George Henry Louis Jermy #14

In the modern game, some academies across Europe have adopted policies where late developers are moved down to play with younger age groups. In Ireland, for example, professional academies are allowed register two players to compete below their age category. Yet when you listen to players who reached the very top of the game, many describe the complete opposite experience. They often speak about how playing against older, bigger, and more physically developed players was crucial to improving their skill, speed of thought, and decision making. Don’t take our word for it, listen to what Neymar said recently. "Futsal taught me that, what the streets taught me too, because... Especially the streets, right? When you’re playing on the street, you’re always playing against older guys, right? So they see that you’re a bit more skillful, and the older guys, they want to intimidate you somehow. So how do they do that? By hitting you, pushing you. And on the street, there’s nothing you can do. You can’t be scared. You have to take the guy on again. And escape the marking, right? Because I knew that in terms of strength, I wouldn’t have any advantage. But in speed, intelligence, and skill, I always had the advantage. When I moved up to the professional level, I weighed, at the time, 54 kilos. 54 kilos for a professional player is very little. And then I had to... figure it out. So I had to be faster, I had to think ahead. Because every time they touched me, they’d hold me. Then you remember the street, you think, man, the older guy who pushed you there, what did you do? You didn’t let him touch you, you’d dodge him, and then you’d go!. I think Futsal is the foundation of every Brazilian player. Futsal gives you that, it gives you improvisation, quick thinking, it teaches you tactics, because at the same time you're attacking, you have to defend."