Goalkeeper - Brilliant Penalty Shoot-Out Epic Fail!!!

Sometimes the weirdest things happen in football matches - it is one of the things that makes the game so exciting to watch - this video had me rolling with laughter, let's hope it never happens to one of you guys! Enjoy - Saturday Sam.

Brighton and Hove Albion Top Scorer, Glenn Murray visits Saturday Soccer School

Glenn Murray in action against Portsmouth

On Saturday May 14th, Saturday Soccer's young stars were visited by Brighton and Hove Albion's star striker, Glenn Murray. After a championship winning season in League One with the Albion, Glenn finished top scorer with 22 goals, making himself a hero to many a Brighton fan.

The Infamous Goal Celebration

On the day, Glenn joined in a session in the Minis, helping out coach Mark with some of the games for our 5 year-old future superstars.

Glenn and Coach Mark start the Minis session

Even Professionals need to practice those silky skills! 

Glenn and the Mini Messi

One of the tougher defenders Glenn has come up against this season

Time to practice those turns

After helping to teach the kids some of the silky skills that got him where he is today, Glenn took time out to sign some autographs for some of his biggest fans.

Pull it tight so the signature looks right!

The Brighton shirts were out in full force and even the Arsenal fans were sneaking in for a pic.

Glenn must have left with a sore hand and an empty pen after all the autographs he signed

Another lucky fan gets his picture taken with Glenn.

We would like to thank Glenn for all the time he took out to spend time with the kids. Nothing was too much trouble and he made a great effort to get round all the kids and sign endless autographs. We hope he will come back and visit us again at some point but for now we hope that all those that met him will remember the day and perhaps be inspired to emulate his success and go on to play for Brighton one day in the future.

Nike Skills Lesson with Cesc Fabregas - The 180 Degree Cushion Turn

Can you be the Brighton Saturday Soccer School answer to Cesc Fabregas?

Every footballer has to train hard to become a great footballer. When you spend the morning training with us at Varndean it's our job to give you ideas about things you can try out in your end of session big match. Once the match starts it is up to you to try and be inventive and make sure you try out your skills on the football pitch. Here is a great move that Cesc Febragas uses all the time when he plays for Arsenal and Spain. Have a look closely at what he does and see if you can do it at Saturday Soccer School this weekend.

King of the Free Kicks - David Beckham

The Dead-Ball Specialist - Can you bend it like Beckham?

David Beckham was the king of free kicks. He has a wonderful way of striking a dead ball that makes it swerve and dip through the air resulting in a shot that is impossible for the goalkeeper to stop. Watch closely how he raises his left arm in a windmill type action whilst he leans over and strikes through the ball using a combination of his laces and the inside of his boot. After you have watched the video of all his freekicks take a look at the other video which shows you exactly how to do it. Once you have studied his technique, see if you can do it the same way when you go out to practise against a wall. If you can teach yourself to shoot like he does you will soon be scoring loads of goals and be a valuable member to any team.

Everyone Loves Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi - The Best in the World?

Lionel Messi! The name alone must send chills down the spines of any defender unlucky enough to come face to face with him because he has made some of the best defenders in the world look like they should be playing for Rubishchester United!

After being beaten 4-1 by Barcelona in last season's Champion's League, Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger said of the 23 year-old "Once he's on the run, Messi is unstoppable. He's the only player who can change direction at such a pace. He is the best player in the world by some distance. He's like a PlayStation. He can take advantage of every mistake we make."

But if Wengers's words aren't enough to convince you, perhaps the statistics from the season so far will show just how magic he is on a football pitch. So far, this season he has made 43 appearances and scored 45 goals - that's more than one goal in every game and he is playing regularly against the best defenders in world football. On top of that he has made 21 assists, earns 8.1 Million pounds a year and if anyone wanted to buy him they would have to pay Barcelona £220 Million Pounds! Wow!

The best thing about it all is he is also a really nice guy. He doesn't get stroppy or swear into cameras, he plays with a big smile on his face and just loves to kick a football - a gentleman and a role model one might say!

Here is a great video showing a few of those magical dribbles and goals...

