Diego Forlan, a pioneer in the marketing and merchandising business.

The relationship between major brands and football is now firmly established. Brands crave the exposure that being associated with a major football club, player, competition or organizations can bring, and everyone in the latter group either wants or needs the money that brands will pay to sponsor them. Because there’s big money and long numbers involved.

For example, Manchester United’s current shirt sponsorship deal is worth tens of millions of pounds, while Arsenal’s combined stadium naming rights and shirt sponsorship deal has nine figures. So whether you like the idea of football sponsorship or not, it’s now integral to modern football. You can complain, but things are not going to change any time soon. In fact the only change likely is that the money involved will keep getting bigger.

So, who are the biggest sponsors of soccer? Below you’ll find a list of 17 biggest football sponsors, and a brief explanation of how they’re involved with the beautiful game.

• Coca-Cola – Has had stadium advertising at every World Cup since 1950 and has been an official World Cup partner since 1978. Coca-Cola’s World Cup 2010 campaign had a presence in 170 countries and that sponsorship deal was recently re-carbonated until 2022. Coca-Cola also has a long-term deal with UEFA, and will be an official UEFA partner for Euro 2012 and Euro 2016.
• Nike – Manufactures kits for the world’s biggest clubs, like Manchester United and Barcelona, and famous national teams like Brazil. Nike’s boots and other football gear are also endorsed by world famous players like Cristiano Ronaldo. Nike has never been an official World Cup sponsor, but it’s easy to forget that when the swoosh people roll out zeitgeisty advertising campaigns like Write the Future every four years.
• McDonald’s – The fast food giant can afford to copy Coca-Cola’s approach and be long term sponsors of both the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship. In addition, McDonald’s also sponsors the English Football Association’s grassroots coaching efforts.
• Adidas – The jewel in the adidas marketing crown is their status as Official Licensee and Supplier of the FIFA World Cup. The German company has supplied the match balls for every World Cup since 1970, and has similar agreements with UEFA for the European Championships and Champions League. Adidas also manufactures kits for world famous teams like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and AC Milan, and for many national teams too – most famously Germany. Adidas’ boots and other football apparel are endorsed by celebrity players like David Beckham and Lionel Messi.
• Barclays – Barclays Banks has been the Premier League sponsor since 2001. The current deal runs from the 2010/11 season to the end of the 2012/13 season, and sees Barclays pay the league £82.25m for naming rights. The sponsorship deal is global, allowing Barclays to benefit from the Premier League’s worldwide appeal.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev – The Belgian beer company owns the Budweiser brand, which is a long-standing the Official Beer of the FIFA World Cup. Since Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired Budweiser, it has replaced Budweiser as the alcoholic beverage partners of both the Premier League and Major League Soccer.
• PUMA – Heavily involved in African football, PUMA sponsors 12 CAF nations and manufactures kits for teams such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast, as well as European club teams like Bordeaux and is a major sponsor of the Women’s Professional Soccer League in the USA. PUMA is endorsed by Samuel Eto’o and others, but the roster of names is not as upscale as endorsements enjoyed by rivals Nike and adidas.
• Aon – The financial services firm paid a record fee of £80m to be Manchester United’s shirt sponsor from 2010 until 2014.
• VISA – The credit card company is the official financial services partner of the FIFA World Cup, after outbidding rivals Mastercard for FIFA’s favour by paying a reported $150m for the 2010 and 2014 tournaments.
• Pepsi – Pepsi is endorsed by players like Thierry Henry, Leo Messi, Frank Lampard, Kaka and Didier Drogba. Their relationship with David Beckham is no more, but Becks endorsed the soft drink from 1998 to 2008, appearing in a variety of Pepsi commercials. Pepsi is the official soft drink of Major League Soccer and the US Soccer Federation.
• Samsung – The electronics company has been Chelsea’s shirt sponsor since 2005, and that agreement lasts at least until 2013. Samsung also sponsored the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola and will sponsor the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
• Carlsberg – The Danish beer brewer specializes in long-term shirt sponsorship. Carlsberg’s name was on every Liverpool shirt from 1992 to 2010 (but no more) and has adorned FC Copenhagen’s shirts since 1999. Carlsberg is also a long-term sponsor of the UEFA European Championship, from Euro ‘88 until at least Euro 2012.
• Volkswagen – The German car-maker 100% owns top-flight German team VfL Wolfsburg, and so acts as Wolfsburg’s shirt sponsor as well as having naming rights on Wolfsburg’s home stadium. Volkswagen is also the official car of Major League Soccer and the shirt sponsor of DC United.
• Mastercard – The credit card card company was not happy at losing its status as World Cup finanical services partner to VISA, but has recently struck a similar deal with the Saudi Premier League.
• Bwin – The Austrian betting company has been the shirt sponsor of Real Madrid since 2007, and that deal continues until at least 2013. The company also has a history of integrating its name into football leagues that it sponsors. The deal with the Portuguese Liga saw the top flight renamed the BWINLIGA from 2006 to 2008, and a recent deal with Italy’s second division will see Serie B renamed Serie bwin for two seasons in a $10m deal.
• Emirates – The United Arab Emirates airline is an official World Cup partner, with a deal that began at the 2006 World Cup and currently runs until the 2014 World Cup. Emirates current £100m deal with Arsenal included naming rights to The Gunners’ new stadium (now known as Emirates Stadium) until 2022 and shirt sponsorship until 2015. Emirates is also the shirt sponsor of Milan, Hamburg and Paris St. Germain.
• Red Bull – The Austrian energy drink makers take a more direct approach. It bought SV Austria Salzburg in 2005 and renamed the club Red Bull Salzburg. In 2006, Red Bull did the same with MLS’ New York/New Jersey Metrostars, renaming the team as the New York Red Bulls. Red Bull built new stadiums for both teams, which are both known as Red Bull Arena. Red Bull also bought 49% of German team SSV Markranstädt in 2009 and rebranded the club as RB Leipzig, and in 2007 formed an entirely new team in Campinas, Brazil named Red Bull Brasil, which currently competes in the São Paulo state championship.

