Tomorrow's heroes learn from today

There is a picture quiz in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship programme showing several well-known footballers with distinctly fresher faces – among them a floppy-haired Frank Lampard and a moustache-free Rudi Völler.

Path to top
Both graduated from U21 football to success on the international stage, their career paths matching this tournament's slogan: Stars of today, superstars of tomorrow. Such is the goal of every youngster on show in Sweden, yet the path is not always a smooth one. For instance, just one of the Netherlands' four scorers in their 2007 final triumph over Serbia, Ryan Babel, has featured in the senior side's present FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign from which Royston Drenthe, player of that tournament, has also been absent.

Venglos view
So what does it take to become one of those 'superstars of tomorrow'? According to Dr Jozef Venglos, a member of UEFA's technical study group in Sweden, "you have to have a strong character, a strong will inside you to be a top player and you need to live a proper lifestyle. These players have to be keen for the physical aspect but also to improve the technical part of their game." He recommends watching as much football as possible – "to look properly and find out things that are good for themselves" – and cites the need for respect. "They have to respect their coaches, the people around them, the opposition and, of course, the people who helped them from the beginning." As for the risk of too-much-too-young, he adds: "If they are intellectually strong it will be no problem because they are not playing for the money."

'Fear factor'
As captain of the last England team to win the U21 crown, former Everton FC defender Dave Watson had a memorable experience of stepping up to the seniors 25 summer ago. Precisely 17 days after lifting the trophy with England's U21s, he made his full debut against Brazil at the Maracanã in June 1984. "The dangers are if you think you've made it," says Watson, who earned 12 senior caps. "As soon as you think you are doing well, someone can knock you down. There is a fear factor that drove me on – when I'd won the Under-21s, I wanted to get to the next level and into the big squad. Then the next thing was to be a regular. If anything has changed since then, it is that they are better prepared now. With the sports science, the psychologists, the fitness coaches, you have everything you need to reach the top level and it is how you utilise that."

'Excellent competitions'
Watson, now a youth coach at Wigan Athletic FC, observes that "going through the system develops you into being mentally strong so that nothing fazes you" and here Venglos believes today's players benefit from the number of "well-organised, excellent competitions which UEFA runs, where they can develop their talent". Venglos led Czechoslovakia's U23s to the European title before taking that same team to the senior title in 1976. He applauds the increase in youth tournaments in the years since and continues: "Players now mature early – the top players are showing their quality now at an earlier stage, at 22, 23. Not every one will become a leading player but many will be and some of them already are." In this respect, exposure to tournament football at U21 level can only help. "These top players have to play for the team, not for themselves, and they are doing that. It is an important thing for the development of character and for their future."

Pearce lesson
England U21 coach Stuart Pearce was never found wanting when it came to character. He offers his own lesson for today's promising talents. "To maximise your potential you have to learn from your knocks. One of the biggest lessons I learned was in my first international against Brazil, when the winger came inside me, darted in, crossed and they scored. I knew I'd made a mistake and when I went in at half-time Bobby Robson looked at me and said: 'He did you, didn't he?' I said, 'Yes' and it didn't happen again. I knew before he told me, and it's how you react to that. If it happens again you don't play international football again, simple as that."