Patrik Puljić

Honored to speak at #EMSP2026 in Berlin on “Not just a label: a biology-driven approach that fits you.” A special moment for me, sharing why care should adapt to the person, not the other way around. 💪🏻

"We need to go further than biomarkers when it comes to monitoring the disease" Interesting session on going beyond biology. Streaming now- eu-admin.eventscloud.com/website/19094/… @PPuljic92

I've heard the term 'isolation' mentioned so many times after a diagnosis, and I can't imagine how it feels. In my case, it was different; after the diagnosis, I received support from family and friends, and I saw who I could relate to. I am very thankful for that! #EMSP2026

@AlanSinov @TheS_Resource Jel što krivo rekao? Samo tko će to objasniti 😬😬

@TheS_Resource @PPuljic92

Per Mertesacker stands in front of the parents of every under-eight at Arsenal and tells them the same thing. "Your son has got less than 1% to be the next Saka. We've got to make sure that we develop well-rounded individuals who still can find a bus station and are not waiting for the taxis when we leave them. 99% need to find a different job, period. We cannot just prepare them to fail. No chance, I am not in it for this." That's not pessimism, that's the most honest thing anyone in elite youth football has said out loud in years. 1️⃣ Mertesacker spent nearly eight years as Arsenal's academy manager, overseeing one of the most productive periods in Hale End's history Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman and the foundation of all of it wasn't a scouting methodology or a training model. It was a decision to tell the truth to every parent, right from the very beginning. Less than one per cent will make it as a professional. The programme exists for the other 99% as well, and the two things are not in conflict. The bus station isn't a place, it's a metaphor for what independent, capable, grounded young people are able to do when the football eventually stops. Finding their own way, without needing someone to carry them there. 2️⃣ What he's describing is something grassroots football has always understood at some level but rarely said with this kind of clarity. Most of the children we work with will not become professional footballers. That isn't a failure of the coach, or the child, or the programme it is just the shape of the numbers, and it has always been the shape of the numbers. The question worth sitting with is whether the experience we're giving them is one that sets them up well for a life that will mostly happen away from football, or one that only makes sense if the 1% outcome arrives. 3️⃣ The line that lands hardest is this: "We cannot just prepare them to fail." Preparing children to fail is exactly what happens when the entire environment is built around an outcome that almost none of them will reach. When self-worth gets tied to selection. When being released at sixteen feels like the end of something rather than a redirect. When the adults around a young player have quietly, without meaning to, communicated that the football is the point and the person is secondary. Mertesacker spent eight years at one of the biggest clubs in the world arguing the opposite, and the players coming out of Hale End reflect it. 4️⃣ For those of us working at grassroots level, there's something both sobering and freeing about hearing this from someone at the very top of the game. If Arsenal's academy manager is standing in front of under-eight parents and reframing what success looks like, then the rest of us have permission and perhaps a responsibility, to do the same. Not to lower expectations, but to broaden what we're actually developing: • Confidence that doesn't depend on being picked • Resilience that outlasts a bad season • The ability to work in a group, handle setbacks, and keep showing up • An identity that exists outside of football These things serve the 1% and the 99% equally, and they're built in exactly the same sessions, on exactly the same pitches. 5️⃣ Mertesacker has now stepped down from his role at Arsenal, and what he leaves behind isn't just a list of players who made the first team, it's a way of thinking about what a programme is actually for. That conversation doesn't stay at Hale End. It belongs everywhere a child is learning the game, including your Sunday morning pitch. Do the clubs and programmes you're involved with talk honestly with parents about where this road leads and what it's building along the way? We'd love to hear your experience below 👇

@AC_FCenter @ibonlanda Pizarra

¡Llévate esta PIZARRA TÁCTICA de forma GRATUITA! ⚽ @AC_FCenter 📲 Crea acciones en Vídeo o Imagen 💻 Para móvil u ordenador ━━━━━━━━ ¿Quieres la tuya? 👇 1️⃣ Sigue nuestra cuenta y dale ❤️ 2️⃣ Escribe “Pizarra” en comentarios 3️⃣ Te enviamos por privado las instrucciones

Proud moment seeing my city on a global football page. Zadar ❤️⚽️ Always home.

I totally recommend reading this! "It is a story of never-ending bus trips across his native Catalonia, of dirt pitches and old-school astroturf where the ball would bounce wildly. There was no time for tiki-taka." nytimes.com/athletic/67798…

I have a similar view to this in my hometown, @LikeZadar can confirm that 😉

I might not have had this beautiful view in Barcelona during @ECTRIMS, but I’m deeply thankful for the event. Big thanks to @eumsplatform ❤️ It gives me confidence that the future is bright with so many people working to improve the quality of life for those of us living with MS.

Really happy to be at #ECTRIMS2025 (even online). Today's session on symptoms & symptom management focused on cognition and how to stay active 💡. Great insights on how to motivate people to stay active because cognitive decline is the first sign of progression. #MS #ECTRIMS4me

Captain, enjoy your day! 🥳 #Lukinih40 🎬 Relish these 40 magnificent moments of his international career as the unstoppable @lukamodric10 celebrates his 40th birthday! 🥳 #Family #Vatreni❤️‍🔥

I was diagnosed in 2011. Fear was my first feeling. Even with family support, I felt alone. It’s 2025 — and sadly, real change has only happened in a few countries. We can do better. #MS #EMSP #MultipleSclerosis 2/2

Yesterday on my walk I listened to the last @eumsplatform podcast. One part really hit me — the need for better communication and more supportive stories for young people after an MS diagnosis, in the hospital because the first feeling is fear. ➡️1/2

Unstoppable 🙌

While reading the @TheAthleticFC piece on the new @EASPORTSFC cover with Musiala, I couldn’t help but think back to the days of playing FIFA or PES with friends—or my dad. Back then, players like Musiala or Bellingham were just kids, not cover stars. Times change fast. 🤔

@VfB Schade, dass sie nicht nach Zadar gekommen sind.

„MS 1893“ auf Kreuzfahrt in Kroatien ⛵️⚪🔴 #VfBStiftung #BrustringderHerzen ermöglicht Jugendlichen aus der Nachsorgeklinik Tannheim einen Segeltörn in Kroatien. Seit mehr als 35 Jahren unterstützt der #VfB die Einrichtung. 🤝 Zur Meldung 🔗⤵ go.vfb.de/news6408

@jackbraz29 Congratulations Jack! 👏🏻 You have the diploma and a photo with Jack Wilshere 😎

I am extremely proud to have been a part of this group. It has been a surreal journey from my first day on the old FA Level 1 aged 16 to waking up today with a UEFA Pro Licence 15 years later ⚽️

Von der Relegation in die UEFA Champions League zum DFB-POKAL-SIEGER 2025: Sebastian #Hoeneß - that's the tweet! 🏆🥹 #VfB | #DFBPokalsieger | #DSCVfB | #GetragenvonStolz

HVALA, LUKA.

As someone living with MS and an advocate for advancing research and awareness, this event feels especially important.

🧠With my coffee, I am enjoying today's fascinating conference hosted by the @EuropeanCharcot and the Mystery Solved Project, focused on one of the most compelling questions in neurology and immunology: What is the connection between (EBV) and multiple sclerosis (MS)?