The Indonesian League (PT Liga Indonesia Baru) has entrusted the Ekkono Method to lead and manage the Elite Pro Academy Future Stars Development Program, whose main objective is to improve the performance of the country’s young players and to educate their coaches on how to properly train the individual development of footballers.
The program will involve the participation of the 18 clubs from Indonesia’s First Division, which, along with Ekkono, will select the three best U-16 players from each team to focus on.
Throughout the season, these 54 players (three from each of the 18 teams) will receive four video analysis reports (IPPP), which will identify areas for improvement and strengths to develop.
Additionally, the 18 Indonesian clubs participating in the program will receive three visits from Ekkono coaches at their facilities. During these visits, the Ekkono coaches will provide coachin education for each club’s coaches, present video analysis reports to the selected players and conduct individualized on-field training sessions with them, and observe the club’s U-16 matches, offering technical feedback and guidance, among other tasks.
Finally, during the last visit to Indonesia, the best player from each team (18 in total) will be selected to travel to Spain for a two-week stay, where they will train with some of the best clubs and academies in the country.
Additionally, a coach from each team will accompany the delegation and will enjoy two weeks of theoretical and practical coaching education delivered by Ekkono in Barcelona.
The Ekkono Coaches Academy, an online school for coaches utilizing the Ekkono Method, achieved a 50% increase in membership subscribers in 2023. Founded in 2021 to make the Ekkono Method accessible worldwide, the academy now boasts a community of 25,000 coaches and offers education in four languages: English, Japanese, Chinese, and Polish.
In 2023, the academy's website and blog attracted over 250,000 visits. Furthermore, more than 6,000 coaches participated in the live webinars and courses organized throughout the year.
This impressive growth highlights the academy's dedication to providing high-quality, accessible coaching education globally, using digital platforms to connect and educate soccer coaches everywhere.
Julian Marin, Ekkono Licensed Coach currently head coach of Nara Club in the Japanese third division, has been recognized as the best coach of the year following the votes from coaches and players in the category.
After achieving promotion last year, the award acknowledges the outstanding season the club has had, finishing in fifth place and being the division's least conceding team while also being one of the highest-scoring.
Julian, who has been working for the Ekkono Method for more than 10 years, joined the Nara Club three seasons ago after applying the Ekkono Method in the Thai Federation for over 2 years.
Since then, with the support of the entire staff and the Scouting and Methodology departments led by Ekkono, the club has consistently achieved and exceeded its goals, becoming one of the reference clubs in the category.
After receiving the award, Julian stated: "Last year, we were recognized with the Coach of the Year award when we became champions. Without diminishing that recognition, I must admit that this one is particularly special to me. It acknowledges not only our victory but, I believe, the votes we received recognize beyond that 5th position the playing style and all the hard work of the players and staff.
I am very grateful to all my colleagues on the staff in Japan, as well as the Ekkono team that supports us from Barcelona."
Thailand former technical director and cofounder of the Ekkono Method Carles Romagosa, joined 24 other Technical Leaders from around the globe to learn more about Japan’s approach to achieving excellence as part of block two of FIFA’s new Technical Leadership Diploma held in Chiba, Japan, between 4-9 December.
Carles Romagosa explored ‘Kaizen’, the Japanese principle of continuous improvement, during the 6-day workshop that included study visits to Toyota, Sumo Training Stables and the Japanese FA.
Achieving excellence in the areas of Talent ID and Recruitment, Coach Education, National Teams and Quality Assurance was also covered by participants who are undertaking the 18-month long course.
"Immersing myself in the rich mosaic of Japanese culture over nine enlightening days, I have had the pleasure of learning from esteemed peers about achieving excellence in Talent ID and Recruitment, Coach Education, and National Teams. This transformative journey with FIFA has left an indelible mark on my learning process, embracing continuous improvement (Kaizen) as a guiding principle in my pursuit of excellence," says Carles Romagosa
“We were delighted to welcome Carles Romagosa onto block two of our new Technical Leadership Diploma in Japan this week,” says Jamie Houchen, FIFA Head of Technical Leadership.
