Technique is the vocabulary of football and it’s the base from which all soccer players are created. Soccer technique can be split into 3 main areas which must be mastered to be a top player. Football is a team sport where you win together and you lose together. There have been many occasions where you could say that one player above all others is the reason for a team’s success such as Diego Maradona’s time at Napoli in the 1980’s along with recent successes of Ronaldo and Messi but they all relied on their team mates to help bring that success and they will all acknowledge that. As a collective and harmonised unit, the team will generally perform much better so it is key for a player to be able to operate to their maximum ability within this environment.
Saying that it can often be the individual that does something special in a game that raises the level of the team. It could be a superb bit of skill, a great goal or a great tackle. The effort that you put in will generally rub off on others so there is no excuse for not putting in 100% effort. Footballers are usually spotted by scouts when playing for secondary school age teams. They are then invited to train with a team and may be offered a contract once they leave school. The Scottish Football Association (SFA) offers an opportunity to gain relevant work-based qualifications through a Modern Apprenticeship with the SFA. This is a two-year programme which leads to a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) in Achieving Excellence in Sports Performance at level 3.
