Player Interview: Oliver Villadsen’s unique footballing education
‘Talentkøkkenhave’ — a Danish term meaning ‘talent vegetable garden’
In the town of Farum, 15 miles north of Copenhagen, FC Nordsjælland has been busy cultivating their own talentkøkkenhave for the last 5 years. The end goal is to be completely self-sufficient on their own produce, reducing the importing of goods to a minimal level. In other words, they aim to have a squad made up entirely of academy graduates. The strategy is to integrate the players into the first-team as early as possible, whilst competing at the top level, before selling them on to teams from the best leagues in Europe after a few years at senior level.
For young players, breaking through into the first-team can be a daunting prospect. A cauldron of big characters, with years of experience in the game, ready to give the fresh meat a baptism of fire as the newcomers feign confidence in an attempt to disguise any sign of weakness.
Not so at FC Nordsjælland. The team has an average age of 22.5, the youngest in Europe, and features no less than 20 academy graduates in the senior squad.
The idea may sound optimistic to some, perhaps even naïve and idealistic to others. A professional football club aiming to compete at the highest level, both domestically and in Europe, with a squad made up entirely of young academy graduates and minimal recruitment in the transfer market. But, for FC Nordsjælland, the seed of an idea that was planted in 2015 is well on its way to bearing fruit. They have almost achieved their target of self-sufficiency and have a transfer revenue of €23 million over the last two years.
But it is not just the volume of academy graduates playing in the first team that makes this team special, it is how they get their players to that point and the ways in which they educate them throughout the academy process. There is a conscious effort, from the under-11’s through to the first team, to teach the players about things outside of football, grounding them, and ensuring they are aware of their responsibilities as role models and the positive impact their position can make.
Their academy is two-fold, made up of the Right to Dream Academy in Ghana, whose founder Tom Vernon acquired FC Nordsjælland in 2015, and the youth set-up based at the club in Denmark. This means that the first team is mainly a mixture of young Ghanaian and Danish footballers, all being educated with the same values and integrated together through the age ranks.
One of these players is 18-year-old defender Oliver Villadsen, who joined the club aged 9 and was promoted to the Superliga squad for the 2019/20 season. In many ways, he is the perfect example of what the club is trying to do. Instilled with the values and ethos of the club from a very early age and coming through into the first-team aged 17, ready to contribute on the pitch for the next few seasons before generating a cash injection for the club when he is ready to take the next step.
His academy education is already evident on and off the pitch. He has represented Denmark at every level up to under-19 and was part of the squad at the under-17 European Championships in 2018. He signed up to Common Goal upon signing his first professional contract in July 2019, pledging 1% of his earnings to generate social change through football… and his role model is Rihanna.
What better to way to find out how FC Nordsjælland get their players to that stage, and the experience of that process, than talking to someone who is currently going through it? Below is the transcript of what Oliver and I discussed over a phone interview last week.
Q. Does it help when arriving into the first-team to have players you’ve been playing with for years already?
A. It’s still not that easy but it’s easier because you know each other and you can back up each other on the pitch because you know what each other are capable of. Me and Jacob Christensen, we were part of the same team from under-12 and we are the same age. And then also from under-15 [there were] a lot of the Right to Dream guys like Maxwell Woledzi, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Mohammed Diomande, Abu Francis.
It’s easier to do all the drills when you know each other because if you don’t understand then the other guy can back you up and tell you how to do it and motivate you.
What were the core values you were taught coming up through the academy?
Self-discipline is one, you have to take care of your own preparation for games, for school. They help you mentally because it’s not about just going to play football, you have to have the right mentality. Another one is integrity.
We also have giving back, one of the biggest ones we have is giving back. Especially for the African boys because they are coming from a very different society than us, so when they get a contract and all that stuff they share it with their family. It doesn’t just have to be money it can also be when they go back to Ghana on vacation, they can do tournaments and things like that.
Courage is also a big one. Especially when you’re coming as a young guy to the first-team you need to believe in yourself and have courage to say your opinion, of course with respect, but when you are in the first-team everyone is equal. It doesn’t matter about age, especially not in Nordsjælland.
Which one has been the most important for you?
For me personally, I would say self-discipline or courage, especially self-discipline because it takes a lot. When I was an under-19, under-17 player I thought I could take it a bit more easy about preparation, maybe I could eat an hour later or earlier or something.
But when you are in the first team you need to do it because if you don’t you can feel it and you can feel that you can’t perform on the pitch so it’s very important to take care of yourself, especially when you train that much.
How easy is it for the two academies to integrate in the first team?
I think it’s getting easier because if you know each other from when you were under-15 then, for me, I think it’s really easy because you know the guys really well. I couldn’t say because he’s a Dane I know him better, you know what I mean? For me personally, I think it’s still the same bond that you have to each other. But some players I hadn’t met [before], like Mohammed Kudus, I didn’t play with him at youth age but I still think we have a lot to learn from each other.
It’s easier because everyone knows what the plan is and what the goals are so everyone knows what we can do and what we are capable of as a team. So I think it’s easier to integrate with the other academy because it’s like one whole family.
FC Nordsjælland has the youngest squad in Europe, why do you think you were ready for senior football at such a young age?
It depends on how you have been training in the youth I would say because, especially at Nordsjælland, you know how to play when you are, like, 15. From the start you play the same style of play. When you play under-15 you play the same as when you’re in the first team, it’s the same principles.
