It may seem strange to hear an England coach talking about his players changing perceptions in the wake of a penalty shootout defeat that followed a familiar script, yet Steve Cooper has good reason to think the mood is shifting when it comes to how the country’s next generation of footballers are viewed.
The man in charge of the under-17 team who lost against Spain in gut-wrenching fashion eight days ago, when they conceded an injury-time equaliser before being beaten on spot-kicks in the European Championship final in Croatia, is not alone in believing England are starting to see the fruits of their labour after launching their DNA blueprint two and a half years ago.
“What was really rewarding from Croatia was what some of the other coaches were saying publicly and privately around the hotel,” Cooper says. “Also, there’s a Uefa technical team observing, with quite a few English speakers in there, and some of the remarks we were getting from them – and they’re comparing us with everyone – were very positive.
“Most rewarding is that they were saying things that we were intending to do, like playing with a clear identity, playing attractive football, and playing with really good organisation and structure. So that’s where ‘changing perceptions’ comes from. Because there’s no doubt – and this is recognition of the work that’s going in the clubs – that the talent is there and that we can be competitive against anyone in Europe.”
Cooper is certainly not getting carried away and knows there is still a long journey ahead for England’s coaches and players. Yet the Welshman, who spent five years working at Liverpool’s academy, where his whole approach to coaching changed under the influence of José “Pep” Segura, the highly respected Catalan who has since returned to Barcelona’s youth setup, feels England are getting a lot of things right.
As well as introducing a style of football that runs through all the age groups, England have been encouraging their young players to open their minds off the field by self-analysing much more and speaking up in front of their peers as part of “a big drive on leadership”. One of the other things that shines through while talking to Cooper is that England seem to be adopting a much more collaborative approach to international football, where staff and players across different levels interact in what feels almost like a club environment.
“There were a few things like that in Croatia,” Cooper says. “Harry Kane sent us a video message, he was speaking from his experience of being in development teams. Jack Butland, who won the Under-17 European Championship and captained the under-21s, did a FaceTime call with the three keepers that lasted about an hour. Gareth Southgate sent a clear and powerful video message just before the semi-final – he knows the boys and they know him because he has worked with development teams for a few years and has a genuine interest in their progress. Jamie Carragher did a video from the Monday Night Football studio and we also had videos from Freddie Woodman, who is now with the under-20s, and Josh Onomah, who played in the under-17s in 2014, and got them to share their experiences.”
While there are clearly some extremely talented individuals in an England Under-17 team who scored 13 times and conceded twice en route to the final – Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi and Manchester City’s Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden were among those to catch the eye – an obvious concern is whether the pathways exist at club level. A glance through the England Under-17 squad who triumphed at the European Championship finals in 2014 reveals that Lewis Cook, who is now at Bournemouth, is the only player to have made a Premier League start this season. “I don’t think there’s anyone that doesn’t want homegrown players to come through,” Cooper says. “And it is getting addressed by the clubs, but it will look different at each club.”
Cooper comes across as the sort of person whose glass is always half full in relation to youth development. Released by Wrexham after a couple of years as a professional, he was offered a job working with the club’s under-11s. In between driving the minibus and marking the pitches at a club where everyone pulled together, Cooper discovered his vocation in life. “I just fell in love with coaching,” he says.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Keith, who had a distinguished career as a top-flight referee, was not quite so appealing. “I thought about the stick I used to get on a Monday morning,” Cooper says, laughing. “No, I’m joking. Dad was right at the top, he did 70-odd Uefa games, every derby, and it’s nice to look back on that. When you see the stuff on Football Gold, he’s always there.”
Cooper’s thirst for learning meant he raced through his coaching badges and passed the pro licence course at the age of 26, leaving Wrexham for Anfield a couple of years later. Rafael Benítez was manager at the time and within months of Cooper’s arrival the Spaniard brought in two former Barcelona staff – Rodolfo Borrell, who is now Pep Guardiola’s assistant coach at Manchester City, and Segura – to take up senior positions in Liverpool’s youth setup.
“I thought I was in a decent place with my coaching before I met Pep [Segura], but then I realised that I had a load of work to do,” Cooper says. “From a coaching point of view, he has been the biggest influence on me. He just showed me the way – a different way. The biggest message that Pep gave me was that you’ve got to know what you want your team to look like at the end – close your eyes and imagine what is happening.
“But it’s one thing knowing what it looks like, it’s also how you get there. That’s what I pride myself on now, having a clear view of when the team is getting it right and where I want them to go, but also the bits to get there. So how do you train the game-model, for example? Pep taught me to create a vision and build back up to it. More than anything, once you’ve got your vision, once you’ve got your steps to get there, with your periodisation of training, the type of practices that you use, the individual profiling of players, then stick to it. You need to have belief in it.”
Asked to provide a bit of detail, Cooper says: “It was about criteria in all areas of the pitch. It wasn’t just a case where he’d say: ‘We’re going to play out from the back and the back four are going to split, we’ll get out there, there and there, and when we get up the pitch just play what you see.’ There’s always an element of that because players need to make decisions. However, if we’re going to have criteria when we play out from the back, then we’ll have criteria in midfield as well and at the top of the pitch.”
Fascinated by tactics and formations, the 37-year-old gives the impression that he could talk for hours on the subject and that he likes nothing more than being on the training field. He is excited about the future and is already looking forward to the Under-17 World Cup in India in October as well as being part of the European Championship finals next summer, which England are hosting.
As for the bigger picture, Cooper sees real progress. “There’s always going to be a cynical or judgmental view until the senior team wins something – Gareth, I’m sure, would be the first to say that,” he says. “But all we can do is put together a plan that will serve the players and the teams well and stick to it. We’ve done that and although nobody wanted to lose that final against Spain, if losing helps us win in the long term, then we’ve got to live with that.”
