Iceland’s development pathway has been the focus of debate following the tiny nation’s showing at Euro 2016. But underpinning all the investment is an intangible thread, which recently came under attack from one of the world’s best players: their mindset. In light of the comments made by Cristiano Ronaldo and others about the Icelandic mindset, Jon Hoggard looks to unpick how the national team’s mentality has been formed by the country and shaped by recent investment. In qualifying for Euro 2016, Iceland became the…
Jon Hoggard
Can standard office-based performance management models be applied to training football players? Player Development Project’s Jon Hoggard looks at a common basic performance matrix to find out. First off, let me make a confession: I work in an office. I’m not a football coach; my everyday equipment are my computer, desk, phone, lumbar support chair and a never-ending in-tray. A world away, you might think, from the cones, tactic boards, whistles and boots of a coach. But are coaches always to be found in…
Player Development Project’s resident history buff and writer Jon Hoggard spent his Christmas looking in the history books and football almanacs to find if the coaching styles of some of the game’s biggest figures still apply. In many ways, football as we know it now is a very different sport to how it used to be only a few decades ago. Football has always evolved. Gone are the muddy pitches, heavy leather balls and the 1-2-7 formation of the game’s origins in the 1870s. Huge…