Don't complicate your thinking...win for yourself by Coach Mike Kleinert Paul Breitner has credibility as a World Cup winner with West Germany in 1974: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Breitner . He recently spoke about a successful player's attitude. Strikers need to take responsibility..... "[...As a striker]...So the responsibility is by far higher, and you know that. You have to learn it, you have to accept it. And then you say, “Aha, I'm a senior man [in the hierarchy of the team], I play in a decisive position. How can I handle it?” I think you [only] have the chance to become a successful striker if you say, “Okay, this is my game, and my aim is to score goals, goals, goals, goals.” If anybody says, “It doesn't matter who is scoring goals, the only thing that matters is that the team wins” if you have this idea as a striker, then you had better look for another position . But when you're a coach, instead of working with your peers you have to work with not just administrators and the media but also players who are younger than you are and want to learn from you. Is there a danger, if you have that striker's mentality, of being too forceful? No. Teach them first of all that everybody plays for himself, not for the team. Everybody tries to win for himself. Everybody. We do our sports in groups, in teams, but the team is not the winner. The senior player wants to win wants to become world champion, U.S. champion for himself. He is working, he is training, he is running, he is fighting, over years and years and years for his results. This is what I think a soccer player, a team player, has to realize. The star isn't the team, by far. I am the star. I want to win. I want to become champion. Together with my colleagues, but first of all, I want to score. You have to admire Breitner's willingness to speak unambiguously and without apology. Soccer coaches and parents in America are sometimes guilty of giving kids too much to think about. The overemphasis on playing as a team is confusing to young players. All they really need to focus on is preparing well and trying their best to win. It is up to the coach to figure out how to challenge players in training by designing puzzles for them to solve with skill and intelligence. If we're asking players to apply skill and intelligence to a game situation with a very simple solution, they will inevitably overcomplicate things. We worry way too much about "ball hogs." The most generous thing you can do as player is to score a goal. Your work counts for the whole team. Players Do this.... ● ● ● ● Train hard. Play hard and try your best to win. Respect your opponent at all times. Show grace in defeat as well as in victory. Part of sportsmanship is playing the game in an honest way. Go get your goals.
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