Just got back from my first five-a-side game in nearly 2 years and my god, I'm so unfit. It's amazing how that when you're tired all skill and technique goes out the window. It got me wondering though whether this was a reason why so many players who have been (or are supposed to be) good turn out to be very poor when it comes to match-day. Cole for instance. I remember Gerrard saying, in senserity, that J Cole had ball skills that could rival Messi's. He didn't say he WAS better than Messi, but just that he could pull of some great tricks and had good control. So why do we never see this? Is it cus he's so unfit? Quite frankly everytime I see him play for us he's bright red. An example recently was when he played against Prague (?) and made a run for the ball that would have put him in a one on one with the keeper. Needless to say he failed to get there and after a short sprint looked absolutely shattered. On another note. Just wondering who here plays football for a team, or coaches? Would be interesting to know.
Retired through injury and was terrible coaching, just didn't have the cool head needed. Miss playing though!
To be fair, five a side is a an absolute killer, even if you're in top shape. The worst games I ever played fitness wise were in a 7-a-side summer league on a full sized pitch. I was centre back, and hence also effectively a defensive midfielder. So for every ball over the top I had to chase the striker half a ****ing mile. I think it's partly fitness, and partly that it's easy to do clever skills on a training pitch whilst people are watching you, but much harder to do them when the opposing team are trying to knock you off the ball. That, to me, is the true test of a player - someone who looks as good, if not better, in a game as they do in training. Even when playing Sunday league you'd see players who were all skills and deft touches in training, but looked like donkeys when faced with an opponent willing to properly tackle them. Joe Cole never looked to me like someone who was happy to compete for the ball, even after Mourinho whipped him into shape. I used to play up until about the end of 2007. Planning to start again this season after three and a half years out - that's gonna be fun...
I used to play but gave up in my early 20's when I decided to persue a career which would actually make me some money (I was nowhere near good enough to make it... even to semi pro level - The closest I got to playing properly was having a stand up arguement with Geoff Harrop [Colchester United's former Youth Development coach] on a training pitch at my school after I heard him make a snide comment about a lofted pass I made which went awry [bear in mind it was a 30+ yard pass and I was wearing football boots that hadn't been broken in]. I now live my dream through my 9 year old who has just started playing and my 18 month old who could kick a ball before he could walk, can now pass short distances accurately (he's now been walking for less then 3 months) and absolutely adores anything to do with football (he wakes up in the morning, eats his breakfast and then spends the rest of the morning playing with a football in our living room even though he has boxes & boxes of toys)
It's brilliant when they start paying for a club, i've been watching my kid since he started playing at 6 years old, he's recently started playing for Swansea City Development (which I will go on about to anyone willing to listen).
Still play, Coach in a club here in Cincinnati which we are trying to run as professionally as we can ( Academies are starting to show up here but the need for paretns to pay is still there as the finances in the federation aren't quite there *MLS, USMNT). Just finished playing Pro/Semi-pro indoor and going to be Coach/player once again this summer for the local Semi-Pro team. The itch is still real bad, I can't quite give it up and probably never will. I really enjoy coaching and prefer youth 9-12 or College/semi-pro (hopefully pro one day). I know it's a big gap but I love to see the technique with the young kids and watch them grow and like to do expansive trainings with the older groups to really test their skills, tactics, etc.
