#18 I Was at the Real Madrid Football Academy and Absolutely Hated It

My teammates and I lived on fast food, spent hours playing football and never studied. It sounds like every boy's dream but it was the hardest thing I've ever done.

Every morning at eight, my teammates and I would storm the bathroom armed with hair straighteners and tubs of wax and gel. The smaller boys would fight the 

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#7 What makes a good football scout? Europe's Scouts tell all

We asked the pros about what distinguishes the good from the bad, and even how to become a scout yourself...

Player recruitment is one of the most important procedures at a football club. You only need to glance at the Premier League to see how

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#15 What Do Scouts and Coaches Look For In a Goalkeeper?

One of the most common questions that gets asked around goalkeeping websites is how to get noticed by scouts and how to make it in football. Today we are going to start attempting to provide you with some unique insights from coaches and scouts with

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#20 How to become a professional footballer

So, you wanna become a professional footballer? Well you’ve come to the right place because we've got everything you need to know about turning pro

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#23 Become a Professional Soccer Player

The Dream

The day your son was born, you had dreams.  Heck, if you’re like me, those dreams started a decade or more before they were even conceived.  As time goes on however, those dreams (and subsequently, your son’s goals) have been

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#27 5 ways young footballers can train like Premier League players

Dedication and consistency - this is what marks professional footballers like Cristiano Ronaldo out from the rest of us.

The Nike Academy's top coaches have given us a brilliant insight into how they turn raw, unsigned talent into Premier League stars of the future.

"The modern day footballer is as

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#31 Is it possible to get a trial to play for Manchester United, and do you offer scholarships?

Our scouting operation works so that before any boy comes to our club, he will have been initially assessed by one of our scouts. Premier League

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#11 MOVING UP THE FOOTBALL ACADEMY LADDER

What exactly is an Academy?
Academies are special training schemes set up by clubs to help them develop young players. All Premiership clubs have them. Other League clubs run either Academies or Centres of Excellence, which are run along the same lines. Many non-league clubs also 

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#1 What does it take to be spotted by a football academy scout?

What are scouts looking for from young players on a Sunday morning? Which attributes, personality traits and raw skills set kids on the road to footballing stardom?

Given the money the top footballers now earn, it is hard to imagine that the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale once plied their trade in school teams and in their local parks.Read this article...>>

#17 Meet the man who discovered Gareth Bale – in a six-a-side aged nine

Rod Ruddick is rummaging around in his office at his home near Bath and has just found a piece of paper that ought to be in a frame on his mantelpiece. It is a fax he sent to Southampton Football Club on 28 September 1998, titled "players recommended to sign". There are three names listed and the last boy is a nine-year-old 

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#10 How to get into football

Football is watched and played by hundreds of millions of people across the globe, enjoying the beautiful game week in week out with friends, families and sometimes people we haven't met before. 

As people get older, different circumstances usually limit the amount of time we

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#21  17 Ways to Become a Professional Soccer Player

So how do you become a professional soccer player? Or how do you become a better soccer player so you can eventually play pro football? Those are both good questions we get a lot. To start, it takes Read full article...>>

#14 A football Academy Players Life

Football academies were developed by the leading clubs so that they could identify and nurture talented players from as young as eight. The 9,000 boys in their ranks are desperate to succeed, but only a handful will make it to the top.

Last April, Danny, 16, received....

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#5 Want to be a football pro?

You've probably dreamt of winning the Premiership, scoring the winning goal in the Cup final or leading your country at the World Cup.

But have you really got what it takes to follow in the footsteps of your favorite star?

We decided to find out what it takes to become a professional footballer

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#13 WHAT IF I'M REJECTED, BY A FOOTBALL ACADEMY?

You've got to be realistic.

Just think. How many new young players does a club like Liverpool or Arsenal sign every season?

The answer is...

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#32 Premier League: What happens to footballers after being rejected?

Players have taken very different routes after being released by top clubs

For footballers at the top of the professional game, the early weeks of a new season are a time of giddy excitement.

