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THE BACK OFFICE
the
manager
WINTER 2011
On January 9th
2012 FIFA will
announce the winner of its Ballon
d’Or award. Many, including myself,
cannot see any further than the
phenomenal Lionel Messi receiving
the award for the third year running.
The Ballon d’Or in its current form
is an amalgamation of two awards
which were merged last year; FIFA’s
World Player of the Year and the
French FA’s Ballon d’Or. The list of
winners of the two awards for the last
15 years makes interesting reading.
Since 1996, only two ‘non-Latin’
players have won either award;
Michael Owen and Pavel Nedved.
In the past 15 years, the top three
positions in the Ballon d’Or have
featured 32 players from Latin
countries, compared with 13 from the
rest of the world. FIFA’s World Player
of the Year featured 38 top three
candidates from Latin countries (and
just seven from the rest of the world).
Thanks to Ronaldo, Ronaldinho
and Rivaldo, Brazil has had the most
“The Latin
countries’
creative
talent is not
related to
money”
Martyn Pert believes that English coaches are as good as
any. So why, he asks, do latin players dominate the game?
The
Coach's
view
winners, with Argentina following
close (thanks in no small part to
Messi). Of the 25 candidates for this
year’s award, only five players hail
from non-Latin countries.
Ever since I began working
in professional football I have
heard endless debate (both within
visiting Latin countries. I have learned
to speak Portuguese and Spanish,
observed coaching at all levels,
watched countless games and met
with coaches, agents and ex-players.
It is my belief that the Latin
countries’ superior development of
creative talent is not related to money,
facilities or motivation; we have all
of these things in abundance in the
UK. I have witnessed some amazing
facilities and recruitment programs
across the world; none more so than
in the Gulf where I’m currently
coaching. Yet most cannot compare
in the production of talent to a small
facility in Buenos Aires, Barrio El
Parque, where young players train in
a gym no bigger than half a basketball
court with a hard, worn playing
surface. This small, undistinguished
gym has produced more caps for
Argentina than all of the London
clubs put together have provided for
England over the past 15 years.
I have worked for and with
a number of great coaches and
managers. I think the UK produces
exceptional coaches and I have not
seen any coaching in South America
that even compares, in terms of
organisation or forward thinking. The
Spanish have rightfully distinguished
themselves with their current dream
team, but in six visits to teams from
La Liga, I have not witnessed anything
vaguely different or profoundly
exceptional in terms of coaching.
It is my belief that the coaching
quality in Latin countries is not
responsible for the development
of their creative talent and I argue
that, given the same raw materials,
UK coaches would produce equally
compelling teams.
I believe that we are focusing on
the wrong things when we examine
our talent development processes.
Our debates usually centre on
contact time, the size of pitches, the
curriculum, the number of games
and whether the emphasis is on
development or winning. Those
factors are rarely – if ever – considered
in South American countries, where
players compete on full-size pitches
from the age of 10 and are taught to
about martyn pert
Martyn Pert is the assistant manager to Peter Taylor for the Bahrain
national team. Despite being just 33, Pert has worked in professional
football for more than a decade; he gained his UEFA A licence at the
age of 23 and his Pro licence when he was just 32. Pert has worked for
a variety of English clubs, starting in the academy system with Norwich
City, West Bromwich Albion and Cambridge United before joining Watford
(under Aidy Boothroyd) as head of conditioning in 2005. Pert then moved
to Fulham as fitness and conditioning coach for a season before returning
to Watford to work as a coach under Malky Mackay in the 2009/10 season.
Before joining up with Peter Taylor in Bahrain in September of this year,
Pert’s last job in the UK was at Coventry City, where he was reunited with
Boothroyd, this time as assistant manager.
footballing circles and in the media)
about the lack of comparable technical
qualities of English players with other
footballing nations.
In the last eight years I have spent
more than 12 months living in and