Alen Catovic

🚀 Just received another great football coaching book by @soccertutorcom, and I’m excited to dive in! 📚⚽️😃 It’s written by @max_lucchesi, who also has many other interesting books about the game of football. If anyone decides to buy the book or other books, it would be great if you’ll use my affiliate link to support my coaching development and you get access to great football knowlegde by renowed football experts like @max_lucchesi - win-win! 🙌 Pep Guardiola - Coaching fluid positional rotations from build up to attack: soccertutor-com.myshopify.co… Let’s keep pushing boundaries and creating those winning moments on the pitch! ⚽️😃

USMNT fans discovering VAR exists the same week they discover consequences. Growth.

Really pleased to support this. @ContextIsKing9 consistently shares valuable insights on football performance, and his new book looks like another top contribution to the game. ⚽📘 Worth a read for coaches and practitioners.

Anybody heard some perspectives by Bryan on this kind of stuff?

I’ve just watched Marcelo Bielsa’s most recent presentation at Academia RFEF. ⚽ Watch the full presentation here: youtu.be/Mfx9QbbN03I?si=rbNo… “This reduced football … is modern football: you defend forward and you attack in reduced space.”e: 1️⃣ On imitation: “Looking at what is well done and learning to do it is the basis of culture … I am an admirer of copying.” 2️⃣ On tactical systems: “Tactical systems in football are 11 - no more and no less than 11.” 3️⃣ On principles of positioning: “Place your players where the opponents are, and do not protect spaces the opponent does not occupy.” 4️⃣ On the No. 8 role: “The number eight position is the one that demands the greatest capacity for versatility.” 5️⃣ On substitutions vs. adaptability: “A great team is one that can play all systems with the same players, not one that needs to change players in order to change the system.” 6️⃣ On training design: “This reduced football… is modern football: you defend forward and you attack in reduced space.” 7️⃣ On modern football’s decline: “Football has taken on such a massive industrial dimension, and the game itself is getting worse and worse.” 8️⃣ On emotions: “The player who is moved by emotion multiplies the intensity of his resources.” 9️⃣ On human focus over tactics: “If I had to choose between knowing football or knowing the human beings who play football, I would choose to know the human beings.” 🔟 On team values: “The solidity of a team is measured above all by its behavior in the face of adversity.” Bielsa reminds us: football is about systems, yes — but above all about people, emotions, and values.

I would like to share some thoughts on how to improve training environments in clubs, as I’ve come across some exciting research by @DrAndreRoca, who has studied decision-making during coaching sessions. I listened to André at the Scientific Insights in Football Training conference by FPF - Federação Portuguesa de Futebol in Portugal in May — and since then, I’ve used his research to analyze how things look in Denmark at the U13 and U17 levels. 📊 Roca’s research shows that top talent environments across Europe, on average, use their training time like this (there are some differences between countries, which you can read about in the research article below): ⚽ 62% on decision-making game activities (small-sided games, positional games, pressured play) 🏋️ 20% on non-decision activities (isolated technical drills, fitness without the ball) ⏳ 17% on transition (breaks, instructions, switching between drills) In my own observations in Denmark, teams spent as much as 39–41% of the time on transition — more than double the average in Roca’s study. That means less time on decision-making activities, which are one of the most important ways to develop players’ game intelligence. 💡 So how can we as coaches act on this? Here are some simple strategies from Roca and Keith Renshaw (2020) that can be used to simplify tasks without removing decision-making: 1. Increase pitch size → more time and space for decisions 2. Reduce the number of players → fewer relations, more involvement per player 3. Use neutral players → create numerical superiority and more decision-making 4. Limit tackling in certain areas → more focus on build-up play and pressing 5. Use unidirectional overload games (2v1, 3v1, 4v2) → repeated decision-making opportunities 🎯 The key point is: Cut down on talk and breaks — without compromising quality — and create more match-like, decision-making situations for the players. We don’t develop game intelligence through talk, but through repeated experiences of making decisions in the game. By balancing the structure of training, we can unlock a huge amount of learning time — without extending the session. What do you think — what does the distribution look like in your own training sessions? ⚽👇 📚 Link to André Roca’s research: researchgate.net/profile/And…

🌍 Scientific Insights in Football Training – Reflections from Portugal 🇵🇹 Last month, I had the privilege of attending the Scientific Insights in Football Training conference hosted by the @PortugalFPF. I’ll be sharing a few reflections from this great conference, made possible by @AseabraAndre and the team at the FPF - Federação Portuguesa de Futebol. Kicking it off with some thoughts from @JozefZahorsky and his work with UEFA Coaching Education. 📌 "Quality coaching is much more than teaching a sport." We were reminded that coaches work with people first, not just players. Their role includes social, emotional, and human development — not only technical and tactical. 📌 Translating insights into practice From UEFA’s technical reports to drill design and coaching points, there’s a real emphasis on bridging research with on-field application. 📌 Lifelong learning & further education Quoting Klopp: "No coach ever stops learning, that's what makes the great coaches great. They strive to learn more every day and they never stop asking questions." Coach development is about lifetime learning — and UEFA is pushing strongly for environments where learning never stops. 📌 Reality-based learning 50% of educational hours happen outside the classroom — on the pitch, in the gym, or through real coaching experiences. Or as Einstein said: “Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience. You need experience to gain wisdom” 📌 Coach education with structure and flexibility UEFA’s competence-based model ensures coaches across Europe are developing in comparable, context-sensitive ways — aligned with real-world demands. 🧠 Important personal reflection As I listened to Jozef speak, I couldn’t help but think about the coach developers I’ve had the privilege to work with back home in Denmark – Claus, Ole & Anders. It made me reflect on how, as coaches, we sometimes tend to rush through certain parts of our education or fail to give them the seriousness they deserve – things like blended learning, self-directed assignments, or reflective tasks. It’s not about being lazy or disengaged, but more about reminding ourselves that every aspect of coach education is designed to benefit us and, in turn, the players we serve. This was a valuable reminder that real growth requires full engagement, even (or especially) in the less glamorous parts of the process. We owe it to ourselves and to our players – to take these things seriously.

Long time since I shared my last #SundayShare. What better way to give back to the coaching community than to share some build-up play principles by Dick Bate, a true master of the game. 😀⚽️ @SundayShare10

Help 🙋‍♂️⚽️ I'm currently working on creating my own player evaluation report. Does anyone have a sample report they can share for inspiration? I’m looking for examples with great design and comprehensive evaluation criteria. Thanks in advance for your help! 😀

🚀 Just received these amazing football coaching books, and I’m pumped to dive in! 📚 From mastering football periodization by @adamowen1980 to learning the tactical insights of @XabiAlonso and Roberto De Zerbi, these are perfect for any coach looking to elevate their game! ⚽🔥 All books are published by @soccertutorcom, known for top-quality football coaching resources. By using my affiliate links, you not only get access to these fantastic materials but also support my coaching development—win-win! 🙌 Check them out here: 📘 Xabi Alonso: Passing, Positional, and Possession Practices: shop.soccertutor.com/xabi-al… 📘 Roberto De Zerbi: Build-Up, Passing, and Attacking Practices: shop.soccertutor.com/roberto… 📘 Football Periodization to Maximise Performance: shop.soccertutor.com/footbal… Let’s keep pushing boundaries and creating those winning moments on the pitch! ⚽️😃🤜🤛