Because this is a World Cup year, I have decided to countdown to the tournament by providing a short soccer/fitness related preview of each of the 32 participating nations. In this installment, I will look at England, World Cup champions in 1966 and the country that is credited for developing rules of the game and spreading it around much of the world 120 years ago.  The English have drawn a tough group that includes Italy, Uruguay, and Costa Rica, and they play their first match against Italy on June 14th.

In the last few decades the English National team has had a history of entering major tournaments with high expectations and then failing to produce results.  Since their World Cup victory in 1966, their next best showing was a semi-final appearance in Italy in 1990, and they even failed to qualify for the World Cup in USA in 1994.  England’s lack of results at the highest level is somewhat confusing, considering they have a long history and experience in the game, and also that they boast the world’s richest and most talent-laden professional league, the Barclay’s Premier League.  The “Nature vs. Nurture” debate, in this context, could take one of two different viewpoints to explain England’s lack of success internationally:

1. That English players are naturally less gifted technically and tactically (their are not succeeding because of their “nature”); or
2. That English players have different cultural values, which translate into different training habits and methodology, than players from other countries (they are not succeeding because of “nurture”)

In his 2007 book titled “The Italian Job: A Journey to the Heart of Two Great Footballing Cultures“, Gianluca Vialli compares the soccer cultures of his native Italy (where he grew up and began his professional career) and England (where he came to play for Premier League power Chelsea in his late 20’s and eventually became a Player/Manager at the club).  Among the themes examined in his book is the “Nature vs. Nurture” aspect of English and Italian soccer.  Vialli has a unique foreigner’s perspective of the English soccer culture, having experienced it both as a player, and coach.  He thinks that one of the reasons for England’s lack of international success are the values their English coaches instill into young players from a very early age, which also affect their physical development (the “nurture” viewpoint).  Here is an excerpt from Chapter 2 (‘Early Pre-Selection’) of his book:

“The realization that someone isn’t good enough only occurs once he enters ‘organized football.’  Before that, most kids dream of becoming a professional.  Reality sets in when adults enter the equation.  And that’s where everything changes.  It is also where Italy and England split.  In Italy, youth coaching is about turning kids into the best possible footballers.  In England, it’s about using sport to understand values such as teamwork and sportsmanship.  And it’s about having fun.”  

This difference in values also translates directly into the physical abilities that players develop.  Later in the same chapter, Vialli interviews Tony Colbert, then the Fitness Coach for top Premier League club Arsenal.  Here is what Colbert had to say about physical differences between English and Italian players:

“In general terms there are no genetic differences between English and Italian players.   However, there are athletic differences, due to the type of work done at an early age, I’d say starting at about eight.  First of all, English players tend to be somewhat less coordinated than foreign players.  It’s something we notice right away in the exercise we do.  Foreign players tend to be more supple, more agile.  Having said that, English players have more endurance.  They can run for ninety minutes, always at the same speed.  They may lack the explosive acceleration to get to the ball first, but they maintain their pace throughout the game.  Foreign players, on the other hand, are more used to accelerations and pauses.  Their endurance is not as good but their quick burst of pace is better.  I think this is a function of the work they do as kids.  In England, traditionally, we always trained with the ball and often in scrimmages, 8 vs. 8 or 5-a-side.  In that context, you’re always running, always moving.  In Italy, you do more specific work, stopping and starting, plus work aimed at improving the technical base of each player.”

Several other prominent coaches and players interviewed for The Italian Job echoed the sentiments expressed by Colbert, however, the book was published almost 8 years ago.  With recent advances in coach education and training in England, the addition of some foreign coaches, as well as domestic and foreign sports scientists and fitness coaches, things are changing in the country.  Players are developing physically, technically, and tactically, closer to the standards set by their European and South American counterparts, and the result could be more success for the English National team.  Could England perform above expectations this year, and reach their first World Cup final since 1966?  We will have to wait and see what happens in 2 months’ time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic.  Drop me a line here to get the conversation started.

Because this is a World Cup year, I have decided to countdown to the tournament by providing a short soccer/fitness related preview of each of the 32 participating nations. In this installment, I will look at Japan, perennial Asian contenders, who have drawn a group that includes Cote D’Ivoire, Colombia, and Greece. Japan play their first match against Cote D’Ivoire on June 14th.

Keisuke Honda, generally regarded as Japan’s best player, has several unique talents.  Among them is the ability to strike a ball that travels at high speeds, but does not spin or rotate at all while traveling through the air.  Termed the “knuckle shot”, this type of strike is very deceptive to goalkeepers, because the lack of spin prevents them from making a decision about where to move to save the ball until it is “too late”.  Honda has proven himself to be very effective with the knuckle shot during set pieces for the Japanese National team.  But don’t just take it from me – watch this video to see Honda’s knuckle shot in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlQEjpU6EIE.

