Is football a natural talent or something that can be taught

Hello mf's, the reason I bring this thread to the forum is because I have a burning ambition to conduct a top profile experiment in a few years time mf. But first of all I will need some research and opinions.

What I ask of you today, is whether you think football (being good at it) is something which is natural, something which you are born with, something genetic. If this is the case then there is a chance my experiment could do good as I am from a family that has had 2 professional footballers in its past. Although this trait may have skipped my dad and myself, maybe my sperm can pass it on.

If that is not the case however, is being good at football something which can be taught?

The reason I ask is because I want to have a baby one day. As soon as this baby begins to walk I will put it through excruciating training every day and train it to be the best footballer ever.

Do you guys think it is possible for me to train my future baby every single day?

Will it be child abuse?

A lot of it is natural talent, but the natural talent needs to be worked on to create a better player.

Natural talent is a myth.

It's not a myth but it is over emphasised.

Depends what level of player we're talking about as well, hard work isn't going to get you as good as Messi.

I retract my comment.

I think there has to be natural talent because i'm sure alot of players work just as hard as some players who are better than them.

Move to Spain, he might have a chance.. no hope with the English coaching.

Forest wrote:Hello mf's, the reason I bring this thread to the forum is because I have a burning ambition to conduct a top profile experiment in a few years time mf. But first of all I will need some research and opinions.

What I ask of you today, is whether you think football (being good at it) is something which is natural, something which you are born with, something genetic. If this is the case then there is a chance my experiment could do good as I am from a family that has had 2 professional footballers in its past. Although this trait may have skipped my dad and myself, maybe my sperm can pass it on.

If that is not the case however, is being good at football something which can be taught?

The reason I ask is because I want to have a baby one day. As soon as this baby begins to walk I will put it through excruciating training every day and train it to be the best footballer ever.

Do you guys think it is possible for me to train my future baby every single day?

Will it be child abuse?

I would think genetics do play a significant role. However, without training and hard work even the best talents would probably struggle to make pro.

Height seems fairly consistent among the very best. Diego Maradona, 5ft 5. Pele, 5ft 8. Lionel Messi, 5ft 7. Cruijff, 5ft 11. Garrincha, 5ft 6. Andres Iniesta 5ft 7, amongst others. All of which are known for their quick movements on the ball, quick to shift their weight and move the ball fluently, and are considered to have an exceptional ability with the ball at their feet. You have a few exceptions, obviously, but it certainly seems to be an advantage to have a low centre of gravity.


I read somewhere that the very best playmakers, passers, and players in the world are able to predict the flow of the game so that they know where space will open up in 2-3 moves, sort of like playing chess. They are also supposedly capable of reading the trajectory of the ball and instinctively calculate its speed to the point where they could score a goal, make a pass, trap a ball and take a header more or less blind. If that's accurate, then I would think that would be a genetic predisposition you would have to be born with. I'm sure you can achieve a lot given hard work, but that to me at least, sounds like natural ability.

Aside from that I guess mental composure, ability to cope with stress, and your overall mentality would play a significant role in a footballer's career. Most of that can be taught (I think).

I'm not sure how on earth you would train a baby, but high levels of physical training is probably dangerous, as well as utterly useless. I dunno, if it's all in good fun, you know kicking a ball around, practicing co-ordination, getting more agile by running around some sort of obstacle course or whatever, then I think that would just be considered as playing and not child abuse. Should be possible to "train" without it being child abuse. Heck, spending hours playing with dad is probably quite ideal for a kid.

It does exist in that only certain people would ever become top class footballers, there are some things you can't teach. Some people simply aren't intelligent enough, don't have the correct foot-eye co-ordination, don't have a wide enough field of vision, can't think fast enough, don't have strong enough muscles, and so on.

"Technical ability" or passing being a talent in itself is a myth, some players will have the capabilities but not use them, but the idea that anyone could become a footballer as good as Xavi, Ronaldo or Iniesta purely naturally if they try hard enough is ridiculous, and pretty insulting to all those who fail to make it as a footballer.

Depends. If you train a lot and become big strong and fast you might make an okay central defender or defensive midfielder and possibly a good championship level player.

But the Messi's, Maradona's, Neymar's and Ronaldo's of the world have something extra you can't teach, only nurture.

It is very possible to train someone from a very young age natural talent or not, but if you have morals you most likely won't be able to, your child will hate you and the sport. Will they become the worlds best footballer i don't know, i have not heard of a case like that in this sport.

Many professionals in solo sports have insane parents that have paced them since early age, its well known in tennis, but think about Carlos Tevez and his upbringing, same kind of lunatic parent.

A very hard working kid in the the Ajax academy can become a good player, maybe not at Ajax or at high level if they have no real talent, but certainly in a different club all because of the way they are trained in the same routines for years and years, that way all the players learn this, so even the talented players can have off days and still be worth something to the team.

Do you think the fact that I have had professional footballers in my family will be of any significance? I know it skipped me and my dad, but maybe it is like downs syndrome and can skip a few generations?

I think it'd be a pretty cool thing to do. I would be its agent. I tried training my brother but all I had was this Steven Gerrard football book and a very uninterested brother so it failed.

Forest wrote:Do you think the fact that I have had professional footballers in my family will be of any significance? I know it skipped me and my dad, but maybe it is like downs syndrome and can skip a few generations?

I think it'd be a pretty cool thing to do. I would be its agent. I tried training my brother but all I had was this Steven Gerrard football book and a very uninterested brother so it failed.

How professional are we talking, and how long ago?

