When people talk about player development, the conversation usually centers around four areas: technical, tactical, physical, and psychological. But what actually develops those qualities? That question leads us to five major components of player development: the structured club training environment, the household and family, playing on your own, pickup soccer, and personal training. In Part […]

Mexico suspended promotion and relegation in 2020 under the justification of financial instability. It was supposed to be temporary. Now, Liga MX is staying closed. The consequences go far beyond which clubs play in the first division. Remove promotion and relegation and you change the incentives throughout the entire ecosystem. Second-division clubs have less reason […]

How does a player go from American high school soccer to Real Madrid? In this episode, we break down the remarkable rise of Yan Diomande and ask the bigger question: how does a player reportedly valued around $144 million fall through the canyons of American soccer? His story exposes deeper problems within the American soccer […]