For some, the summer may have brought a dream move to a big club, or the

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#19 How to become a professional football player in 12 steps

Football is a sport enjoyed by millions in UK. Whether you pull on the shirt for your local team on a Sunday, or just pull on your favorite team's jersey and cheer them on with a pint and a pie, making it as a professional football player has crossed the minds of

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#26 Footballer. The Job and What's Involved

Football as a career is highly competitive. Only a minority of aspiring young hopefuls secure paid employment with a league club and only a few amateur clubs offer salaried positions.

Football league and some amateur clubs throughout the UK employ footballers. Their job 

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#16 How to get Scouted by a top Football Club

It’s probably just about every young or amateur league footballer’s dream to get scouted by a top Premier League club. Just about any footballer will have dreamed about being watched or scouted by a professional scout at some time or another, so in this article we’ll give you

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#9 7 Ways to Get a Soccer Trial or Tryout

I want to play professionally, but how do I get a soccer trial or tryout? “

I receive this question from readers almost on a daily basis, but I have

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#12 WHAT IS LIFE, LIKE AT A FOOTBALL ACADEMY

A club invites you to join its Academy. What happens now?

Paul Holder, former assistant Academy director at Crystal Palace, explains the next stages

Life at the academy

At the Crystal Palace Academy, youngsters train three times a week - one and a half hours on Tuesday evenings and

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#22 How to Go Pro in Europe and Abroad

Full disclaimer I've never played pro in Europe or abroad outside of the United States. I'm not speaking from experience on how I did it but rather how I think it's done.

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#25 How to be a professional footballer, by some of the best players in the game

After numerous interviews with some of the best footballers on the planet, we have gained some insight into their careers and how they made it as professionals. We’ve spoken to Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Cesc Fàbregas, David Beckham, Deli Alli, John Stone, Joe Hart, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Kevin De Bruyne, Renato Sanches and many more. What is

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#28 FIVE SECRETS OF FOOTBALL TRIALS

How To Get A Club To Select You Ahead Of Many Good Players

Most football clubs are not looking for a good player or an exceptional talent to sign. So, if you’re attending the next trials with the mindset that you’re good, you may just 

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#2 How do I get scouted and impress scouts in football?

I work as a football scout for a professional club in Scotland and also provide player information for club...

You have to play in the best team you can for your age in your area - a side that scouts keep tabs on.

It is no good being a star in Read this article...>>

#24 How hard is it to go professional in soccer?

It is difficult not impossible. First you must understand, very few of them make it big (club/national team etc) but it’s all about the talent you have and hard work you are going to do during the 

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#4 How to get scouted

Becoming a professional in the sport you fall in love with as a kid is an ultimate dream. Scoring a goal in front of thousands of fans in the Champions League Final, diving over the try line to win your country the World Cup or

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#3 4 Things That Football (Soccer) Scouts Want To See

This is a question that is often repeated and goes through every football player’s mind. What is it that scouts want to see and how to get them to notice you?

While the correct answer is essentially the simplest one – play good football, we’d like to jot down some tips and explain what some of the important things scouts

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#6 What do scouts look for in footballers?

We step inside the world of football scouting to find out exactly what the game's recruitment experts look for in their pursuit of talent

Harry Redknapp recently took a phone call from a scout, who told him

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#30 Four rules for parents of football academy players

For many, when their child is spotted by a scout for a professional football club and is selected to be groomed as a future football star, it is a dream come true. Parents get to see their child start on a journey to fulfil their ambitions and 

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#29 How To Take Part In A Football Trial (And Win!)

Whether you’re a young player, or a young sports leader, taking part in a football trial represents an exciting opportunity. But how do you get involved, and most importantly, how do you win? Read on to find out more.

Overview

Football trials are designed for young players to show

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#8 When is the right time to ‘Get Scouted’ by a Pro Club?

A few weeks back, I went to the Swansea Schools Football Association Centenary Dinner at the Liberty Stadium with family, friends and colleagues from TCSA. It was a great night out. Three course meal, the works.

'Swansea Schoolboys' have a wonderful tradition of producing top players. Some of the worlds

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