Academy JMG

The first final training camp for the start of the JMG Academy took place between 10th-13th August. All 33 players and 7 trainers stayed for three days in the beautiful youth hostel “Het Boswachterhuis” in the wooded surroundings of Westerlo. The training sessions took place on the pitches of FC Oosterzonen. Every day we made the short trip in a luxury car.
There were 4-hour intensive barefoot training sessions every day. The atmosphere was excellent, and the the weather was kind to us. There were matches of 3 against 3 and 4 against 4 in the schedule, and a lot of positional games. In real tournaments the players were able to measure themselves against each other and various technique and speed tests ensured a perfect balance.

In the evenings there was some beach soccer or card games in the youth hostel. Everybody was full of praise for the organisation, the playing level was exceptional and the coaching extremely professional.

Thanks to all the players, trainers and coaches. You were the tops.

- 14/6/2008: Antwerp - 14h00 (Sporthal All In Slachthuislaan - info: Guy Van Hamme tel: 0473/724 852)

- 21/06/08: Oudenaarde 10-12h (Sportcomplex Stad Oudenaarde, Boardingterrein, Rode Los 9700 Oudenaarde - contact: Pierre Holvoet - 0486/913078)

- 21/06/08: Ronse 14-17h (Sportcomplex ROSCO, Stedelijke Sportzaal, Steenweg op Leuze 9600 Ronse - contacte: Bart Vandenabeele 0479/899705)

- 28/06/2008: Westerlo - from 10h30 (Westerlo - KFC Oosterzonen, Bovemansstraat 20)

- 12 + 13/07/2008: Luxemburg (info: Salkan Mustafic -
+352 661 749 579 - msalkan@yahoo.de)

The recruitment for the JMG-Academy has reached its second phase. Following the scouting and detection of hundreds of players across Belgium, a select group was invited to a training day in the beautiful football complex of KFC Oosterzonen. Matches of 3 against 3 took place throughout the whole day. It was a noticeable surprise for the majority of the players to take off their boots and play barefoot. After a short acclimatisation period everyone found it nice and pleasant to be able to play barefoot. The games were short and intense, played very attentively, and the football was of knife-edge intensity. At the end everybody was tired but satisfied and found it a fantastic experience to be able to play with and against other talented footballers. Ultimately 20-odd of the top talented players
were retained, and they will be invited back for the final phase in the Summer.

On 28th June a second training day will take place at KFC Oosterzonen. From this too players will be selected for the final Summer training. If you have questions about this second training day, please contact the contact persons mentioned on the website under “contact”.

Via this link you can view part 1 of a photo report from the recruitment day.

After the second series, a third series of selection days has been confirmed.

- 14/6/2008: Antwerp - 14h00 (Sporthal All In Slachthuislaan - info: Guy Van Hamme tel: 0473/724 852)

- 12 + 13/06/2008: Luxemburg (info: Salkan Mustafic -
+352 661 749 579 - msalkan@yahoo.de)

- 28/06/2008: Westerlo - from 10h30 (Westerlo - KFC Oosterzonen, Bovemansstraat 20)

On Monday afternoon the JMG-academy held a press conference on the Lisp. Present were JMG-man Vincent Dufour, technical director Younes Zardouk, Thomas Caers - ex STVV and co-ordinator - and Roger Smets from Lierse Youth Academy.
Aruna Dindane (RC Lens, and ex-Anderlecht), who will be godfather of the Lierse Academy, should also normally have been present, but was excused due to a troublesome revalidation.

Vincent Dufour took the initiative and began speaking about the tests which had been organised yesterday.
Dufour: ” From the players who we saw in action yesterday we’ll select 20-odd who may take part in the final stage. It will be the same process with every group until we finally get about 8 talented players left over who will be taken into the Academy. The tuition takes up 6 years but everything is catered for. The development of the players as people takes priority. If they then develop into professional footballers as well, it’s of course very nice. I can reassure people that an educational coaching is foreseen, equivalent to public schools. If they want to study Latin, they can do that too. With us it’s just the total package which is unique.”

