'Psychology influences all'

The UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup and Conference has continued apace in Barcelona with the main focus of the second day's activities a presentation from Jacques Crevoisier looking at the psychological profile of élite youth players and a lively discussion group.

Psychological importance
The day began with an hour-long presentation from Crevoisier, who in a long coaching career led France to victory in the UEFA European Under-18 Championship in 1996 and 2000 and was UEFA's senior manager of technical education from 2000-01 before becoming Liverpool FC's assistant manager. Since 2004, he has worked as a technical consultant to various clubs and as a commentator for French television. "To become a professional, you need talent, technical skill, physical aptitude and mental strength," he said. "The psychological side influences everything else: what is physical work without will, technical skill without concentration, tactical skill without reflection?"

Wenger example
The Frenchman made frequent reference to one of the most successful coaches in terms of developing young talent, his compatriot Arsène Wenger, and highlighted the Arsenal FC manager's four indispensable qualities: speed, technique, power and intelligence. "Intelligence means you must be able to lead your life accordingly," he said, before going on to emphasise the significance of mental strength at the highest level. By way of illustration, Crevoisier took his audience through a series of detailed personality tests he uses on young players in his care, studying personality, motivation and other psychological criteria.

Test results
Crevoisier went on to discuss the results of his tests – "In general, I have found the best performers in the test are those players who have the most impact on the pitch," he said – and by telling his audience what can be achieved with the results. "I look at the test and examine what to do next," he said. "I talk to the player and to his coach, define a target and evaluate the progress every six months."

'Be demanding'
He then considered the problems affecting the mental fortitude of young players and some possible reasons for this, and concluded with some advice. "Take into account a player's psychological profile and be demanding," he said. "Be careful with their environment, define targets for each year, note progress and get them out of the comfort zone. You should use psychological criteria in your selections, and development coaches should be able to adapt to individual needs, know the person and respect differences." He finished his presentation with another Wenger quote: "Talent is not enough; you need desire and intelligence."

Camp Nou visit
From there the conference delegates moved to Camp Nou, where they observed FC Barcelona's first team being put through their paces under the watchful eye of coach Frank Rijkaard. The afternoon was taken up with a forum session at which delegates were able to question Crevoisier, who repeated his motto "look for the talent and then work on the man" and emphasised that his test was merely a starting point and not to be used in exclusivity. There then followed a discussion on the future focus of player development at continental and national level, with delegates' ideas noted for future reference.