On February 24, 2005, Simon Clifford, whose "Gol!" DVD we recommend, was nice enough to give SoccerHelp an interview.

Simon Clifford is the founder of the Brazilian Football Academy and Brazilian Soccer Schools. He was a consultant to the film "Bend It Like Beckham" and over 150,000 youth in England, Australia and the U.S. now use his training program. This training program is changing English soccer and Michael Owen and other famous players have trained with Clifford. The program is based on the training methods used in Brazil, and the Brazilians are thought of as having the best footwork, creativity and ball control in the world. Simon Clifford is an excellent, charismatic teacher. In 2002, a U-14 team from his Chapeltown school beat the U-14 Scottish National Team. Simon argues that the emphasis in youth soccer should be on skill development and fun-- we agree.

We asked:

"What should coaches of players age 13 and younger emphasize in practice?"

Here is Simon Clifford's response:

"The most important thing for young players has to be the ball. Players of all ages should work daily on their individual skills with the ball, it doesn't matter what age they are. I believe players at 25 should still be working as much with the ball as players at 9 or 10. For me, football should first be an individual thing with the ball and when this is mastered you can move on to team play and tactics."

Simon Clifford's "Gol!" DVD is our favorite footwork/moves/ball control video for experienced players age 9 and older and coaches of those players. We believe every Travel, School Player and Coach should own "Gol!", as well as every Recreational player age 9 or older who wants to improve footwork or ball control. Every coach at any level will get good training and warm-up ideas from this DVD, and players will be motivated by watching it. It is really fun, eye-opening and entertaining.

Click here to read a review of Simon Clifford's excellent DVD, "Gol!" (Brazilian Foot Skills and Ball Control Training Program)