In an interesting recent article concerning his early impressions of the K-League, Jade North has given SBS some insights which lend weight to the controversial assessments made by Pim Verbeek last year of some aspects of our own domestic league.
Far from leaving me downcast, this article (article link removed) gives me cause for hope and positivity in terms of the A-League.
What it underlines to me is that, quite apart from the ‘big’ structural things which we need to develop in order for the League to improve in quality (those things which are much-debated on The Roar such as salary caps and club finances, competition structure, talent identification, foreign poaching and the like), the A-League has some real inherent room for improvement based on training quality and intensity.
Put another way, even while we need to keep changing our domestic code at the macro level, if we’re not going as hard as we can to get the full potential out of our current clubs and players we are selling ourselves short. And its evidently clear from the comments of North, Pim and others that there is a great deal of further work that could be done in this area.
Jade North importantly points to “what you do during the week which makes you a better player”, and to the massive contribution to player technique, tactics and mental toughness which is brought by this higher quality, more intense training.
I see no reason why starting the implementation of such training would an unachievable goal for clubs.
We are not talking about large investments across many star recruits, or huge facilities. Investment in one or two skilled coaches (who, thankfully, sit outside the salary cap) combined with a club-wide culture of dedication and improvement, based on global best-practise, will point us in the right direction. And of course the payback is multiplied many times over because the effect is felt across the whole team.
Already, while clearly not yet at the level that North is describing, indications are that Sydney FC under their new Czech mentor Lavicka is starting this journey, with more technical training, higher intensity, and a more scientific approach to monitoring player fitness.
I hope not only for Sydney FC’s own interests (though I am a fan) but also for the sake of the whole league that very clear and demonstrable rewards come from this, both on the scoreboard and through possibly greater opportunities given to the players, such as Socceroo squad spots and/or more foreign interest.
In conclusion, we are all motivated to expand the code, improve it, and make it more than what we have. But let’s also make sure that there is a sharp focus on getting the best of what we have. We’re not there yet, but this is a goal that we can immediately start to work on, and a key part of the overall recipe for success of football in Australia.
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