So when you come up to the first team you know what to do, the only thing you need to be aware of is the intensity and the pressure outside the club. When you are playing under-15, under-17, under-19 there is not the biggest pressure outside the club because the expectations are not that high when you are a younger player or a youth player.
I also see more clubs in Denmark right now are trying to play with younger players, Brøndby for example. Normally they don’t play with younger players but some of my good friends, two midfielders Morten Frendrup and Anis Slimane, they are now starting every time.
So I think Nordsjælland were an eye-opener for Danish clubs especially, to see that if you play with young players it will still be possible. It’s also the strategy, when you play with younger players that start playing from 17 then when they are 22, 23 years old they can sell the player and earn from that.
How did you deal with that pressure of first-team football?
I think at the start I was a bit nervous. I came into the first-team at the start of summer and I was a bit nervous, but I still had a lot of confidence because I knew what I was capable of and I knew a lot of the players who were in the first-team. To be honest, in the first three or four training sessions I was a bit afraid of playing, not that I didn’t want to, but I was just afraid to make a big mistake that costs a goal in the last game or something.
Everyone gives one hundred percent every time in training but I saw in the first training session that everyone makes mistakes also at that level, so I accepted it more and I found peace doing things because I could know that everyone could make mistakes. I knew I was afraid of playing but I still could and I still wanted to so it was easier for me to start.
You travelled to the Right to Dream Academy in Ghana during winter pre-season, how was your experience of that trip?
I’ve been there one time before so for me personally it was more of an experience to look at how the other players were thinking about it because I have experienced some things before. But, of course, it was nice to be there again. It was special but it wasn’t new for me.
We had a lot of giving back projects where we had different groups. We did a training session for two or three hundred kids, and then afterward we did a tournament where we were the coaches.
After that, we had different groups where we would experience Ghanaian culture and then training and all that stuff. We also shared our own experiences with the younger players from the Right to Dream Academy and the young boys from Accra.
What impact do you think that had on the team?
It had a big impact, we were told that they never thought there would be a European team in Ghana. It shows a lot of love from us and a lot of respect to our team-mates. We are coming to their country, we are trying to represent our country, but we are also being a part of their country. I hope for them it was a big experience, also for the academy and for the kids in Accra.
Some of our players were shocked by some things, it’s a weird situation because you’re not used to seeing kids who live in a house made of mud for example. In Denmark and also in England it is a rich country, we have a roof over us and all that stuff. Over there you can see that they do not have as much but maybe they are richer than us in other ways.
If you see Ghana, it doesn’t look like the richest place in the world but when you see how they integrate with each other, their society and their social network, you can see that especially in Denmark we need that. We are too much staying just with our families or in a little small group, on trains we are just looking at our phones.
Over there they are so kind and so humble to everyone, they want to know who you are. We can learn a lot from that, it’s special. You can also feel that from the Ghanaian boys at the club. They’re not afraid of meeting new people, they’re very confident about it.
From your experience, what lessons do you think other academies could learn from FC Nordsjælland?
I think it’s difficult to say because in Nordsjælland everyone knows what to do and every coach, the whole environment of the club, knows what the philosophy is. So first thing, I think it takes an owner and a director that believes in it and has the full confidence that it can be possible.
It’s difficult to answer because mostly it’s about believing in youth, especially for the biggest clubs. You need to have the whole organisation to be a part of it and believe in the same thing. If you don’t then you can’t succeed in the end.
How encouraging is to see people like Mikkel Damsgaard, who will join Serie A side Sampdoria in the summer, earning a big move and taking the next step?
I was proud when I saw that Damsgaard was making the agreement because I also played with him when I was younger and I know how many difficulties he’s been through. So I was proud and I also know it’s possible for me. Anything is possible if you train hard and play well. Right now I think I’m getting more used to [the fact] that maybe when you are 20, 21, or 22 you will get sold. It’s more natural for me now but it shouldn’t be a rush.
Also, there are some younger guys who are ready to take the next step up to the first team. For example, Karlo Bartolec, he moved to FCK (FC Copenhagen), and then I was the guy who was waiting to step up in his position. He was sold and then I came up.
The club can always find a new guy who they know can be better or who is ready to play. They will still continue it, with every age group there now from under-19, under-17 there are going to be new players soon.
Having come up through the academy into the first-team, how do you interact with the players who are still in the academy?
I know sometimes there are some players who have gone up and they get a bit crazy and think ‘I’m a first-team player now, I don’t have to talk to you’. For me, I still think that I’m one of those because we are all equal. I never see an under-17 player and think I can’t say ‘hi’.
I’m grateful to be a first-team player now but I still know where I was when I was at their age, so I know how they’re going to feel if I don’t say ‘hi’. I know how I would have reacted if I was them so, for me, I just try to be kind and be a role model for the younger players.
I tell them they shouldn’t think it’s easy to come up and be lazy in training. If you know you are good you still need to continue because they don’t care about your talent if you are working harder. Of course, it is more easy to play first-team football in Nordsjælland than, for example, FCK but you still need to work hard.
How would you like to use your position to make a positive difference?
I think, for me personally, the ones I need to give back to are my family because they have sacrificed a lot, driving to training and buying boots for me and all that stuff. They have used a lot of their time for me so I owe them a lot. And it doesn’t have to be money, it can be other things like experiences.
I also want them to be proud, I want to show them okay now I’ve done that and now I’m doing this and that’s for you.
- Feel free to leave any feedback/suggestions below or on my twitter.
- Find Oliver Villadsen on Instagram here.
- Find FC Nordsjælland on Instagram here, link to their website here.
