What he did at 13 made Monaco sign him on the spot

To become a pro requires talent. With that talent, hard-work, determination and luck are needed. Have the first three, and you're less likely to rely on luck! Any player must think when they train or play, 'good things I do today can help me become a better player tomorrow'. If this isn't the case, then, that's called just going through the motions? You won't improve.

Salif IS proof that hard work & determination can give you a career in football

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Journey

Lots of people enjoy playing football, some like the idea of actually becoming a footballer one day. Others REALLY want to make it, doing all they can to give themselves the best chance of this happening.

The football journey for young players changes from country to country, in developed football nations like England, Holland, Spain and Germany, the coaching systems and facilities mean that if you're a young player willing to try, then you could get signed by a club. For other hopefuls, they can only dream of getting the chance of becoming. pro player.

Former Liverpool and Stoke player Salif Diao, started his path to becoming a footballer with an amazing show of character. Diao may not have been blessed with the skills of a Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, but he still played in the World Cup, won league titles and moved clubs for millions of pounds.

His football journey started in a small village called Kédougou in Senegal, West Africa. Diao didn't have nice 3G training pitches or proper leagues to play in each week or even football boots! What he did have was a focus.

Trial

Watching the 1990 World Cup was all he needed to get him started. Salif didn't have a television and only saw games when he was travelling with his parents to different towns.

He played football as much as he could though, before, during and after school. Diao saw players with more skill than he, doing more tricks with the ball than he ever could. He would have to work on other areas of his game to compete.

During one of his family visits, he saw an advert on television about the glamorous French team AS Monaco holding trials for a new academy in his country's capital, Dakar.

Action

That was it, this was an opportunity he thought. He had been training hard every day, his technique had improved and his focus to becoming a player was clear. His father always supported his efforts when he saw young Salif train. In fact, it was his father who said, "always work harder than your friends. Do that little extra, because it will benefit you on the pitch and in later life."

Always work harder than your friends. Do that little extra, because it will benefit you on the pitch and in later life

What Salif's dad told him as a young player

Salif's father's words are a basis to make it in football. You have to do the little extra things to improve your chances of becoming better. Think about it, when you go to a training session, every player there is being taught the same thing, so every player should be the same? Of course, they never are. It's what's done away from training that will truly make the difference.

One former England international football4football spoke to said, he improved as a player once he started to learn about the game properly and really studied other players. These are things away from the training pitch that can make a difference on it.

Anyway, back to Salif, he travelled to those trials in Dakar and watched as hundreds and then thousands of young players turned up to try their luck in front of the scouts.

The Chance

Diao waited patiently, hour after hour and day and after day for his chance to impress. Two weeks passed, then one afternoon he was called to compete against the rest. Salif had not eaten properly for days but was desperate to show the scouts what he could do.

Without football boots and just wearing makeshift shoes, Diao ran, tackled, challenged and played the football he'd been working on. Yes, there were players who had more technical ability but that didn't matter. Salif told himself, today was his day, he 'was' going to be scouted.

There are many kids who want to be footballers, it's not easy. But work hard & you will have a better chance - simple

Ex - Manchester City, Everton & Portsmouth player

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Sylvain Distin exclusively to football4football

No luck

He worked harder than ever, covering every inch of the dusty pitch. Salif made sure that he was on the ball when his team were in possession and was winning it back when they weren't. By the end of the session he knew he had tried his best, whether that was good enough, he didn't know. He waited and was called over, it was good news, in fact, it was 'amazing' news.

Remember about not relying on luck if you do other things correctly? Well, not only had Salif impressed Monaco, but also the manager of the Senegal national team who was there by chance. He chose Diao to represent Senegal straight away.

Salif Diao at 13-years old was invited to live and train at the Monaco academy. It's important to always have a dream but you must understand what is needed for that dream to come true. Next training session, whether it's your being taken there or you're taking a young player to take part.... remember Salif's story. Because there will be thousands of other around the world who'd love to be on that 3 or 4g  wearing those top of the range boots.

Resilience

Are young players today able to really focus on what it takes to make the grade in pro football?