In last week’s article, we looked into the MBP Method, which highlighted the importance of making the coach understand football as a complex phenomenon. As a result, through the MBP methodology, the coach is able to answer the following questions: what to coach, how, when and why?
For the following analysis, we are going to focus on the ‘why of understanding football from this complexity. We will also discover how science can help the coach to know which the concepts are to train in each moment.
At MBP (2019), we define football as a phenomenon. This is due to the simultaneous interactions of the elements (coaches, players, the media etc.) that form it, being able to understand each of them separately, but in turn, connect them to form the sport.
Therefore, at MBP, we apply epistemology as a tool to analyse the elements mentioned in this section – those that make up football and allow us to understand its operations.
Furthermore, it should be noted that football is a sport where the same action is never repeated in exactly the same way. There can be some similar patterns, but it will be difficult to find identical situations -this is why there are no universal answers.
In order to understand football, therefore, we must use science and the use of complex knowledge, which will be vital to understand its globality.
To better understand complexity, Balagué i Torrents (2015) defines it through a set of essential principles that can be interpreted within each complex system:
1-Uncertainty
2-Globality
3-Nonlinearity
4-Interdependence
5-Spontaneous emergence
Consequently, after understanding the complexity and the relationship of football in relation to epistemology, the coach should be aware of the different elements that make up the sport, and, in addition, be aware of the essential principles of complexity in the decision of the concepts to be trained.
In conclusion, the MBP method wants to help the coach to understand the complexity of the game, making the individual aware of the uncertainty that makes up football. For this reason, it is vital to understand this sport from a scientific basis.
