Imagine playing football for a whole season, and every passing game ending with defeat. Those defeats not coming by a narrow margin, but with a score that would embarrass the most confident of individuals. Each defeat heavier than the one before, each match as one-sided as previously.
Add to this an inability to threaten the opposition defence, not only struggling to create a clear-cut opportunity but failing to score a single goal as a team since you began playing with each other.
How would you feel if that was you? You’d be happy, wouldn’t you? Smile through it all, applaud the opposition at the end of the game, look forward to each game, and play the game with a passionate love for what you were doing.
No? Well, you should.
After all, that is exactly what has happened to the little boys and girls of Margatania FC in Catalonia, Spain. The youngsters, coming together in an under seven’s team, are the subject of one of the sharpest, most heart-warming and genuinely brilliant videos currently doing the rounds on the Internet – l’equip petit (the little team).
l'equip petit from el cangrejo on Vimeo.
The team has lost every game it has played, sometimes by nine, sometimes by 11, sometimes with the potential to concede as many as 27 goals without reply. Not once have any of Margatania’s youngsters achieved the basic target of football – to score a goal. Yet, that is the last thing on their mind as they step out on to the miniature, dusty pitches of Castelldefels near Barcelona where they come together as a team.
Their philosophy on football, something that the youngsters are probably unaware they even possess, has been heralded as something to look up to by many, including Nick Levett, an academy coach at Fulham FC and FA national development manager for youth football.
Levett uses the l’equip petit video at numerous workshops across the country to set the scene as part of his drive for a better youth football platform for children in England. His presentations across the country, preceded by the l’equip petit video, endeavour to show where English youth football can improve to ensure that the enjoyment of the youngsters involved is the paramount priority.
Levett’s excellent presentation (available here) holds up many reasons why English youth football needs drastic redevelopment in order for it to become a healthier environment in which football can be played. Some of the quotes from boys and girls across the country are telling:
· “I don't like it when we try something new and it doesn't go right first time and the adults shout at me” (WorcsU10)
· "When people shout negative stuff it makes me just want to leave the pitch and go home” (Beds U10)
· “Why do I have to defend the same size goal as Petr Cech?” (Josh, U11, Huddersfield)
· “Why is the pitch so much bigger than last year? We’re only a little bit bigger” (DJ, U11, Huddersfield)
· “25 minutes still to go ref! You must be joking. I'm absolutely knackered!” (U14 during a game on adult pitch)
· “Why can’t we take one step at a time? It’s really unfair for the goalkeepers” (Alex, U11, Worcestershire)
· “How am I expected to save shots in a goal that’s so big, when the adults come to take the nets down they use a step ladder?” (Adam, U11, Bedfordshire)
Levett’s main argument is the need for 9v9 games to take the place of 11v11 matches for youngsters in England, who feel dwarfed by massive pitches. From a personal experience, having to play on huge pitches, particularly as a goalkeeper, feels far too overwhelming to take in, especially having to defend goals where you can’t touch the crossbar or dive to either post from the centre of the goal.
An approach that replicates some of the continental nations, namely Spain, Germany and France, would see youth football return to a youth-orientated mantra, where the pitches, games, philosophies and expectations, from the children themselves but also the parents/adults involved as coaches/spectators, are all geared to get the best out of those playing, on both a developmental level and an enjoyment level.
The children of Margatania FC and those quoted in Nick Levett’s presentation share similar thoughts:
L’equip petit:
· “What I like is stopping balls, and that’s it. I have a lot of work.” (Haritz)
· (when asked about scoring a goal) “I’ll be happy, I’ll jump, shout… I’ll become crazy and that’s it.” (Haritz)
· “If one day I’ll score, I’d be so happy that I’ll fly.” (Pol)
· “We don’t care if we don’t score, because we have fun. We’ll score when we grow old.” (Pol)
Levett’s presentation:
· “Setting your mates up to score is as good as scoring as they say thanks and stuff” (Liverpool U10)
· “Losing is ok, its good to learn you don't have to win everything” (Beds U9)
· “Not bothered about winning the league, the game is just for fun” (North Riding U9)
If in Spain, and other countries, these types of football philosophies are already working, then it is surely the right decision for The FA to take this approach on board and return football back to the children.
