Asian soccer star, London - This is just a quick post to let our readers know about exciting new developments to asiansoccerstar.com. After getting valuable feedback from our readers we've decided to revamp the site design and add additional features that will allow for a more interactive experience.

What does all this mean to you, our reader?

Well basically with the new user-friendly Asian soccer star blog you will get access to cutting-edge information, advice and support on all aspects of youth football training and development. This includes hard to come by information on the journey from playing Sunday League football to getting into a professional centre of excellence or football academy.

We will write from a real time perspective of Sobha's long journey and also have expert writers contributing articles. You will get an insight to the pitfalls and mistakes that most parents make, the do's and don'ts of training, the inportance of recovery, nutrition and a lot more. You will get access to multimedia training sessions and be able to get your questions answered.

These are just some of the new developments over the next couple of months.

Keep coming back to check for new updates anad the launch of the new Asian soccer star.

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• East Asian soccer team (theworld.org)

As usual Spain dominated the beginning of the first half with their pass and move style of play but just couldn't find the back of the net.

Holland soon got wise to the fact they couldn't outplay the Spanish and changed tactics to a much more physical game. At times the Dutch players went way beyond just playing physical, resorting to what was pure thuggery.

Van Bommel cut down the Spanish players time after time and should really have been red-carded for his efforts. The really dangerous and completely unnecessary foul came from De Jong who flew with his studs, in what could only be described as a flying kick, into Alonso's chest.

That should have been the end of De Jong's world cup, but he was only handed a yellow card for his efforts.

Now all you readers of Asian soccer star should have picked up on a valuable lesson from the world cup 2010 final between Spain and Holland.

How did Spain overcome the Dutch thuggery to win the game?

As a strategy Holland were spot on because they obviously rattled the Spanish and disrupted the flow of their game; the manner in which they went about it wasn't very sportsman like. The game ended with a record 14 yellow cards and a red card for Holland's Johnny Heiteinga.

The reason Spain came through in the end, and if you're a budding Asian soccer star pay particular attention, was because the players had self-confidence and belief in their individual abilities and as a team.

They stuck to their game plan.

The Spanish are all comfortable on the ball, they have terrific awareness which allows them to play their pass and move game. Every player knows what his job is and is very confident in performing that job.

This sort of confidence only comes about by practise and really getting to 'know' the ball.

Research says that it takes 10,000 hours of practise to master anything in life. The Spanish players all look like they have surpassed that 10,000 hour mark.

I believe, to become an Asian soccer star you will have to hit and exceed that 10,000 hour mark; so go out and get practising with the ball until it feels a part of you.

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Most of the professional clubs have already started their pre-season training knowing that effective pre-season football training will go a long way in preparing players to cope with the increasing demands of professional football.

So is pre-season training important in youth football, especially for readers of the Asian soccer star blog?

I think it's not only important but vital for anyone looking to play professional football, especially anyone with dreams of becoming an Asian soccer star.

You see, it's what you do outside of team training that can make the vital difference and a much more scientific approach is needed, which combines energy systems training with skill development.

And unless you're already signed up to a professional academy or centre of excellence you'll need to find the right training information and experts to help you with a pre-season football training programme.

Infact, it wouldn't do any harm to supplement the professional academy and centre of excellence training with your own programme.

This is vitally important to ensure that players are in the best possible shape at the start of the season and maintaning their fitness throughout the season.

In future posts and articles we'll share specific pre-season football training programmes used by our own Asian soccer star which can be adapted for personal use.

I personally thought the final would be a South American affair between Brazil and Argentina but Holland and Germany put that theory to bed.

Just goes to show that nothing is really that predictable in football but as we've said before to any budding Asian soccer star, self-discipline matters.

Brazil started strong against the Dutch but lost their way as soon as Holland scored their first goal. From then on Brazil went into panic mode and lost their discipline in defence, an area on which the 2010 Brazil had been built.

Brazil plays best as a team of individuals with flair and creativity who are allowed to play fast one-touch football the South American way.

The world cup 2010 Brazil team looked more like a European team and it didn't suit them.

