Thinking quickly in high tempo soccer games and prospects of playing professional soccer in Sweden or Europe.

by Micheal Alex
(India, Kerala)

Dear Mirsad, I read your profile and I noticed two things which seemed important to me. Firstly, the part where you've written where we have to think 2 steps further than the opponent. You told that in high tempo games we players don't have many seconds to do something with the ball.

This piece of information is really important. And its 100% true. But I was wondering if there is any method of preparation we can do so that we know exactly what to do in the few seconds we have the ball. So that we can play quickly and brilliantly (e.g. perform right soccer moves, play well on different soccer positions and so on).

My second question, you pointed out that there is a chance for young players to turn into professionals in league 4 in Sweden. I was planning to take a BTEC Diploma in Sport (football) from England. And let’s say I have completed this diploma. Will it be of any use to play with clubs in Sweden or anywhere else in Europe?

Will the clubs be willing to offer me a trial or anything of that sort which can enable me to turn into professional player? Will we be able to earn and play at the same time?

I'm a citizen of India and I've also heard that clubs in Europe won't allow players who's country's ranking are below 100. Is this true? I would be really indebted to you if you could be my mentor and guide and help me out.

And I also really think that your site will be able to help bring up the players of tomorrow. So good job! Keep it up!!

Expecting a reply soon. Thank you very much for your time!
Take care.
Michael Alex,
India (18 years old)

THE ANSWER

Hello Michael, being able to think quickly in soccer games and make right decisions is what it is all about. If you watch professional soccer players you’ll notice that they rarely make mistakes. It can look pretty simple but it behind this there are years of preparation and hard training.

One thing that I have found useful (when it comes to making right decisions and play with few mistakes) is to figure out what I should do with the ball before I receive it. This is very efficiently and once you get used to thin on this way you’ll notice how you are making less mistakes per game.

When it comes to playing professional soccer in Sweden, I can tell you that you have to be pretty skillful as there are a lot of good players here. However, there are no sign up forms or similar where you can apply for a tryout for some of the professional clubs here.

The best way to get a tryout is to contact a soccer agent. Unfortunately I can’t help you with this as I don’t know any of them. Maybe you can contact your soccer association and ask them how to find someone that can promote you to the clubs.

Maybe you can also e-mail the clubs around the world and ask them to send a copy of your skills. If the clubs find you skillful they might even invite you for a tryout and pay your ticket as well.

I have never heard of the rankings you are mentioning so I doubt that this is just a rumor. Believe me, if you are skillful enough, no list in the world will stop you from succeeding.
I hope this helped and I wish you all the best with your soccer career.

/Mirsad