In his latest column for iafrica.com, former Bafana Bafana coach Ted Dumitru says talented players not only bring success for their teams, but also joy and immense satisfaction for their fans.

Football at its best shows other dimensions wherever the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Robinho, Kaka, Pato, Ronaldinho display their inspirational talent. They have exceptional individuality that can influence, control and change the game. They bring success for their teams, but also joy and immense satisfaction for their fans.

Never before in the history of football have such impressive individual values been so convincing than when performed by the young representatives of creative football. Reports and statistics show that their presence in matches brings along with exciting performance, larger attendances and enthusiastic media interest. A brief look at what actually makes these players so dominant and different brings up some fascinating aspects.

It is more than perfect technique...

What is unique in the way such players perform is the fact that their ball skills are continuously associated with subtle, intricate movements, disguise and variations of pace. These combined attributes make it very difficult for opponents to succeed in applying any form of marking. That is the way Messi, for example, remains tactically creative and deadly effective even under the opponent?s severe marking pressure. Their speed of execution and reaction is harmonized with their superior playing intelligence. The outcome is creating a series of surprising moves, which eventually culminates in panic across the entire defence system. The defenders in Spain, Italy, Germany and England, they all attest to it.

The football brain factor...

Although those at the level of Messi, most of the technical and tactical response in less complicated play actions are delivered via automated responses, the brilliancy of their football brain in unfolding more complex creative/surprising moves has to be admired.

Here, several football specific mental processes of maximal efficiency are needed. These fine capacities refer to accurate perception of space, distance, height, angles, timing, etc. All these, plus the quality of the peripheral vision, concentration, improvisation, emotion-control and determination will assist the decision-making process to deliver the best possible response to any play challenge. The most outstanding and much needed feature in today?s football is a player?s ability to provide excellent response to both simple play and sophisticated actions.

In this respect, Ronaldinho and the rest in the group can be as effective and decisive when responding with one-touch pass in a simple situation or when using 10-15 ball touches in a very complicated move. For example, in the game played by FC Barcelona against Mamelodi Sundowns, in 2006, Ronaldinho delivered the pass for the second goal after mixing several ball touches, body feints, all from a stand-still situation. The combined tactical disguise which resulted from this very complicated individual move deceived Sundowns' defenders and allowed the goal to be scored. Constant display of innovative play is one of the tread marks of the modern superstars.

Natural talent or hard work...

The fact that over 60 percent of any high-performance is the result of an individual?s innate qualities and predisposition answers the question: Is it mainly the talent, but the training helps.

What is not surprising is that the genetic type of a player who can match the likes of Ronaldinho's nature can be found in many environments in the football world, and most abundantly in Africa. The debate is actually about the factors and conditions which would make possible for the thousands of Messi's and Ronaldinho?s genetic type to excel. It is evident that not all the game environments offer ideal solutions for nurturing exceptional talent. There are many parts of the football world where players are gifted with rich genetic traits for outstanding performance and yet that potential remains underdeveloped.

Such cases are evident in most European countries, Asia, North and South America and, ironically, Africa, which provides players with the highest rate of innate qualities for high performance. The analyses of those determinant factors and conditions that can boost natural talent to its full potential reveal the following interesting aspects:

  • Very early exposure to playing with a ball - from the age 3-4 years.
  • Parental encouragement and support in providing play opportunities.
  • Favourable climate which allows year-around outdoor play activities.
  • Pertinent influences of a skilful-creative football local culture (watching live matches, TV football and role models).
  • Strong interest for learning the game and self- improvement.
  • Considerable time dedicate to casual small games and individual practice.
  • Early development of all basic skills through varied training for technique.
  • Exposure to progressive and innovative coaching allowing game exploration, trial-and-error and improvisation.
  • Maximizing individuality (the fulfilment of a player?s technical attributes) before aiming at collective performances (team effort).
  • Coaching mentality that stimulates creativity and play innovation.
  • Game concept that values individual contributions within high standards of collective play.
  • Targeting perfection while challenged by team-mates of superior quality and identical playing mentality or opponents of contrasting cultures.
  • Timely exposure to the diversity of international game concepts and styles of play.
  • Fans? enthusiastic support for constructive, creative and attractive football.
  • Unreserved promotion of superior standards of football by the national football structures and the media.

By contrast, there are mentalities and conditions that can obstruct and distort talent fulfilment. The case of many exceptional young South African players is conclusive. Up to the age of 12-14 years, and before their natural talent is less affected by obstructive game concepts and irrelevant training, they are among the best in the world. As the contrasting game mentality and distorting training are imposed upon them, the road to fulfilment closes.

What can go wrong?

Some of the factors and influences which could nullify even the greatest natural potential of exceptional young players include:

  • Lack of interest and programs for very early talent discovery.
  • The absence of family support.
  • Ignoring the importance of providing plenty opportunities for the very young ones to enjoy playing with a ball.
  • Alien influences which discourage children's play initiative, ball work exploration and tactical creativity, in the name of 'play simple', 'don't dribble' or 'one, two-touch football only'.
  • Lack of proper competitions, mainly enforcing the 11- a-side matches for the U-12 age groups or the absence of national U-17 and U-19 championships.
  • Late exposure to international youth competitions - international matches must be gradually introduced as from the age groups of 14-15.
  • Early exposure to contrasting football mentalities such as the simplistic, direct and physically dominant game approach which contradict the skilful, constructive and creative nature of the gifted youngsters.
  • The mentality of 'no fancy tricks' - the rejection of the need for ball maestri (as exposed, for example, in many overseas matches).
  • Youth coaching concepts based on limited ball skill ability (basics only).
  • Talent distorting coaching offered through youth academies which are controlled by foreign interests in Africa.
  • Game environments influenced and characterised by disregard for the role of superior individuality in modern football - the ?no superstars in our teams' syndrome.
  • Dogmatic training with oversimplified exercise for technique and tactics and failure to acknowledge the actual complexity of modern football.
  • Missing the optimal timing for promotion from the youth to professional ranks - around the age of 16-17.
  • Talent suppressive instructions and restrictive forms of team organization.
  • Ignorant media and football administrators who fail to recognize how decisive the local football specificity is in grooming talent.

The likes of Messi can be produced, but...

It is correct to say that no player of Messi?s nature could reach his full potential in the conditions and under the obstructing influences described above. This offers an unambiguous explanation why the current football environments in Africa and elsewhere are unable to produce their own Messis, Robinhos, Kakas, Ronaldinhos, Patos, and so on. Again, and ironically, this is despite having large numbers of very young players with exceptional genetic resources for superlative football.

The immediate need is to analyse those conditions and requirements listed in this report, change the wrong coaching mentality and produce comprehensive programs for nurturing talent not just exploiting it as is the case, presently.

Finally, the answer to those South African coaches who are faced with the dilemma on how to raise the many Messis in the land is uncompromising. Talent is fulfilled, or lost, in the mechanism of the upbringing. Until the game environment in South Africa is changed and adapted to maximize its immense reservoir of natural talent - in a national sport philosophy where football is treated as the truly supreme sport of the masses - the talking about efficient talent discovery and international success remains elusive.