I spend a lot of time on the internet when I’m not coaching or chasing paper to pay bills and of course I really spend that time researching coaching information and methods. I’m always trying to find information on how the youth systems in top pro clubs work or things that they do that I can adopt to my own coaching practices. For example I recently read an article with Pepijn Lijnders, skill coach at PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, about some ways in which they coach the U-10s at PSV. I love finding stuff like this as I think we have to recognize that the United States is not the world leader in youth soccer development. I also spend a lot of team reading soccer news and analysis about MLS, the men’s national team, top European clubs, etc. So here are some good websites I’ve been reading lately:

AirFutbol
This site is in spanish but you can navigate it easily with only a very limited understanding of the language. This website is really cool because it’s all about the top young starlets all around the world. Basically anyone under the age of 20 who has garnered significant press at home or is highly regarded in a top pro club’s youth system is featured here. Plus there’s video for most all of the players. So not only can you find out about the stars of tomorrow before anyone else does, you can actually see what level world class looks like at the youngest ages. I think it’s always hard for young players to conceptualize what the best looks like relative to their age, but this will give you a decent idea. Make sure to check out Henri Saivet, the young French striker/winger. I’m a big fan of Football Manager and this guy essentially becomes the best striker in the game (provided you nuture him properly!). So after he banged in some goals for my Spurs team as a 16 year old, it was pretty sick to see some video of him in real life.

Far Post Report
Just found this site the other day and it was the one with the Pepijn Lijnders interview. It says it’s a news site for Northern California Soccer, but it seems to basically be a repository of soccer articles. Some interesting stuff related to soccer coaching. I plan on visiting this site with more regularity to see what all they have on here that I don’t find through my normal channels.

UEFA
The UEFA website has some cool stuff related to coaching. I directed the link to the Training Ground, where there’s a lot of coaching information. A lot of what they have on there is higher level stuff like how certain formations function, or how to deal with tactical problems like a fast striker, but there’s a lot of information on the grassroots movement in Europe. Basically a variety of good information that you might find appealing.

MLS
This is MLS’s website. There’s good video on here and it’s free (unlike the Champions’ League highlights on UEFA’s website, which used to be free several years ago). So you heard Beckham hit a sick 60 yarder to put the game beyond reach? Find it on here. There’s also articles about all of the teams plus matchtrackers when games are playing, league standings, golden boot race, the normal stuff for a league to carry. Pretty nice site.

US Soccer
Pretty well laid out and thorough site covering the national teams and the Academy program. There’s usually pretty good video here of national teams training and the like. Information on national coaching schools is here as well. But of more interest are the various blogs related to national teams. Here is the full national team’s blog. There’s links on the side to others, like the womens’ team and the youth team blog.

US Open Cup
Like watching the English FA Cup where all teams amateur and professional fight for a place at Wembley and a chance to win some prestigious silverware? Then look no further than the US Open Cup, the American equivalent. While this used to be dominated by the semi pro sides that are still in existence (including four time winners, locals Ukrainian Nationals), it’s only been won once by a non-MLS side since 1996 (Rochester Rhinos in ‘99). While typically this doesn’t get near the attention that the FA Cup gets, I think it deserves some respect for being a great competition. With this year including a birth in the CONCACAF Champions’ League for the winner, I think many more MLS teams will take it seriously (as of this post only the New England Revolution and my team, DC United are left. Winner plays in the final against either of two USL-1 sides, Charleston Battery or Seattle Sounders [next year will be MLS]). Keep up with everything that’s happening from amateur qualification to live video (for some games).

Soccer Insider
Steve Goff, of the Washington Post, keeps this blog updated multiple times per day with the latest news on DC United, MLS, and abroad. As a DC fan, this is where I start each day. Goff always has good video of soccer action in addition to his great news scoops.

Soccer By Ives
This is a great news site updated several times per day. Lots of news related to NY Red Bulls, MLS, and European leagues. Ives also writes articles that appear on ESPN’s soccer website with some good insight and commentary. I check this site everyday for the latest news and so should you.

ESPN Soccernet
ESPN’s website has all the up to date info about everything going on in the soccer world. Some articles every day about the top players and leagues in addition to articles related to soccer in the US as well as South America. I read this everyday to keep abreast of the world at large.

du Nord
I love this site. Bruce has a great sense of humor which makes du Nord humorous to read. But don’t think that means there’s not a lot of info here. du Nord is a collection of a variety of soccer articles ranging from MLS game reports to world articles related to soccer. Lots of interesting things you won’t find at any of the above websites. Usually updated in the evening. I look forward to finding new cool articles each day.

Big Soccer
This site is one of the best and one of the worst at the same time. It’s just a huge soccer forum where people from all over the world can talk about soccer in any capacity. It’s broken down well so if you’re interested in MLS discussion but not the national team it’s easy to get to the right place. It’s great because some very knowledgable people provide their thoughts on all manner of soccer subjects. From what I understand, former Chicago Fire GM Peter Wilt used to post on there so fans could ask him questions. Stuff like that makes Big Soccer great. Finding up to date news about transfer rumors and intelligent conversation about youth development in the United States is why you come here. Absolutely idiotic posts from uninformed posters, worthless posts asking if Giuseppe Rossi is still eligible to change his mind and play for the US instead of Italy (he’s not, case closed), and wading through pages of crap to get to worthwhile information is why you stay away for weeks at a time. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

There’s other good websites out there. These are just the ones I read with regularity. Hope you enjoy.

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.