English football is pretty unique, it still relies on players being pretty physical. Obviously there are exceptions but in general id be pretty confident of standing by that statement. Spanish youth set up tends to be focused more around the technical aspects of a game. For example the kids in Barcas youth set up don't touch any weights till they are 16, upto that point they only work on drills with the ball. In that respect they are probably better trained. I think this is why England as a national team tend to do poorly in tournaments. International football has moved on since the days of Pele, small nations can be well coached and far more organised then they have been previously. On top of that it doesn't help that the players don't really seem to gel, when you look at the Spanish or the Germans for example they don't care what club side their team mates play for. Also our players have a far more gruelling season without the winter breaks afforded to some of the other leagues in Europe.
I think Gerard has been well coached obviously at Barca, but if he had the mentality of some that have come through their ranks like Iniesta then we wouldn't have had a sniff of him based on his talent. But he's young and there is time
