ODP Boys Return to Argentina

By Jorge Severini, ODP Coach

We left Havertown with our luggage filled, along with the natural excitement of going to back to Argentina to visit friends and family. We were also eager to be exposed to three weeks of soccer activities in a country where soccer is not just a popular sport, but the national sport.

Argentina awaited ... a country renowned as one of the world's great soccer powers; the land of the great Maradona, the superb Lionel Messi and the current men's Olympic champions.

Both myself and my son, Nicholas (an ODP and high school coach) were invited to participate in several clinics, practices and seminars. We would also have the opportunity to share our U.S. coaching experiences with the local coaches. My other son, George (age 22), was also along for the trip. George is a former player for Haverford High School and the EPYSA ODP program, and was a collegiate athlete at the University of Delaware and Elizabethtown College. He came with us to tryout for a First Division team that plays in the National "B" League in Bahia Blanca. Each one of us had left the U.S. with a lot of special feelings and a great deal of optimism.

On arrival in Argentina, the cosmopolitan city of Buenos Aires greeted us. We were immediately exposed to a small sampling of what soccer represented in this country of 30 million. Looking out the taxi windows, we could see street pick-up games, flags flying high, team decals and highway billboards featuring national team members. Our destination was Bahia Blanca, a city of 500,000 inhabitants located 400 kilometers (and a 10-hour bus ride) south of the capital. Bahia Blanca, where I grew up and played soccer (and home of many famous soccer clubs like Club Olimpo, A.C. Liniers, Club Bella Vista) was to be our host for the next three weeks.

The first day, we visited Club Liniers, home of a National "B" team and many age groups that train and play throughout the year. This is where George would train for the first week, alongside other players hoping to make the squad.

At Club Liniers, we were introduced to the intense soccer atmosphere needed to prepare the youth players who one day will be the future of the First Division teams. Their training facilities are two miles away from their club and stadium, so the players meet at the club and take a bus to and from daily practice. El Zibbecchi, a 12-field complex with various-size fields for different ages, is known as one of the best training facilities in the city. Practices for all ages are held daily, year-round, and include warm-ups, physical preparation, velocity training for soccer, small-sided and large field games. We participated in several training sessions during the next few days and each was specifically targeted at the training of keepers, strikers, midfielders and defenders. We observed how the "profesores" (coaches) worked with the players on the conditioning aspect of the game in relation to the players' field positions.

The second week, we visited with the trainers at Club Olimpo, home of a National First Division team that plays against teams like Boca Juniors and River Plate. On our first day at Club Olimpo, we were impressed by all of the activities scheduled for the different age groups and levels that were practicing throughout the day. Their training complex has more than 10 fields, including a sand pitch and a dirt field.

At both clubs, a typical training session lasts roughly two hours. The first part is dedicated to technical work: dribbling, passing and velocity training. The second segment usually relates to shooting, finishing, crossing and heading; and, of course, each practice culminates with games. During games, the coaches seldom interrupt to give instruction, but instead encourage players to be creative and solve problems on their own.

Our next stop was Monte Hermoso, a beautiful beach resort near Bahia Blanca. Here we were invited to speak to a group of coaches/trainers about the U.S. methods for teaching youth soccer. In turn, we heard from several coaches and physical trainers about the techniques used in Argentina to prepare young players in the area of speed training, soccer techniques and tactics. We were well received and the coaches were quite curious about soccer preparation in the U.S. Afterwards, we were extended an invitation by their Secretary of Sports Ministry to bring youth groups to train at their facilities in the future. We also discussed the possibility to run an "Argentine version" of the World Class Soccer School summer camp (WCSS is a summer camp program I run here in the Haverford area; more information at www.WorldClassSoccerSchool.com).

We participated in so many soccer activities and sessions that our three weeks flew by before we realized it. From the early morning to late at night, our daily routine revolved around the game of soccer. The most relaxing time was at lunchtime, when we shared a table at the Galeria's coffee bar, "La Rotonda," a local meeting spot for the elite trainers of Bahia. We spent hours talking with the top coaches and discussing anything and everything related to this beautiful game. On several occasions, we met with Cayetano Rodriquez (a close personal friend), who was assistant coach to Cesar Menotti when Argentina captured the 1978 World Cup, and who has a great wealth of soccer knowledge to pass on (and is my idea of an excellent candidate for a MLS team).

Wait, did I say, "Lunch hour?" Make that one, two, three hours ... no limit, no clock. From youth soccer to pro soccer to all-over-the-world soccer - MLS, La Liga, The Premier, Serie A, the Bundesliga - you name it, we discussed it. Philosophy of tactic, systems of training, what is new, what is old, physical conditioning for the soccer player, what the trainers are doing, how to train players for speed (related to the soccer game and the ball), etc., etc.

Suddenly, with a little improvisation, the tables became soccer fields - sugar packets as players, coffee cups as goal posts. The stage was set for the clinicians to discuss set plays, the offside trap, the benefits of the 3-5-2 or 4-4-2, the importance of the "enganche" (playmaker), whether it was better to play with a "tapon" (defensive center mid), when and if to place defenders on the goals posts on corner kicks, plus how many and why. Before we knew it, it was way past siesta time, meaning it was time to get back to the fields and to the business of training players.

Meanwhile, George's training at Liniers was going well. He had the opportunity to make friends with coaches, Nestor Herrero and Guillermo Puliafito, who are in charge of the youth teams. From there he would go on to the tryouts at Club Bella Vista, where he is now ready to sign to play on a Second Division local team.

As our trip was winding down, we realized that it was time to pack and say goodbye to a lot of old and new friends, with a promise that we would be back and an invitation for them to visit whenever they wished.

Nicholas, who has played for years and who is now coaching, couldn't stop talking about how much he learned from watching, listening and participating in so many clinics and practices in a soccer environment quite different from that in which he grew up. Yes, we know that our American soccer habitat is different, but we also know that there are a lot of similarities among our young players and the Argentine players.

Looking back, we are glad we had this wonderful opportunity that added to our knowledge about the game, and we are looking forward to passing on these new concepts to the players here. We were impressed with what we saw and we are now working on setting up a trip to Argentina for young players from our area for the spring or summer of 2009, so that they, too, can have the opportunity of experiencing and participating in several days of training and games in one of the best soccer countries in the world.

If anybody is interested in contacting us for more information about our future Argentine trip or program, they can email us at severini@worldclasssoccerschool.com

Jorge Severini is a nationally licensed coach, EPYSA coach, Haverford High School varsity coach and HSC director of coaches; as well as a highly recognized trainer in our area. He played professionally in South America and the U.S.