The FIFA Technical Leadership Diploma aims to become the ‘globally recognized qualification’ for Technical Leaders working in the game and prepares participants for the distinct challenges and opportunities faced by a Technical Leader within a Member Association. Five core domain areas are covered:
Eerikkilä Sports & Outdoor Resort, official partner of the Ekkono Method in Finland for over a decade, and Soccer Services Barcelona have reached an agreement to extend their collaboration for another year.
With the extension of the agreement, the Ekkono Method will continue to offer Ekkono Football Camps throughout the year, aiming to develop the understanding of the game and intelligence of young players.
Additionally, the Ekkono Coaching Pathway program will be offered again, open to all coaches in the country. The pathway will be divided into four different levels, covering important topics such as developing understanding of the game, designing the game model, training methodology, team fundamentals, and individual fundamentals by position, among others.
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Antti Kekkonen, director of football services at Eerikkilä, stated, "We are very pleased with the contract extension. We were clear that we wanted to continue our cooperation with Soccer Services Barcelona. The role of Ekkono will be even more important in the future as part of training related to the development of game understanding. The goal is to produce better players, and this goal is favored by the fact that coaches have a better understanding of the game."
"When we started working together over a decade ago, we knew that Eerikkilä was an ideal partner for us and the right place to educate Finnish coaches and players using the Ekkono Method. Our goal with this cooperation is also to promote the development of Finnish football at all levels," said Miquel Farrerons, CEO of Soccer Services Barcelona.
Jimmy Thelin, coach of IF Elfsborg, with whom Ekkono maintains a close personal and professional relationship, has recently been named Coach of the Year in the Allsvenskan (Swedish League), after finishing the season in second place with one of the youngest squad of the league.
Our relationship with Jimmy began several years ago when we first met due to Ekkono Method’s presence in Sweden, where we collaborated with various clubs in the country. Since then, Jimmy and Ekkono have been in constant contact, creating a symbiosis of mutual learning and being part of the development of his game model.
Additionally, Jimmy played a key role in the collaboration agreement between IF Elfsborg and Soccer Services Barcelona, where Ekkono provides him daily support with the analysis of the team's playing style, as well as individual player development.
After a successful season, Jimmy Thelin states: "Ekkono, with its technical support and coaching education, has been an excellent complement and support for my professional career."
FIFA’s new Technical Leadership Diploma, which aims to become the “globally recognized qualification” for technical leaders working in the game, has recently been launched in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
For the inaugural edition of the program, FIFA invited to participate to 25 participants from member associations and confederations worldwide, including Carles Romagosa, co-author of the Ekkono Method.
The 18-month course will prepare technical leaders for the distinct challenges and opportunities they face while working within a member association and will cover five core domain areas:
“Currently, there is no single award or accreditation that allows an individual to become a technical leader in a member association. If a member association is looking to hire a technical leader, there is no benchmark for quality. We believe the FIFA Technical Leadership Diploma will become the globally recognized qualification for technical leaders and help produce the very highest quality of graduates to lead football around the world” explained Jamie Houchen, FIFA Head of Technical Leadership.
Pablo de Olavide University, located in Seville, and Soccer Services Barcelona have come to an agreement to integrate the Ekkono method into the educations provided to their university students.
In this way, students from different programs offered by the university (graduate degrees, masters, etc.) will have the opportunity to learn from the successful trajectory and different proposals of the Ekkono Method.
During the month of May, the CEO of Soccer Services Barcelona will travel to Seville to participate as a speaker in one of the sessions aimed at master's students, being this the first activity agreed upon with the University.
Over the past months, Ekkono has continued to focus on women’s football development, by starting the US Coaches Committee in coordination with Erin Ridley (San Jose Earthquakes & USWNT U17).
The US Coaches Committee is fully integrated by female American coaches who are coaching at some of the best Division I colleges of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and also at the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) level.
The objective of this committee is to contribute to soccer development at the college level with the introduction of the Ekkono Method. The committee is also an opportunity to generate discussion about game models or training styles, and the specificities that can be found when coaching in the US.
This month, a series of two sessions about FC Barcelona Femení team were held. In the sessions, led by an Ekkono Licensed Coach, Barcelona’s game style was firstly analyzed and afterward discussed, with special focus in the offensive phase.