Craziest Save Ever

Columbia's Goalkeeper Renee Higuita was well known for being a little bit crazy. He had a big mass of hair and reputation for doing the unpredictable. In 1995 England were playing a friendly game against Columbia at Wembley. Liverpool player Jamie Redknapp took a shot on goal and this happened leaving everybody watching the game completely stunned...

Maradona - The Hand of God

Ever wondered why Maradona's name is always associated with handball? Well, its because in the 1986 World Cup Quarter Finals he scored a goal with his hand that helped to knock England out of the World Cup.. Watch it here..

But whilst he is famous in England for the "hand of god" goal, he was also one of the greatest players to ever kick a football. In that very same game he also managed to dribble around half of the England team and score one of the finest goals in World Cup history...

When Goalkeepers Score Goals

Goalkeeper's are just there to stop the ball going in the net right? Think again - every now and then a goalkeeper can pop up and score for you and save the day. Take a look at some of these fantastic goalkeeper goals...

My favourite on this one is number 5... What an overhead kick!!



But one of the greatest scoring goalkeepers of all time is Jose Luis Chilavert. Chilavert was the Paraguay international goalkeeper and he managed to score 62 goals in his professional career - some of which were truly outstanding!

Ronaldo Vs Messi - Super Skills

Two of the best players in the world in a video that shows off some of their very best skills and tricks. Ronaldo is so powerful and fast but Messi is the player with the closest ball control and best balance - who do you think wins?

Roberto Carlos - Three Impossible Goals

Carlos is one of Brazil's most famous defenders

Hi Kids, if you think its boring to be a defender then think again! Roberto Carlos was probably one of the best left-backs of his time. He won a World Cup with Brazil, four La Liga titles and three Champions League titles with Real Madrid and scored some of the most memorable goals ever - here are just three of the incredible strikes he managed in his career...

The Coolest, Most Painful and Stupidist Throw-Ins in the world

Is this the coolest Throw-in in the world?

But remember kids - it can go very wrong - this looks painful...ouch poor guy!!

And sometimes they just go plain wrong...

Wayne Rooney's Best Ever Goal for Manchester United

Rooney Practises his dentist face - "now open wide!"

We all know about Wayne Rooney - sometimes he is a bit of a brat but he really can play football when he puts his mind to it - here is a short video about what is probably his best ever goal for Manchester Untied. Not only was it an absolute cracker but it was scored this season in a really important match against the Red Devils' biggest rivals - Manchester City and it turned out to be the winning goal as well.

Thiery Henry "My 3 Favourite Goals for Arsenal"

Henry- The Karate Kid!

Thierry Henry was one of the greatest players ever to play for Arsenal - he was a total legend and a brilliant footballer - here are his favourite three goals of the 226 he scored for Arsenal between 1999 and 2007. My favourite is the first one because I love it when footballers do something completely unexpected and inventive!

Stjarnan FC: The Best Goal Celebrations Ever

Hi Guys - We all know about the flips, the hand behind the ear and the arms raised aloft - but here are some of the very best goal celebrations you will ever see! They are an Icelandic football team who have made a name for themselves because they spend more time practising their goal celebrations than practising football! Brilliant stuff!

And one more...

Mario Bollotelli - "I can't get my bib on" - Epic Fail

Hi Kids, remember when you were 4 years old and your coach had to help you put your bib on for you? Well don't worry - it seems that even 20 year-old professional football players struggle from time to time!

Welcome to Saturday Sam's Saturday Soccer School Store Cupboard!

Saturday Sam at you're service

Hello and welcome to the Saturday Soccer School Store Cupboard. My name is Saturday Sam and I will be updating my new website with lots of exciting, funny and interesting football stuff, as well as the odd picture of you and all the other future football superstars that come to our Saturday morning lessons at Varndean College in Brighton. I want you to keep coming back and enjoying the videos and training tips that I will be putting up on the website from my HQ in the Saturday Soccer Store Cupboard. Feel free to leave us comments in the comment boxes below the articles and let us know if you have seen anything you think we should put up on the website.

Oh yes, and make sure you keep practising hard - if you want to be as good as some of the superstars that will be shown on the site, you will need to keep training and listening to your coaches. See you all at Varndean on Saturday.