Rafa's blog, someone had mentioned it in another thread but here is a link to the website to get a look into the mind of a tactical and methodical man! http://rafabenitez.com/web/index.php?act=mostrarBlog&id_entrada=1&idioma=in
some good stuff, got a link to it as I am involved with academy programs here and liked the " when do youth play football" article.
Good piece, I think as a child you start to understand football better at the age of 9. I remember watching football games when I was younger but can never remember who was playing and the importance of the match. I remember watching the World Cup in '94 and started to get a gist of the game but never really understood the whole 'tournament' thing, they were just matches to me. It wasn't until I went to my first ever match, the Coca Cola Cup final in '95 at 9 years of age where I really began to understand the concept of football. The rest is history. I can see why that age group is ideal.
Age group I coach, so many differences between the kids in the age group in terms of talent, athleticism, coordination, technique, etc. 94 World Cup was my first real memory of footy, remember the Brazil x Italy final and Tab Ramos getting smashed by Leonardo.
