Hector Bellerin - 10,000 hours video transcript

Working hard everyday. You always just need to give your best. Hopefully one day make a big step and play for the Arsenal.

If you want to be the best, you have to put in the time. While many were stunned by the emergence of Hector Bellerin back in 2014, the Spaniard knew he was ready. He put in his 10,000 hours and took his chance. His identity as a flying fullback has been honed over the years, built on a foundation of hard work that began when he realised what it would take to become a professional footballer.

At the beginning to be fair, you just play football for fun. There was one year when obviously everything keeps getting tougher, you keep getting older, competition is much more competitive and you need that little bit more of an edge, you know? So I remember, I had this coach, I talk about him a lot. His name is Victor Sanchez and he’s the first coach that kind of introduced the psychological side of football to us. He’s the first one that told me if I worked really hard then you can really become someone so since then, that’s been my ethic and I used to be the one who ran the most in training and I think since the day I started when I was about 14 or 15, that’s when I really got that mentality that hard work was going to take me far and it’s hard for like 365 days a year to be fully focussed and always working at 100% but if you really want to be up there then you have to do it.

Knowing what it would take to unlock his vast potential, a whole new Hector began to take shape.

My improvement through that year, I think that the way I improved not only on the football pitch but also obviously physically and I thought that (not that things weren’t getting easier) but I was reaching my targets and I was getting where I wanted to be and I was improving as a player. When I look back, I think I always had it in me anyway but I just didn’t realise when I was a kid that I was really working hard because I was really only having fun you know but to be fair, that’s how I still do it today and obviously that’s why it’s taken me here. So in the same way I’m going to keep working and training everyday.

As Hector started to realise his potential, he soon got noticed. A move to Arsenal in 2011 signalled a new chapter in his career.

That’s when I really started to feel like I was going to the next level physically. I was a quick player already but it’s not just about getting better the things that you’re not good at but if you’re really good at something you can make it even better. I worked really hard for 1 or 2 years through lifting and the mechanics of my running and how to change the way I run and everything. A bit like athletics but adding the football into it. And now I’m just trying to keep it up. Under 21s play once every 2 or 3 weeks so you had loads of time to do that kind of work but now it’s a bit harder but football doesn’t wait for anyone so if you’re not on top of it, it’s hard.

There are many unknowns in the career of a footballer. Sometimes a hair’s breadth is the difference between making it at the top or not but when it comes to hard work it’s always best to put in the time so you’re ready to take the opportunity if it comes.

If you don’t work hard then your chances of making it, they reduce to a very small amount but it’s also about being lucky as well and I had a boss that gave me the chance to play. Maybe if it was another coach, I wouldn’t have got my chance and then obviously take it once you’ve got the opportunity to show the people what you can do. You’ve got to make sure that you’re at your best, that you help the team, that you make a difference and that’s the way that you make it. There’s loads of things that can happen to a footballer; there’s injuries and stuff like that. I think working hard is the only thing really that is always in your hand and you choose to do it. Everything else is out of your control so if you can do it, just do it. Every football player goes through highs and lows but I’m not giving up. I remember once I was playing in every single game and all of a sudden I get a different coach and I’m not getting my minutes and you feel like you can do it, you feel like you can be in that starting 11 but things are not coming about. That’s the moment when you have to focus your emotions because when you’re happy, you’re winning, you can work, the atmosphere is nice, everyone wants to work, everyone wants to get better. But when things don’t go well, that’s the moment when you have to grind and really work hard and just wait for the time and I’m sure if you work and wait for it, it will come.

Hector Bellerin - 10,000 hours video

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