Source: Soccerlens

Clive Jagger

“Motivation”  a grassroots Project that motivates excellence in football – as well as educational achievement in Latin-America for young footballers from 14 to 18 years old.

A unique opportunity to invest in football development in Uruguay

SUMMARY:

Diego Forlan, Alvaro Recoba, Luis Suarez, Edison Cavani, all started their football at ONFI – Organización Nacional de Futbol Infantil (National Infant Foottball Association) in Uruguay, Gustavo Poyet also came through the programme and was also named Director of the programme a few years ago before becoming manager at Brighton & Hove Albion FC. ONFI is a government backed organisation which runs football academies throughout the whole of Uruguay up to the age of 13. Not only do they have very comprehensive football training, they all have full diet control and advice, regular medical examinations and controls to ensure optimum development. Psychologists also keep reports on their general behavior and other socially related reactions and attitudes. Records are kept on all the footballers registered with the programme throughout their time at ONFI, offering a unique database from a very young age.

Uruguay and indeed, all of South and Central America, currently offer a highly profitable opportunity to invest in emerging football talent.

Huge profits are possible in this dynamic sector – with investment possibilities tailored to individuals, clubs or corporate budgets or investment funds, etc.

FIFA recently published the candidates to compete for the FIFpro ideal Eleven: Of the list of the chosen 15 forwards, six were from South America;  Messi, Aguero, Cavani, Suárez, Falcao y Neymar, two of which are Uruguayan, two Argentinean, one Brazilian, and one Colombian.

Both Uruguayan strikers, Cavani and Luis Suarez, came through the ONFI programme (National Infant football Organisation), the Uruguayan government backed youth football project for kids aged 6 to 13.

 European Origins

* European Player Compatibility*

Uruguay, situated on the western sideboard of South America, is a remarkable powerhouse for the production of superb footballers.

Uruguay has a population of 3.2 million although, surprisingly, 90% of the population descend from European immigrants; the majority from Spanish and Italian or other European countries, many of whom are still eligible for European Union passports.

The climate in Montevideo is very similar to southern European countries with highs in summer of 30 to 35 degrees Celsius and mild winter temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees. The country is notably European in culture and structure – differing enormously from its South American neighbours.  This makes any move abroad easily compatible for most Uruguayans.

