Is it possible to coach 'football intelligence'?

Not just need football intelligence but also need to have a strong technical and tactical understanding of the game too. In reality, you need all assets to succeed at the top level. Australian dont lack in fight, physical strength but certainly dont have enough in technical and football intelligence.

Agreed and that to me is the biggest difference between a child growing up in Australia v Argentina for example - in Argentina there is that football culture so children grow up living and breathing the game and are always out on the street playing in between formal matches, training etc. In Australia we put too much emphasis on the formal side of development compared to letting players have plenty of unstructured development as well, as the unstructured development is what teaches players to think on their feet. Also a lot of junior players in Australia play the game as it's seen as safer by parents than say aussie rules or the rugby codes, rather than playing for love of the game. By all means continue to invest heavily in junior development but at the same time allow for improvisation and don't overlook a player just because they didn't come through the elite pathways.

My team has an serious attitude issue. You can barely even get them to listen to you. I assigned them a very simple task of watching either Matildas vs Chile or Jets vs Victory. I didn't ask them to look at a player or such, just watch. They probably won't do it. Giving a player to watch would be the ideal thing though.

Agree with you to an extent Jordan. Due to various circumstances, I was an average player through one year of U/15s, two years of local seniors. and after a break of eight years, another two years of senior football. Strange? Yeah. A few years down the track, I became involved with coaching, thanks to my son deciding to forsake junior rugby for junior soccer. One thing led to another, but being in a regional centre, the scene was dominated by the capital city zone teams. After my son moved on to seniors I put my hand up to coach the local zone U/12 team that was expected to follow in the footsteps of the perennial state wooden spooners. Squad selection was made at trial matches at the end of the previous season, and my squad manager, who I first met that day, was able to identify my selections as I had never seen any of these kids play. He only queried one of my selections. The player in question was an U/11 second division player! Purely a social player! What was he even doing there? Whatever the reason, he caught my eye because of his intelligent movement off the ball. Could not kick his way out of a paper bag, but so much smarter than the rest of the triallists! Initial result at the tournament next year was his scoring the only goal in the play-off for third place rather than the traditional play-off for ninth or tenth place. Still could not kick his way out of a paper bag, so I instructed him to use the inside of his foot to pass the ball into to corner of the goal. And he did! Next time I met this player he was a 15/16 year old playing in a local senior team I was tasked witn coaching, one of three peers who played in the losing semifinal. The local team XXXX League coach informed me this player would be playing XXXX League next season, and I agreed that was the right move. Played many Man of the Match jigs before falling in with the wrong company. So, yes, intelligence is sometimes strange, but often compelling.

Aussies lack technique (Ballgefühl - ball feeling in German) much more than they lack Football intelligence. Technique is ONLY gained when kids spend 1000's of hours kicking a ball ON TOP of the official Football training - on the streets at school etc. every day in their spare time. But that's not happening in Australia as most kids spend way too much time inside watching TV and playing video games and such.

Give them a particular player to watch Watch where he runs on and off the bsll running . Ask them to look at where a particular players sets up in particular defensive or attacking positions Tell someone to watch out for the key slide rule passes or someone to watch defensive headers etc and how to turn defence immediately into attack

I'm an co-coach at a 12 year old team and they are very skillful but have no intelligence. It is definetely possible to coach it. I think emerging players just need to watch more football. Watch,watch,watch because that is how i got my intelligence to become a coach. I never really had the skill to become a player though. Just the football brain.

Bankrupt with football intelligence I like that statement. It’s common in every vocation , that specific intelligence to the role is sometimes hard to come by . What makes sports intelligence, I think the young player observes and stores the brain with ideas about what might work in certain situations. I would say this though pattern becomes subliminal and the re occurring , almost obsessive or even beyond . It starts very young . After years of playing, obtaining the skills and fitness, being able to think ahead of the game is well practiced , they have done this game option in their head a thousand times already. It becomes instinct to take the intelligent option . Some of the players I’ve watched in sport like Andrew Johns , Peter Sterling Shane Warne are reading the game minutes ahead of the others .

Good value watching those under 18 s matches

I need to better understand your definition of football intelligence to really engage in what is a juicy subject on many levels. My own definition relates to players and the way they particpate in the game. There are some that follow the instructions of their coach, perform their tricks and come off after the whistle blows and it all ends there. If you try and engage in an analysis of the game, you are likely to draw a total blank as the player either doesn’t have the ability and understanding of the game or they simply play football as a job and once over, they are into something else. Then there are the generals and movers and shakers that drive the game, are able to dictate style, shape, movement and the all important tactics. The group breaks down much further depending upon personality types and I would say that the various groupings go right across the sporting world. As fans we often mistakenly feel that players live and breath the game in the way that many fans do and nothing could be further from the truth - in many cases. As for academies - a huge pot of opportunities with a funnel attached. Pour as many through the top as possible and by the time you squeezethem through the filter, down the funnel, the pot shrinks in numbers until just a few drop out of the bottom in the shape and form that is required. It is a very common way of conducting business... the drip effect. The art is determining what is recruited that goes into the top of the funnel in the first place. Being a foxtel subscriber, the best thing that happened after EPL and Champions League went to Optus was the broadcasting of MUTV, LFC and Chelsea TV 24/7. I say best only because it gave me an opportunity to watch the clubs’ youth teams at various ages. I have watched some really exciting football right there, no hype and hyperbole from commentators, just raw talent on display and work in progress. Very few of the players end up in the first team at their club, many go out on loan and some disappear altogether - at least off the tv radar but I’d argue there is far more enjoyment to be gained from watching the under 18’s etc than at least 50% of epl matches. But I am also aware I am watching players’ dreams and aspirations go up in smoke in the space of a few seasons.

Instinct not intelligence ! All good players have instinct, but not necessarily intelligence. All good coaches have intelligence, but not necessarily instinct. Subsequently a good player does a not necessarily make a good coach.

It’s a good question although you haven’t provided any definition around what you mean when you say “football intelligence”? I think there are elements in certain footballers that they “just get”, elements beyond fitness, technique and the understanding of the game, that I think are impossible to coach in. They’re either born with it, of they’ll never have it. I don’t think these are necessarily football specific either, but rather just the way their brain is wired and that directs the way they play the game (and influences other parts of their lives too).