Effort is as important as Talent -- Foden's Coming-of-age story

One of City's most high-profile young players at the moment, "Stockport Iniesta" Foden has shown his talent from an early age and has impressed with his efforts at the City academy. Manchester Evening News reporter Stuart Brennan spoke to Foden's academy coach about the Manchester City starlet's childhood.

For the boys at Middlesbrough, that 10-year-old was fantastic. He scored four or five goals for City without breaking a sweat.

To that end, City academy coach Steve Ell - who directs the Under-14 ladder at the adjacent ground - took the bold decision to call the 10-year-old out of the game when they were leading 10-0 and put him in the company of the older boys.

Boro manager Jamie Pollock, a former Manchester City midfielder, and the referees of both games had no problem with El's handling, while the relatively small Phil Foden trotted off towards the adjacent pitch to play with the big boys. "We had a 1-1 draw at the break," El said. Pollock rubbed his hands together and looked at me. But 20 minutes later, when all the other games at Carrington were over, everyone came to watch us play."

"Parents and other coaches all gathered around just to see this little talent (Phil Foden) playing with the big boys. We went on to win the game 2-1 and Phil Foden scored the winning goal with his head."

In fact, Foden is relatively small even for his age, so his performance is all the more impressive -- and Ell sees potential in Foden.

Not that Ell has any great instincts, of course -- Foden, in his mind, has always shone.

"Manchester City have a junior academy, which is like a 'pre-school' where hundreds of young players come and train before signing for the academy," said El. So when he came through City's academy system, we all knew Foden well."

"Foden is not a mysterious figure. You could spot him in the crowd when the boys were training at four o 'clock. When I first met him, he was like a shining star. In the Premier League he was different and still is. There are a lot of enthusiastic kids at Manchester City's academy but Foden is a bit special. When he came to our academy, he was always the first to arrive at the training ground. He would play on artificial turf with his younger brother, who was a baby at the time. Before he played with the U9 echelon, he would work with his father to teach his younger brother how to play. "

"I think he's the best young player I've ever seen. I said that when he was ten years old."

"When he was nine years old, I saw him take the ball from a goalkeeper and carry it across the pitch, then he would get all his teammates involved in the attack and pass it safely and securely."

Foden has been doing well since childhood

Foden's move to City was a coup, especially since his father was a Manchester United fan -- even though the rest of his family were City fans.

Terry John, the head of Manchester City's junior academy, held a community event across the railway track from Foden's house.

John, now head of recruitment at Liverpool, was a natural scout, according to Jim Castle, then head of Manchester United's academy.

"John has a great eye for spotting something different in a child -- maybe a child's coordination, running style or even 'thick skin.' That's what talent is all about. John was at the forefront, along with Barry Poynton, the head of recruitment, and the two of them did the most to set up the junior academy, trying to attract the best young players. Of course, Manchester United did the same thing."

City linked Foden to the Reddish Vulcans, a local junior club, exposing him to the pleasures of competitive football as a child and providing the Reddish Vulcans with a Reddish god.

The Reddish Vulcans were indeed full of talented Reddish Vulcans, including Mace Goodridge, now in Burnley's Under-23 team, and Diego Lattie, a former Liverpool youth player, but Foden was the Reddish Vulcans' finest player. Reddish Vulcans coach Steve Williams said: "Foden is a fantastic player. I lead the Under-12 and Under-13 echelons and he is the only player I think is capable of playing at the level of the top teams."

"At six to eight years old, you often play against kids who have never played football before and talented players stand out because of that. But Foden can come out on top in those games against the best players - we've won everything and I think if we can play against the best teams in the country, from London to Birmingham, wherever, we can win and we've got a great squad."

"Against a good Liverpool youth team, against a local team like Fletcher Moss [when they had young Manchester United players like Rashford], Foden was still the best player on the pitch - every game."

"I wanted to put my money on him because I always said he would play for England before he was 23 - and he did it before he was 20!

Foden's time at Reddish Vulcans was short and sweet, as at the age of eight he was officially a member of Manchester City's academy. At the time, Manchester United and Liverpool were also keen to land him, but City had already captured his heart - and with the support of his family, Foden did not even think about other teams.

Castle said: "Young players try out for multiple academies - Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool - they look around. A 9 year old doesn't make that decision alone. It's usually his parents, or even his grandparents. The 9-year-old might not consider switching to another team, but his parents will. That's what we're working towards. We will be as honest as we can and paint a picture of the future for young players when we gave Foden a great opportunity to progress in the team."

"We also have a great staff, a great coaching and scouting network. The best tool in this job is talent discovery, don't make mistakes, and once you've established a relationship with them, serve them well. We've had a lot of players step up - we've found it's not about identifying the best nine-year-olds, it's about identifying the best potential of those nine-year-olds [kids who can be good players by the time they're 20] and we've done a good job of that."

Ell added: "Foden has never missed a training session and has never been late. So it had a positive effect on him. His parents have given their vote of confidence to Manchester City's academy. Some great coaches and staff at the academy have been involved in Foden's development, but he has played a key role."

Foden's success is not only due to talent, but also his own hard work

It was clear Foden needed a bigger challenge, not to progress faster than his peers.

"I told Foden's father when he was nine years old that it would be a fast track for him because he could do it," says Ayre, the academy coach who helped Foden develop. Then I asked him if he could come for a few more nights instead of the normal two. Foden always seems to be in training, working on his game through different coaches."

Al knew that Foden could handle playing with the big boys.

"We will train him with the players in the Under-14 tier." He said: "At first we taught him how to avoid physical contact and he needed to find space on the pitch - now he is doing very well at the top level. As we built up his confidence, he learned how to fight -- when the big boys stopped being so nice to him after a while. Just as important, we don't have him completely out of touch with his peers. So he still has a few nights training with the U9, the U10 kids, because it's really important. But all week, as a nine-year-old, he's going to train with all the kids until he's 14."

"For me, that's why now he always finds space in the game and avoids physical contact -- when it comes to being physical, he can handle it."

Foden still looks a bit undersized as he gets older, and there are concerns that the player's height and stature will hinder his development. But the coaches don't have any doubts about Foden's ability - because his ability is extraordinary.

"It's never been a problem, he's just amazing." "In the past, we would hold skills training sessions so the kids could understand what to do, but he knew what to do even before we did it," Mr. El said.

"He's a natural receiver who can drive the ball and create five to 10 yards when he gets the ball and separates himself from guys. We teach this in the academy, but Foden has more 'autonomy' in his movements and already has the skills of a world-class player at that age. Foden is the best receiver I've ever played with. Tripil is the best passer and crosser, Sturridge is the best goal-scorer. Ben May and Micah Richards are the best headers. But all things considered, Foden is the best."

"A lot of good managers who have worked with Foden at Manchester City will give him some tactical support. As coaches, they will bring out Foden's talent in training."

"We are willing to make this commitment with humility. It was never meant to be a boast to say confidently that this boy was going to be one of the best players in the world."