Football in Uruguay

*A history of Remarkable Success*

Uruguay is automatically associated with football – for good reason.

Peñarol and Nacional de Montevideo are amongst the most renowned clubs in the world. Peñarol proclaimed “Club Champion of the 20^th Century” above even Real Madrid, by the IFFHS. Uruguay was the first South American nation to make an international impact on the world (winning gold medals in the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games and both winning and staging the first ever World Cup in 1930). Twenty years later, in 1950, Uruguay won their second World Cup which was named the “Maracanazo” – as they beat Brazil at the newly built Maracaná Stadium.  Uruguay has the most South American Nations Cups with 15 wins, Argentina is second with 14 and surprisingly, Brazil is third with a mere 8. Uruguay is reigning champion of South America at present and will participate in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brasil.

Existing South American scouting and player investment and devolpment

*Tried, Proven and Tested*

 Many clubs and private investors have agreements with affiliate clubs, or purchase part ownership of players at certain clubs through exclusive agreements often for astronomical amounts. Investment groups like Traffic and Gestifute (Jorge Mendes), invest huge amounts of capital to find a small percentage of successful footballers for the future.

It is a rather absurd urban myth that the best footballers come from poor backgrounds! The fact that poorer kids don’t have much else to do than play football surely makes the probability of them becoming footballers greater. They have more time, they are not interested in studying too much and they are willing to sacrifice other things to concentrate on football. Also, being fed by a football club, let alone being paid, even a small sum of money, can be extremely useful for families in extreme poverty, so they are more than willing to allow and support their child to dedicate most or all of his time to becoming a professional footballer, what other alternatives does he really have of escaping poverty.

It also means that their ambitious is quenched easily, once they reach only relative success, they are easily satisfied.

However, it goes without saying that a well fed and developed youth, with a good cultural and educational background and a middle class upbringing would fit the preferences of all football clubs in a professional world that needs responsible professionals both on and off the field, as the marketable image of players becomes more and more important in the career of a footballer.

Their drive for success and ultimate goals are also far greater.

Objects of the project

 *The Opportunity*

Professional football clubs in Uruguay do not take players before the age of 14 years old.

The majority of children from the age of 6 to 13 join the state backed programme called “ONFI” Organizacion Nacional de Futbol Infantil (National Organisation of Infant Football). Over 60,000 children between the ages of 6 and 13 are affiliated to this programme at present.

Once young people finish this process at age 13, some will be offered places at professional football clubs to concentrate on developing their football ability and skills. They attend (academic) school only 4 hours a day and the rest of their time they spend training at their football clubs. In the majority of cases, by age 16, these youngsters will have not only failed at school, but most probably will have dropped out altogether, anyway. Football will be left as their only option to escape poverty.

Due to this situation, children from middle and upper class families are not interested in playing or signing at football clubs as they have other motivations and preferences.

This particular group of children have distinct and clear differences to the children who would usually sign at a football club aged 13/14. Here are some of the main differences;

• They attend bilingual schools (mainly English and Spanish, but often French and German, too)
• High cultural and educational background
• Excellent school performance and results
• Full parental support, with stable family surroundings
• Boast excellent health, diets and live in unstressed and safe environments
• Many have European descendants and have access to EU passports

Those children who achieve a notable level of football at this age generally give up the game as the demands of maintaining a competitive level are incompatible with other activities, such as academic studies.

Our “Programa Motivacion” proposes to take the best young players from ONFI at age 13, who do not wish to sign at professional football clubs, and offer to them a training programme at an individual level whereby they can accomplish in their studies, but at the same time become accomplished athletes.

Places would be limited from 10 to 20 players per year, maximum, they would participate in the competitive “University” leagues of Uruguay where teams from schools, professional football club (specific teams for students) and universities participate in leagues with youngsters from under 15 levels upwards, designed specifically for full-time students and at the same time benefit from personalised coaches, physical trainers and psychologists on a programme that would offer them the same or even a better chance of becoming a professional athletes than if they were at the professional football clubs.

Once the programme works, it would not stop at just the “privileged” youngsters, we would also look at the option of scholarships for those children with good academic records and football skills who deserve opportunities both academically and in football, and whose family cannot afford to give them the opportunity.

