The ‘football/soccer analyst’: it’s a term relatively new to the game’s lexicon. In days gone by, most of a club’s forethought with regards to matchdays will have been internal, conducted almost entirely in reference to their own squad. In the modern era, however, it is essential that they take in the minutiae, not just of…
Today’s article focuses on the mental conditioning (beliefs) that athletes condition on themselves. Those who follow sports of a regular basis, knows that it is a very common situation, many players having rituals at key moments of the game. When they are entering on the pitch, when they score a goal, when they prevent a…
In the world of sport one of the main clichés is that “90 % of the performance comes from the mental component”. The major contradiction behind this statement is the fact that 90 % of the coaches and athletes devote almost all of their time working on the physical, technical and tactical components of the…
At times, it might be tempting to view the end-game of any coach’s career to be to oversee the development of senior, elite level players. Maurizio Sarri, Gerrard Houllier, even the great Carlos Alberto Parreira: all are examples of individuals who sensationally progressed after coaching youth and amateur teams. Through a combination of graft and…
Me or them? What game? Mine? Theirs? The offered training must be provided by competent, effective and, above all, sensitive people. Sensitivity to understand how to make others learn and learn how to play .. but what game? A complex game due several factors: the amount of relationships it can encompass, the members we play…
Experienced Portuguese Soccer Coach with work done in Portugal and China, Fernando Valente is currently FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) U21 head coach. Soccer HUB had the opportunity to ask some questions about his work and his believes about youth soccer coaching! SH: What are the main challenges that a youth soccer coach have to…
Exclusive interview with Ron Schneider Truly global footballing experts are hard to come by. With this in mind, Soccer Hub was delighted to sit down with Ron Schneider, a coach with immense experience in a number of different areas of the game. As well as having an MBA in international business and being an international…
Today’s article is based on the burnout syndrome in athletes. I recently completed a specialization in high performance sports psychology and this topic seems to me of high interest to athletes and coaches. It is evident to me that most successful athletes are those who show the best skills in managing and controlling potentially stressful…
As we approach August, the end of this summer’s transfer window looms large. As ever, clubs have parted with billions in order to improve their squads for the coming season. However, it may well be that some of the biggest deals are yet to come: will Pogba get his move away from Man United? Can…
Exclusive interview with Ricardo Moreira Soccer Hub recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the head of player recruitment at Orlando City, Ricardo Moreira. Before he was offered his position in the MLS, Ricardo was a law graduate and was awarded an MBA in sports management. His is a success story of footballing education…