Thoughts on Charlie Francis and soccer

no23 · June 5, 2010, 2:58am

Practical Session 1: Basic Running Mechanics

I’d like to make a few points.
Soccer is in general years behind other sports, but there are some good S&C coaches and medical systems (I’d like to stress the medical doctor of Bayern Munich).
Speed is what differentiates lower and higher level soccer players, from an athletic point of view. There is research there.
Skill is multidimensional, also speed is a skill, don’t think only of ball skills. Even at the highest level there are players with mediocre ball skills.
In certain roles, attitutide is not everything, but it is a big component. While attititude won’t bring you sub 10 in the 100 m, in soccer it goes a long way.
When you think that S&C has a big role in injuries, first think about where players spend the nights or if they actuall train.
Inter, who recently won the Champions’ League and not a regional competition, has a S&C system that many here would consider, just say, inappropriate. And what about Milan, who some years ago, with their (apparent) lack of S&C crashed, literally crashed Manchester United and then won the Champions’ League? It looks to me that they were not in bad condition.
A recent research (Gabbett et al., Applied Physiology of Rugby League, Sports Medicine) of strength and conditioning of rugby league players in Australia (amateur and professional) pointed out that strength of players, measured with bench press and squat, is not of the highest level (for professionals, mean 1RM squat 160 kg, bench press 130 kg, vertical jump 52 to 56 cm).
Running form in soccer is, in general, from bad to awful, and here there is great potential. There are some great athletes, though.

I agree with most of that and you’re very correct about Inter. You should hear about Liverpool this year also!

I’d just point out that while ‘The Good Doctor’ is himself excellent, I’d be slow to conclude that complete medical programs are also in soccer clubs as many treat the injury not the prevention - look at Milan AC for the opposite approach. (Though there are others here who can go into that approach in much better and more detail from personal experience.)