These players would also be free from any club, transfer free, with no training compensation applicable as amateurs in the University leagues and under our programme.

The final product would be a well-educated, academically qualified, achieved athlete, capable of competing in a professional environment at the highest level.

Their final destinies would be various;

• Scholarships at American Universities – trails would be arranged for college coaches to scout in November each year in Uruguay or US.

• Trails for professional clubs in MLS, Europe and other competitive leagues throughout the world

• Continue playing football at an amateur level and obtain university studies in Uruguay
• Continue playing at the professional club we will create in Uruguay “Old Boy’s FC” within the first 4 years of running the project.

What can this proposal offer – that others cannot?

*Our Unique Selling Point*

Selection from over 60,000 players up to age 14 from all over Uruguay

Players from excellent backgrounds or specially chosen for their attitude and ambition

Many players have access to EU passports

Free players unattached from clubs

Possibility of signing players age 15/16 and upwards and then being developed in Uruguay until they reach 18, avoiding problems with FIFA rules. Players will be able to attended training periods at their professional clubs in vacations.

Bilingual players Spanish and English/French/German

Human resources:

*The Team – All Time Served Professionals*

 Top quality experienced professionals, coaches and psychologists

 YOUR OPPORTUNITY

We are looking for professional football clubs, organisations, investors, or sponsors who would be interested in financing, supporting and/or partnering this project.

The Catalans were beaten 3-1 at the Nou Camp in the Spanish Cup, just a week after being beaten relatively easily by AC Milan.

If there is one thing Barcelona fans enjoy more than beating Real Madrid, it is defeating Jose Mourinho. And if there is one thing those same supporters like less than being beaten by the capital club, is it losing to the Madrid team coached by the Portuguese. Tuesday night’s loss, then, was particularly painful.

Following their latest disappointment, Barsa have gone from being the world’s best to a team in turmoil – seemingly in the space of just a few weeks. Last Wednesday’s damaging defeat at AC Milan set the alarm bells ringing for the Catalan club. By Tuesday night, the fires were blazing. “There is no point in dramatising,” stand-in coach Jordi Roura remarked after losing to Madrid. Few fans will share that sentiment.

So where has it all gone wrong for Barcelona?

Milan and Madrid used similar tactics to frustrate the Catalans, breaking Barca by soaking up pressure and hitting the Blaugranawith quick counterattacks. Have Barsa been found out? Not exactly, because most sides opt for such strategies against them, yet Milan and Madrid are better than the majority of those and the Catalans have looked less adept at both scoring and saving goals in recent times. Previously, however, such obstacles were often overcome with relative ease.

With Pep Guardiola gone and Tito Vilanova recovering from cancer in New York, Barsa have been stripped of the two men who led this project from the outset in 2008 and Roura is looking less like a man who can lead this team to further triumphs.

Following on from Pep, isn’t as easy at was first expected.

Indeed, many Barcelona fans feared the worst when they saw the team for Tuesday’s match. Ever since the Milan game, it had seemed as if David Villa would at last get his chance. The Spain striker played and scored on Saturday, has been praised all week by the Catalan press and was even lauded by Messi. Yet come Tuesday night, his name was not on the teamsheet. It should have been.

By the time Villa was introduced, Barsa were already two goals down. It was too late. With Messi disappointing for the second big match in a row and isolated both times, the striker would have given Barsa something different, an added threat. Having remained at the club in January amid speculation he could leave, he will wonder what exactly he needs to do in order to start at the moment.

With a league game on Saturday against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, and their return leg against AC Milan luring, unless Barsa’s form changes dramatically, Sr. Rosell, Presidente of FC Barcelona, may have to start looking for the replacement he felt wasn’t necessary for Pep Guardiola, who will be at Bayern Munich as from next June.

Clive Jagger

Benito Floro, one of the most knowledgeable coaches in football.

Benito Floro is one of the most highly respected coaches in Spain. Indeed, what is most surprising about Benito Floro is the respect he commands with his fellow colleagues where he is always rated as being one of the very best – and one of the fathers of Spanish football as we know it today. Sometimes referred to as “The Philosopher” because of his very studious vision of the game, Benito Floro’s career has taken him to Real Madrid, Japan and Mexico, to mention just a few of his destinations. Indeed, Benito has coached in almost every continent in the World!

