Unearthing hidden gems at a grassroots level is vital for most African countries, but it is one of the most difficult aspects of football administration.
Scouts have a keen eye for talent, but they also need to identify other factors. Silky skills alone will not guarantee success for any player.
I would say that most African countries believe that somewhere out there, on the dusty streets of a remote village, is the next Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o or George Weah.
You are not just looking for one special individual, but rather a new wave of talent to take your football forward into the future. What you really need to find is potential; it is highly unlikely you will find anything near the finished article.
You need to be able to look at a player between the ages of 13 and 16 and take into account his current attributes before deciding if he has potential.
There is no exact science to this. Football history is littered with players who looked like world-beaters when they were 15 years old, but faded into obscurity a year later.
Then there is an element of luck. You need to be in the right place at the right time to spot a gifted player. There is a difference between gifted players and talented players. Some players have natural ability on the ball, great dribbling skills, quick feet and an accurate shot, but they do not have the potential to develop an all-round game that will enable them to make a career out of football. A player may be able to make an accurate 10-yard pass to a teammate but unable to hit a 30-yard ball.
Individual skills are one thing, but football is a team sport and young players must be able to blend into a side and be able to use the ball to help those around them.
Every player needs basic skills to play the game. Once those are identified, you can look for areas of excellence to work with. For example: a center-back should be good with his head; a striker should be able to shoot with both feet; a winger should be quick and have the ability to cross.
If these skills are not immediately obvious, a coach needs to believe that they can push them to the required level. It is often guess work and there are many other elements to be considered.
There are the physical factors to take into account, which have become more important in the modern game. Players are now well-oiled athletic machines, using muscle as well as skill.
Generally, players with a slight physical stature will struggle to make it as professionals because they are too easily knocked off the ball. There is a lot you can do to help players develop in this area, but genetics will always work against some. The quick pace of the game today also requires excellent aerobic capacity, endurance and power. Again, training will help most players reach the required level, but for some the capability is just not there. If a player cannot last 90 minutes in a game then he will be unable to make it at the highest level.
Another huge distinction between those that will be successful and those that are not is personality. You can have all the skill in the world, but if your attitude is wrong it will be worthless.
Discipline, desire, determination, dedication, drive, self-confidence, motivation and concentration are all important factors in helping a player make the most of his physical attributes.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo did not become global superstars on skill alone. They had the drive to do hours of extra training, when everybody else had gone home, and the dedication to stay away from off-the-field temptations.
Again, this is something that can be encouraged with youngsters, but they need to want to take on the challenge themselves. It cannot be forced.
The attributes mentioned above can often be dependent on the sociological factors that players find around them. What level of education have they received to date? Do they come from a stable and nurturing background?
These can determine the type of personality within individuals and how easy it will be to nurture their skills—on and off the pitch.
You also have to assess how well a young player takes instructions and whether they can adhere to tactical discipline.
In a well-oiled team, each player must understand and stick to their roles within the side. When a player has the ball, his teammates must know exactly where to position themselves. They must also never deviate from that unless instructed otherwise by the coach.
It sounds simple, but there are many scenarios that a player must understand. Displaying tactical discipline can be extremely difficult for some. No matter how skilful a player is, they will become a hindrance to the team if they cannot follow a coach’s orders.
All of this is not foolproof and individuals develop at different rates. There are many players who were released by their club before they made the first team that went on and enjoyed stunning careers elsewhere.
When they were 18, they did not show enough of the above, but by the time they reached 23, they had a level of maturity that made it easier for them.
Samuel Eto’o was released by Real Madrid when he was 19 years old, but can now point to four African Footballer of the Year titles, three UEFA Champions League wins, league titles in Spain and Italy and the status as one of Africa’s greatest ever players.
History says that Real Madrid was wrong, but did Eto’o show enough to suggest he would go on to be a superstar? You would have to say he did not and it highlights the difficulty in deciding who will make it and who will not. There is no crystal ball.

