So, as you may have noticed, the Junito posts have been a bit sparse around these parts. No, don’t worry, Junito has not relapsed into his love affair with jugando escoba. In fact, despite protests from the missus, the escobas have been banned from the house in favor of a collection of mops, dustbusters, and vacuums. A bit inconvenient? Yes. But as parents of the world’s future greatest footballer it’s just one of the many sacrifices to be made. Your welcome universe.
Truth be told, the long pauses have come about for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, I have come under a brutal attack from both the general audience and family members. Some people think its preposterous to predict that a three year old can ascend to greatness. The “naysayers” say too many things can happen between now and five, when Junito signs his first professional contract. Of course, the old Brazilian refrain that the good looking boys get girlfriends and the ugly ones get good at soccer has a kernel of truth. Still, I managed to be dashingly handsome and decent at pelota, so surely Junito can just take things to the next level.
The more stinging criticism, though, from closer quarters, is not so easily dismissed.
The illustrious and super secretive inner circle has roundly criticized me for heaping a hefty dose of expectations on Junito. Granted, I think some of my training tactics have been misunderstood. Junito and I do watch a lot of tape, usually classic mid-90′s era Serie A, and I do remind Junito that he too can pivot like Van Basten if he sets his mind to it. However, I am not trying to push Junito to compare himself to Van Basten. Far from it. Van Basten merely won a few domestic titles and the European Championship. If anything, Junito should try to top that by twenty.
Rather, I want Junito to focus his young talents on refining his technique, balance, and first touch. He should emulate the masters in form only, sketching Picasso’s shadows but painting his own masterpiece. I read this great NYTimes piece on the Ajax academy, how they focus on polishing a few diamonds and not so much on winning worthless youth league games. And that is my approach with Junito.
Still, I will concede that the super small sized Madrid jersey with “Di Stefano” on the back may have been a tad exaggerated. A tad. But despite the grueling hours of video sessions and training, despite the endless pivots and pirouettes and headers, I swear you can see the diamond shining through.
From a player development perspective, the only problem is that Junito has skipped a beat. Rather than focusing on his positional sense and kicking of a ball, he just pushes other kids around, runs a lot, and says “Soy musculoso, soy fuerte.” While as a youth coach I understand the importance of laying a strong foundation of fitness, I think Junito is skipping a step or two.
But as for the strongest indicator of success, love of the game, all signs point to yes. Anytime we watch television and surf past a channel showing soccer, Junito cries and pleads that we watch pelota. And he constantly pleads for me to take down his arquito so that he can echar goles. So I’m just following his little lead, reading up on sports nutrition and even hitting the gym myself, just to dar el buen ejemplo.
“Ya mido y peso mas que Xavi….grrrrrrrrrr”
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