Each player has his own path and his own time of maturity. This idea was supported by the coach of Benfica’s youth team, by participating in the podcast «Ciência e Futebol», of the Portuguese Football Observatory of the Portuguese Football Association.
Rodrigo Magalhaes started by taking the examples of Antonio Silva and Bernardo Silva, who went through difficult periods in training, and ensured that they never stopped being the club’s bet.
“Antonio is the individual who, at a certain point, at the age of 12 or 13, when he moved from the training center in Viseu to the Benfica campus, had above-average ability in the position of midfielder and central midfielder, but the degree of readiness did not allow success. The immediate or in proportion to the talent recognized by the club. This arouses doubts among the young talent and parents. Antonio ends up going home, due to the difficulties of adaptation, and later returns to the Benfica team, ”recalls the embodied coach.
Rodrigo Magalhaes also recalls that Antonio Silva even played at one under-14 level, and that he found his space in the youth teams difficult to conquer.
“From a certain point, in going from under-16 to under-17, he had a level of maturity that matched his chronological age. At these ages, between 13 and 16, at the extreme end of that curve, puberty is often only 17, and they have physical conditions that allow them to compete and support their actions. After that, he had a meteoric rise: In his second year as a junior, he played for the under-23 team, won the youth and junior leagues, ended up making the A-team, and is now one of the team’s main centers. – Appearance, ”he adds.
«We often see a fallacy, which is that Bernardo was not even a bet for Benfica, or Antonio Silva. Antonio was bet by Benfica, who were aware of his quality. He was integrated into the competitive level corresponding to his biological age, in a context that allowed him to succeed. There were under-15 players already playing with under-16s, and they were more fit, and in the eyes of Benfica we tried to put the player in a context suitable for his growth, after which he came back to recover and even surpassed many players. These players », Rodrigo Magellan maintains.
“Bernardo’s secret was his steadfastness and perseverance.”
Regarding Bernardo Silva, the Benfica coaching director says that the left “was out of the ordinary” in Benfica’s schools. “The ball was a complement to the body. Bernardo’s technical level was outstanding, and his decision-making was above average. It forced coaches to think about the game differently. I remember a training session under 12, with manager Luis Nascimento, in an exercise with the principles of the game and the transition, in which the colleagues had some difficulty in interpreting the 3×2, and Bernardo gave the solution A, B, C, D and E in addition, he explained that if this happens Later, the colleague can do this and that, ”he recalls.
Rodrigo Magalhaes says Bernardo “still had some success in the under-13s, but then he went through a very complicated period, but the club believed in him.” «Of course there were coaches who believed more than others, but the talent was there, in a latent state. There wasn’t a lot of ability to have B teams back then, and he had his competitive moments. Some friendly games were needed in order to give volume to the game and he could develop it. There, near the final junior year, he ends up realizing his full potential and the talent of Bernardo as we know him emerges.”
Perhaps the main secret for Bernardo to reach the level he has reached is his resilience and perseverance. Nowadays we see guardians or gamers who get frustrated with less gameplay. Bernardo went through this process for several years, but he always trained with a smile on his face. He always walked down the Seixal slope with great joy and great happiness in training, no matter if he played a lot or a little. Little was said about the personality, the character, the psychological level, which were decisive for Bernardo’s level », Rodrigo Magalhaes praises.
Bernardo even played as a centre-back, and I’m not being sarcastic.
In this conversation on the Portuguese Football Factory podcast, Rodrigo Magalhaes also highlights the tactical versatility Benfica works with, which has already beaten the main coaches in world football.
«It is a pleasure to hear a reference coach, like Guardiola, mention the selectivity of the position of Bernardo, and his ability to play different positions. We believe that the player of the future is this. The coach will want a player who, without making substitutions, is allowed to change teams. Bernardo plays extreme, plays as an inside player, like a false nine… Bernardo, when he was Benjamin, played as a midfielder, left midfielder, right midfielder and striker. In seven-man football, he played as a left centre-back. I’m not being sarcastic. It was in a tournament in Spain, against teams that were pressing us up front, and we needed quality to build, ”recalls the embodied coach, adding that Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo or Joao Felix are also used to playing different positions in formation.
“Positional selectivity helps build a versatile player, with a greater ability to adapt to different competitive contexts, whether that be in the system or in a different country,” he adds.
In the final phase of training, Rodrigo Magalhaes explains, there is a “master team model approach”, but he argues that the path should be as comprehensive as possible.
“We don’t have a crystal ball. We can’t look at a 10-year-old and say we’re going to develop him in this system. I can control a system, but football is constantly evolving. We have to be selective, and prepare the player to find an A, B or C coach after Ten years from now, ”he confirms.
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