Germany on the other hand have always looked like a strong, disciplined unit that have grown stronger throughout  the tournament. Their passing is accurate and they play as a team both in attack and defence.

Germany destroyed Maradona's Argentina with a 4-0 victory dominating most of the game. Again, the South Americans lost their discipline.

Germany has been the most impressive in the tournament so far, growing in confidence and as a strong unit match by match.

But their discipline is what sticks out most, each player knows what their job is and they get on with it in an effective and efficient manner.

Asian soccer star learning point

Self- discipline is the cornesrtone of success. Discipline will give you freedom.

As Stephen R. Covey once wrote, "the undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites and passions".

And as we already know and have seen from the South American teams that play with passion and flair, once they lose their self-discipline they lose the freedom to play with flair and creativity. They give in to their emotions.

In the longer term, a lack of discipline equates to a lack of freedom to develop particular skills and abilities which are required to play professional football.

Needless to say all three of us kids had a pretty good incentive to perk up and get out of bed as soon as possible, before the singing started.

Now that I'm older and wiser, I realise what dad was trying to do and to a larger extent succeeded. He was trying to instill in us a sense of self-discipline and empower us with a positive can-do mindset.

Anything was possible with the right mindset and more importantly by taking possession of your own mind. This of course had to be followed by massive action.

I remember coming across nuggets of information and quotes about success and achievement throughout the day.

What really stuck with me as I was growing up was a quote dad had written in large writing on a wall chart in his home office. The quote was from Napoleon Hill and it read:

"Direct Your Thoughts, Control Your Emotions and You Ordain Your Destiny"

I didn't understand it at the time because it really wasn't relevant to me, but now it's clicked and it's really important for anyone looking to achieve their dream of playing professional football and become an Asian soccer star.

Asian soccer star is a goal for many of our readers, and to achieve this goal requires dedication, discipline and determination.

The power of thought is the only thing that we, as human beings, have complete control over. We have the power of self-determination, the ability to choose what our thoughts and actions will be. If we direct our thoughts and control our emotions, we will ordain our destiny.

If you focus or direct your thoughts towards that goal of playing professional football and control your emotions whenever you encounter negativity, pressure, prejudice or any number of situations that can move you away from your ultimate goal you will control your destiny.

Once you control your destiny you can achieve whatever it is you want in life and for most of our readers it is being an Asian soccer star, so take charge of your life. You are what you think!

And I say that with great hope.

So far, world cup 2010 has been a great disappointment with most of the 'big players' failing to perform. The games have lacked the ambition and fluidity that we have been accustomed to in past world cup finals.

But there are plenty of lessons to be learned, especially for anyone that wants to play professional football and realise their dream of becoming an Asian soccer star.

You see, every kid has dreams of playing professional football but very few make it.

Even those kids, and that is the majority,  with real outstanding talent never get scouted or get dropped by the professional club academies and centres of excellence if they don't seem like they're not making the grade.

Getting scouted and dropped is in the hands of other people who have their own club and budgetary pressures as well as their own ideas of which kids are likely to make it in the professional game.

To a large extent they also have their built-in bias to profile and stereotype players before the kids have a chance to settle in and really shine; that's if they get to trial in the first place.

Asian kids already have it tougher than most to get a foothold because of this stereotyping which is precisely why asiansoccerstar.com has been increasing in readership month after month.

Any kid aiming for that goal of becoming an Asian soccer star needs to train harder, longer and smarter than they can imagine. They need to work on their mental toughness and have an unrelenting hunger, desire and ambition to succeed.

Asian kids need to be learning all the time from each training session, each match and every match they watch. World cup 2010 has provided many opportunities to learn; about determination, grit, ambition, desire, hunger and the will to win. They also need to learn about nutrition, psychology and develop their awareness.

Many of these skills can be developed away from the football pitch in every day life.

So far most of the world cup 2010 finals teams have drawn a blank in many of these crucial areas with players and teams under-performing to their potential; France, Italy and England being the worst culprits.

