David Balamaze

God. Jesus Christ. Family. LFC. Sport. Business. Tech. Music.

[David Balamaze @daviskop]

@wekesa_amos @_GL_Collection

[La Liga & Beyond @laligaandbeyond]

One of the interesting subplots to this final.

Lionel Scaloni took his coaching badges with the Spanish Federation and one of the coaching teachers on the course was Luis de la Fuente.

The pupil and teacher now meet in the final

[Todd Beane @_ToddBeane]

“They know what to do since they were 9 years old.” T Henry

My children are born and raised in Barcelona. We live there. Catalans are light years ahead in football intelligence.

And there is a reason why.

#TOVO
#intelligentfootball

[David Balamaze @daviskop]

@LogicHUBX @Dickson_OA @Watch_LFC Spain Men and women from the U17s going up to senior teams have won a lot in the same period

[David Balamaze @daviskop]

@SelecaoTalk I now agree

[David Balamaze @daviskop]

@elgauchoo18 @rajsinghchohan Defending euro Champs (Men), Defending World Champs (Women), Defending Olympic Champs (Men), just won the both (Men and Women) euro 19s etc etc

[Ryan Rosenblatt, Back to Back World Series Champ @RyanRosenblatt]

"It doesn't matter how good you are at your game, you're going to be playing our game." - Spain

[MisterChip (English) @MisterChiping]

THE THREE GREAT CURSES OF THE WORLD CUP…

1️⃣ The reigning Ballon d'Or winner has NEVER won the World Cup. Au revoir, Dembélé. C'est la vie, @equipedefrance ❌🇫🇷

2️⃣ A team with a foreign manager has NEVER won the World Cup. Goodbye, Tuchel. It's not coming home, @England ❌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

3️⃣ The side that started the tournament as FIFA's world No. 1 has NEVER been crowned champion. No llores por mí, @Argentina ❌🇦🇷

YOU CAN FIGHT AGAINST ANYTHING… EXCEPT DESTINY ⭐️⭐️

[The Players’ Tribune @PlayersTribune]

Rodri in 2024: “When I turned 14, I went to this summer camp in the middle of the forest in Connecticut. Even the name, ‘Conn-et-ee-cut,’ sounded crazy for a kid from Madrid. But when I arrived, it was like I was stepping into a Hollywood movie. You know the movies where the kids go to the camp on a big lake and there’s wooden canoes and you’re climbing trees and sleeping in tents and starting fires with sticks? It was really like that. You’re eating the marshmallows and the biscuits, you know? Over the fire? With the chocolate?

S’mores. Incredible.

No phones. No Wi-Fi. I’m all by myself in a new country, trying to make friends. ‘Hello, I am Rodrigo. I am from Madrid.’ (My teammates are already laughing, I can hear them.) I was always saying, in my broken English, ‘OK, guys, when are we going to play football?’

‘Yeah, Rodrigo. We’re playing later. We’re gonna throw the pig skin around.’

I’m thinking: ‘The pig skin??’

‘Come on, bro. Like the NFL.’

Honestly, I kind of liked it. It was fun.

But I kept saying, ‘I want to play soccer, guys.’

‘Sawker? We’re not playing sawker, mayn.’

To make it worse, I actually arrived there during the start of the 2010 World Cup. I couldn’t even check the internet, so I was in pain. But there was a little computer in the office of the main cabin, and every single day, I would ask the camp counselors to tell me who won the games. Spain lost the first match to Switzerland, if you remember. I thought they were messing with me.

‘Switzerland? Really? You sure you googled it right?’

Anyway, time is going by, and Spain start playing better. Knockouts — they keep winning. Then the semifinal against Germany — I’m dying. I’m on a canoeing trip, I think. I keep asking the main counselor, ‘Please, please can you just find out the score?’

Finally, we get back to the cabins and somebody tells me: ‘Spain are in the final.’

I never felt so far from home, but also close to home, if you understand what I mean.

For the final, I begged the main counselor to let me watch on his computer. He said OK, sure. Then he brings out this computer, and it’s like a 10-inch screen. You remember those mini laptop PCs? It was one of those. Tiny. I’m thinking: It’s beautiful. I don’t care. Just let me watch.

I don’t know how we did it, because we were in the middle of the woods, but I must have found a stream that was not exactly legal, and I watched the final, surrounded by Americans who didn’t care about what was happening.

When Iniesta scored, I literally started screaming and I ran outside and sprinted around the lake.

‘Vaaaamoooooosssss!!!!!!!!!! Aaaahahhhhhhhhh ¡¡¡¡¡jajajajajajajaja!!!! ¡Viva España!’

The Americans thought I was crazy. They were shaking their heads.

They were looking at me like, ‘Wait, is the Spanish guy crying? Over the sawker?’

