THE LOWDOWN EPISODE #29 - NURTURING TALENT FOR THE FUTURE GAME w/ AUSTIN FC'S JUAN DELGADO

Juan Delgado is the Academy Director of Austin FC. As his academy travelled to Dallas for a youth tournament Juan joined me to explain how the project is progressing to date. Juan's experiences at Villarreal, Valencia and Aspire Academy have provided him with tremendous context as to what the future player may look like. In our conversation Juan discusses how we can examine youth development objectively in this increasingly complex era. Moreover we discuss how this process is shaped, refined and adapted to the player's needs. Whether you are building a game model, defining your principles of play or looking for inspiration this is a must listen. Check out below to learn more about;

- What does football mean to Juan?

- What's the most challenging part of building an academy?

- The power of knowing where you want to go.

- Bypassing fear in youth development.

- Why any philosophy should start with the player?

- What does the future game look like?

- The influence of Marcelo Bielsa on his beliefs.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 05:55 - Valencia, Villarreal & Aspire Academy

05:56 - 11:07 - Austin FC

11:08 - 15:25 - Culture

15:26 - 19:43 - Game Model

19:44 - 26:07 - The future game

26:08 - 32:11 - Principles of Play

32:12 - 36:14 - Advice

36:15 - 41:01 - Success