They work in the shadows, away from prying eyes. They’re the unseen army Premier League clubs are enlisting in pursuit of glory: the analysts, statisticians, scientists and … surfers? Bobsledders?
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Welcome to the world of the specialist coaches. These high-performance experts have a unique understanding of their field, and tap away on an iPad before whispering classified information into the manager’s ear. They’re not your traditional football coaches, all bluster, banter and bold tattoos. They’re data nerds, and proud of it. They’re the guys you see in the dugout with initials on their club tracksuit that you can’t connect to a name.
Who’s that standing next to Mikel Arteta? That would be Nicolas Jover — the set-piece coach who joined Arsenal from Manchester City in July 2021 and helped them to score 16 dead-ball goals last season, the third-highest in the league and 10 more than they managed in 2020-21. The potency has continued this season with Arsenal netting five from dead-ball situations as of Sept. 17, a total bettered only by Tottenham Hotspur (six).
“Everything I do is designed to achieve the best possible contact with the ball and the desired spin and trajectory,” he explains. “For example, if you want to apply forward spin, the mechanics of the connection determine everything else.
“The foot position will determine the angle of approach, the position of the standing foot will be determined by the swing shape, and that will again tie in with how your upper body is coordinated. Then you’ve got to factor in things such as the rhythm and momentum of the approach. All of this is bespoke to the player.”
Soccer is 10 years behind U.S. sports
Allan Russell worked as England’s attacking coach at the 2018 World Cup, attracting much admiration. The Scotsman helped England to post a tournament record when they scored nine goals from set pieces, including four from corners. He provides insight into the level of detail that goes into creating complex routines.
“There’s basic strategy and then there’s the detail that’s needed to make it productive,” he says. “When I was living in the U.S., I spent a week with NFL franchise the Oakland Raiders [now the Las Vegas Raiders], so I could see how their specialist coaches worked and what results they yielded from constant repetition.
“I learned a lot about losing your man and creating space in congested areas. It was incredibly useful.”
Russell thinks there’s plenty more to be harvested from American sports. “We’re 10 years behind the U.S.,” he says. “But, in time, the make-up of coaching staff at Premier League clubs will start to look more like an NFL franchise, with more specialist coaches working on the details.”
After a spell as assistant manager at Aberdeen, Russell joined manager Dean Smith’s setup at Championship club Norwich City this summer, the latest stop in a coaching career in which he has optimised the goal-scoring capabilities of elite attacking units and individual marksmen. The former Kilmarnock player has distilled his own process into a syllabus: Superior Striker.
In June 2012, while playing for Orange County SC in the USL Championship in the United States, Russell founded his attacking-specific training program that uses data and analytics to improve performance. When his playing career ended in 2014, he returned to England and focused on his new venture. Soon, he would have the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic joining him for sessions that dissected the art of goal scoring like never before. The Serbian striker has since gone on to net 103 goals in 186 games for Fulham, and nine in seven Premier League appearances this season, breaking multiple scoring records along the way.
Gareth Southgate saw an opportunity to integrate Russell’s specialised approach into his England setup, and hired him in 2017. The focus on open-play finishing and set-piece routines paid dividends as England reached the World Cup semifinals a year later.
In psychological terms, when a player is faced with a stressful situation such as a penalty, there is a reaction in the amygdala — the part of the brain detects threats, and triggers an appropriate response from the body. neuro11 wants to help players optimise their response to fear, using both psychology, the study of behaviour, and neuroscience, of biological and chemical processes in the brain and nervous system.
When probed about future possibilities, Hausler stays tightlipped, but admits: “This is just the beginning. Neuroscience is a goldmine.”
Just the beginning for specialist coaches
The discovery of gold usually brings a rush of miners seeking their fortune. Just look at the number of clubs employing set-piece coaches since Brentford started the trend in England: Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Norwich and Tottenham, yes, but other clubs such as Leeds United, West Ham and Chelsea have assigned the responsibility to members of their coaching staff.
Football, a notoriously insular world governed by traditions, is opening its borders. It remains suspicious of outsiders, however.
Sylwestrzak offers an opinion endorsed by other specialists: “There’s still insufficient technical instruction that’s specific to various aspects of the game. Compared to other sports, football is so far behind. In the area of ballstriking, the margins aren’t small; there are big technical deficiencies at the top level of the game.”
When a CEO sees shortcomings in the running of their business, they seek remedies. That’s what Benham did at Brentford. He accepted that he wasn’t an expert in every aspect of performance, and hired the relevant specialists: coaches obsessed with their craft and indifferent to football’s established practices. But, as Benham explained, hiring is just one part of a cohesive strategy.
Whether you’re the little guy looking for an edge, or the heavyweight fighting for titles, a specialist’s insight is crucial. “It can be the difference between winning and losing,” Hausler affirms. “Simple as that.”