They couldn’t understand what it meant to me. They thought I was crazy. And maybe I am crazy.” https://t.co/iz5D3BWP4K

@ManCity | @SEFutbol

[Tom Allnutt @TomAllnutt_]

How France became football’s super power

“I don’t see African players, I see street players”

Street players plus minutes. Ligue 1 gives more to 18 and under yos than PL, Serie A & Bundesliga combined

On the French golden ticket:

@TimesSport

https://t.co/XJSn6atDmO

[David Balamaze @daviskop]

@Salimousa_O @SirJarus 4 attackers who thrive on the ball. What happens in periods when they will not have the ball? I think France might need to move Olise out wide for another natural mid to counter Spain's ball dominance

[David Balamaze @daviskop]

@DKostanjsak Spain's slower, control oriented approach is simple and effective for them and opponents like France will be frustrated. Frustrate them, play at a slower pace and beat them. France' 2 midfield will struggle unless they add a more natural CM for Olise

[Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 @DefenceHQ]

Norway may row. But England roars 🦁🦁🦁

Good luck tonight team, from our Armed Forces around the world! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

@England

[David Balamaze @daviskop]

@InvertTheWing Spain play at a lower tempo. There's the occasional game where there small, intricate passing pays off (3-0 v Russia 2008, 4-0 v Italy 2012, v Austria 2026) but they rarely blow teams away

[Greg O'Keeffe @GregOK]

Ok so we’ve seen this France team is formidable & will take some beating⚜️

It starts with their world-best youth system at Clairefontaine

U.S. football & MLS are trying to supercharge their own growth by sending their best coaches

Throwback to this 🇫🇷🇺🇸
https://t.co/YULNpI7zOM

[The Sporting Resource @TheS_Resource]

Every football nation has challenges.

Mark Warburton believes he knows the biggest one facing player development in the United States.

Speaking on BBC Football Daily, he said:

"The biggest problem for USA football, they will pay some up to $6,000-$7,000 a year to play football. It's the pay to play model over here... Sporting JAX has an academy with 10,000 kids. There are others with 15,000. This is big business, so you will have coaching on money over here, way into the six figures. I could go to the UK and get ex players, qualified Pro Licence and A Licence coaches on a fraction of what these guys over here earn, but right now that's the biggest problem they have in the US in terms of player development."

Whether you agree or disagree, it's a perspective that raises important questions.

Should a child's opportunity to develop in football depend on what their family can afford?

Does a pay to play model help raise standards or does it unintentionally reduce the size and diversity of the talent pool?

I'd be interested to hear the views of coaches, parents and players, particularly those with experience of the US system.

[Frank Michael Smith @frankmikesmith]

The USMNT will be stuck at the World Cup until it adopts Germany's blueprint

In 2000 Germany finished last at the Euros and decided it was time overhaul the system. They built 390 regional training bases to make sure one was within 25 km of every kid in country. They hired 1,200 full-time coaches, invested €48 million per year and mandated that every pro club build a certified youth academy or lose its license

The cost to families was $0 and 14 years later, 21 of the 23 players who won the World Cup came directly from the system

[German Talents Scout @GermanTalents]

German football’s biggest challenge is not a lack of talent, but a deeply rooted philosophical imbalance. For more than a decade, the DFB has heavily prioritised ball possession, short-passing sequences, and rondo drills in its youth academies (NLZ), often at the expense of winning direct physical battles, aerial dominance, and assertive play

The more rondo is trained, the less likely young players are to engage in and win direct duels. Rondo teaches quick, short passing under pressure in tight spaces — excellent for technical composure, but it actively reduces exposure to 50/50 situations. As a result, many talents grow up avoiding rather than dominating physical contests

Duelling is far more than simple contact statistics. It represents directness, physicality, assertiveness, and dedication — the willingness to engage in shoulder-to-shoulder challenges, win second balls, and contest aerial situations with courage and intensity. By focusing so heavily on technical refinement and positional play, the current system produces technically gifted footballers who frequently come second-best when matches become chaotic or physical
This weakness has been painfully evident in recent tournaments. Germany struggled to overcome “smaller” nations such as Mexico, South Korea, Ecuador, and Paraguay. At the 2026 World Cup, the team’s overall duel success rate hovered around a disappointing 47% (48% vs Curaçao, 47% vs Côte d’Ivoire, 49% vs Ecuador, 45% vs Paraguay)

Statistics show that teams which clearly lead in both ground duels and aerial duels in a single game have a significantly higher chance of winning — typically in the 68-76% range (exact figures vary by league and data provider, but the correlation is consistently strong). Germany repeatedly failed to secure this vital edge

While youth successes at U17, U19, and U21 level look impressive in controlled environments, the transition to senior football exposes the gap. Beautiful possession football works against weaker sides when rhythm is maintained, but collapses when opponents force real battles and second-ball situations

Beyond philosophy, there is also a missed opportunity in training methodology. Many NLZs possess excellent resources — modern facilities, data analysis tools, and highly qualified coaches. These could be better utilised for more individualised training and position-specific sessions.

Different positions have very different needs: centre-backs and defensive midfielders require superior duelling strength and aerial timing; full-backs need explosive athleticism and 1v1 defending; strikers benefit from winning aerial battles in the box. A one-size-fits-all technical focus often leaves players underprepared for the specific physical demands of their roles

Jürgen Klopp’s arrival offers genuine hope. His Gegenpressing philosophy demands immediate duel recovery and high intensity. If he can drive a cultural shift across the DFB — reintroducing a healthier balance between technical excellence and physical robustness — German football can rediscover its winning DNA

Until then, the over-reliance on rondo and one-dimensional possession remains the root cause: technically impressive on the training ground, yet too often fragile under pressure

#fuckrondo
#fucktikitaka

@DFB @SebSB @DFBNachwuchs

[Michael Cox @Zonal_Marking]

Morocco didn't put up much of a fight but France played the game perfectly - maintained four attacking players, let Hakimi wander forward and then attacked into his space. Also some good counter-pressing which has been a feature of this World Cup. ⬇️
https://t.co/KLa5wJoqzk

[Simon Kuper @KuperSimon]

Spain have few specialist defenders, don't use the country's best keeper David Raya, and play almost entirely in the opposition half. So how come they don't concede goals? Of course, as with most things in football, it all goes back to Johan Cruyff. Me @FT https://t.co/KfruJtWwMU