• You may have to login or register before you can post and view our exclusive members only forums.
    To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Rodolfo Borrell

Forums Unread posts
Status
Not open for further replies.
Modo

Modo

A contentious scando
Member
This is what he said last year in April. He joined in 2009.
From BBC:

Borrell, who came with Jose Segura from Barcelona, believes it could take another two years before a player breaks through into the first team.

"The reality of what we found here was[size=12pt] unacceptable."[/size]

The club created a new position of academy technical manager, a post initially taken by former Ajax player Piet Hamberg before he was replaced by Segura in May 2009.
Borrell, who joined at the same time to coach the under-18s, said they have been working hard to introduce the practices that functioned to great effect at Barcelona's academy, which produced seven of the team who beat Manchester United in last year's Champions League final.

"The under-18s had no centre forward, no balance. They had no tactical level, no understanding of the game,"

"We are working hard, but you can't change things overnight.

"I think we have made a lot of progress over eight months, but we need to improve a lot more to get more players into the first team.

"I think if we keep working hard maybe in two years somebody can appear in the first team."

"When I arrived the first thing Rafa told me was that the biggest interest is to try to develop English players," he said.

"I agree - the best players to defend the Barca shirt are Catalan players, the best players to defend the Liverpool shirt are English players.

"The rest of the players who are not English, they must be massive, massive quality.

"We have to fight to make English players arrive. If in two or three years one of our players does make the first team, I think he will be English."

------------

[size=12pt]A year later[/size]


Rahem Sterling scored 5 goals today against Southend (3 quality goals).

Connor Coady is a big kid. Plays like a captain. He'll be in the first team soon.

Connor Thomas was probably cup tied.

Suso was OK, but he's extremely talented.

Don't forget Wisdom who didn't play today. Probably the best CB in the academy.

Next game will be against NUFC or Man U.

Michael Ngoo and Wisdom will be back in time for that tie.

We have an impressive forward line with Ngoo and Adam Morgan.

Finally, Rafa needs a lot of cred.
 
I think that will in the end prove to be his biggest legacy; hopefully we'll see a fine crop of youngsters come up through the ranks over the next 5-10 years...
 
[quote author=Avvy link=topic=44233.msg1285513#msg1285513 date=1297718055]
I think that will in the end prove to be his biggest legacy; hopefully we'll see a fine crop of youngsters come up through the ranks over the next 5-10 years...
[/quote]

Fingers crossed.
 
He gave a good interview after also , spoke alot about keeping the players , especially Sterling's , feet on the ground . Stressed the importance of Sterling needing to improve on the defensive side of the game, tracking back etc , good to hear .
 
[quote author=RedZeppelin link=topic=44233.msg1285539#msg1285539 date=1297719437]
He gave a good interview after also , spoke alot about keeping the players , especially Sterling's , feet on the ground . Stressed the importance of Sterling needing to improve on the defensive side of the game, tracking back etc , good to hear .

[/quote]

Raheem needs to get bigger and stronger to make it. The same goes for the rest of them
I don't know if they prioritise weight training at the academy. They really should.
 
Was Liverpool's number eight Conor Coady?
He was excellent in the second half that I watched.


Oh, and lay off Binny, he is a legend
 
He's quite a character are spanish coach, I was just stood behind that bird off the lpool channel as she was about to interview him. Just as there about to go live..... Let's just say a very andy grey moment happend was fucking piss myself laughing. She was dumbfounded.
 
[quote author=My_Blood_Bleeds_Red link=topic=44233.msg1285556#msg1285556 date=1297721065]
look, thanks for sharing and Binny-ing and all that but bolding your own words is just lame.
[/quote]

Have we coined a new term for bolding words?
 
[quote author=the count link=topic=44233.msg1285559#msg1285559 date=1297721391]
Was Liverpool's number eight Conor Coady?
He was excellent in the second half that I watched.