We managed to get Benito to answer a few questions about his impressive career and also to share a little bit about his knowledge of the beautiful game, many thanks, Benito!

Benito, you have coached at some of the best clubs in Spain, Real Madrid, Villarreal, Mallorca and some of the best players in the game.  What is your vision of Spanish football today and why is it so successful, what do you feel you may have contributed to that over the last 20 years?

In Spain, 50 years ago, the federation created a school for coaches of the highest level, with instructors of the highest level, all highly qualified in the three most critical aspects of football; Strategy, Technical ability and Physical preparation.  Because of this, the level of coaches in Spain is very high, due to the difficulty of the courses to become a coach in Spain. Sooner or later this had to yield its fruit and people now understand that it is much better to play an attacking combination game instead of, say, counter-attack or long ball attacks.

My work as a coach and instructor of coaches isn’t for me to judge.  However, it is evident that what I learned from my instructors, I looked after and put it into practice on the field as do aspiring coaches that I instruct.

You took a modest side from the Third Division in Spain to the First division “La Liga” in 2 years, Albacete B.  W what do you think are the most important aspects of creating a team that can play at any level?

A coach has two important missions: to teach his players to improve on an individual basis, daily, and also to teach his team to play whatever way they need to, on any kind of pitch, in any kind of circumstances – to obtain the desired result.

We understand you were offered the job of coaching Spain, tell us about that….

Yes, it’s quite true! It was after the European Championship in Portugal when the coach resigned and he became director of football.  He recommended I became the new Head Coach of Spain, as my vision of the game and way of playing fitted in well with the way the youth teams were being prepared and thereby the main reason for the massive success of the Spanish national team.  Hoowever, my situation at the time did not allow me to be able to accept the job.

Benito while at Villarreal

We have been informed by various sources that you are in the Football Association of Singapore’s final 15 candidate s for the job.  Are you aware of this?

I do not know anything official about this.  However, I imagine, as with so many other coaches, when a position becomes available, agents will offer their clients for the job.

Would you be interested in the job, if you were offered it?

I am an international professional and I am always open to any interesting options, like all my colleagues, and even more so if it is a national team job, as this represents the feeling of a whole nation! However, I would never like to nominate myself for anything.

What do you know about the Singapore national team and Asian football in general?

From my own international experience football is based pretty much on the same principals everywhere. While I was coaching in Japan, I followed international teams from Asia and Austalasia and realized that there was a very good level of football, although with a possibility of improvement, by making it more attacking. Other than that, to assess a team or a national side it only takes a couple of days watching their last few games. The most important thing is having methodology, everything else is easy.

Is the job as a national team coach very different to that of that from being the coach of a top professional club?

In clubs, it depends upon what kind of first team you want, made up of signing, or made up of players from the youth system, or perhaps even 50-50.

With a national team, it must be a job that starts from the bottom, grass roots, so that players from a young age know what they are playing at and they must feel it. A national team must be strong from the very bottom.

Clive Jagger

It is a pleasure for me to be able to share it with you.

On the 2^nd March 2007, Pep Guadiola wrote an article in El Pais about FC Barcelona, their style and philosophy of play, before he became first team manager in 2008 – and, of course, not only was he one of the greatest managers ever to play the game, he was also a visionary!

I have translated the article but for those of you who are purists – do see the article in Spanish here: http://elpais.com/diario/2007/03/02/deportes/1172790006_850215.html

Clive Jagger

Feel it (Sentido)

by Pep Guardiola

In yesterday’s editorial in La Vanguardia, actress Norma Aleandro said that many people are lucky and are not aware of it. I believe that those of us who love Barça (a lot) and football (much more) got lucky long ago. And the best part of all is that we are aware of it—from the hand of a Dutchman and a Catalan.

I’m sorry, Norma.

Pep Guadiola, on one of his many great nights with FC Barcelona.

It appears, according to what they say, that the Dream Team returned in Zaragoza, but I believe that the Dream Team has never left.

