Considered the best academy in the Premier League, Southampton is taking advantage of it’s co-ownership model to observe the methods at its French cousin's training centre.
Dayot Upamecano (FC Bayern), Angelo Fulgini (RC Lens), Arthur Masuaku (Besiktas) or Moussa Niakhaté (OL)... These are some prestigious footballers that have passed through the Valenciennes training centre (National 1) in recent years. "VAFC has made a habit of producing top players and its academy been ranked in the French Top 15 for five years," says Simon Raux, director of the centre for three years. A know-how that is of interest even abroad. In November, Andy Goldie, his counterpart at Southampton, came to observe the work of the Northerners for four days. The Premier League club where Alan Shearer, Gareth Bale and Théo Walcott have trained, is considered one of the very best academies in England (see below).
Two models and now a single entity
Since July 2023 and the acquisition of the National 1 club by the Sport Republic group, the two clubs share the same owner. And now also the same skills. "He already came to see the reserves and the U17s last season, but this is the first time he has come for so long to immerse himself in our way of working with the U17s, the U19s and the reserves. Even if we do not have the same means, it is interesting to be able to present our method and to have his perspective on our way of operating". Especially since the VAFC (National 1) is going against the current trends by promoting a transversal and collective approach. Not to mention collectivist. A bias staunchly defended by Simon Raux: "We have wanted to share practices and knowledge for years. This new situation has reshuffled the cards and made it possible to establish a framework that has led to a new technical organization chart".
Unite to progress, pool to move forward
Appointed director of the training center at the start of the 2022-2023 season, the coach was given a full latitude to develop the new conceptual framework of the VAFC Academy by weaving a lifeline between all the technical components of the club. One name that brings together, under the same banner, the academy, the youngsters of the association, in other words all the registered players from U9s to U15s, the trainees of the training center, the futsal section and the women's football center: "The idea is simply to bring together all the parties and to ensure that everyone works in the same direction because transversality is one of the conditions that allows the establishment of a viable club identity. My conviction is that the strength of a club is also built through its ability to unite. Just like a team of players, the objective is not only for everyone to work with each other but for each other."
"Transversality is one of the conditions for establishing a strong club identity"
A desire formalized by the creation of 5 working groups bringing together 46 educators called upon to work on a specific theme throughout the season (see elsewhere). At the end of this, a plenary meeting allows each entity to present the results of their work to all the other coaches through contextualized videos and animated slides. An organization requiring a necessary prerequisite: "One of the first priorities was to use common terminology so that there is consistency of words between the different poles and categories. This base established, the objective is really for each educator to demonstrate creativity and feel invested with a "club" mission beyond the simple framework of their team or category. The first year, we laid the foundations of this internal training and this season, we are refining it to stick as closely as possible to our needs and define new common areas of development." While the method will undoubtedly continue to evolve over the years, it seems to herald a gentle shift towards a more participatory management style. As the head of the training centre explains: "In fact, beyond methodological concepts or the establishment of a VAFC catalogue of methods, the most important thing for me is that the coaches enjoy working together for the club, for the young people but also for themselves. I believe that the pleasure of working together to achieve a global project is a great learning accelerator." Or, as illustrated by the example of a very current proverb: "Alone, we go faster, together, we go further!"
Example of the instructions given by the director of the center, who is also responsible for the strategy working group this year :
"At the start of the season, I ask that the coaches of 8-a-side football and 11-a-side football to determine 2 combinations on corners, 2 others on offensive throw-ins, the same on the most effective behaviors on defensive throw-ins or even the most rational supervision of the area to take back a possible penalty pushed back by our goalkeeper or the opposing goalkeeper. During the season, the coaches of the group exchange their thoughts and observations drawn from their practical application during matches. It is not very complicated and by acting in this way, a method and annual monitoring in the strategic field gradually emerges. This logic applies to all the committees and leads to a presentation for the other working groups during the plenary meeting."
Southampton, a model in the Premier League
A few years ago, Vcoaching had the chance to spend time with several players in the Saints academy to observe the secrets of its methods. Here are some elements that impressed us at the time. A phenomenal local network thanks to several academies in the South of England with 12 satellite sites. At the technical level, the key word from the Southampton coaches is to touch the ball as much as possible: inspired by the Coerver method, the content gives an important place to the development of ball control, with personalized technical programs and oppositions hardly exceeding 4 against 4. The infrastructure of the academy also impresses, composed of 14 fields with the exact dimensions of that of the St-Mary's stadium, the lair of the Saints. With the main pitch reminiscent of the Cantera (Real Madrid training center): the closer you get to the main building, the higher you go in category. So, there are many reasons that still make the Saints academy the prime example it remains today.
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