At the 7th World Congress on Science and Football, held in Nagoya, Japan in May, 2011, the knuckle shot was a very popular topic of discussion, both among the Japanese and other researchers from around the world.  One oral presentation at the Congress, done by Hong et.al. through the Department of Comprehensive Human Sciences and the University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki in Japan, was titled “Impact Phase Kinematics of Knuckling Shot in Football”.  This study examined the knuckle shot in detail, with particular emphasis placed on the position of the foot/leg, and the impact forces on the ball when it is being struck.  Without getting into all the details, the study concluded that an effective knuckle shot has both a reduced “angle of attack” – that is, the foot should strike directly through the ball in a straight motion as opposed to the slightly upwards motion of more “traditional” instep ball striking – and a “translational” ankle movement at impact – that is, the heel is pushed out towards the inside of the foot when the ball is hit. 

Keisuke Honda has clearly become an expert in the technical application of the above-mentioned impact phase kinematics of the knuckle shot, and the results have been very impressive.  He will present a danger to any opponent who gives up a set piece 40-yards or less from goal.  Can his knuckle shot be the difference that sees Japan through Group C and into the knockout stage?  We will have to wait and see what happens in 2 months’ time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic.  Drop me a line here to get the conversation started.

Because this is a World Cup year, I have decided to countdown to the tournament by providing a short soccer/fitness related preview of each of the 32 participating nations. In this installment, I will look at Cote D’Ivoire, one of the strongest teams from the African continent, who have drawn a group that includes Colombia, Greece, and Japan. Cote D’Ivoire play their first match against Japan on June 14th.

Cote D’ivoire boast a starting-11 that rivals any of the top teams in the world, including strikers Didier Drogba and Solomon Kalou, midfielders Yaya Toure, Didier Zokora, and Gervinho, and defenders Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure.  At times, however, a highly talented team of individuals can underperform if they do not play as a cohesive unit on the pitch.  In the Ivoirian’s two previous World Cup appearances in Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010, they boasted a similar line-up of world stars (including some players who feature in this year’s squad), yet on both occasions they failed to progress past the group stage.  This year, with a slightly less difficult group than they had in either 2006 or 2010, Cote D’Ivoire has a great chance to reach the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time in history.

A lot of sports psychology research has been done into team dynamics, and how to get the best out of a group of talented individual athletes  that form a team.  In general, In general, the responsibility falls on the coach and leader(s) on the team (captains) to get all players to buy into the idea that they will be a stronger team – and get better results – if they work together, rather than if each individual works only for themselves.   Getting talented players who often have big egos and a large sense of self worth to behave and play in a less selfish way is challenging, but the rewards can be substantial.  For Cote D’Ivoire, the responsibility rests with French coach Sabri Lamouchi, and team captain Didier Drogba.  If they can get their team to believe that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, then we could see the Ivoirians progress at least until the round of 16, if not farther.  We will have to wait and see what happens in 2 months’ time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic.  Drop me a line here to get the conversation started.

Because this is a World Cup year, I have decided to countdown to the tournament by providing a short soccer/fitness related preview of each of the 32 participating nations. In this installment, I will look at Greece, who are drawn in the wide-open Group C, which also contains Colombia, Ivory Coast, and Japan. Greece play their first match against Colombia on June 14th.

The Greeks had a tough but successful qualifying campaign, winning 8 of 10 games, with the other 2 games being a 0-0 draw and 3-1 loss to eventual group winners Bosnia-Herzegovina.  After a 2nd place finish in their qualification group, they won a 2-game play-off with Romania via a 3-1 home win and 1-1 draw in Bucharest.  Greece have shown themselves to have one of the toughest and most resilient defenses in the world.  Among their 8 victories, 5 of them were by a score of 1-0.  Furthermore, Greece also has a history of winning by close scorelines, as shown by their triumph 10 years ago at Euro 2004, where they beat favored and more talented teams Portugal (twice), France, and the Czech Republic, all by the same 1-0 scorelines.

