Football (or soccer, as ‘non-Brits’ call it) is the most popular sport in the world. Millions of people play, at various levels, every day. Most people play for fun, others professionally, however the goal of the game is almost always the same: WIN! Over the course of the article, I’ll suggest ways to become a better footballer (and thereby increase his and his team’s chances of winning games). All suggestions made will result in improvements to your game, however some will take longer than others to ‘bloom’. Here it goes:-

FITNESS: Watch the best footballers and you’ll notice they produce a lot of movement over the 90 minutes, often running 10-15km in the process. To do this requires high levels of cardiovascular fitness. Gaining such aptitude requires dedication and discipline. Another sport in which the participants have very high levels of fitness, probably more so than the footballers, is boxing (perhaps not always the heavyweights!). Therefore, my suggestion to improve your physical condition would be to train like a boxer! Not sparring etc., but getting up early (ideally 5-6am) and setting up a session. Ideally this should include a distance run followed by cardiovascular activities like jumping jacks, star jumping, etc. Add to that push-ups, sit-ups, and sit-ups and your fitness starts to improve significantly. Ideally, I would suggest that your session be no less than 1 hour, at least 4-5 times a week. Training this early will jump start your metabolism for the day and psychologically give you a sense of accomplishment that should motivate you for the day ahead.

GOAL! Get up at 5:30 am, 5 times a week and complete a 4-5K run followed by 5 x 20 push-ups, 5 x 20 sit-ups, 5 x 40 star jumps, 5 x 20 burpees, then hold STAND DE PLANCHA for as long as possible. TIP: This will seem difficult at first, but once you’re in a routine, it becomes easy. Keep workout clothes by your bed and focus your mind to get out of bed immediately when the alarm goes off. Don’t think about what you are going to do, JUST DO IT!

DIET: You are what you eat/drink. You wouldn’t put the wrong fuel in your car, so why put it in your body? Your performance will be affected by what you eat/drink, in the short and long term. Therefore, your overall diet should be well balanced with large servings of green vegetables and salad. Avoid junk food that you know is bad for you. I don’t need to list these foods, you already know them, but they taste so good! Good? ‘Trash’ – they taste good at the time of consumption, but how do you feel afterwards once your taste buds have returned to state? I guess that’s not great! Getting better at anything requires discipline and often sacrifice. Give up junk food, and the benefits that follow will far outweigh the “quick-fix” pleasure these foods provide.

Your water intake should be high; you should never actually feel thirsty, as this is an early sign of dehydration. Replace the consumption of soft drinks, tea and coffee with water. Drink a minimum of 2 liters and a maximum of 5 liters (depending on body size and intensity of exercise(s) performed) each day. Carry water with you at all times, do not leave dehydration in your body!

GOAL! Drink 2 to 5 liters of water every day, avoiding carbonated drinks, tea and coffee. Eat servings of green vegetables/salad or fruit with each meal. Snack every 2-4 hours with fruits/salad/vegetables or nuts. Completely eliminate junk food from your diet. TIP: Discipline and dedication are again the key. You don’t become an extraordinary footballer by doing ordinary things!

TEMPERAMENT AND FOCUS: Temperament and focus before, during and after a match is a key ingredient in improving a footballer. Before a match, you need to focus on what the overall goal is. That focus must remain strong and consistent at all times. This should not make you fearful or nervous, but will ultimately guide you towards achievement. If you make a mistake or waste an opportunity, this shouldn’t affect your focus as your goal remains the same. It’s unlikely that his overall goal was to score at that particular moment or not to make that mistake at that exact moment. So focus on what you can achieve in the remaining time, there will be plenty of time to review performance after the match is over.

Finally, once the game is over, focus on winning or losing with dignity. This will not only make you a better footballer, but a better person. GOAL!: Before a match, spend 15-30 minutes focusing on what you really want to achieve. Be clear with your result. Very often, people fail because they don’t know exactly what they want to achieve.

DO THE SIMPLE THINGS WELL AND OFTEN: Not every footballer can do the things that Cristiano Ronaldo, Zindine Zidane or Lionel Messi can do. But, all soccer players can learn to do the simple skills often and well. I’m not trying to banish “flare” and wacky ability, rather water it down. Learning to play short passes accurately and directly 100% of the time is a huge advantage for any player. Great players like Paul Scholes and Claude Makele are experts at doing the easy things well. This is something that all gamers should embrace.

GOAL! Practice short passes, correct positions, hitting the ball, tackling, etc. frequently and over a long period of time. Many players believe that because they have mastered a technique they don’t have to practice it anymore, when in reality mastery and improvement come from repeatedly practicing a learned skill. This type of dedication and commitment ensures that at crucial moments in a game when it is vital to perform a skill or technique you will be prepared.

LEARN FROM THE BEST: Why reinvent the wheel? If you want to become an elite soccer player, evaluate an elite soccer player. They may have natural ability, but getting to the level they have reached is not by chance. If you want to get to the level of a certain player, copy what they do regularly (the beauty of benchmarking is that you can take the positives and remove any negative routines the player may have). With footballers living their lives in the media spotlight and all sorts of data openly available on the internet, it’s never been easier to compare.

GOAL! Choose a world-class player or players that you admire both on and off the field. Collect information about your diet, training methods and fitness ideas. Study your movement and complete game in a series of games. Write down the games that he has played very well and analyze his qualities. Possibly contact them directly for tips and advice; if it’s done elegantly, with your reasons for contacting them clearly stated, they’ll be more than happy to oblige.

Combine all of the above with faith and you will definitely become a better footballer.