Thread 150714921

When did you realise that you will never become a professional footballer?

>>150714921 (OP)
Man United tier defending

>>150714921 (OP)
When I quit playing football a second time at age 20 when I fucked my left knee.

I quit at age 17 after my U18 team got a new coach who was a cocky insolent twat. Then when I moved back to my home town after playing music at an art school for a year, one of my buddies asked me to play in a 7th tier team he was the playing coach for.

Then after playing for a 5-6 months a 5th tier team wanted me to come train with them but I really didn't want to become more serious and then in the first exhibition match the following spring I twisted my MCL and after that I've only played futsal for fun and at university (and twisted my left MCL 9 times and my right 5 times doing that).

>>150714921 (OP)
at age 14 when playing for my school team required staying after school until 6pm.
fuck that shit I'm going home

>>150715171
And let me guess, you're now wageslaving until even later hours?

Didn't get into my secondary school team after being one of the best players at primary school
That secondary school team was amazing desu and literally none of them became a pro

>>150714921 (OP)
It was offside anyway, stupid little shit

>>150714921 (OP)
I was really good until the age of 11/12.
Then I hit such insane growth spurts that I literally noticed how delayed my legs and feet reacted to my commands when compared to just weeks before.
Went from center forward/ quick dribbling winger to defensive midfield real quick. Kind of lost the love of the game because I couldn't handle my body the way I loved to.
Then people tried to raise me into a goalie and even got offers to come and train but I was retarded and just left the sport.
Grew over 2 meters so I tried Basketball and Volleyball and even though it was fine it just never turned out to be my thing.

when I was 16 I was still playing for my local team, I was good but not good enough

If you aren't playing by early age in your city team then you a shitter, anyways very few reach to the elite, one old friend of mine played with Achraf btw

heart defect at birth

>>150714921 (OP)
I was better than Robinho and Neymar together, but nobody ever found out.

>>150714921 (OP)
enjoyed fighting a lot. young old didn't matter. One summer the one community ground we had access to got taken over by local drunkards/addicts. That was pretty much the end of afterschool footy. Turf culture wasn't a thing back then. After a few close calls it simply wasn't worth the trouble.

>>150715799
damn bro that sucks

At 14 I got scouted by a football team from Austria.
My parents said no because they thought it was Australia and was too far away.

>>150714921 (OP)
man I'm glad my childhood happened before everyone had a camera in their pocket kek

>>150714921 (OP)
I always was a relatively limited player. A pacebaby with good stamina and tackles, but shit technique and weakmind as fuck. I had my moments, but after the age of 10, I knew I wasn’t going to be a pro. I stayed with my home club and never regretted it
I was a bit more hopeful about athletics, but that came crashing down at 15/16 when I kind of stagnated while others improved drastically. I had a resurgence at 18, but it was too late. I struggled with weakmindedness there as well, you‘d be surprised how easy it is to fuck up things like „run as fast as possible“

>>150715710
no it wasn't he was behind the ball before the pass

>>150714921 (OP)
it's probably better that the kid gave up with that diva attitude.

>>150714921 (OP)
I sucked way harder than any other kid my age and I was already a teen, so it was clear I'd never make it by then, as a kid I still had hopes I could improve enough... eventually I came to terms with it and moved on to Become a Legend on PES.

>>150714921 (OP)
At 31, I decided to leave everything to become a chess GM

>>150714921 (OP)
my team put me in goal despite the fact i was the shortest on the team

>>150714921 (OP)
In elementary school when, after some years of playing football, my mother went to see me play for the first time, just to see me get knocked down and lose consciousness after I got a hit with a ball like pic related. I have no memory of the hit, only waking up outside the pitch, it was also the only time I ever got injured while playing. She swore she would never let me play ever again.
Years later, I'd get my left foot severely injured in an accident, and my days of playing casually would be over too

when i stopped growing at 5'11". i wanted to be a goalie

>>150715799
You should've kept at it, you could've been the German Peter Crouch (Peter Kraut)

>>150714921 (OP)
When I realized I was heterosexual

>>150714921 (OP)
When I didn’t want to travel 4 hours in a bus to play a game

when i got into high school and everyone went through puberty but i didnt. i used to be faster and more agile than everyone else, then i just got destroyed. i quit playing at 14 and became a referee.

>>150723310
¿fotos de tu mami hijo? postealas y déjame invitarla a cenar este domingo unos de suadero y tu carrera va a revivir, lo prometo

>>150723496
Will be nice to see you at the world cup next year!

>>150714921 (OP)
I was in the Shamrock Rovers youth system until I was 17. While Irish football academies aren't as rigourous as clubs on the other side of the Irish Sea, it was extremely demanding eventually I realized the football system is designed to fail, only a handful will get the chance to make it big. So I just got ahead of the curve and left for civilian life. Don't regret it one bit. None of my mates ever graduated to go to the top leagues

You see it now with players, the more intense they train as youth, the more injuries accumulate.

>>150714921 (OP)
I couldn't even make it to the youth squad in my city's MLS team at 12 lmao

>>150714921 (OP)
The first day I kicked a soccer ball. Even as a kid I thought to myself, this is gay as shit.

