Role models in football: how to inspire without copying

Role models in football help a young player imagine what they could become, but they can also hold them back if they try to become a copy. Day 13 of the 2026 World Cup Diary offers a very useful case for coaches: a 19-year-old captain talks about Pedri with admiration, but without wanting to be Pedri. From the dugout, the lesson is clear: a role model should help players learn behaviours, not lose their identity.

Role models in football: admiring is not imitating

Working with role models in football requires teaching one essential difference: admiring a player does not mean copying them. A young player can observe Pedri’s ability to pause the game, a midfielder’s body orientation, a full-back’s defensive aggression or a captain’s composure, but they need to translate that learning into their own body, position, context and stage of development.

The Day 13 case is valuable because the player does not say, “I want to be like Pedri”, but rather, “I watch Pedri closely; he is different from the others”. That statement allows the coach to work on a highly developmental idea: a role model is not a disguise, but a source of principles.

In youth football, mimicry appears easily. A player copies gestures, celebrations, first touches, ball carrying or even the body language of a star. Some imitations are harmless; others can limit development. If a young player tries to play every ball with the composure of an elite midfielder without yet having the awareness, support or physical ability to sustain it, they may become confused. They are not learning the principle; they are copying the surface.

The coach needs to guide the way players observe: not simply asking “who do you admire?”, but “what specific behaviour can you learn from them, and how will you adapt it to your own game?”.

How to turn a role model into a training tool

Role models in football become useful when they are broken down into observable behaviours. If a player says they admire Pedri, Messi, Mbappé or any other footballer, the coach should help them bring that admiration onto the pitch.

The conversation can follow three steps. First, identify the quality: composure, scanning, first touch, change of pace, aggression, leadership, finishing or defensive effort. Second, find a specific action in which that quality is visible. Third, design a task that trains the player’s own version of that behaviour.

For example, if Pedri is the role model because of his ability to play between the lines, the task should not be “play like Pedri”. It should be: receive with an open body shape, scan before receiving, play in one or two touches when the opponent presses and find the third player. This way, the player learns a transferable principle rather than an aesthetic imitation.

The coach should also explain the limits. An elite role model plays with elite team-mates, at elite speed and with information accumulated over many years. Youth players should not copy the final result without training the process that makes it possible.

Your own identity can also be trained

Football identity does not appear by itself. It is built through repeated decisions, feedback, experiences and reflection. A young player needs models, but also needs to discover what kind of player they can become.

The coach can ask one simple question: “Which part of that role model helps you become more yourself, not less yourself?”. That changes the perspective. The player stops trying to resemble somebody else and starts using the model to develop a more conscious version of themselves.

For a midfielder, this might mean learning body orientation from a role model while maintaining their own defensive aggression. For a winger, it might mean studying changes of pace without copying a dribbling style that does not fit their physical profile. For a centre-back, it might mean admiring an elite player’s build-up ability without forgetting that defending well remains the priority.

Role models in football should open possibilities, not narrow them. If every player in an academy is trying to look like the same footballer, the coach is not developing identity: they are producing incomplete copies.

Closing chapters with gratitude: another form of maturity

Day 13 also offers a second developmental case: a player says goodbye to his club after nine years with genuine gratitude and without reproach. For coaches, this example is particularly useful in age groups where changes of team are frequent and emotionally intense.

In youth football, leaving can feel like failure, abandonment, injustice or liberation. A player may leave because of a lack of minutes, a change of project, a family decision, a sporting opportunity or simply because a cycle has ended. The way that chapter is closed also educates.

A coach cannot always control whether a player leaves, but they can help them leave well. Leaving well does not mean denying frustration or inventing gratitude. It means recognising what was learnt, saying goodbye respectfully, avoiding unnecessary damage to relationships and understanding that a sporting career is built through different stages.

Preparing dignified farewells is part of development. A player who learns to close one cycle well also learns how to begin the next one more effectively.

How to prepare a club departure without dramatising it

When a player is close to changing teams, the coach should avoid two mistakes. The first is taking it as a personal betrayal. The second is disengaging because “they are leaving anyway”. Between those extremes lies a clear developmental role: helping the player close the chapter responsibly.

An exit conversation can include three questions. What did you learn here? Who do you owe thanks to? What behaviour do you want to maintain until your final day? The last question is particularly important: a player who is leaving still belongs to the group while they continue training and competing with it.

Gratitude should not be forced. There may have been difficult experiences. But even when there has been disappointment, the player can learn to leave without contempt. That will serve them throughout their career: with clubs, coaches, team-mates and stages that will not always end as they expected.

Maturity is not visible only when a player wins. It is also visible when they move on without destroying what helped them grow.

Market noise and focus on the pitch

The Day 13 material highlights another warning: transfer-market news and VIP spectacle during the tournament. For coaches, this noise can become a useful educational contrast. A young player needs to understand that the environment may talk about transfers, money, visibility or status, but the only thing truly in their hands is their performance on the pitch.

Role models in football can also become distorted by this noise. A player stops admiring how a midfielder makes decisions and starts admiring how much they are worth. They stop observing how a captain competes and start focusing on their exposure. They stop studying behaviours and start chasing an image.

The coach needs to bring the conversation back to football. If a role model is discussed, focus on what can be trained: how they position their body, how they scan, how they help the team, how they respond to mistakes and how they lead without unnecessary noise. If a club departure is discussed, focus on how commitment is maintained until the end. If the market is discussed, remind players that price does not develop footballers: habits do.

