When you see a coach, standing there on the sideline and running his small army or while he draws the offensive plan and moves chips on the tactical board at his office, what comparison comes to your mind first? Surely many people remember the generals who undoubtedly managed their people in the past or quite modern leaders of the platoon, for example.
In the last five years, football has changed so much that it’s hard to remember how it was in the romantic times of the 90s, when talent, dribbling and individual skill were appreciated more than team play. Now these times are long gone and managers prefer a different approach, similar to military values: control, unity, and equality. And it works, take Manchester City as a prime example, who mastered these rules and doesn’t have star players.
However, there are problems in both football and military, that can be fought off through reasonable information. For example, the Sandro Tonali and Ivan Toney cases, which placed bets although prohibited for the players, show that some people don’t know if gambling is bad or not and need to read guides on reasonable betting before putting their first wager.
We’ll discuss in this article what practices modern coaches have borrowed from the military and how the managers use these tactics in their work routines.
Tactical team building: Team sports turn into guerrilla warfare
In team sports, coaches have taken the military’s idea of “no man left behind” to new heights. Imagine a football team conducting nightly commando raids to “kidnap” the team mascot from rival clubs. It may not be standard practice (yet), but the military-inspired team building of modern sport is not far off. The next time you see a team celebrating a goal like they’ve just captured an enemy capital, you’ll know why.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta came up with a fun idea recently at the team dinner. He hired professional pickpockets to steal some stuff from the members of the squad while they were eating. After the meal, Mikel Arteta revealed that they were robbed and showed how much was stolen from them. Lesson was to understand that the players must be on alert all the time.
Psychological warfare: Mental training or brainwashing?
Sports psychologists have taken the military’s mental training methods and given them a sporty twist. Athletes are now subjected to simulated pressure situations similar to interrogation techniques but with more energy drinks and less water torture. The result? Players who are so mentally prepared that they can keep their cool even when fans throw toilet paper and shout things that would make even a seasoned sergeant blush.
Leadership Rambo: The coach becomes a field marshal
Sports coaches have embraced military leadership principles with such enthusiasm that you almost expect to see them arriving at the battlefield in tanks. They lead their players with a precision that would make any general proud. It’s only a matter of time before we see a coach call a time-out by firing a flare.
Case studies: Sport almost turns into a war
Take the Tour de France, for example, where teams use tactics similar to military convoys. It’s as if someone took the idea of ‘cycling war’ a little too literally. Or look at American football, where quarterbacks code their play calls as if they were top-secret military orders. It’s a wonder the NFL hasn’t introduced tanks as part of the standard equipment.
The future: Sports or simulated battles?
As we can see, the line between Navy training and sports teams is blurred, and with time it can completely disappear. The demands placed on athletes become increasingly improbable over time and are already at the edge of human possibilities. Perhaps, strict military methods can help achieve high results, but they can also have negative consequences. In sports, there’s only one winner, and if you lose after giving it all it’s hard to accept and understand the meaning of all the sacrifices.
But it’s hard to deny the merge of the military training methods with the traditional sports ones, emerging into the new type. And if it will give results, then it will continue to be popular as it was with Tiki taka. We’re on the edge of the new era.