Erin Ridley states that “It’s an exciting honor to see Ekkono collaborating with top female coaches here in the United States. The ideas and principles that Ekkono presents creates robust conversations for coaches working with smart players who are hungry to add greater detail to their understanding of the game. I think that coaches in the women’s college game find a lot of value in engaging with this, and I hope it continues to grow and have more coaches join the conversation.”
After an excellent reception of the 3-hours online seminar “The Ekkono Method: how to create intelligent players?” in which almost 400 coaches participated, last week more than 50 coaches from different professional clubs successfully completed the first block of the Ekkono Coaching Pathway’s Level 2.
Ekkono Coaching Pathway is an onsite educational program offered together with Eerikkilä Sports Institute and consisting of over 275 hours, open to all coaches and clubs interested in being educated together with the Ekkono Method.
The program is divided into 4 different levels, each of which needs to be completed before accessing the following level. Each level contains different courses, in which important topics such as Creation of a Game Model, Generation of Club Identity, Training Methodology, Team Fundamentals or Individual Fundamentals by Position will be taught, among others.
Ekkono Coaching Pathway ’s Level 1 is organized online and free of charge, while Levels 2 to 4 will be held in person at Eerikkilä Sport Institute (Finland), and will mix theoretical and practical sessions.
On the next video Antti Kekkonen, from Eerikkilä Sports Institute, explains in detail the Ekkono Coaching Pathway (in Finnish)
Last September, we started the “Mirror Training” activity at the Nara Club Methodology Department, a Co-Learning activity addressed to all club's coaches.
Co-Learning, one of the four pillars on which the Ekkono Method is based to create or enhance club identity, consists in decentralizing the teaching processes to accelerate the learning processes.
The “Mirror Training” activity is carried out in pairs of coaches, in which Coach A prepares and explains to Coach B a training task, and B carries it out with his team under the supervision and subsequent feedback from Coach A. Subsequently, roles will be swapped.
Therefore the "Mirror Training" process is as follows:
Therefore, through the “Mirror Training” activity we will get the coaches to work together and be able to capture ideas from other coaches, increasing cohesion within the club.
Taka, assistant coach in Nara Club U18 team, says: “Mirror training is a really good tool to grow as a coach. I can learn the ideas about the rules, limits and the concepts from the other coaches and it’s totally different from me "
Last June 1, the periodic technical discussion held between the Albirex Niigata Methodology Director and the Academy coaches had a special guest: Carles Romagosa, technical director of Thailand FA and co-author of the Ekkono Method.
The main topic of the discussion was “How to help young footballers to be professionals?” and it was attended by both the academy coaches and women's team coaches, who showed big interest and asked some great questions.
During the session, Carles remembered all good memories he has after his almost 10 visits to Japan where he worked with players and coaches, and highlighted the huge leap in quality that Japanese youth and professional football has recently taken.
Uchida Jun, Albirex Niigata’s Academy Director said: “We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Ekkono for providing us with this education opportunity. I strongly believe that being a good leader is essential to develop good players, and this is why we use technical discussions as a “learning place” to continue learning."
On the next lines, you can find some of the questions that Carles answered during the session:
Question: When deciding how many minutes of game to give players in official competitions, what is the balance between competing and learning in the U18 category?
Answer: In the Youth category it is important to give all players opportunities, but as we are in the pre-professional football stage, it is also important to make future players play for longer.
Question: Broadly speaking, which different concepts do you have to train in Junior, Junior Youth and Youth categories?
Answer: Players understand the game differently based on their age. Therefore, we must train different things according to their age. In Junior category it is important to train concepts more related with the player’s relationship with the ball, in Junior Youth category the concepts which should be trained are those that help the players to manage the spaces so that the possessor and non-possessors have an advantage, and in Youth category, collective fundamentals are essential to be understood.
Question: Based on your experience training and scouting young talents, which types of young players are the most likely to be professionals?
Answer: In general, among the most talented players, the ones who are most likely to be professionals are those who pay attention to the small details. This means that you need talent, plus effort in training, plus taking care of the external aspects of training. From club’s vison, it is important that we also guide families to educate them in those external aspects that are important for the player.