“I am drawn to victory and I realize that the road that gets you the closest to it is leadership. Never think about a game without playing on the opponent’s home turf.” A wonderful saying by Marcelo Bielsa that Barcelona made its own for over a decade. In Barcelona it is understood that you can win a thousand ways. All are valid. All work. There’s little more to say. But in Barcelona it is also understood that you can never win and repeat in a way that does not feel right to you—that does not feel right to the directors, coaches, players, friends of the press and the people who go every week to see them.

I think the current Barça players feel this. They feel it because many of them saw their closest predecessors do it. They feel it because you have seen them doing it and winning (much reinforces the belief to win) and since they know how they did it, they are able to do it again. If they did not genuinely feel it, they would win. But one day, they would not be able to keep it up. You cannot go on playing with a four-man defensive line, then to play with a line of three, and I say three, not five, and do it with consistency. And do it well. And win and reach the Copa del Rey semifinals.

I think, and maybe I’m wrong, but what I see is: they like to organize themselves according to the ball—that they attack and defend with the ball and understand that it is unacceptable that the ball is there and we are here. The players feel that, instead of moving towards the ball, the ball will reach them where they are. They feel that, in order for the attackers to succeed and appear in the newspapers, [they] need a good ball from the midfield and they, to do so, need a good ball from their defenders. I will pass it on to you and you pass it to them. Ronaldinho knows that he is better with Eto’o and Eto’o knows he is better with Ronaldinho. They have their aspects, but are better together than alone. They insist on knowing where the free man is at every moment, and know that it is better if that man is Iniesta rather than a winger. They know that Xavi and Iniesta are compatible. And why wouldn’t they be, dammit? They understand, as all good collectives should, that when you start on the right, it is better to finish on the left end and a back pass does not indicate fear, but the beginning of another, better play. They feel that the time will come and that possession itself is nothing, but rather a means to reach the goal. That it is better that the ball reach the extreme end of the pitch via the center rather than from up the sides. And if they play the three little ones (Xavi-Iniesta-Deco) like in Zaragoza, the homegrown players must deal with the control and preparation of the plays, and Deco with the completion. They feel that if we play with three in midfield, three will need the support of Oleguer and Puyol. And they also know they have the best player in the world, or nearly so, and the best striker in the world, or nearly so, and if it comes to knowing how to play football, not decide games, not playing to make plays, I repeat, to know playing football, we have the two best midfielders in the world. But all of these better’s or almost’s, in another setting would be nothing more than better’s and almost’s. They know. Or they feel it.

Or that’s what I believe.

And with all this, sometimes, occasionally, they also lose. They lose through lack of will power, by not getting their shirt sweaty enough. Or because they have recently eaten too much and too well, and they have lost their appetite. Yes, they also lose for these reasons, like all teams around the world. But they also lose because sometimes, Xavi or Iniesta or Deco will steal the ball from the midfielders when perhaps they should not. Or because the ball that starts on the right is on track to finish on the right. Or because the third man is seldom used. Or because Ronaldinho has to receive more passes from Marquez and fewer from Sylvinho … Or because the attack-defense transition, to have it or not have it, was seen and unseen, and now maybe the best is slower. Or because Eto’o is not there anymore. Or I do not know why they lose! But they lose. But they lose not only by not sweating enough, not by not running more and more. They lose for other reasons they are aware of. Some know because they were born here and have thus been raised, others because they have no other remedy but to learn.

Tomorrow Barça will lose. Or after tomorrow. We will all be aware of it. But no one can argue that Barça has been a recognizable team for a long time. Unique.

And they do not know how much I like it.

Hours before the big game against Zaragoza, Iniesta sent a message to my brother. My brother forwarded it. He said: “The Dream Team is back. Game on.” Do they or do they not feel how they must play this wonderful profession that is playing football?

Are there still any who doubt how they will play the game against the Beatles?

Will they pass? Will they go home? Do not doubt the words of Bielsa.

Marcelo Bielsa, the famous Argentinean coach.

Osvaldo with the full Costa Rica International Squad

OSVALDO RODRIGUEZ

22, full Costa Rica Internacional.

One of the most talented player we represent at Sportzone is Osvaldo Rodriguez.

Osvaldo is an attacking midfielder who can play all across the front, technically gifted with a strong physique, he is what would be considered ideal for the modern game. Osvaldo has an excellent work rate, works hard both on and off the ball, defends well and is very quick going forward.

