Last Tuesday Barcelona was ready to move into the European Championship final and really thought it would be an all Spain Final.  It was not to be.  Chelsea won.  Deservedly?  That’s debatable.

By Wednesday evening Real Madrid was out.  Beaten by Bayern Munich.  Deservedly?  I think so.

By the weekend Barcelona Coach Guardiola had announced he was stepping down – citing “burn out.”  Not surprising when he has led and motivated that excellent soccer team with outstanding success for 4-years.

Sunday Chelsea hit QPR for six and John Terry didn’t say a wrong word.  He didn’t need to.

By Monday Roy Hodgson was all but officially announced as the England Team Manager.

And then on Monday night the City of Manchester was turned upside down as Manchester City took over from Manchester United at the top of the EPL.

All in less than 7 days.

The next two days will tell a story – major soccer news.

Barcelona takes on Chelsea at Camp Nou.  Chelsea has a one goal lead, but you would expect them to be played off the park.  We shall see.  Barcelona has lost two games in less than a week.  Most unusual.

On Wednesday, at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich come with a one goal lead and face just as much as a daunting task as do Chelsea.

No point in speculating.  Let the games begin.

It is spring and now is the time for a Spring Clean.

We are doing more than that with our Byte Size Coaching program.  We have begun the process of adding video to match all the practice activities on the site.

That means we have to edit and upload well over a hundred 2-to-3 minute videos.  Naturally, that cannot be done overnight, but we are starting the process right away and will continue to work at it over the next weeks and months.  We will put each video up as we complete the editing.

You can see the format we are using by clicking on the link here .

As well, we are getting out the paint brush (or should I say Photoshop) and adding color to all of our graphics.  For long enough we stayed with black and white for ease (and economy) of printing, but as you see below a splash of color brings the graphic alive and makes the practice look more exciting.

If you want more information about the program email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or call (866-SOCCER-8, 866-762-2378).

A disturbing article appeared in my Email today about how promising young players from around the world are being exploited because of their dream to play professional soccer.  In some cases they are paying their last pennies to get to some far off country in the hope of trying out and getting a pro contact.

Online video has got a lot to answer for as these young hopefuls post their highlight video on You Tube and other platforms.  Unscrupulous scouts and agents are leading these players down a dangerous path.

Recently one 19 year old committed suicide as his chances and money ran out.

Steve Darby sent me the article and we will reprint it in next week's World of Soccer Spring Newsletter. 3/9/2012

Lots of international action on Wednesday all over the world.

World Cup Qualifying in Asia saw 10 teams go through – including Iraq and Australia – to the fourth round of five for the World Cup Finals 2014 (in Brazil).

A famous victory for the United States in Italy (1 – 0) was probably the most sensational.  

England lost a home to the Netherland having tied the game in the 90th minute only to be beaten in the dying seconds of the game from a goal by Arien Robben.  So all the upheaval of the last few weeks with the resignation of Capello and the loss of the captaincy by John Terry resolves nothing in the England plans for Euro 2012.

Glasgow Rangers, who with Glasgow Celtic represent the very best in Scottish soccer, went into administration this week.

Portsmouth FC are said to be doing the same for the second time in two years.

What does this all mean?  Quite simply that the game in the UK is financially out of whack.  Going back to the old NASL days when the Cosmos set the standards for other teams, including our own Whitecaps, we fell into the same trap - trying to match a team with major - what seemed to be limitless  - funds to support it (Warner Bros).

You look at British soccer, with massive financial backing coming for a significant number of clubs from outside the country, it is almost certain to have a knock-on effect.

Let's hope not.  The next couple of years should tell the story.

How far can technology take us? 

I was assisting at the recent USL combine at Bradenton, Florida (January 26th – 29th).  102 prospects were in attendance. 

The players were split into 6 teams.  I was responsible for one of them as they played 3 games over 3 days. 

ProZone video taped each game and every player.  Each player will receive their own personal electronic file showing every move they made. 

On the Friday evening, Stewart Mairs, the US Operations Manager for ProZone, gave a 20-minutes presentation on how to use the program.

I was amazed to see how much progress they had made.  Last year I was allowed access to one of the Prozone NCAA games that had been videoed.  It was good, but it is now much more user-friendly and simple to use.  So much so that it made my mind race ahead to how effective it could be in team and individual player development. 

It poses the question:  Is ProZone and similar programs going to revolutionize the world-wide development of players at all levels? 

Join the conversation on LinkedIn or Facebook 

There is a crisis in the NHL, but you wouldn't know it if you only listened to the NHL top brass.

Concussions in any contact sport are serious injuries and must be treated responsibly.

However the game of hockey is in denial.

"It's a Canadian game!" you will hear many will say North of the Border.   The inference being that "ringing someone's bell" is all part of the sport.

Recent comments in the Vancouver Province show that those who watch the sport might consider not doing so if the hitting is taken out of the game.  One reason for the apparent apathy of Gary Bettman and his advisors.

It's not just the high profile players Sidney Crosby, Marc Staal and Chris Pronger who are currently under the microscope for the effects of concussions.  There is a long list of NHL players waiting to be cleared.

As a former goalkeeper in the English (soccer) league, I've suffered multiple concussions only to find myself back in the cauldron of top-class soccer 3 or 4 days after the injury.  Ignorance does not excuse irresponsibility.

I keep my fingers crossed that I won't have to pay for it as the years go by.

But for the NHL it is wake up time!  You might think it is the NHL top brass management team that is concussed - not the players.