Millions of young football players dream of getting a professional contract one day. Unfortunately, the reality is that most kids will never be offered a professional football contract. Moreover, many of these footballers will be overlooked by academy scouts, coaches, and high-level football club personnel.

It takes many things to become a professional football player. Timing and skill are just two of the attributes needed. Obviously, you need skill, but you also need some timing. Why? A club may need a player like yourself at the very moment you are spotted. Even if you want to play at the semi-pro level, you need to have skill and timing. Depending on the country you live or play football in, the standard could be quite high even at the semi-pro and amateur levels.

If you want to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar, or even just a Craig Dawson or Nat Phillips, then you need to possess a few different attributes. Let’s look at some attributes needed to be a success as a professional footballer.

Technique

You need to continuously work on technique. You should have no problem running zigzags with a ball or playing simple one-two passes with a friend, or the wall. Many young players get a big head when they reach a specific level and don’t believe it is needed to continue to do the things that helped them reach that level. You are never too good or experienced to do the simple things in training.

Game Intelligence

Playing a mere one game per week isn’t enough to build knowledge of positions and movement. The best way to increase your experience and intelligence is to play in as many match conditions as possible. The list of match scenarios and setups is endless. You should look for any type of match whether 11-a-side or small-sided on whatever surface there is to play on.

Physical Fitness

You can teach a player to pass a ball, but you cannot teach physical fitness. Moreover, you cannot teach a player the desire to run non-stop for 90 minutes. One of the biggest problems for players on trial is their lack of fitness. It is a massive step from local football and even semi-pro football to the professional game. Players need to have endurance, speed, and strength, and power.