>>150714921 (OP)
i was the best in my school by quite a long distance and played for brighton under 16s but didn't have any parental support and it got too much for me to keep up with on my own so i quit
still think about what could have happened if i'd managed to stick it out sometimes

>>150714921 (OP)
To actually have hopes, I would have had to be the best or one of the best in my village club's team. I wasn't. We had a surprisingly good team, so we regularly made an appearance at bigger youth tournaments, where we sometimes played against the local pro club, the pride of the region. I knew right away that this was a different world
I had a few teammates who had the right to dream. One of my best friends really was extremely good. He had the vision, the game IQ, the technique, the speed and agility. But he was quite short for his age, not very confident ... and he broke his leg in an accident right as our local pro club wanted him. Later on, he kept on being a great player, but he often got fucked over by early bloomers who were like 30kg heavier than him. And he ended up tearing his ACL twice, so he stopped at 16 once the doctors told him to
Some people may have the talent, but the stars don't align themselves in their favor and their bodies aren't made to withstand the strain
In the case of my friend, he as well never seriously pursued it. His dad later told me that the family felt like they were quite in a pickle when it turned out that their son may have the talent to try to go pro instead of just playing for fun before eventually going to university and having a "real" career

>>150714921 (OP)
When I was 4 lmao

>>150720235
Romania probably should have invented Romanian versions of those countries

When I tore my ACL at 18 going for a dirty tackle lmao I got what I deserved

>>150714921 (OP)
when my shoulder popped out twice in 6 months playing goalie

>>150723479
underrated kek

>>150728618
I'd also like to add the ridiculous demand for u18s and reserve league players. A training session in the morning, another on in the evening and all the while you're not getting paid. Maybe making just enough for your commute to the training grounds. You have to be committed and put any other endeavor to the side and be financially supported because you will not get paid a significant amount. I've seen many friends just grind their way into making it to the reserves thinking they'll make it to first division and the years go by and they can't let go. Looking back I was lucky to be spared such a fate because it would've happened to me too

>>150714921 (OP)
When me and my mates in 5th grade lost to 4th graders during recess.

>>150714921 (OP)
Being born in England. I got taken to trials by my school football coach who was a low-tier pro and they told us I was too small and not physical enough but that I was very advanced for my age in terms of reading the game and passing etc.
They suggested some football thing in Spain for my brother and I and my mum got given details but it would have required moving there.
My parents were seperated and we didn't have much money and it wasn't worth the risk in case it was sus and I didn't end up making it or whatever.
I played for my school and uni first teams but then kinda stopped during my twenties (drank and did a lot of drugs) until I started again last year.
I'm a boomer but can still keep up with the young'uns.

tl;dr: I was too much of a manlet for English footy.

>>150714921 (OP)
When I found out I had asthma.

Never wanted to, I had smart parents

At 14
I was very proud of my playstyle (loved defending and felt like noone could really get past me) and got alot of compliments from my PE teacher when we played during class.
Then a bolivian kid from an academy of a random 2nd division team here in my city entered our school and started playing with us during PE
I understood then. The infinite valley of skill between me and a kid trying to go pro.
That kid never ended up playing for any first team that I know of, but he thought me a very important life lesson.

>>150715151
Nobody cares you bitch

>>150728888
Getting schooled by a Bolivian at low altitude must be a grim reminder indeed
(but jokes aside, I understand you)

>>150716674
>Mm bro..you are indian

>>150728888
>Bolivian playing in argentina
>Meanwhile bolivians are shit in football
No wonder we habe no new talents.
All bolivian and peruvians

>>150728780
Why anglos are obsseded with height and weight in sport about talent?


No wonder england and usa are all black.
Meanwhile spain with his little genious dominate.

>>150733974
Physicality seems to be kind of a thing many Germanics seem to value. Germany historically also placed an emphasis on physical fitness and strength, and height and weight often helped. The team cohesion and workrate/discipline was more important, but being a twink was the easiest way to get ignored by the national team, regardless of how good you were
People had to get used to Beckenbauer playing with some flair, and Beckenbauer only got the full respect he deserved after he had proven that he could dig in and get his shirt dirty
The Netherlands kind of always were an exception, they allowed more room for individuality on and off the pitch. Abe Lenstra was a free spirit already, as was Cruyff of course. Austrians also had a pretty sophisticated play philosophy early on with guys like Sindelar who weren't physical at all, and they regularly clashed with Germany over that. By now, things have become more uniform between all these countries
England still seems to be the loudest and proudest when it comes physicality, though. And now that you say it ... maybe it is related to Americans and their obsession with wingspan and so on

>>150714921 (OP)
K
W
A
B

>>150714921 (OP)
When I went to tryouts for a fourth tier team here. I was 17 and was mogged by 14y.o. dudes who were +1.85, fit as fuck and great touch.
I'm at least happy that I wasn't the worst on those tryouts.

>>150734458
football is the one sport where being the average height across the planet (5'8 ish) is "acceptable" if you have the ability and pace. you'll just end up playing midfield/out wide

David Silva
Aguero
Messi
Kante
Iniesta
Xavi
Julián Álvarez
etc

are all like 5'7 or shorter. Tariq Lamptey is like 5'3 but probably runs close to a 10s 100m and can score a goal on occasion.

If you want to be labeled as elite, you need to be at least 5'10 though (Andy Robertson height)

>>150735897
Yeah it's the most popular sport because it can be played almost anywhere and almost anyone can play it. Being short helps with dribbling, lower centre of gravity and all that.

When I never was a sports kid but a theater kid. In my early 20s I was sad my parents never pushed sports (despite them being kinda fit) - it just isnt part of our family culture. Its all music and drama etc. But these days Im fine with it because being on stage from a very young age is fucking great if you pick up a corporate job. Too many spergs out here who are horrified of communicating their ideas to a group of other adults. Also, drama clubs or whatever give you some base rizz overall which is never a bad thing.

>>150715710
look who doesn't understand the offside rule