Diego Placente, Argentina youth national-team coach and former Argentina international, who has led the country’s U15, U17 and U20 sides, in an interview with Tiempo Argentino, translated from Spanish:

At younger ages you say: “Up until what point is it wrong for them to be ball hogs, to be more individualistic?”

When you see an age group that plays very well, that makes a lot of tactical movements, you lose a little of the essence of street football. So sometimes, let them be more selfish.

Let them learn those movements, but don’t let them lose the dribbling, the doing of different things that, later, when you’re older, you correct because otherwise the coach takes you off, or you see who is better and you mature.

But don’t lose that when they’re so young.

There’s a lot of information, because of the movements or because you make a play and it works… With that, the player thinks less. He doesn’t know that he can make more movements. He isn’t as creative, as spontaneous.

In fact, by playing more simply or “doing what he’s supposed to do,” the opponent thinks the same way and takes the ball from you.

The ball goes between someone’s legs because maybe you stop it for a moment, maybe you put your foot on top of it—that’s street football.

Through exercises or games, try to put the tactics into that, and then, when a tournament is coming, make adjustments.

But don’t waste time doing a lot of tactical work or set pieces if there isn’t a tournament. Try to make sure that on the days they come, they play and play.

Because when they play against each other, with exercises, they improve, and you make things more difficult and they improve, and then the cycle means one player raises the level of the one who is falling behind, and another comes in, and that competitiveness makes everyone improve.

When you play with the good players, you want to be in the national team, you want to play with the good players. You become accustomed to another pace, to other difficulties.

Let the kids play.