It is well known that the Game Model is the identity of a coach and their team – their calling card. But what elements make up the Game Model and what should a coach take into account when creating it? 

In this article we want to show you the four main steps in which MBP Coaches’ School organises the Game Model, each one made up of a series of elements that must be linked together so that, as a whole, the team can develop its proposal and, in turn, enhance the performance and qualities of its components. 

Step 1 

The first step consists of 4 sections: contextualisation, the coach’s game idea, the player profiles and values. 

Figure 1. Graphical representation of the sections making up the first step of the Game Model. Source: MBP Coaches’ School 

A. Contextualisation 

It is formed by the triangle relationship between the country, the culture and the club with the coach. Therefore, the idiosyncrasies of each country, culture or even club have a direct impact on the following sections of the model. In fact, football is not understood or experienced in the same way in the United States as in Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan or Argentina, as it does not enjoy the same prominence in each country.

Moreover, the popular culture, the way people are and the way they feel about the sport is totally different. And then there are the clubs, even though they are from the same country, there are substantial differences between them, whether it be financially, in terms of infrastructure, the profile of the players or the game idea that characterises them. 

B. Game Idea 

The game idea is the coach’s own definition of how they understand the game and how they want their team to play in each phase of it. For this, there is usually some influence from other coaches with a similar game idea. It should be borne in mind that the definition should be brief and generic, as it is not until later that the team’s different principles of play will be detailed. 

C. Player Profiles 

This is a very important part, as they have to accompany the game idea described previously. That is to say, we must prioritise those profiles that will most help us to implement our game idea as coaches. If we want a game that prioritises short association play, we will need more creative players, while, if we base our play on defensive organisation and attacking transitions, we will need players whose physical abilities predominate.  

In addition, with each profile, we recommend highlighting the main structures defined by Seirul-lo (which we talked about in the previous blog), as they will give us a clearer idea of the main characteristics and capabilities of each player. Each profile will stand out more for some structures or others. 

D. Values 

In this section, we must carry out an introspective analysis to identify which values define us as a person and as a coach, and then relate the values we want the team to develop. These can be linked to the different phases of the game. For example: to be an aggressive team in the attacking transition phase in order to take advantage of the spaces quickly. 

Step 2 

The second step consists of 2 sections: the base structure and variant of the team and the structural and dynamic organisation. 

Figure 2. Graphical representation of the sections comprising the second step of the Game Model. Source: MBP Coaches’ School 

A. The base structure 

The base structure is the arrangement of the players on the pitch, taking into account their position and profile, which includes characteristics and skills. For this, it is important to consider an alternative structure that can be used in any circumstances of the game. It is important that it does not require too many adjustments, but that it can be carried out with the players who are on the pitch at that moment. 

B. Structural and Dynamic Organisation 

This section considers the different phases of the game, each one divided into several moments. In doing so, we take into account different elements:  

• On the one hand, there is the linking of each phase and moment of the play with the game idea described initially. From this idea, the coach establishes a principle of play, i.e. an objective that the team has at each moment within this phase. For example, the moment of progression in the attacking phase. 
• In turn, this principle of play includes a sub-principle, which will describe the ‘how’ to achieve the objective at that moment of the play. For example, players close to the ball must ensure a passing option to maintain possession; players in the intermediate zone will offer support for progression between lines; and players in the far zone will carry out the rest defence and open spaces wide and long to open up the opposition. 
• In order to implement these behaviours, the team must organise itself on the pitch, occupying and freeing up space to provoke certain behaviours in the opponent that will allow them to achieve their principles of play. 

Step  3 

The third step consists of 3 sections: the selection of specific fundamentals, the creation of game scenarios and strategies for absorbing complexity. 

Figure 3. Graphical representation of the sections comprising the third step of the Game Model. Source: MBP Coaches’ School 

A. Selection of Specific Fundamentals 

The specific fundamentals can be individual by demarcation, grouped for each line of the team or universal, which we relate to a specific area of the pitch. Their selection should be directly related to the principles of play explained previously, as they will be those optimal responses that players should know in order to have more possibilities of resolving specific game situations. 

B. Scenarios 

Bearing in mind that opponents also play the game and will seek to counter our approach, we will have to consider some alternative principles in case we cannot apply the main ones. To do this, we will have to examine how our opponents behave and what we adjust in our own behaviour in order to overcome them. 

C. Strategies for Absorbing Complexity 

They consist of three main elements: sub-systems, interpretation of sequences and coding. 

• Sub-systems are the roles and functions that certain players have within the team. For example, the person in charge of executing set pieces, talking to the referee, etc. 
• The interpretation of sequences refers to those game situations that we anticipate and on which we establish a predetermined response for the team. For example, if we lose the ball three times in a row in the build-up, the next action we will play to the second line to the centre forward. 
• Coding refers to words that the team uses to represent actions in the game. For example, the word ‘red’ means to reorganise the attacking phase of the team after winning the ball back because there is no space to progress. 

Step 4 

The fourth and final step consists of 2 main sections: the preparation of the mesocycle and microcycle and the training sessions. 

Figure 4. Graphical representation of the sections comprising the fourth step of the Game Model. Source: MBP Coaches’ School 

A. The Training Mesocycle and Microcycle 

It consists of organising the training sessions and their typology in relation to the competitions played by the team during the month. For its part, the preparation of the microcycle must consider not only the concepts to be trained (principles of play, specific fundamentals, basic fundamentals, match plan, etc.) but also the didactic strategies that will be used to train each content. 

B. Training Sessions 

Finally, the training sessions will be the representation of the team’s daily work to train the concepts established in the microcycle. In them, it will be very important to remember the training content and concept, as well as the contextual quality that we will have to use to achieve specific playing situations. 

With all of the above, MBP Coaches’ School recommends the development of the coach’s Game Model. However, it must be said that it will not be permanent, but will evolve over time, and will be personal to each coach, as not everyone conceives football in the same way, nor are they in the same context, player profile, etc. 

Would you like to go deeper into high-performance training? 

In the Master in High Performance Football, you will learn in a comprehensive and complete way a training method of tactical preference, which will allow you to deeply understand all the structures of high-performance football. You will apply the basics of structured training and its relationship with the Individual Fundamentals by Position (IFP), and you will discover how to train the team from complex thinking, relating it to the Universal Collective Fundamentals and the Collective Line Fundamentals.