Aug 25, 2026 · 54 min · 16 segments
Thirty years in football across five continents. The US, Finland, Slovakia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, including a stint in the UEFA Europa League. Mike Keeney has seen the game from enough angles…
Mike KeeneyGuest
Jani SarajärviHost
Well, now you're back, back there, and, uh, if you think about, like, Progresa book and Progresa message, maybe the core question is what skill and how, how is it understood in your club, your city, your society? So could you tell about your ideas of skillful football player, and how, how that is kind of thought of in your environment?
Well, a- again, one of the things that we look at, and sometimes in America it gets painted with a broad brush saying, "Hey, it's all athleticism."
... you know, the way you play football in Miami is gonna be very different than the way you play in Minnesota-
So being able to understand the environment also dictates what you're looking for with, uh, sometimes the, the players.
For me, what we want is we want players that are technically sound, which means they, they're comfortable with the ball.
So can they have the skill set to do what they want when they want, with pressure, without pressure, at speed, without speed, you know, so they're comfortable, their ability to control the ball is, is top.
You know, one of the, the problems is I tell kids, "Are you controlling the ball, or is the ball controlling you?" You know?
Well, now you're back, back there, and, uh, if you think about, like, Progresa book and Progresa message, maybe the core question is what skill and how, how is it understood in your club, your city, your society? So could you tell about your ideas of skillful football player, and how, how that is kind of thought of in your environment?
Well, a- again, one of the things that we look at, and sometimes in America it gets painted with a broad brush saying, "Hey, it's all athleticism."
... you know, the way you play football in Miami is gonna be very different than the way you play in Minnesota-
So being able to understand the environment also dictates what you're looking for with, uh, sometimes the, the players.
For me, what we want is we want players that are technically sound, which means they, they're comfortable with the ball.
So can they have the skill set to do what they want when they want, with pressure, without pressure, at speed, without speed, you know, so they're comfortable, their ability to control the ball is, is top.
You know, one of the, the problems is I tell kids, "Are you controlling the ball, or is the ball controlling you?" You know?
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