The South American teams have fared better but we expect more of them in the quarter finals.

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I really don't think so, and if you are a budding Asian soccer star take particular note.

Last night both Brazil and Chile put on a show that put the world cup 2010 final campaigns of major European footballing nations like England, France and Italy to shame.

The match was a showcase of skill, fluidity, attacking, defence and above all grit and determination. Even though Chile were 2-0 down in the first half they never gave up seeking that elusive goal.

Strike that, even when they were 3-0 down they still showed that grit and determination through attacking football to get that one goal.

A full-time victory for Brazil at 3-0 left a sweet taste in the mouth in anticipation of the quarter finals. This is what world class football is all about, especially when representing your country at world cup 2010.

England could, and more importantly, should learn a lesson in teamwork, attacking and defending from the South Americans.
Playing as one unit is the way to winning big competitions and that requires discipline, grit, determination, hunger passion, and a desire to win.

In two words, mental toughness.

Everything that England lacked throughout their world cup 2010 finals campaign.

Anyone looking to become a future Asian soccer star should watch the rest of the matches with an inquisitive eye, to get a good view of the battlefield on the pitch and be aware of the movement that is taking place.

That is how to realise your dreams of playing professional football and becoming an Asian soccer star.

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England were poor throughout the match apart from a 20-minute glimpse of creativity, passion and desire to chase the ball down. But it didn't last very long.

I don't need to give a running commentary of the match as the whole nation was watching, but may be if the second goal had been given things might have turned out differently.

What I found really frustrating was the set-up and movement of the players, there was none.

There was no fluidity of movement or awareness, which are fundamental even at the most basic levels of football. England's performance was akin to a Sunday league match and a massive disappointment to fans all over the world.

But what is it about the English game that lets them down time after time when they come across a decent footballing side?

It's not as if they were pitted against the best in the group stages and yet they struggled. Even the game against Latvia was a struggle and considering they were playing the smallest nation in world cup 2010, England should have walked through with an emphatic victory.

Here's my take on it, and future Asian soccer star's should take note.

I think football at a grass roots level is fundamentally the problem. Kids are taught FA drills that do little to actually develop a holistic player and focus too much on winning rather than technical development.

Take the South Americans and even the Germans, Dutch and Spanish, they all spend a huge amount of time on individual technical development before moving onto tactical game play.

I feel any one looking to reach their goal of playing professional football and becoming an Asian soccer star needs to spend time on their own developing their technical ability.

With the right mental toughness and technical ability anything is possible in the game of football.

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Asian soccer star, London – The big game between England and Germany in the last 16 of world cup 2010 knockout stages is being built-up as England's revenge match against the Germans. The media is going crazy building up the hype right down to predicting who will take part in the penalty shootout.

England is going to expect a lot from its players tomorrow and that means a huge amount of pressure for the players. If I were Fabio Capello I'd make sure there was a media blackout imposed around the players and they were working on their mental toughness more than anything else so close to the match.

But with all the technology and social media like facebook and twitter available on most smart-phones, protecting the players from the media hype is an almost impossible task.

Like I said, work on the psychology of the players. While practising penalties may provide confidence to the chosen penalty-takers, I believe it is a false confidence without the pressure and atmosphere of the real thing.

Mental toughness is core to performance in any sport, it's what differentiates the winners from the losers.

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Brazil topped the table with Portugal taking second place into the last 16, but the teams were booed off the pitch in what was a cautious but listless performance from both sides.

The first half saw a flurry of yellow cards but no real passion was seen on the pitch, the cards were more for tit for tat fouls from both sides. It's been a long time since i've seen such a boring match especially from two teams that are known for their flair and attacking football.

But, because the outcome of the group had more or less already been decided the fans had to put up with a performance that was just ridiculous.

From a tactical point of view it's completely understandable, but when the match has been hyped as probably the best fixture of the tournament and the stadium is packed to capacity the palyers have a responsibility to play with a will to win.

Anyway, I hope the rest round really picks up in the quality that is expected from world cup 2010. We want to see the passion, hunger, desire and will to win.

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