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I don't know much about soccer/football.

From the anecdata of professional athletes I'm aware of (NBA/NFL) there isn't really an "academy". And these folks weren't specialized at 5-6 years of age. They were extremely athletic and invested a lot of time in the teenage years when they showed promise.

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Pro football/basketball are more about raw athleticism than technical ability. The guy who is super technically gifted and who has been training his entire life but not super athletic will either get bent in half by much larger, stronger players and have to retire due to injuries, or just be shut down by a genetic freak who took up the sport in high school

If you are further interested, check out the difference in player development in basketball between Europe and US. In EU there is much more focus on the systems and team play from the early age, whereas in US, as soon as someone shows promise, everything starts to revolve around them.

https://youtu.be/qEG5JGc1P7o

That sounds like a much healthier/less exploitative scene to be honest!

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