From a physical fitness standpoint, the tactics employed by the Greek team, which involve defending deep, getting several numbers around the opponent/behind the ball, and counter-attacking very quickly upon regaining possession, requires extremely high aerobic endurance, as well as quick reaction time and running speed.  The Greeks typically have far less possession of the ball than their opponents, so in addition to their world class fitness, they must also possess formidable concentration and work ethic to remain disciplined in defense, and patient to wait for the right moment to counter.  Dating back to their 2004 Euro victory, the team has also made a seamless transition from former coach Otto Rehhagel (in charge from 2003 to 2010) to new coach Fernando Santos (who took over following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa).  Santos, as Rehhagel did, lists attitude, fitness, and work rate as his team’s strongest qualities.  Will these attributes be enough to see the Greeks through from the aforementioned wide-open Group C?  We will have to wait and see what happens in 2 months’ time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic.  Drop me a line here to get the conversation started.

Because this is a World Cup year, I have decided to countdown to the tournament by providing a short soccer/fitness related preview of each of the 32 participating nations. In this installment, I will look at Colombia, slight favorites in wide open Group C, which also contains Greece, Ivory Coast, and Japan.  Colombia play their first match against Greece on June 14th.

The Colombians had a strong qualifying campaign, finishing a close 2nd in South America, only 2 points behind Argentina.  Much of their success was due to the impressive play of their star forward, Radamel Falcao, who scored 9 goals in 16 qualification matches.  Unfortunately, Falcao suffered a tear in his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on January 22nd while playing with club team Monaco in the Coupe De France, and his recovery in time for the World Cup in June is doubtful.  He did have a successful surgery in late January, however, and has been training hard for the past 3 months in the hopes of recovering in time for his nation’s first match on June 14th.

Injury to the ACL is a very common occurrence among soccer players.  The valgus forces (forces that rotate the knee inwards) generated on the knee during tackling/challenging for the ball, as well as in various cutting/pivoting movements, combined with high speeds, make the ACL (the ligament that prevents excessive inward rotation of the knee) particularly susceptible to injury in soccer.  While completing my 4-year undergraduate degree, I worked as a chiropractor’s assistant to Dr. Robert Gringmuth at the Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Centre, health care providers to the Ontario Provincial and National Training Centre male and female teams.  Over that 4-year time span I saw and worked with, on average, between 10-20 youth soccer players (aged of 12-18) with ACL injuries and tears per year.  While tearing of knee ligaments during forceful tackles and/or challenges for the ball in soccer may not always be avoidable, there are many other simple measures soccer players can take to prevent ACL injuries.  Among them are:

• performing proper warm-ups, including multi-directional movements, dynamic stretches, strength exercises, and plyometrics, prior to training and playing
• strengthening of the hamstring muscles (muscles on the back of the thigh) that prevent excess loading on the quadriceps (front of the thigh) during running and jumping
• strengthening of the hip external rotators, which help to prevent excess inwards rotation of the knee during cutting and pivoting movements

Recovering from an ACL tear – and subsequent surgical repair – is a long process that requires a lot of mobility/flexibility and strength training, and in the later stages of rehabilitation, speed, power, and aerobic endurance training to regain match fitness.  Athletes recovering from ACL surgery must be both patient so that they avoid over-training and re-injury, as well as aggressive in their push to regain mobility and strength in the knee.  They must also learn to “trust” their surgically repaired knee, so that they can go back into the sport and perform all the required movements with confidence and without unnecessary fear.  On average, elite level soccer players will require 5-6 months of rehabilitation following ACL surgery before they can return to play.  Some players, however, have made full recoveries in as little as 4 1/2 months post-operation.

Falcao is a professional athlete who trains with top level club Monaco in the French Ligue Un.  He has access to the best physicians, sports scientists, fitness coaches and athletic therapists money can buy.  Hopefully for him, and for Colombia, he will be able to recover in time to help his team.  We will have to wait and see what happens in 2 months’ time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this.  Drop me a line here to get the conversation started.

Because this is a World Cup year, I have decided to countdown to the tournament by providing a short soccer/fitness related preview of each of the 32 participating nations. In this installment, I will look at Australia, underdogs in Group B, which contains Spain, Holland, and Chile.  Australia play their first match against Chile on June 13th.

The “Socceroos”, as the Australian National Team have been nicknamed, have a unique and controversial history. In 2003, following Australia’s failure to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the Australian FA, at the time called “Soccer Australia”, faced allegations of fraud and mismanagement.  Soccer Australia commissioned an independent inquiry known as the Crawford Report as a result of the Australian Government’s threat to withdraw funding to the sport.  Among the key consequences of the Crawford Report were:

• The Australian FA was renamed, from “Soccer Australia” to  “Football Federation Australia” (FFA)
• The phrase “old soccer, new football” was coined to emphasize this change
• The FFA underwent a reconstitution, appointing new leadership and focusing their efforts on developing the game from the grass-roots to the elite levels
• The Australian Government provided approximately $15 million to the newly formed FFA in 2004
• In 2006, Football Federation Australia moved from the “Oceanic Football Confederation” (OFC) to the “Asian Football Confederation” (AFC)

This last change, in particular, has had a huge influence on the success of the Australian National Soccer Team in recent years.  As a result of the move, the Socceroos were able to compete in World Cup qualifying matches against much stronger National Team competition from across Asia, including Japan, Korea, Iran, and China, to name a few.  Furthermore, the move also allowed Australian A-League (Australia’s national soccer league) clubs to compete in the Asian Champion’s League club competition, thereby strengthening the skills and fitness of many of their top domestic-based players.

