The role of the talent identification manager

It is imperative a club tries to recruit players who can easily adapt to the Academy’s training environment and have the potential to develop and evolve as players through the pathway which has been laid out by the academy director and the coaching team. The long-term vision for a young player who has been recruited by the talent identification manager is for them to develop through the academy system so they can eventually take their place in the first team.

One of the key attributes of the talent identification manager is to have a strong connection with the academy director so they can get a deep understanding of the club philosophy and an awareness of the overall vision of the academy so the right type of players are identified. Once the criteria has been laid out and the required skill set is identified for a player by the academy director, the talent Identification manager and their team will begin their search for the player who is the best fit for this role.  

The talent identification manager will look at every aspect of a potential player from their technical ability, physical capacity and growth potential right through to their personality type and their cultural and family background. 

Interviewees

Tobias Süveges – Werder Bremen talent ID manager

Jan Verbeek – Researcher, Royal Dutch Football Association