Standing at 1’80m, almost six foot, he defends himself well in the air and when required to use his strength off and on the ball.

At present with the full national team and playing the UNCAP tournament, his absence at Santos DG, his home club, misses desperately. Osvaldo pairs up with my other forward at Santos, Maksim Manko. Both of whom are hoping to make a big impact on the Costa Rica first division this season.

 MAKSIM MANKO

DATE OF BIRTH: 11.05.1989 (23), Kiev, Ukraine.

NATIONALITY:  New Zealand

WEIGHT:  81 kg

HEIGHT:  1,87 m

POSITION  Centre Forward (shirt 27).

FOOT:  Right with good use of left foot

2008-2009Auckland City FC,

2010-2011 Waikato FC – ASB Premiership (National League of New Zealand)

2010-2012; Dock Sud, Argentina nacional C

2013; Santos DG,  Costa Rica, First Division.

Characteristics:  Goal-scorer with good movement in and around the area, excellent in the air, good ball control and technically gifted.

WILSON ROBERTO PALACIOS SUAZO

Date of birth: 29 July 1984 (age 28)

Place of birth: La Ceiba, Honduras

Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)

Playing position: Midfielder

Current club: Stoke City

Video highlights:

Name; Edison Fonseca

Position; Centre-forward

Place and date and of birth; Cartago, Colombia, 25 Feb. 1984, 28 years old.

Height; 1’75m (5ft 10in)

Weight; 75kg

Previous Clubs include; Deportes Tolima, Atlético Nacional, Cobreloa, Chile, Navibank Saigon, Vietnam. Edison is an outstanding centre-forward with a proven goals record at every level, with almost 1 goal in 2 throughout his career. Last year for Navibank Saigon, he was top goal scorer in the Asian Cup, ahead of Didier Drogba, and ranked fifth in the world by the IFFHS. He is a strong, extremely fast forward who scores with both feet and also scores many with his head, possessing a powerful jump

Full games available on request. Edison is a free player. Free centre-forward.

Managers will often find themselves with a squad that they never asked for, or inherited or were signed by the director of football, who may not be thinking of the system the coach wishes to use.

Valencia sat mid-table in the La Liga, 4 points from places for Europe, 8 points from relegation. So – they sacked Mauricio Pellegrino, after fans asked for the President’s head! Unai Emary left his position as manager of Valencia at the end of last season on completion of his contract. He wasn’t offered a renewal and he wasn’t a popular manager with the fans, either. He wasn’t popular, probably because he was realistic, and simply made the most of what he had from a club in serious economic problems and who were selling all their stars. Emery was guilty of playing too defensively. However, he finished third in the league 3 years running, qualifying for Europe every year.

Pellegrino never seemed to get the grasp of his task, or handle the media, so important for coaches today.

With this serious drop in form, Valencia simply sacked head coach Mauricio Pelligrino and all his staff. Meaning – that in one year they will spend more than the previous 3 years altogether in coaching staff!

So why didn’t they simply renew Emery.

Espanyol has sacked manager Pochettino after their worst start in decades.

Caparos and Bielsa were managers who were considered to be revelations last season but were not long in packing their bags.

The example of the structure of the club, first introduced by Johan Cruyff at Barcelona, and the way they play the same system throughout their structure means that both players and coaches fit easily into any function requested of them by the club on and off the pitch.

Tito Vilanova, came through the ranks at FC Barcelona, and knows the club intimately

Tito Vilanova, came through the ranks at FC Barcelona, and knows the club intimately

FC Barcelona is one of the biggest clubs in the world with the power to go out and buy the biggest players and pay the best managers. However, they don’t need to – because they have found a club structure that works long term. They don’t have competition from other clubs, because no one else will realize that their way of operating is the best way to do things and simply copy them.

Barcelona’s objective at the moment is to win their next trophy with 11 players from their youth structure. That is simply admirable. Funnily enough, though, one of the clubs I represent and advise in South America (River Plate of Uruguay) has been doing this for many years now!

Club Atletico River Plate de Montevideo, Uruguay

One of River Plate’s most memorable victories in Copa Sudamericana