Interesting insight into the mind of Wayne Mark Rooney in this article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/may/17/wayne-rooney-visualisation-preparation
...contrary to the general perception, he doesn't strike me as one of the thicker players out there.
Text of article:
Wayne Rooney has revealed how since being a very young player he visualises game patterns and goalscoring situations to enhance his performance.
The Manchester United and England striker told ESPN: "Part of my preparation is I go and ask the kit man what colour we're wearing – if it's red top, white shorts, white socks or black socks. Then I lie in bed the night before the game and visualise myself scoring goals or doing well. You're trying to put yourself in that moment and trying to prepare yourself, to have a 'memory' before the game. I don't know if you'd call it visualising or dreaming, but I've always done it, my whole life.
"When I was younger, I used to visualise myself scoring wonder goals, stuff like that. From 30 yards out, dribbling through teams. You used to visualise yourself doing all that, and when you're playing professionally, you realise it's important for your preparation."
Asked about his abilities as a developing player with regard to his peers Rooney added: "You're a bit more advanced than the kids your age, so there are times on the pitch where you can see different things, but they can't obviously see it. So then you get annoyed – they can't calculate.
"It's like when you play snooker, you're always thinking three or four shots down the line. With football, it's like that. You've got to think three or four passes where the ball is going to come to down the line. And the very best footballers, they're able to see that before – much quicker than a lot of other footballers."
Jari Litmanen, the former Ajax and Liverpool No10, provided one source of inspiration for Rooney. "I enjoyed how he moved and got into space," he said. "And he was patient. If you looked at him, he always never looked like he was rushed doing anything. He always used to take his time. Then, when the opportunity came, he found the space to get the ball in the net.
"The more you do it, the more it works. You need to know where everyone is on the pitch. You need to see everything."
Visualisation - Rooney
posted on 18/5/12
...well, I kind of thought it was interesting!
posted on 18/5/12
don't worry
change the name of the article to "Rooney contemplates leaving United"
You'll get loads of comments then
posted on 18/5/12
It’s interesting – often heard the terms used before but it’s usually much closer to the event – i.e. a sprinter in the blocks visualising his start and the race or as a more football related example – a free kick or penalty. I can’t really imagine if dreaming about scoring the winning goal the night before will help much.
It’s good to see that he is still working on things but then – repeating what the coaches say you need to do and should be doing is not necessarily the same as what you actually apply.
posted on 18/5/12
Red Russian - I really enjoyed the read and thought it was an interesting article. Unfortunately someone posted it last night
posted on 18/5/12
Great to read RR
Whe he's talking about reading the game 3 or 4 passes ahead, I think if you asked him who at United is best at that, he'd say Carrick.
When he was describing Limanen, is made me think of Carrick instantly.
Tis why you see someone like Scott Parker bustin a gut to get into positions that Carrick would have been in seconds earlier
For me it's a massive part of the game and the players that are good at it, the cliche'd 'His positional sense and reading of the game is excellent' often go unnoticed
Thanks for sharing
posted on 18/5/12
Good point about Carrick, Macca. (You are the same Macca, aren't you?) Rio is another player whose anticipation is very good. I guess Chicharito's knack of finding himself in the right place in the box is evidence of a similar awareness. Of course, the angles and nuances of this are quite different for the different parts of the pitch where each of these players do their stuff.
Oh, Scholes is another great exponent of this - you often see in retrospect that his previous pass and move was made with the intention of setting up the one he has just made. And of course in his more attacking days he had a great sense of when to make the move into a shooting position.
posted on 18/5/12
Yes I'm the same Macca RR
Thought I'd do a little stereotyping of my own, only be ridiculous with it
posted on 18/5/12
I guessed as much.
posted on 18/5/12
Certain players have football brains.
Teddy sheringhams reading of the game was exellent he wasn't the quickest but new where he needed to be when her needed to be there.
Vincent kompany has this ability to read the game well, his positional awareness is exellent.