Oh, and lay off Binny, he is a legend
[/quote]

Yes it's Coady.
 
[quote author=El Pistolero link=topic=44233.msg1285573#msg1285573 date=1297723595]
He's quite a character are spanish coach, I was just stood behind that bird off the lpool channel as she was about to interview him. Just as there about to go live..... Let's just say a very andy grey moment happend was fucking piss myself laughing. She was dumbfounded.
[/quote]

Are we gonna see this on LFC TV or are you gonna tell us.
 
A little history.
This is how the youth team looked before Borrell:

Fa youth cup finals:

2006 2007
Roberts, Roberts
Darby(c), Spearing (capt),
Threlfall, Threlfall
Hobbs, Darby
Antwi, Burns
Barnett Ryan
Barratt, Putterill
Flynn, Flynn
Lindfield, Lindfield
Anderson, Ajdarevic
Hammill Barnett
Spearing Irwin
Roque Eccleston
Ryan Hansen

Steve Heighway has declared Liverpool's class of 2007 the best youth side he's ever worked with.

The departing Academy boss, who officially announced his retirement at Old Trafford last night, has nurtured the likes of Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher through the ranks.

"I think this is the best bunch of boys I've ever worked with," said Heighway. "That's the 16th consecutive match we've played in knockout football. You only have to lose one and you're gone, so to do what they've done is just fantastic.

"In Jay Spearing I've got someone with whom I'd trust my life. Same with Stephen Darby, Robbie Threlfall and Michael Burns. For lads of average size, they are fantastic people and fantastic players. I'm convinced Spearing could play at a much higher level, and I'm convinced he could do it now."
--------

Fast forward four years...

From the class of 2006 we have:

Hobbs at Leicester
Anderson at Forest
Hammill at Wolves
Roque at Betis
Ryan Flynn at Falkirk
Darby is still with club but out on loan at Notts C
The rest are playing in teams that aren't worth mentioning

From the class of 2007 we have:

Ecclestone out on loan, at Charlton
Martin Hansen still with the team

The rest?
As you can see some played in 2006 so they're mentioned under that class.
Other than that well...guess.

What's weird about the 2006/2007 teams is that they're missing arguably the best prospect we've had in years, Martin Kelly. I wonder how he was overlooked by Heighway. Was he?
EDIT: He missed the 2007 final through injury,


The thing I'm having trouble understanding is that Heighways teams won two FA youth cups in succession. But none of the players who won it made it here.

Hammill must be the cream of the crop, but we'll never know if he would have made it.
 
It's hard to get excited about the youth squad when we've been tearing it up for years and produced nothing amazing.
 
[quote author=Modo link=topic=44233.msg1285522#msg1285522 date=1297718233]
[quote author=Avvy link=topic=44233.msg1285513#msg1285513 date=1297718055]
I think that will in the end prove to be his biggest legacy; hopefully we'll see a fine crop of youngsters come up through the ranks over the next 5-10 years...
[/quote]

Fingers crossed.
[/quote]

X2
 
This is the best Academy side I've seen, and they clearly are being taught to play it the right way. The movement all over the pitch was just relentless. If we're re-instilling a culture of pass and move then it showed most clearly last night. I think a clatter of these lads will play at good clubs and 2 or 3 could make it in to the Liverpool first team. That would be an amazing boon for us after years of empty promise.

Whatever Borrell is on, double it. Rafa's best signing IMHO.
 
It's worth noting that whilst the coaching setup is looking quite impressive, we are also investing a lot of money in recruitment and that's obviously playing it's part in the improved calibre of player nowadays.
 
