until the end MH yes family you know and here it's crazy pay the college billions pay the school oh my God oh my God and when finish the school close the door and byebye one day for Thanksgiving and two hours because three hours have a problem it's incredible yeah yeah for the coaches that are listening watching how do we teach vision and creativity and not just looking but seeing all of it seeing what where people I mean I some of these players with a glance over the shoulder they see not just where everybody is but they know where they're going to be a few moments later um how do you teach that to players especially those that that are hungry that do have the right mentality that have that stuff but you want to help teach the vision and the creativity same yeah what's what's the water you have to put water you got you canot put a Coke yeah for whatever soda yeah you know so s so is the right concept yeah and the right coaching yeah the the language of so that we call it and and and that's really important and as we were talking about yesterday that if you want to help your child to have more creativity the first thing you have to identify as a dad mom coach is H who is your kid and what she or he does well if your kid is a great painter she was born with an incredible like skill to paint your job is not to put your child into mathematics class you have to buy papers pen and all the colors that exist in the world so she can paint more and more you know and sometimes we have a feeling that oh he does this well we're going to do that yeah no same with S no the old players that have great vision most probably first of all is because they were born with that already like same chabi is incredible but chabby was H playing and making good decisions where he was not coach so the first thing okay Chavi making good decisions well uh nobody coach him that's strange what happen if we coach him then you create like a a Genus you know yeah so I think it's a balance know of of identify what the kid is doing good encourage that and then they write water yeah and you remember the typical for example if you speak with an engineer you thought engineer of the mathematics you speak with him probably I am sure say oh thank you this teacher when I was seven years old or 10 or 14 he Chang my life because he tried to love me the mathematics yeah but is the same when you teacher a coach you put water and you put love you put passion you can change the life of things back that's the water and so yeah yeah and we look a lot for Concepts Concepts and this but were saying love and being genuine and and yeah change life being a a right nice human being being close to the players just be quick yes I something say hey what is your coach your best coach you you teach you say think they oh I remember this goach because when finish the the the training go to cinema or pay me the b or when I my family is broken from I no we separated why he's coming or when I was in the hospital and broken the leg he's coming yeah he sent me a a gift for Christmas don't say oh this coach send me the right the left there something yes yes because the the player don't know don't don't have this perception but thank you for this learn this yeah you understand if no there this is difficult this yeah so for the parents out there listening they should be looking for a passion a teacher a really teacher of passion and yeah yeah that is the first who must F yeah and and a teacher that give love to kids but also has intensity in their sessions you know because there are many teachers out there or coaches that nowaday soccer has become a business that they give so much love to the kids the kids have so much fun with the coach the sessions are bad but there an strategy that if the kid is Happy the kid keeps coming sometimes sometimes at my sessions the parents at the beginning they are like I'm my S was not comfortable it was too intense but and after you talk with the other kids that been for two months at my program and they are like that is so funny and I'm going to put an example my brother remembers Al always for different things you know one he says that this is the most intense coach that he has ever had yeah second he says that he one of the most funniest coaches that he had yeah oh intense but funny and thir my brother always says that when my parents got divorced remembers Alber for a conversation that Albert had with my brother about it Alber Perfect Balance human connection with the players crazy intensity during the training yes and funny at the right moments yeah okay sometimes as a parents we just look for the funny and comfortable MH and that's a mistake when you say love you're a great that for say Well done all time uh your son about that yeah or you are a good dad you say yes sometimes and no many times I go with the second version you got to say yes and then you got to say no the same the love it's passion and take care of the but no is say all time well done yeah yeah that is not love right that is marketing right no right now out there there are like marketing guys are not uh sometimes I feel like we compete not against Soccer Coaches so prods we compete against Real Estate businesses you know like uh marketing um and to be honest um with all the social media and all the fomo and this insecurity of some families yeah it's so easy to lie yeah here it's so easy toight and and sometimes you I think you have to be honest you know if if I do the SEC the second one what everybody is doing sometimes like the marketing just of marketing I would just get cancer you know yeah it's not the way I that's what that's why I'm not I mean I'm here for another purpose not not I would have a stay in in marcelona Me and Al that and it's kind of like H for me it breaks my heart when I see this emphasis on the social media which I love social media to spread messages like this yeah but sometimes to to lie no right or this I have many kids that other coaches t to the kids that they have going become professionals yeah and I know this kid will not become professional and sometimes I lose kid because I said you will not become professional that you will be in division three college and that has to be your goal and we're going to work for that yeah but parents sometimes go for with coaches that says the LIE yeah because that means money from the other coach right you know well there's a lot in America of the you can have a a team as long as they're at a high level in the club system and they might lose just about every game they're not teaching the right stuff they're just trying to get some big strong kids to be competitive but parents will gladly pay to join that team even if it's not a great environment there's not a passionate coach because of the status you when you go to St yeah because I don't know more St I don't know this this is big much one when you go to Stanford yeah yeah no the family pay much money yeah and and you pay much money go to the teacher and say hey because because my daughter is have a seven and I have a 10 or because your my daughter have four the the degrees yeah don't say no right right for what pay for soccer and after say to the to the Cole because the play here or or or don't play that minutes the problem is that the parents can why is a reason well they feel they can I don't know why they feel they can because for $100 have a power to decide it and because they're paying stord you pay 50 yeah thousand yeah you cannot say anything and Sh up right you have no idea the amount of fents that told me I I spend a lot of money and right and uh oh my daughter should be H uh playing with these girls or my son should be with these boys and my son I want him to