Curtain raised on Meridian Cup

The 2007 UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup and Conference has got under way in style in Barcelona with a welcome from several illustrious delegates and the first presentation, from UEFA's technical director Andy Roxburgh.

'Exchange of cultures'
The conference was officially opened with a salute to CAF, which celebrates its 50th birthday in 2007, before UEFA vice-president Geoff Thompson took to the floor. "The Meridian Project is ten years old this year," he reminded delegates, "and the co-operation agreement has helped promote the exchange of cultures and offer young footballers a unique learning experience. The new format of the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup promises to give a new dimension and brings fresh dynamism to the event and allows both confederations to learn much more from each other."

History lesson
There followed welcome messages from CAF president Issa Hayatou and the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Angel María Villar Llona, who described the event as "an extraordinary project", adding: "We must unite our efforts to become brothers; the progress so far has been stunning." CAF's technical director Abdel Moneim Hussein and Claudio Negroni, UEFA's development competitions manager, then stepped on to the stage to remind those present of the history of the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup and explain the new format, which with its new educational element, intends to "offer a youth football festival on the field, and in the lecture hall create a unique experience for players and coaches".

'Wonderful world'
The majority of the afternoon was occupied by a presentation entitled, Today's talents – tomorrow's heroes, in which Roxburgh discussed the issues facing youth coaches in the modern game. "Youth football is a wonderful world to work in, it's a real privilege," he said. "Elite youth football is a kind of magic." He went on to look at a number of issues, beginning with a definition of talent, what makes a talented player. The next section was the management of that talent which, with quotes from the likes of Frank Rijkaard, Arsène Wenger, Gérard Houllier and basketball legend Michael Jordan, studied how it is discovered, nurtured and developed, before motivation was discussed. Roxburgh set out his "ABC" of a winning mentality, namely attitude, behaviour and confidence.

Potential pitfalls
He next looked at the influences on young players today, both internal and external, and the dangers faced, among them unrealistic expectations, injuries and lack of success. Roxburgh went on to examine the qualities required by the youth trainers, and asked how the trends of the modern game – increasing speed, more goals scored on the counterattack, and so on – affect the training of the talent and how players' attributes change based on the shifting importance of various aspects of the game.

Guiding the talent
The presentation concluded with setting out the goals for player development, including love of the game, competitive spirit, football knowledge, mastery of the ball and athleticism, before Roxburgh recapped his key points. "We need to produce thinking, creative players in a variety of styles," he said. "Today's talents are tomorrow's heroes. Do we leave their development to chance, or is it by design? Even talent needs to be guided. At youth level, tomorrow is more important than today."