“Our tuition is indeed unique, and the candidates have noticed that at our training bases”, added Thomas Caers.
” They were very surprised when we asked them to take their shoes off, and play barefoot. Their mouths fell open in surprise but afterwards speaking to parents, it seems that they found it superb! But it’s also the case that you don’t have the opportunity to intensively train the youngsters. At their clubs they train three times a week and that’s that.
In our academy they train ten times a week, and if you work in this way with youngsters who you know are exceptionally talented, what can go wrong”, he delightedly summed up.

Are the selected players so exceptionally talented then?
“They must be because the selection criteria is much stricter than with the Lierse youth” said Roger Smets.
“When you know what a reputation the latter have, you know enough. We’ll also scout on the street, on the town fields. What you see there sometimes is un-believ-able. The same effect we saw on film of other JMG schools!”

Another raised point is the location for all this. How does it stand with the purchase of the pitches in Berlaar?
“The pitches are still our first choice for the Academy” answered Press spokesman Terry Verbiest. “We have made an honest offer and now the ball lies in the court of Berlaar Council. If we haven’t received a response within two weeks from now, we’ll ahve to look for other alternatives. We could also go to Kloosterstraat in Berlaar, although that would only be a temporary solution.”

As announced previously the JM Guillou Academy is looking for young talented footballers in Belgium. Target group: players born in the years 1995,1996 & 1997.

After the first series, a second series of selection days has been confirmed.

23/05/2008: 17u - Brussels - Azdin Hamdan (0484/161001)
24/05/2008: Full Day - Brussels at different locations - Azdin Hamdan (0484/161001)
25/05/2008: Liège or Charleroi - Thomas Caers (0475/975163)
26/05/2008: Liège or Charleroi - Thomas Caers (0475/975163)
27/05/2008: 17u30u - Gent - Patrick Bodiang (0475/472082)
28/05/2008: 14u - Antwerp (Stuivenbergplein) - Guy Vanhamme (0473/724852)
16u - Deurne (Spectrum school, Ruggeveldlaan 496) - Nancy Cop (0474/516875)
18u - Luchtbal - Guy Blockx (03/5412405)
01/06/2008: Full Day from 10u - Westerlo (KFC Oosterzonen, Bovemansstraat 20)

General Info: Thomas Caers (0475/975163) and Roger Smets (0477/497522)

Lierse chairman Leo Theyskens and academy representative Vincent Dufour gave a press conference to announce the launch of a new Jean-Marc Guillou Academy in Belgium. The JMG Academies are famous worldwide for their outstanding training of young players, a few successful examples of famous ex-academy players are Yaya Touré (Barcelona), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea) and Eboué (Arsenal). The Belgian branch of the Academy will launch on 1st September, godfather of the academy will be Aruna Dindane. There is a planned budget of 15 million Euro.

Leo Theyskens: “We are delighted to announce the opening of a new school in Belgium. The JMG Academy is the ideal partner for this project. They have been in existence since 1994, and have 8 academies worldwide, from where a lot of talent has come. This Academy is made up of Lierse youth, who will be able to profit from the infrastructure.”

The idea is that the the new Academy will be in the Lier area.
Theyskens: “There has been no decision made on the location. Within the next fortnight a definite answer must be forthcoming. A suitable site isn’t obvious, given the various demands. It’ll be a somewhat special infrastructure, with among other things, a covered sport hall with an artificial grass pitch. There will also be classrooms, restrooms, medical infrastructure etc.”

The Academy will be a boarding school, with a solid educational schooling.
Theyskens: “The players will be intensively coached. The emphasis will be on languages, PC training, and general subjects. The classes will consist of a maximum of 5 pupils, in order to get the maximum possible personal coaching. After 7 years the pupil will have developed into a fully fledged footballer and person.”

There is a budget foreseen of 15 million Euro. A serious investment, which will only recuperate its costs in the long term.
Theyskens: “Lierse wants to carry out an active transfer policy, and as a result invest in youth. The seeds will be sown now, to ‘harvest’ the results in 7 or 8 years’ time. After 7 years, Lierse will have the first pick from the Academy. The Academy will be self-supporting, and will cost the footballer and his family nothing. We’ve spoken with a number of sponsors, but the budget is near enough attainable.”