I think it can be taught, the endurance to play 90 minutes can be achieved over time if your body is up to it. Starting young can embed technical skill into your game, proper coaching can help you see the game better, is there a natural aspect to it? Of course but I think if you're talking about taking a really young kid and developing him with the goal of being a pro footballer it can be done.

Laurencio wrote:

Forest wrote:Do you think the fact that I have had professional footballers in my family will be of any significance? I know it skipped me and my dad, but maybe it is like downs syndrome and can skip a few generations?

I think it'd be a pretty cool thing to do. I would be its agent. I tried training my brother but all I had was this Steven Gerrard football book and a very uninterested brother so it failed.

How professional are we talking, and how long ago?

My great Uncle was the Derby Captain during the 70's, made his debut at 16 v Liverpool and was part of the team that won the 1st Division. His debut was when Clough was manager too. Made 420 appearances for Derby. None for England though, just a couple of Under 21 caps. Arsenal were the only club that tried to sign him but he didn't leave Derby as they were actually good back then. His brother (my grandad) was apparety considered a better player an was in the Derby youth team but never made it as a pro die to a serious leg break. Their dad (my great grandad) also played for Derby post war in the 50's early 60's. Made over 400 appearances but I think Derby were Championship/League 1 standard at this time.

I reckon that you can make it to any level you want if you work hard enough, Just look at James Milner, Obviously had no natural talent but was determined and hard working enough to play for his country. Simple.

but you wont be as good as Ronaldo or messi withouth natural talent.

By the way, What are the names of those 2 pros you have had in your family ?

James Milner isn't a league 1 player or something

You can't play in the Premier League unless your natural abilities are well above average. There are players in the lower leagues who try every bit as hard as James Milner but will never be anywhere near as good as him.

Forest wrote:

Laurencio wrote:

How professional are we talking, and how long ago?

My great Uncle was the Derby Captain during the 70's, made his debut at 16 v Liverpool and was part of the team that won the 1st Division. His debut was when Clough was manager too. Made 420 appearances for Derby. None for England though, just a couple of Under 21 caps. Arsenal were the only club that tried to sign him but he didn't leave Derby as they were actually good back then. His brother (my grandad) was apparety considered a better player an was in the Derby youth team but never made it as a pro die to a serious leg break. Their dad (my great grandad) also played for Derby post war in the 50's early 60's. Made over 400 appearances but I think Derby were Championship/League 1 standard at this time.

Considering that pedigree it could make a difference, might not, but a better chance than if they weren't on that level I guess.

You'll have to be careful pushing your child from an early stage, could end up resenting the sport and you. You see it sometimes in women's tennis, with overbearing fathers pushing them into the sport with no choice.

A lot of it is down to training and good quality coaching, but obviously talent plays a big part too. For instance, you can't really coach someone to hit the ball like David Beckham, that's just natural technique that he has. Good quality, focussed coaching can do a lot though, but just training them to death will not produce the results you would want I wouldn't have thought.

Some of it must be naturally gifted clearly.

But overall, I believe it's all down to hard work, when you hear of footballers as youngsters they were out everyday/night playing football practising, losing sleep to get better and get their technique right.

Stories like players I can't remember the name. Not sure but they were told they were too small and they're now a leading Ligue 1 star. Players like Ribery who had to travel across the otherside of France for their trials and played with no sleep for 36 hours.

Anythings possible if you try hard enough.

forest teach ur child the correct things. dont make him do laps and weights

base on this formula you have a better chance of producing a player than the average englishman

You also have a chance of producing a player who will never succeed in the English academy structure.

true what the hell am i talking about

honestly forest you must hope your child grows to be about 6 foot+ and is very fit and has good muscle mass

dont worry about technique is not needed. make sure he plays to win and not for fun, if hes midfielder or defender u must always play direct to win the match and make the coach(teammates father) very happy to show off to other parents

on this basis ur child will fit into engl;ish academy system easily and has every chance of becoming a pro

make sure correct dribbling tecnique is aquired, 'walcott dribble' is very success in england and even fifa12 you kick the ball 10 metres past defender and chase it always works guarenteed

I do not want to train him like an English player. When my wife gets fat we will move to somewhere like Spain for a year so it qualifies to play for a good country. I would rather train the kid on things like passing an movement, first touch etc. I remember when I was younger at football training we spent a whole session just throwing the ball and heading it. I hated it. I was once criticised by a team mate too when I was 16. I was top scorer in my team an played a 2nd striker role. The guy that criticised me was a fat lump and on the bench. I was criticised for not lobbing it over the defence to y team mates. Instead I tried playing through balls and passed out wide. I was livid mf.

I also remember when everybody moans if the manager introduces a head height rule or minimum of 4 touches.

forest why do you have picture of ahly in your avatar

btw you can train him yourself

let him play at some local club but make sure u work and do ur own stuff outside of that

practicing first touch on a wall for 20 minutes after school is more useful than kicking lumps in eachother in mud and playing aerial ping pong at an english academy

Forest wrote:

Laurencio wrote:

How professional are we talking, and how long ago?

My great Uncle was the Derby Captain during the 70's, made his debut at 16 v Liverpool and was part of the team that won the 1st Division. His debut was when Clough was manager too. Made 420 appearances for Derby. None for England though, just a couple of Under 21 caps. Arsenal were the only club that tried to sign him but he didn't leave Derby as they were actually good back then. His brother (my grandad) was apparety considered a better player an was in the Derby youth team but never made it as a pro die to a serious leg break. Their dad (my great grandad) also played for Derby post war in the 50's early 60's. Made over 400 appearances but I think Derby were Championship/League 1 standard at this time.

Name?