[quote author=the count link=topic=44233.msg1285559#msg1285559 date=1297721391]
Was Liverpool's number eight Conor Coady?
He was excellent in the second half that I watched.
[/quote]

Yeah, I thought he was our second best player.
 
just to say, that for the pessimists who look on the previous YC winning sides and note the lack of stars coming through and apply that to this team - those sides were seen at the time as being greater than the sum of their parts. i watched the 06 final, and i can honestly say there wasn't a single player who particularly impressed or looked like they'd go on to make it. that was genuinely what i thought at the time. that lad from hull city got a lot of plaudits, but he was nowhere near the class of our wingers last night.

this current side is in a different league. i realise the precarious nature of a young player's development, but i honestly expect all of sterling, suso, coady, flanagan and robinson to be important squad members for us (at least) in, say, 3 years' time.
 
[quote author=peterhague link=topic=44233.msg1285684#msg1285684 date=1297763554]
just to say, that for the pessimists who look on the previous YC winning sides and note the lack of stars coming through and apply that to this team - those sides were seen at the time as being greater than the sum of their parts. i watched the 06 final, and i can honestly say there wasn't a single player who particularly impressed or looked like they'd go on to make it. that was genuinely what i thought at the time. that lad from hull city got a lot of plaudits, but he was nowhere near the class of our wingers last night.

this current side is in a different league. i realise the precarious nature of a young player's development, but i honestly expect all of sterling, suso, coady, flanagan and robinson to be important squad members for us (at least) in, say, 3 years' time.
[/quote]

Agreed. The lad from Hull was Anderson wasn't it? He was fast and direct, would just knock the ball past a defender and run after it and although he looked quite good he really wasn't anything special. Nothing compared to Raheem from what I've seen.
 
Dalglish's return was long overdue, after almost two decades of being constantly overlooked by the club, and his presence as the key figurehead of operations was an encouraging signal of intent as was McParland's re-appointment following his Bolton sabbatical.

But it was the capture of José Segura and Rodolfo Borrell, both key figures in overseeing the development of Cesc Fabregas and Lionel Messi during their time at Barcelona's La Masia academy, which proved to be the masterstroke that kick-started Kirkby's revolution.

All but two of the 14 players who featured last night rose through the ranks during Benitez's tenure including man-of-the-match Raheem Sterling who, having turned down Manchester United and Arsenal to join the Reds, hit five of those nine goals with steadfast confidence.

It was also Benitez, beginning his short-lived spell at Inter Milan, that convinced Spanish wonder kid Suso last summer to snub Real Madrid's overtures to join Liverpool.

Even as the goals continued to flow, Borrell's meticulousness as he oversaw proceedings from the touchline was incredibly Benitez-esque, as is his continued pursuit of perfection from a side that has netted 52 goals in 17 games this season.

But eight months on from his acrimonious departure, Liverpool are now starting to reap the rewards of the true Benitez legacy.
Click to expand...
 
Like I said before, Rafa deserves a lot of cred.

What impresses me the most is that 4-5 years ago we barely had any players in any of the England youth teams, now however:

England U21: Martin Kelly

England U19: Jonjo Shelvey, Thomas Ince, Jack Robinson, Andre Wisdom, Michael Ngoo, Conor Coady

England U17:
Tyrell Belford, Raheem Sterling, Matthew Regan, Adam Morgan, Jack Dunn, Jordan Lussey, Davel Moli

This should mean that we're moving in the right direction.
 
What is Ince's current standing with the club? Running out his time? Or might he sign a contract? Any developments?
 
I don't think anyone would disagree that while Rafa was masterminding our demise as a Champions League regular that he made some good decisions. He got sacked because most of decisions were bad ones though.
 
but his intentions were always right. Any man can get some decisions wrong. He got a lot of things right too. So, while he may have deserved his sacking, i still have a lot of respect for him....
 
Credit to the trio of McParland, Borrell and Segura too, esp the latter duo - for making the switch, adapting to a different country/environment with seeming success and staying on even after Rafa's departure. Pretty sure they played an important part in the luring of the likes of Suso too. Not forgetting another Rafa recruit, McMahon, who might well be as important a figure in the transition of academy lads to the first team.

