How Scotland’s football kids can be stars
1: Take responsibility 2: Eat and live well 3: Copy Andy Murray
BRENDAN RODGERS insists Scottish kids have the talent to restore the nation as a footballing force – if they accept the responsibility.
The Celtic manager feels he has seen enough in his six months in Scotland to suggest there is quality in the youth ranks. But he says the kids need to have the dedication to match their ability.
Rodgers said: “This is the key thing for Scottish football, understanding that if you want to be a Champions
BRENDAN RODGERS marched into the dining room at Lennoxtown and halted Celtic’s Under-20 squad mid-lunch.
There was something the kids had to see and it couldn’t wait.
For all the training programmes, words, advice and teachings, Rodgers had the perfect opportunity to show his youngsters first-hand what it takes to reach the very top.
He led the troops along the first floor at the training centre and opened a door to the gym. It was empty bar one solitary figure.
Away in the corner, at the age of 35, a World Cup finalist and Champions League finalist was working alone.
The secret of Kolo Toure’s outstanding career laid bare. In the twilight of his footballing days yet as hungry as he was on day one as a youth.
A perfect example of everything that is required to hone your talents and mix it with commitment to be the very best you can be.
Rodgers drives it home to the kids at Celtic every day.
He works alongside his dedicated Academy division to give them every chance to fulfil their potential.
The actions of Toure, however, were worth a million words as Rodgers said: “I apologised for interrupting their lunch but I said: ‘Sorry guys, listen, come with me a second.’
“I took them into the gym and who was in there doing his activation, doing his stretching, doing his work?
“Kolo Toure. He’s 35. He could have been away home but, a few hours after he’d finished training, he was in the gym on his own, stretching.
“That’s what you need to do to be a top player. Body fat, body mass, looking after yourself, being a professional.
“It doesn’t start when you arrive at the training ground, it starts with your first waking moment.
“Then when you drive out, it doesn’t end. It’s a lifestyle. The guys that play on until they’re 35 are the ones that have been looking after their body.
“If you have a brain to add to your brawn then you’ll have a chance.”
Rodgers might be a footballing technician but he sees his role as more than that when it comes to Celtic.
With a determination to see the club produce top young talent, he has taken a hands-on role with every department and the Academy is massive in his eyes.
It’s not just footballing talent. It’s education. Lifestyle and life skills.
Rodgers says that it’s only by making the right choices off the pitch that a kid can develop into a star on the park.
The Celtic boss has seen first-hand examples of highly-talented youngsters who are wasting their ability.
Kids with Champions League talent but ruining it because, although they could glide past defenders, they couldn’t glide past a chippy.
Rodgers said: “I’ve had one player and I hope he sees the light.
“Big talent but couldn’t run. Couldn’t last a game. Not eating right. Fish and chips all the time. So we organised a plan to sort him out. If he wants to.
“It doesn’t break my heart because some other kid, with less talent but who commits to it, will make a player.
“The key thing is the boy’s talent but it is whether they want to devote their life to it. We’ll see if the player is sensible enough to understand because he has a huge talent.
“If you want to operate at Champions League level, be a world-class player or the best you can be, you have to develop technically, tactically, socially and in terms of your lifestyle.
“Nutrition is a serious business in football at the highest level and some of our senior players have seen that.
“They have seen what it does to your performance. So you have to do it – and that’s a choice. If it is the culture then fine but you can never be a top country or have top players.”
Rodgers has to balance his demands like a player must balance their training and eating habits.
He’s aware you can suffocate the enjoyment of kids by dishing out the orders to those too young but said: “It’s awareness.
“When they are young it’s about letting them go free but you can influence it in their teens. An apprenticeship for life starts earlier than at 16. It’s drip fed in. “If you want to be lean, fast and strong it’s a serious business. “They want to play for Celtic. But before you can play for Celtic you have to be able to train with Celtic. “If you’re never fit enough to train, how are you going to play? “To be an elite sportsperson at the top isn’t easy.”