be in with Messi you know uh parents have to CH from my experience If the parents don't enter more probably have to T if if they're less involved yes the player will be more successful us if if you've got the right coaches in place the here after here and go over there and probably 99% destroy it yeah yeah yeah so look for those things the intensity during the training but then the passion and the love of the player so a coach who would say I'm going to work you really hard but it's because I care about you because I want to see you improve I'm going to stress you you're going to put be put in stressful situations because I care about you because that's how you will develop as a person and a player and then once as a parent once you found that yeah step back and and let them do their thing and treat the players as players and also uh human beings but not you are not the fan of the player yeah like now maybe you didn't see that but now in the US um coaches on social media they tack the players profiles and coaches ask the players to take pictures with themselves to post it on social media or coaches post some stuff on social media mentioning or tagging the players so they can repost it and other people can see that this kid is being coached by him it's like I cannot imagine myself in Spain asking my player or one of the players taking a picture with him to please post it on social media so more people see it like sometimes I feel like some coaches are treating the players as if they were their fans mhm of course the player will love you because you are his fan no you are his coach dude yeah you his coach Mega Pro the same different problems but the same problem yeah okay and the and and there's no solution No Sol okay in Spain the parents are worse than here Spain the par it's it's interational yeah prepare for the life yeah that is the job of prepared for a life and in this Society years ago we changed this he's prepared for for I don't know why for Disneyland for right the for what and you look the problems out yeah prepare for the life yeah because the life is not easy yeah is the it's hard that's right prepare for this the reality yeah if you're a youth coach and most of these kids just by the math of it it's impossible for most of them to go become professional players right right it's a tiny fraction yes so what are the goals of a coach that are your goals for all your players sport is education is henic it's Collective it's effort then is prepared for Life yeah you have sucessful in this case okay but the successful what is the sucessful it's sexual is it be professional and after when you finish 32 years old until the 7 or 70 today the the rest of four P what is suful what is successful I think only successful is be happy with in this moment you are professional I am very happy with me perfect like after the lives yeah the say what you what you said before is important be the number one for what you die and after probably 10 years or 50 years people don't remember and I don't know or here people Nao on oh why nothing in after 1,000 years is not exist the human people why important Napoleon diet this work that for me is more stupid yeah the people that not have one life and you lose four is really the family important is of is is the people who SCH more that's important and when you speak with all the people who with a few time to diet who know cancer or something family I don't import the millions and the cars and houses and the stes yeah reality yeah the smoke smoke the picture oh I am but for for import yeah more e and we I I did want to ask y mean lamal because I know you saw him when you at a very young age over there what when did you know he was special and how did you know he was special special what special as a player special play yeah Talent yeah natural Talent yeah it's it's natural Talent is part genetic which absolutely the genetic is is a have a genetic with a perception on you this other for genetic is is have the capacity to look more and make a decisions and after it's many many many hours many many many many many many hours of practice when both this are pertaining they are they are one one is for the life it's for God the other is for your passion and and he is really good because also we talk about it that he never repeats the same action like so many players we think that there are many players in the world that we think they have creativity but they don't what they do is they have two moves that they repeat but outside is two moves uh they don't have like this uh creativity that's like a real creativity real creativity is when you do something and when you just finish it you don't remember what you did yeah and the m i feel is that like everything that he does it's a new thing yeah he is not like this player with a pattern that he does always the same action that's real creativity yeah yeah he probably looks at the film of himself afterwards in a surprise 100% he never practiced that move before for sure right for sure all right but it is a talent uh in the Life what is better Mo or M what what are the mo mo you know the music mo oh oh moar yeah or amados or amados you look the the film fil uhhuh huh yeah what is better yes Mo it's it's a absolutely yeah but it's not there for and and you're family disaster and and and druck and something yeah and the it's war war war have a talent of this yeah yeah no yeah what you prefer and so special when those when the talent meets the passion yes and then and in this moment you have a Michael Jordan yeah Michel Jordan was very good before not the first years is not good yeah but have a talent have a genetic and after repeat repeat repeat and work and work and work yeah all right now I know you're flying back to Barcelona soon you have training today I know you guys have to get out of here soon the if there's one piece of advice you guys could give to coaches out there what would that one Insight be I think what did you say coaches Miss B yeah Coes B if not but it's working on thing yeah okay and focus on the long picture not the short one like especially if you're a youth coach like you have to have a youth coach mentality not a pro coach mentality coaching youth yeah it's way different way more teachers rather than coaches love it love it well thank you guys so much for coming in I really appreciate you guys making this happen um for everybody out there we uh we met yesterday and then wanted to we wanted to put this podcast together but you were flying back home to Barcelona and you said we got to do it in person um and we scrambled and we made it happen uh just a day later and really thank you guys uh for coming in it was a absolute pleasure thank you so much and important you have the the right sh that's that's right that's right there right there there's a game c in Barcelona madri oh oh gosh that's right oh we got to go we got to go watch that oh and I got to mention it uh the apfc course which they put together which brings all the methodology together and what we've talked about today amore it's absolutely fantastic for any coach watching this it will trans form how you approach the players on the field and how they perform um I I I can't speak highly enough about about the course um it really does work it's absolutely worth it so take a look apc.com apfc courses.com apfc training.com if you are a DAT wants you want your child to train with us we have this Ino and if you are a coach that want to Le it's apfc courses.com perfect and we'll put all that in the show notes with the link links so you guys can check that out um see you next time okay everybody until next time ask questions don't accept the status quo and be curious [Music] [Music]