Glad that Rafa's seemingly got it right at the second round of asking, after his some of his 1st round recruits ended up as part of the mass exodus.

SACKED BACKROOM STAFF:
Gary Ablett – Reserve team manager (2 years)
Piet Hamburg – Academy director (2 years)
Hugh McAuley – Under 18 coach (20 years)
Dave Shannon – Under-16 coach (20 years)
Paul Lever – Under-14 coach (18 years)
Billy Stewart - Academy goalkeeper coach (10 years)
Norman Gard - Players’ liaison officer (15 years)
Tim Divine – Education officer (15 years)
John Wright – Kit man (15 years)
Victor Salinas – Physio (4 years)
Gerard Nus - Sports scientist (2 years)
Angel Vales - Sports scientist (1 year)
Simon Farnworth – Academy physio (10 years)
John Coburn – Academy physio (8 years)
Jan de Koning – Assistant academy director (2 years)
Tim Dittmar – Academy goalkeeper coach (8 years)
Click to expand...
 
[quote author=kingjulian link=topic=44233.msg1286022#msg1286022 date=1297841640]
but his intentions were always right. Any man can get some decisions wrong. He got a lot of things right too. So, while he may have deserved his sacking, i still have a lot of respect for him....
[/quote]

Agreed. It was time for him to go, but I have no doubt that history will judge him kindly overall.
 
[quote author=Rosco link=topic=44233.msg1286018#msg1286018 date=1297841280]
I don't think anyone would disagree that while Rafa was masterminding our demise as a Champions League regular that he made some good decisions. He got sacked because most of decisions were bad ones though.


[/quote]I can't decide if you are the Irish version of Le Chacal or he is the Swiss version of you.
 
[quote author=Rosco link=topic=44233.msg1286018#msg1286018 date=1297841280]
I don't think anyone would disagree that while Rafa was masterminding our demise as a Champions League regular that he made some good decisions. He got sacked because most of decisions were bad ones though.


[/quote]

This.

He deserves alot of credit for how well the youth team is doing and how he's reshaped the mentality at reserve and youth level, it would be pig headed to suggest otherwise.

That said, it would be foolish to paint it all as rosy too. We paid alot out on youth players and players between 18-21, whether we've generated decent returns further down the line is neither here nor there as with development, age and the fact these players are at 'Liverpool', it would always be enough to generate interest anyway. If you throw enough money at something, eventually it will pay off.

I'd say the biggest coup in this regard, was pulling off the signings of Segura and Borrell, after a few years of fucking around with the likes of Gary Ablett.

When Rafa took over, it was suggested back then that it could take a good seven years or so to start to see the Academy take shape, as players coming through over the next few years would be ones that started before his tenure. That looks like it's proving to be true.

It hasn't all been great, as people who know local families with lads trying to get into these clubs would testify, we're renowned for treating young players like shit and not really giving the opportunities or support a few of our neighbours offer, like Everton and City (for example, I know a couple of families who've opted for these two clubs despite being reds, because they got better treatment).

Hopefully all that is beginning to change now for the better.
 
[quote author=mark1975 link=topic=44233.msg1286103#msg1286103 date=1297850376]

It hasn't all been great, as people who know local families with lads trying to get into these clubs would testify, we're renowned for treating young players like shit and not really giving the opportunities or support a few of our neighbours offer, like Everton and City (for example, I know a couple of families who've opted for these two clubs despite being reds, because they got better treatment).

Hopefully all that is beginning to change now for the better.
[/quote]

That's sad, reminds me of my playing days. Huge potential, zero confidence.
Might sound like a prick, but a lot of parents think their kids are better than they actually are. Especially kids that are technically gifted. More often than not they're the most brainless, ball-hogging, running into dead ends - type players.
On the other hand there are coaches who prefer big and strong players to smaller more gifted ones so I guess it's all about finding a coach with the right footballing philosophy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom