Aston Villa: How World Cup Winner Robert Pires Can Benefit Villa
Gabriel Agbonlahor has praised the arrival of World Cup winner Robert Pires, and thinks the ex-Arsenal man could be Aston Villa's greatest signing ever.
Speaking to Birmingham Mail, the Villa striker said, "Just look at what [Pires] has done in the game. It will be a pleasure to train with him, never mind play with him."
"I don't think I can think of many bigger names joining the club. I am looking forward to working with him on a regular basis."
Agbonlahor, 24, also believes that Villa's already talented youngsters can only improve with such a player like Pires on the squad.
He added, "[Pires will] still have that eye for goal and that eye for a pass which will cause problems for opposition defenses, because that quality never leaves you."
"He will bring a lot to the side. Our younger squad will benefit from having Robert in and amongst it. Players like myself can only benefit from training with him."
It seems clear Villa manager Gerard Houllier knew exactly what he was doing when he snapped up free-agent Pires last week.
So, what does Robert Pires bring to the Aston Villa team?
Winning Mentality
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The 37-year-old midfielder is a winner. Among his achievements are two Premier League titles, three FA Cup winners' medals with the Arsenal, along with a Coupe de la Ligue medal in France (back in 1996 with FC Metz).
And of course, Pires also has a World Cup and European Championship winners' medal, to go with various individual accolades like 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup Player of the Tournament and 2002 Football Writers' Association Player of the Year.
It's evident this man still wants to win. After all, why else would he be training with Arsenal at the age of 37, having been released from mediocre La Liga side Villarreal CF, in the hopes of securing a contract at an ambitious Premier League club?
The fact that he's already won more in his career than the current Villa crop can ever dream of, and yet still wants more in the game, sets a shining example to the likes of Agbonlahor, Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clark, Barry Bannan and even the older players like Brad Friedel, Emile Heskey, Richard Dunne, etc.
It proves to them age doesn't always matter in football; determination and desire for success can be more important.
It also shows that you can't rest on what you've achieved in the past. If you want to be a somebody in professional football, you have to win and keep winning.
If you have that winning mentality and belief that you will win, that's half the battle already.
On an unrelated side note, here's another example of the above. Didier Drogba never attended a football academy as a youngster and only turned professional when he was 21. Look at him now.
Training Habits
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Iran legend Ali Karimi once claimed that just training with Bayern Munich, when he joined them in 2005, made him twice the player he was before when he won the 2004 Asian Player of the Year award.
The further up the football echelons you go, training becomes more intense, more detailed and more professional.
Having trained with Arsenal, Arsene Wenger most recently, and in the past when the Gunners were The Invincibles, as well as with the likes of Marseille and that historic France squad, Robert Pires has undoubtedly picked up some world-class, exemplary training habits and techniques.
Whilst he is getting much older now compared to his glory days, Pires' fitness (cardiovascular in particular) is still at a very high level.
Especially for the younger players in the Villa first-team who have only gathered tips in the past from the likes of Emile Heskey, Stiliyan Petrov and John Carew, watching Pires train will give them a fascinating insight into the work of a Premier League, FA Cup and World Cup winner.
Like a Formula One team at the factory, it's the hard work behind the scenes that earns success.
Players tipped for a bright future, such as Marc Albrighton, Barry Bannan, Ciaran Clark, Nathan Delfouneso and Fabian Delph, can now see, with Pires in training, what you need to do to make it at the very top of the game.
Tactical Knowledge
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At 37 years old, Robert Pires has worked with many coaches throughout his career, with a generally very high level of success.
He obviously worked with Houllier in the France setup, before Aimé Jacquet (the man who famously had no hope of leading France to 1998 World Cup glory) inspired him and the rest of Les Blues to become World Champions.
Then of course it was Arsene Wenger and the Invincibles and former Real Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini at Villarreal.
And now the tactical knowledge Pires has unassailably gained from these coaches could well work wonders for Houllier and his technical staff, who have the man in their team who has played a whole season in English football unbeaten.
A great passer of the ball, Pires' knowledge in approach play, optimum passing ranges and styles, delivery options and forward movement could be vital for Gerard Houllier.
Perhaps even that six-month playing contract might afterwards become a two-year coaching contract.
Battling Adversity
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Such experienced performers of Robert Pires' level will have been through everything in football, from the ultimate highs to the soul-shattering lows.
An example of this would be the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, in which the Frenchman was substituted after just 12 minutes, thanks to Jens Lehmann being sent off.
He told Arsenal's match-day programme in a special feature almost a year later, "I was very disappointed. When I saw my number on the fourth official’s board to be substituted, I couldn't believe it."
"It was my last game after six years at the club, a Champions League Final in front of all my family in Paris where I became World Cup champion and it lasted just 12 minutes. That was very hard to take."
It's those sorts of vicarious experiences which seemingly made Pires more motivated to achieve better things, and as with all 30-something footballers, made him a better player psychologically.
And it is such situations which Pires can tell to his much younger teammates, who in turn will learn to move on, forget and become stronger players mentally during those kinds of adverse experiences.
For everything he's been through in his career, positive and negative, Robert Pires could almost well be Houllier's active, playing team psychologist.
General Experience
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On top of all that, Robert Pires will also bring to Aston Villa that overall experience which comes with playing at the highest level for almost two decades.
Tips on how to hold onto leads, cope with the more physical teams in the league and how to keep cool in heated on-pitch (and off-pitch) situations are also some of things Pires can teach the younger players.
As Pires' new teammate Gabriel Agbonlahor says, "With what he’s done, he has the ability to teach a few players plenty of things."
