Wingers of Yesterday & Today (1/3) - Advice from a coach (Pierre Flamion)

Still from Football Magazine n°13, March 1961.

 

A COACH GIVES YOU ADVICE

WINGER : BECOME « WELL BELOVED »

by PIERRE FLAMION

former international player and coach of F.C Limoges

Into an extremly difficult role to hold, the winger often tend to think he is forgotten. But it is him who lies low way too often. In his head, he thinks to be the poor relation of a team, occupying a thankless position on the pitch with a reduced field. He often feels being dependent on his inside.

Well no, he is not poor, even if his position is occupied by the injured player, even if he has got the number 11 : you are not the eleventh. Sooner or later, with your intelligence and your tactical sense, you, the unloved yesterday will be the beloved tomorrow.

What are the required qualities for a winger ?

1. Physical aspect.

• Speed and quickness. Strenght, sureness. A fast recovery. Because if he works intermittently, he can, in a limited period of time, perform several sprints.

• Jump : speed often means a good jump.

2. Technical aspect.

• More and more, the winger should be the big man of tomorrow. Thus he must have the most complete technical skillset.
• Dribbling : to eliminate his adversary or adversaries into a tight zone. So, short hooks. The feint.
• His personal skill : dodging. His morphology does not allow contacts. He must avoid the robustness of the defenders.
• Shooting : for the shoot, the corner-kicks, the crosses on the full run.
  
  

3. Intellectual and tactical aspect.

• He should be the most intelligent one in the team, because his zone of action being worst than his partner's one he must compensate for this with a great tactical ability.
• The ruse. In order to dodge the mass of defenders, a perpetual start to put the doubt in the ideas of the defenders.
• Moral resistance. If he is poorly served or forgotten, he must convince himself before convincing the others that it is first his own fault.
• From an intermittent player that he used to be, the winger must become constant, sometimes builder, sometimes finisher. The winger of today, it's the big man of tomorrow.
  
  
  
  
  Source : Football Magazine n°13, March 1961
  
  

  

  « Our cover : Jean Vincent, the most capped amongst French wingers of all times ».

  
  
  See the two other parts on the topic, from the same source :
  
  Wingers of Yesterday & Today (2/3) - The Evolution of the Winger's role.
  
  Wingers of Yesterday & Today (3/3) - A Gallery of Wingers from France and from the whole world.