The Key to Coaching Success? Trust and Togetherness

Last week I was looking to catch up and some recent games which I had recorded. It’s not always easy to find the time to watch games live these days! As I was scrolling through the options the game between Barca and Bayern in the Champions League, from last August, came up. I hadn’t watched it back since watching it live, and so I thought it I’d give it a watch to analyse and take some key clips from the game to show to the players and coaches I work with. I wasn’t disappointed! It was a game which highlighted the importance of the importance of collective teamwork. 

We know now that Bayern are the world’s best team, they went on to win the Champions League and the World Club championship. The past 18 months for this club has been truly extraordinary, a period which Hansi Flick has reignited this giant. As I’ve written before, after a few seasons and attempts to find a manager to replace Guardiola and take Bayern to the very top level, they fell on Hansi Flick, and as they say, the rest is history. Flick has brought back the brilliance and dominance. 

This game against Barca encapsulated why. It was a game which consisted of one team who had picked up momentum and dominance in recent months, who were running over teams. Against a team who had experienced a drop in their quality and standards, moving from different coaches seeking to find a winning formula and who had experienced damaging defeats in Europe in recent years – Roma and Liverpool. It was a mis-match. 

Yes Barca had some great names but truth is this was a team nowhere near being able to compete with the best. The players had peaked, Messi couldn’t do it all, new additions had struggled to adapt and the coach had lost the players already. Compared to Bayern it was night and day. The game felt open early on but really Bayern knew that Barca were there for the taking and they pressed the life out of them until they cracked, and then continued to put their foot on their neck until the final whistle. 4-1 at half time. 8-2 at full time. 

Relentless. Punishing. Ruthless. 

The same level of dominance and intensity which saw Germany defeat Brazil in 2014 in the semi-final. That day it was 7-1. With a few of the same people involved; Boateng – a player who shamelessly seems to be remembered for his fall to Messi in a 1v1 a few years back. The truth is this is one of the best defenders of the past decade and has been decorated as such. He was ready to make sure the same wouldn’t happen again this time around. Then there’s Thomas Muller; one of the most enjoyable players of his generation. Unorthodox and ruthless. A clinical finisher and a non-stop worker. He presses, harasses, fights for everything and finds and exploits spaces with such intelligence that he can be a nightmare to defend. Above all it his passion and drive which drives his team. Bayern’s success this past decade is in line with the quality and importance of Muller. 

And then there’s Flick. Perhaps not a well known name before he got the Bayern head coach role but, this was the man who was Jogi Low’s assistant during the rise of the German national team. A key part of their success. There during the Brazil success. And now continuing that same level of intensity and success with Bayern. This is clearly a man who is able to get the most of his players. Intensity, consistency, relentless pressure and purpose. The keys to success. The most important element for a coach. To motivate your players and get them ‘on board’. 

Trust and togetherness

It’s not rocket science or revolutionary; you want to succeed, to win games and trophies, then you need to be a collective team, all players and staff working together to achieve. This is not fluffy talk, it’s essential. A disconnect between players and staff will often lead to less energy from the players, less buy in and a negative impact on the pitch. This will inevitably lead to less cohesion, more errors and goals conceded. More losses result in a drop in belief and trust between the players and staff. Usually this leads to a breakdown and the manager and his staff tend to depart. And a new man comes in aiming to rebuild what led to the decline. 

Reports of rifts between Steve Bruce and his players at Newcastle point to what can happen when results go badly, when the staff start to lose trust and criticise their players. Often times this may be the sign of the end for the manager. When the trust is gone, it’s hard to get back. 

Contrary to this I must give Chris Wilder lots of credit for how he has dealt with this season; he hasn’t blamed the players, hasn’t lost his composure, he continues to be himself and the team and club are showing a togetherness and trust in each other. I expect them to come back up next year. Similar to Sean Dyche and Burnley when they got relegated, the club stuck with Dyche and he repaid them with a return to the Prem and now they’ve become a consistent team in the league for several years. It’s a very impressive managerial performance, the relegation was part of the process. And their return and resultant performances in the league a sign that if the players and staff can work together during adversity, there is light at the end. 

Daniel Farke has Norwich top of the Championship, poised for their immediate return to the Premier League after their relegation. With young talented Academy players helping make this happen. As well as these players set to make the club a lot of money and profit. A trust in the project, in the staff and players. Trust reaps its rewards. 

But when trust is gone, the evidence on the pitch is clear. To show your quality as a manger may be to show how good you are under pressure and when results go badly. Can you show the ablity to get the players back on board? To motivate them to turn it around? Because that’s what is needed. A coach/manager is a motivator, a psychologist in his own way. He is there to get the best out of his team. How he does that is his beliefs and experiences. It’s clear that the best ones are great motivators. Great teambuilders. 

Not settling for average  

Look at what Guardiola has done this season. Yes he has great resources but he needs to be a great coach to get the best out of his players. There are clubs who spend a lot who don’t produce what he does. Why? Because of his personality. The leader creates and moulds the environment. The values, principles and standards. He chooses how ambitious the team can be, how focused they are, how relaxed/intense they are. Some managers are happy to settle for ok, for average. That is fine. I guess. 

Guardiola wants the best, every day. This run of results in recent months is the sign of a team in a flow state, in a state of constant focus and purpose, running through teams with intensity, energy, domination of the ball. A relentlessness in their play which is suffocating and exhausting to play against. They are process driven, executing on every moment, not relaxing or settling. 

Just like the Bayern game, every second was focused and purposeful. A mistake wasn’t an issue, they just got back together and went again. They dominated the whole game. Didn’t let up. Punished a team who then quit on the game. Man City do the same. It is the mentality of the top sides and coaches. The demands on the players psychologically. The need to be on it all the time. 

This doesn’t suit everyone. Some just can’t handle that constant demand and expectation. It must be exhausting. But it is what is needed to be successful. The top sides show what is required. 

Selfless teamwork

Football is a team game. A whole team performing together to achieve. It’s not a game for individuals, it’s a team game with great individuals involved. Getting the best out of the players makes the team better. 

The psych-social skills required to succeed in the game are essential. The focus, concentration, dedication and sacrifice, the ability to deal with setbacks and adversity. As well as the team needs of cohesion, togetherness, trust and support. 

A coach’s role is to get the best out of his players, to motivate, to support, to trust. And also to give a sense of freedom to let players play, while imparting the demands of what the team needs. A tough balance. Not easy. The beauty and skill of coaching. 

But what is certain, if you lose the trust of the players, if you can’t get them to buy in to you and your message, then it will be hard to get success. Relationships are the key, building them, solidifying them and creating a team ethos is the key for a leader. The results and performances on the pitch indicate which coach has made it happen. 

Bayern were a perfect example in this game of a unified team working to achieve their goals. Hansi Flick did a remarkable job of making that happen. He inherited a mess and turned it into a winning machine. 

Improve your ability to motivate, communicate and support your team and they will give you all they have. Throw them under the bus like Steve Bruce has done this week, or like Jose Mourinho has a habit of doing and see what happens after. Trust can take a long time to build, and a second to lose. How your react to a loss or a bad performance, if a player makes a mistake, may well determine how the players perceive you, if they can trust you, if they feel they can mistakes without fear of being punished. My advice is to trust the process, support and drive your players; high support/high demand. Accept mistakes will happen, bad games happen, learn from them and move on positively. If you start to lose the trust of your players then it will be hard to get your messages across. Be a team builder, a positive influence and enjoy the journey. Positive support trumps negative frustration every time. Be the leader your players needs to help develop and enjoy what they do. 

The Whitehouse Address @TheWAddress