THE TROUBLE WITH Finding THE Next Eto’o

It was a long journey for many on a sunny afternoon to the district of Laikipia, on the Equator, tucked away in the shadow of Mount Kenya.
Many had journeyed 200 kilometers from Nairobi to catch a glimpse of Africa’s richest footballer.
The longest journey of all was undertaken by Samuel Eto’o, who had flown from Moscow.
Eto’o leads a strange life in Russia amid vast wealth, unrest and racism. He scored 13 goals in 23 games for Anzhi Makhachkala, a team in Dagestan on the western shores of the Caspian Sea, close to the borders of Georgia and Azerbaijan. It is also a club slap–bang in the middle of Islamic insurgency. The region is considered so dangerous that Eto’o and his teammates have to train at a camp outside Moscow and fly more than 1,200 kilometers, 15 times-a-season, for home games.
On this warm afternoon in Laikipia, in the Kenyan highlands, there was no danger, merely adulation. More than 10,000 people crammed into the tiny football ground, with its two small stands, for the final of the Laikipia Unity Cup, where Eto’o was to make a symbolic kick-off.
The crowd was loud and jubilant. You could probably have heard the roar on the slopes of Mount Kenya. Thousands cheered and blew vuvuzelas as Eto’o, flanked by soldiers and the police commissioner, strode to the center-circle through a guard of honor made by players from nearby football clubs. It was a rare sight these days–one of the highest-paid athletes on the planet, in jeans and a T-shirt, mixing with the people as if he was about to lace up his boots and play.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-large wp-image-947" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Forbes.Africa-Samuel.Etoo-9-683x1024.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="711" />
The Cameroonian was in Kenya to promote conservation and environmental issues, but this trip to Laikipia sparked the idea of opening a football academy in the district. It would be the third in Africa after those he opened through the Eto’o Foundation in Gabon and Cameroon.
“I was driving back to the hotel when this crazy but beautiful idea crossed my mind. I hoped those who would attend the academy would take advantage of the opportunity. I want them to be better than me.”
Thirty-one-year-old Eto’o is the only man to win African Player of the Year four times. He earns $28.8 million a year. His club, Anzhi Makhachkala, is owned by a man who can afford him: Russian billionaire, Suleyman Kerimov. He is the 146th richest man in the world, according to Forbes, worth $6.5 billion. Kerimov, who was born and bred in Dagestan, owns stakes in everything
from long-distance telephone lines to Russia’s largest
gold mine.
The money may be good in Europe, but all too often the racism is bad, even though the authorities are trying to stamp it out. Eto’o has been in the thick of it. Once, while playing for Barcelona, he threatened to walk off the pitch as Real Zaragoza fans chanted racial insults at him. In March 2011, hooligans threw bananas—a crude expression of racism—at Eto’o’s fellow player and former Brazilian captain, Roberto Carlos. Russia, the host of the FIFA World Cup in 2018, is alleged to suffer from severe racism in football.
“Racism is everywhere and football is only a reflection of our society,” he says.
“Racism is about ignorance and nothing else. It’s not that hard to change a racist mind; all you need to do is to educate them,” says the striker.
The face of European soccer is changing fast. Almost all top European football clubs have an African playing for them. The success of the likes of Eto’o and Didier Drogba—who played a pivotal role in getting Chelsea the first-ever European Champions League trophy in May—is attracting more African football youth to Europe.
“A lot of youth have immigrated to Europe because they are looking for better opportunities. I actually want them to stay here in Africa so that they can build the continent,” he says.
Eto’o has a plan beyond football. The football academy he intends to build in Kenya will also focus on educating the youth on a number of subjects, particularly learning English.
“Football has given me everything and I would like to give back some of the things I got through football. That’s why I’m investing back into football in Africa.”
On the question of whether he will remain as one of the top-paid African players in the world, Eto’o was quick to detach football from money.
“Football is not about money, it’s about talent. My objective is to nurture the next generation of footballers so that this trend keeps on continuing. That’s one of the reasons why I am investing in football academies—so that the next generation can be as talented as ours.”
Eto’o’s contract with Anzhi comes to an end in 2014 and the Cameroonian skipper has planned his retirement. He has a number of projects that will keep him busy for years to come and a campaign against racism that is likely to take a lifetime.

Tag: Samuel Eto’o

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

THE TROUBLE WITH Finding THE Next Eto’o

A Crazy And Beautiful Idea From Russia With Love