England celebrates their 1966 World Cup Victory

The Impact of A Clear Vision and the Reality of Soccer

SN is pleased to announce a new columnist, Scott Juniper, the women's soccer head coach at UC Irvine who was recognized as the 2010 Big West Coach of the Year and NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year.  This is Scott's first column.

1966 was a critical time in World history.  Lynden Johnson was the President in the U.S. fighting an unpopular war in Vietnam, Willie Mays signed with the San Francisco Giants for a record $130,000 per year, John Lennon proclaimed he was more popular than Jesus, Star Trek premiered on NBC and the U.S. signed a treaty with the USSR not to use nuclear weapons in outer space. Most importantly however, it was the year that England won the World Cup.

"And here comes Hurst… He's got... some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over….. It is now!” announced BBC commentator, Kenneth Wolstenholme, on the afternoon of July 30 as Geoff Hurst rattled the ball home to make it 4-2 to England in the last seconds of an epic final against Germany.

The English team that day had a beautiful balance of tough tackling players like Nobby Stiles and Jack Charlton, attacking flair players such as Martin Peters and Bobby Charlton and key personalities like goalkeeper Gordon Banks and the elegant center back Bobby Moore who Pele described as the best defender he ever played against.

WORLD CUP 1966 Teams: 16 Competed 11 July 1966 to 30 July 1966 Attendance: 1,563,135 Winner: England Best Young Player Award: Franz BECKENBAUER

Since 1966, six other countries have won the coveted trophy – Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, France and Spain. So what is the winning formula for the sport we all love?

England certainly had a winning style in 1966 they have never quite built a team capable of winning it again. When you consider the very unique styles of each of these nations it becomes impossible to reasonably suggest that one style is better than another.

The English FA has invested huge time and resources searching for a winning style for its national team.  They have experimented with different methods, borrowed different components from every corner of the world and even hired coaches from Sweden and Italy!!  The team has slowly lost its identity and sense of who they are.  

Now look back at our list of teams to have won a World Cup since 1966.  The one thing they all have in common is an extremely well-defined identity.  You see the same strong sense of identity in Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.  They know who they are, they know what they stand for, they have coaches who embrace the identity and lead by example and their passionate supporters identifies with them

For England to build a team capable of winning a World Cup the players need to rediscover and embrace their English identity.  An English identity combines honest, hard-working, disciplined defending with the passion, energy, pace and purpose to attack the opposition with creativity, pace and purpose.  

An entire nation can unite behind a recognizable identity and if Fabio doesn’t get it done in the next couple of years, my beloved Tottenham will need to get used to life after Harry.

Having watched the American soccer culture evolve over the last ten years I have been overwhelmed with the rich tapestry of soccer knowledge in this community from all corners of the world.  Our youth players have so many philosophies and styles to learn from that no other country comes close.  

The national team success has not yet followed but I am hugely encouraged by the document produced by Claudio Reyna on the new U.S. Soccer CURRICULUM.  It boldly defines an identity of U.S. Soccer for the next generation of youth players.  It gives us all a framework for building a common identity from the bottom up while allowing enough room for coaches across the country to infuse their own personalities and ideas into our young teams.  

The future of our game here in the U.S. is very bright.

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Scott Juniper has been the women's soccer head coach at UC Irvine since January 2006. In four seasons at the helm, Juniper put the Anteaters on the national map, leading the program to a historic 19-3-2 season and reaching NCAA Tournament for the first time in history in 2010. The women's soccer team concluded the season ranked No. 14 in the nation and second in California (NSCAA). For his efforts, Juniper was recognized as the 2010 Big West Coach of the Year and NSCAA West Region Coach of the Year. In the last four years, Juniper has compiled an overall record of 50-26-8.

In 2006, Juniper was hired as an assistant coach at UCI under April Heinrichs. Prior to joining the Anteater program, Juniper was an assistant coach for the UC Riverside men's soccer program for three seasons from 2003-05 and an assistant coach at the University of Bristol (England) from 1998 - 2002. Juniper earned his Bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Bristol (England) in 1998 and went on to receive his Master`s in sport and exercise science from the University of Bath (England) in 2002. His Master's thesis investigated group dynamics of elite soccer. Juniper's research was published by the English F.A. Coaches Association Journal in 2003 and "The Sport Psychologist" in 2006. 

As a collegiate soccer player in England at the University of Bristol, Juniper was named both Freshman and Player of the Year in 1996 and was the leading scorer in 1996 and 1998. During that time, Juniper represented England Universities at the regional level. In 1995, he captained the Colchester Sixth Form College to a high school national title and in 2001 he was part of the National Championship winning team at the University of Bath. He also played for a number of semi-professional teams in England. Juniper holds the U.S. Soccer Federation "A" coaching license, UEFA "B" license, USSF National Youth License, NSCAA Goalkeeper license, and a Speed, Agility and Quickness trainer accreditation. He is also on the Cal South coach education staff, coaches with the Cal South and Region IV Olympic Development programs in addition to local clubs and community programs.

Juniper's Publications: Juniper, S. W. & Mellalieu, S. D. (2003). The Impact of Role States on Team Effectiveness. INSIGHT - The Football Association Coaches Association Journal, 4, Vol. 6, 59-61.