Scientific basis: models, identity and sporting transitions

Research into modelling among adolescent athletes shows that role models can influence variables such as self-efficacy and flow state. One study involving secondary-school athletes found effects of role modelling on self-efficacy and flow, reinforcing the idea that role models can be a valuable developmental tool when used with good judgement. (PMC)

There is also research into how young athletes choose models and use them to construct identity. A narrative study involving adolescent athletes analysed how role models provide maps for self-construction in relation to both career and identity. For the coach, this confirms that a role model does not simply inspire a technical action: they also influence how the player imagines who they may become. (ScienceDirect)

Transitions between stages are also supported by sport psychology research. The updated position statement from the International Society of Sport Psychology on career development and sporting transitions highlights that transitions form part of an athlete’s pathway and require psychological, social and contextual resources. From the dugout, this means changes of club, role or stage should be prepared with structure rather than intuition alone. (Taylor & Francis Online)

The scientific conclusion is cautious: models help, but they require guidance. Without it, the player may copy external signals. With it, they can select principles, build identity and navigate changes of stage with greater maturity.

Practical task: from the role model to your own principle

A 30-minute session can work on role models in football without falling into mimicry.

First, each player chooses a role model from their position. Naming the player is not enough. They must write down one specific behaviour they admire: scanning before receiving, delaying in defence, attacking space, directing the press, maintaining composure or leading through communication.

The coach then asks for a personal adaptation: “What will that behaviour look like at your level, in your position and within your team?”. This question prevents copying. A youth player does not need to reproduce an elite move; they need to train the principle behind it.

A short task is then designed. If the aim is scanning, a possession game can require players to identify an option before receiving. If the aim is leadership, one player can be given responsibility for organising a defensive line. If the aim is change of pace, a one-versus-one situation can be trained with prior reading of the available space.

The session finishes with a brief reflection: what did you copy, what did you learn and what part did you make your own? That difference is the learning.

Practical task: closing a chapter with dignity

To prepare for changes of team, the coach can use an individual exercise. The player who is leaving, or who is close to ending a stage, writes down three ideas: what they are taking with them, who they are grateful to and what commitment they will maintain until the final training session.

They do not need to share it publicly if they do not want to. The purpose of the exercise is not to create an emotional group moment, but to organise the ending. If the player wants to say goodbye, the coach can provide a short and respectful space. If not, it is enough for the coaching staff to support them privately.

This can also be used with the whole group as a preventive exercise. Each player answers: “If this were my final week here, what behaviour would I want to leave behind?”. The question helps players value the present and reduces the tendency to treat every stage as guaranteed.

Common mistakes when working with role models in football

The first mistake is allowing imitation without analysis. Copying a gesture may be motivating, but if the player does not understand the principle behind it, the learning will be fragile.

The second mistake is choosing role models based only on fame. A less high-profile player may be a better model for a specific behaviour: defending away from the spotlight, communicating, sustaining a role or competing with humility.

The third mistake is comparing the young player directly with the role model. Saying “look how Pedri does it” may help; saying “you need to be like Pedri” may block development.

The fourth mistake is failing to prepare departures. A poorly managed change of club can leave resentment, loss of confidence or a sense of failure. Closing a chapter well is also part of development.

The fifth mistake is allowing the market to educate the player’s perspective. If the conversation revolves only around prices, transfers and exposure, the young player learns to value external factors above what can actually be trained.

Expert quote

Role models should inspire principles, not create copies. The player learns when they identify a specific behaviour in the model and adapt it to their position, body, team and stage. Elite football is not copied: it is read and translated.

— José Ignacio Marcet · Marcet Research Institute · 2026 World Cup Development Observatory · Code 202603182024

Frequently asked questions about role models in football

Is it good for a young player to have role models?

Yes. Role models in football can help players imagine possibilities and learn specific behaviours. The important thing is for the coach to guide their observation so they do not copy appearances, but useful principles.

How can you stop a player from imitating a star too much?

Ask them to identify one trainable behaviour and adapt it to their own context. The aim is not to resemble the role model, but to use them to build a more conscious version of themselves.

What kind of role model should an academy suggest?

Not necessarily the most famous one. Role models should be chosen for specific behaviours: decision-making, defensive effort, communication, composure, leadership, response to mistakes or collective commitment.

How can you help a player who is changing clubs?

Help them close the chapter properly: recognise what they learnt, show gratitude where appropriate and maintain commitment until the final day. A dignified departure is also part of sporting development.

How can you protect a player from market noise?

By bringing the conversation back to what they can control: training, habits, decisions, behaviour and performance. The market may talk about value, but the player develops through what they repeat every day.

Practical conclusion

Role models in football should inspire rather than replace the player’s identity. Day 13 of the 2026 World Cup Diary reminds coaches that admiring a model can be highly developmental when it is translated into principles, tasks and personal behaviours. It also reminds us that stages are better closed with gratitude than resentment, and that market noise should not displace the centre of learning.

The challenge from the dugout is to teach players to observe better: to look at a role model without copying them, to look back at their own stage without dismissing it and to look towards the future without disconnecting from the present. Marcet Knowledge reads the World Cup from this perspective: each matchday becomes material for developing coaches capable of turning inspiration, transition and competitive focus into genuine learning.

Keep observing the World Cup from the dugout

Every World Cup match can offer role models, farewells, rumours and leadership gestures. The developmental value appears when the coach does not stop at the headline and turns it into a training question: what can my player learn, how can they make it their own and which behaviour will we see tomorrow on the pitch?