The results of the changes instituted following the Crawford Report speak for themselves: Australia has qualified (out of the AFC) for each one of the 3 FIFA World Cups sine 2003 (Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, and Brazil 2014) and even earned a place in the knockout round in 2006, losing in extra time to eventual World Cup winners Italy.  Australia’s teams have been competitive in all major tournaments since 2006, and have clearly benefited from the huge step up in competition at the club and National levels.  At Brazil 2014, the Socceroos will need all of the competitiveness they have to get out of a group that includes the 2010 World Cup winners Spain, their 2010 final opponent Holland, and strong South American side Chile.  We will have to wait see what happens in 2 months’ time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this.  Drop me a line here to get the conversation started.

Because this is a World Cup year, I have decided to countdown to the tournament by providing a short soccer/fitness related preview of each of the 32 participating nations. In this installment, I will look at Chile, a strong team that finished 3rd in South American qualification, behind only Argentina and Colombia. Chile are drawn in a tough group that includes Spain, Holland, and Australia, and they play their first match against Australia on June 13th.

Jorge Sampaoli, Chile’s Argentinian coach, was recently interviewed by fifa.com. Among the questions raised to him was what specific preparation concerned him most for the tournament. Here was his answer:

“I think that our World Cup preparations are going to have to be tailored, basically because the players will join up with us in different states of fitness – some will have played a lot of games, others not many. So we’re going to have to use individualized training methods, so that we can see how to handle those who’ve played 80 games and those who’ve played very few competitive matches.”

This response provides unique insight into the importance of individual preparation, including individual physical preparation, before big international tournaments like the World Cup. Almost all National teams are made up of players coming in from different clubs, often times from various different countries and even continents. Because they join their national teams at various different stages of physical development, having all the players do the same fitness training leading into the World Cup makes little sense. Individualized fitness training programs, catered to the individual needs of each player based on comprehensive physical fitness testing, are thus the only solution. Chile’s coach seems to have the correct mindset heading into the last few months of preparation for the World Cup.  We will have to wait and see what happens in 3 months’ time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic.  Drop me a line here to get the conversation started.

Because this is a World Cup year, I have decided to countdown to the tournament by providing a short soccer/fitness related preview of each of the 32 participating nations. In this installment, I will look at Holland, a perennial favorite and runner-up at the previous World Cup in South Africa 2010. Holland has drawn one of the more difficult groups that includes Spain, Chile, and Australia, and plays their first match against Spain – a rematch of the 2010 Final won 1-0 by Spain in extra time – on June 13th.

Holland’s defeat to Spain in Johannesburg in 2010 was not the first World Cup Final that the National side has lost; they finished runners up to Germany in 1974, and again to Argentina in 1978, and they also lost a close semi-final to Brazil in France 1998.  This string of disappointing performances and failure to perform under pressure has been termed “choking”, and a lot of research has been done on the psychological and physiological aspects of choking under pressure in soccer.

A comprehensive review of literature on choking was done by Geir Jordet of the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, the findings of which were presented at the 7th World Congress on Science and Football in Nagoya, Japan, 2011 (a conference I also attended and presented a poster at).  One of the key findings from this review was that soccer players who choke under pressure have a strong perception of being “under threat”.  Players then underachieve when they “engage in self-defeating self-regulation strategies that are initiated to escape the unpleasant affect associated with the pressure.”  For the Dutch team, which boasts a plethora of world class players including Robin Van Persie, Wesley Snejder and Arjen Robben, these self-defeating strategies could well be the cause of their underachieving performances in big games.

In order for Holland to be successful not only in their tough opening match against the reigning champions but also in the rest of the tournament, the Dutch players will need to replace their negative self-regulation with positive strategies that are focused on the joy and pleasure associated with winning.  This type of mental strategy takes the mind’s focus away from the pressure and worry about negative effects of losing, and could be the key to the Dutch team finally reaching their full potential and winning their first ever World Cup trophy.  We will have to wait and see what happens in 3 months’ time.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic.  Drop me a line here to get the conversation started.