Developing young footballers the Liverpool way. Everything at the famed Liverpool Academy in Kirkby is geared towards maximising the potential of up-and-coming players.
Images of captain Steve Gerrard and Jamie Carragher with the Champions League trophy won by Liverpool in 2005, adorn the walls of the academy's complex, providing a constant source of inspiration for budding youngsters.
Needless to say, red is the predominant colour at any location connected with Liverpool but for much of last week, there was a tinge of blue at their academy as three coaches from the Zazu Football School (ZFS) visited the multi-million pound centre.
Ray Farrugia, head coach, and staff coaches Wayne Attard and Stephen Deguara, travelled to Liverpool to further their knowledge on youth development after the school received an EU grant under the Leonardo Da Vinci mobility programme.
During their stay, the ZFS coaches had the opportunity to monitor training sessions in different age-groups, from U-6 up to youths.
Besides showing the Maltese visitors around the complex's main building, the indoor arena and the multitude of indoor and outdoor pitches, coaches Karl Robinson and Iain Brunskill, the pre-academy manager, also enlightened their hosts about the work of the Liverpool academy.
Robinson and Brunskill spent time in Malta a few years back through their involvement in the running of the Liverpool junior training camp, organised in collaboration with the Liverpool Supporters' Club Malta.
Conversations with Robinson and Brunskill yielded some fascinating information.
With the younger age-groups, the emphasis is on enhancing their individual skill by 'learning through fun'.
"The pre-academy caters for children 5-7 years," Robinson said.
"With regards to U-8s, we can only sign the selected boys for entry into the academy on the third Saturday of April every year."
Virtually all professional clubs in England put in a lot of energy and investment into their academies these days. It is not alien for top clubs to engage in a tug-of-war for highly-rated players but Robinson spoke positively about their relationship with Manchester United, widely regarded as Liverpool's fiercest rivals.
"The co-operation with Manchester United is very good," Robinson noted. "Our relationship is based on a mutual respect for the way we both conduct our business."
Polishing the skills of their future players ranks high on the training agenda of the Liverpool academy, led by 'Pool legend Steve Heighway.
Robinson's words are backed by the fun-inducing, but definitely useful, exercises the U-9s are made to undertake. Inside the Ian Frodsham Indoor Arena, named after a promising 19-year-old Liverpool player who died of cancer in 1995, four- and five-year-olds glide around the artificial turf pitch with gusto.
Outside, on one of the pitches dotting the academy, the U-9s kick off training with a small-sided game involving three teams of four players each. Three teams, how can it be?
Two sets of players face each other but the four members of the third side, all wearing bibs, position themselves in the four corners of the reduced playing area. The 'wingers' have specific instructions to help the attacking team by switching the ball from one side to the other and getting balls into the goalmouth.
During the week, the U-6, U-7 and U-8 squads have two one-hour training sessions in the evening and a friendly on Sunday morning. The other age-groups, U-9s right through the U-16s, practise at the academy three times a week and take part in a friendly on Sunday.
Brunskill, himself a former Liverpool trainee, is the person responsible for honing the rudimentary skills of the pre-academy boys.
"The idea is that by the end of the U-8 season, a number of seven-year-olds make the grade for the academy system," Brunskill said.
Liverpool have put together an extensive network of scouts whose responsibility is to spot the best talent on Merseyside.
"We've got 10 development centres located within an hour's drive from the academy," Brunskill said. "The assessment of players is constant. We get the boys in from these centres where, as one would expect, there is a high turnover of players."
"The main emphasis is on fun," Brunskill added. "The coaches take an active role in training by getting involved in the little games among the youngsters."
Despite his hectic schedule, Malcolm Elias, the head of recruitment at Liverpool, found time to meet the ZFS delegation.
Farrugia, a former Malta U-21 coach, grabbed the chance to raise the profile of Maltese youth talent.
Elias, who built his reputation as a top talent-spotter during his long association with Southampton, shed light on some of the attributes scouts look for in players nowadays.
"We get to see many technically-gifted players who don't have the physical attributes required to cut it at the top level," Elias said.
On Liverpool's scouting network, Ellis said: "Our scouting is growing by the week. We have just got in a boy from Sweden, agreed a loan move for another one from Australia and a German lad should be joining us soon."
The meeting with Elias rounded up the ZFS coaches' visit to Liverpool.
"It was a rewarding experience for us," Farrugia commented.
"I believe that this visit will be beneficial to the Zazu Football School and our young members.
"I noted that most of the drills Liverpool conduct to develop skills are similar to the ones we adopt.
"That said, we've also taken on board some new training tips which we will try to implement for the benefit of our boys."
The first-class facilities at the Liverpool Academy impressed Farrugia who is hopeful that his team's visit to Kirkby will signal the start of a long-term relationship with the Liverpool Academy.
"I have to thank Paragon Malta and the EUPU for making our visit to Liverpool possible," Farrugia said.
"It's our plan to strengthen our ties with the Liverpool Academy. We're also looking to give more coaches from our school the opportunity to enhance their knowledge by visiting football academies in different European countries."