Why is Brazil so good?

[AreliusIV]

Why is Brazil so good?

In Brazil children learn football in a very different way from their European counterparts.

There are no leagues or competitive matches for young children - such a concept is seen as likely to hinder a player's creative impulses.

"The children play a lot but it's always very free," says Leonardo.

"We don't tell eight-year-olds you have to play right-back."

Parreira agrees: "We don't put them in a cage, say 'you have to be like this'. We give them some freedom until they are ready to be coached."

And that sense of creativity is never lost.

[I_Believe_In_Kreis]

OK, I'll bite.

When I was younger I had the good fortune to spend a week at a soccer camp with Pele himself. I thought he was a fine coach (contrary to some published reports), but the thing I remember most are his stories about growing up playing soccer in Brazil. He and his friends played on the dirt streets of Sao Paulo without a ball until sometime in his childhood. I remember him saying they would play barefoot with wads of duct tape, pieces of fruit, the head off a dead dog, or whatever. When he got his first ball they popped it on the first day (POS ball), so they kicked it around flat, or went back to the old standbys.

I recall also hearing how Ronaldinho grew up playing on the beach. His first time on a proper pitch he scored something like 23 goals. Which leads me to what I think are the problems with youth soccer in the U.S.

1. Playing in adverse conditions (i.e. barefoot, in the sand, no real ball, etc.) at a young age makes better players as they get older. Here we insist kids play structured soccer on manicured pitches in Mercurial Vapor cleats.
2. As the article pointed out, kids here are pigeonholed into a position early. This is due to organized leagues where results matter. Pickup soccer is better because kids will experiment with positions and moves. When's the last time you saw a 9 year old try a bicycle kick in a game?
3. 1 and 2 are due to economics. In Brazil soccer is a poor kids' sport. In America it's a rich kids' sport. Not that there's anything wrong with being poor (or rich), but Brazil has the edge for two reasons: One, less money means playing in tough conditions which makes better players. Two, there are way more poor kids (in both countries) than rich kids, so Brazil is tapping into a larger talent pool.

I think the U.S. may be starting to get it. Nike has been marketing 'street soccer' and I keep hearing talk about inner city soccer academies. Maybe someday you'll see kids playing pickup soccer on a basketball court in downtown Cleveland - I'd stop and watch.

[RSLChango]

I was walking around my five-year-old's soccer practice (all the teams practice at the same time), and I just was surprised to see and hear what was going on. Many of the coaches were telling the kids how to "center it." Telling them where to play on the field, i.e., defense offense etc. in a three on three setting. THESE ARE FIVE YEAR OLDS! Most don't even get that its not about kicking the snot out of the ball and not following. The kids that get it are the ones that have learned the first skill - dribbling, kicking the ball down the field and following it. The kids that get it score a billion goals - my boy scored 11 the other day - not to brag. But listening to these coaches It brought flashbacks of all the crappy coaches I had growing up beating the imagination and individuality out of me. It wasn't until I was nineteen that I decided to play "my game" and let the chips fall where they may. It helped to have a coach at that point that was from South America and allowed a lot of room for imagination. Kid's are taught way too early in this country to play a role and play it mechanically. On the other hand our organization and discipline is also a strength and we shouldn't lose that either. We just need to get these kids to learn the proper skills in the proper order and let them develop on their own the way the would in the first years playing with their cousins on the streets.

[AreliusIV]

Originally Posted by I_Believe_In_Kreis

I recall also hearing how Ronaldinho grew up playing on the beach. His first time on a proper pitch he scored something like 23 goals.

He did score 23 goals at age 13 against a local team but I doubt it was his first time on a proper pitch...

[AreliusIV]

Originally Posted by I_Believe_In_Kreis

Playing in adverse conditions (i.e. barefoot, in the sand, no real ball, etc.) at a young age makes better players as they get older.

On a related note, both Ronaldinho and Robinho both got their start with Futsal (or indoor soccer, futebol de salao, however you want to call it...). Both of them swear that it has made them better players on the pitch because it taught them how to work in tight spaces...

[AreliusIV]

Originally Posted by I_Believe_In_Kreis

In Brazil soccer is a poor kids' sport. In America it's a rich kids' sport.

While this has been true, it is changing. Whereas yesteryear the majority of youth were white anglos, those demographics are changing rapidly. Look no further than the 2006 World Cup squad and you'll find 5 African Americans...

[AreliusIV]

Originally Posted by I_Believe_In_Kreis

there are way more poor kids (in both countries) than rich kids, so Brazil is tapping into a larger talent pool.

You're assumption is that only the rich US youth will play footy. I don't buy it...

[StarsOnSunday]

Originally Posted by AreliusIV

You're assumption is that only the rich US youth will play footy. I don't buy it...

Currently that is the case. It's hardly an assumption.

[AreliusIV]

Originally Posted by StarsOnSunday

Currently that is the case. It's hardly an assumption.

Can you show me some support for your assertion?

[StarsOnSunday]

Originally Posted by AreliusIV

Can you show me some support for your assertion?

I've got common sense, tradition, and observation on my side. The support is needed to substantiate your claim that soccer is not "a rich kids sport" in America. There is a reason wealthy, stay-at-home Moms in SUVs are referred to as "soccer Moms".