Question: What percentage of freedom in the game should be given to U12 players?
Answer: A very important aspect in these ages is having fun. It is important not to confuse fun with giving freedom to play as the players want, because talented players have the most fun when the team plays well, not when everyone plays the way they want.
Question: At what point do you propose to set player’s position?Answer: It is important not to do it too early and to experiment in various positions. In clubs where an associative style of play is played, it usually happens those players who as children played in advanced positions, at the end of their Initiation Stage or at the beginning of their Professional Stage, end up playing in more backward positions. For example, Jordi Alba when he was U14 he played as a midfielder and Sergio Busquets when he played at Barça B with Guardiola, he played some matches as Advanced Midfielder.
In preparation for the start of the PFF Coaching Certificate Courses for this year, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) conducted the annual PFF Instructors’ Course from 18-30 March 2021, for which we were invited as special speakers.
As one of the few AFC Member Associations to be conferred with the AFC Coaching Convention – ‘A’ Level Membership, PFF aims to strengthen its pool of coaching instructors nationwide through this instructors’ course.
To do so, apart from our participation, some other great speakers from FIFA or JFA (Japan Football Association) also took part during the course.
During our lesson, all instructors had the chance to learn and discuss about all related to “Best Practices in Designing a Training Session” focusing on Initiation Stage (U6-U13).
According to Marlon Maro, Head of PFF’s Coaching Education Department “we have noticed how the knowledge was shared between the participants and the great speakers. The way the participants dealt with the scenarios presented provided a good outlook in their future career as coaching educators.”
Making our knowledge accessible to coaches and football professionals all over the world has always been one of our goals as a company. During the years, we’ve travelled to many Continents organising hundreds of courses and seminars, helping more than 3,500 coaches in their football journey.
This experience has now led us to creating our online academy. We believe this is a step in the right direction to continue to provide education to coaches and other football professionals, making all our knowledge more accessible than ever.
The new school includes access to our e-Book, Webinars, Online Courses and also a Membership, offering a continuous and guided education. In total, over 50 hours of online courses and recorded webinars, hundreds of concepts, and plenty of training drills based on the Ekkono Method are available.
Visit the Ekkono Coaches Academy website for more information.
Creating intelligent players is becoming a trend in modern football. However, it’s important to question, what is behind this expression? What makes an intelligent player? How should a Club or Federation organize themselves to create such profiles of players? What should I train if I want to become an intelligent player?
All of these questions and many more are coming from club owners, parents, coaches, and players from all over the world. But there is no single answer for any of them.
In this book you will find the history of the EKKONO METHOD, a successful football model used by a wide range of clubs and federations worldwide who share a common objective: become a reference in developing youth players.
Visit the link below and order your book before they run out! You can choose between e-book digital version or hard copy version.
https://ekkonocoaches.com/ekkonomethodbook
Soccer Services Barcelona has built a partnership with Latino Advocacy Group from United Soccer Coaches to provide Ekkono Method education to all of its affiliates.
As a first step in the partnership, from this week on all affiliated members will have the chance to take part in 3 Ekkono webinars focused on very relevant aspects for development of young soccer players.
The topics prepared for these webinars will be the following:
This partnership that would not have been possible without the support of Mario Fernandez and Julio Serrano, means taking a huge leap forward in USA, where soccer has still incredible potential.
A few days ago, our CEO Miquel Farrerons was interviewed on Soccer Matters, a sports program broadcasted on the American channel ESPN and directed by Glenn Davis.
During the course of the interview, Miquel spoke about the Ekkono projects carried out around the world, such as our collaboration with PSG or FA Thailand, as well as recently, at the Catholic University of Chile.
At the same time, he answered questions about our Individual Players Performance Plan followed with top-class players such as the American Christian Pulisic, and had the opportunity to explain what is the Ekkono Identity methodology and its differences with Ekkono Smart.
On March 7 we had the pleasure of participating in the "8th International Football Conference" organized by the Akademia Piłkarska Champions of Katowice (Poland).
In this our sixth consecutive attendance to the event, more than 250 coaches from all over the country were reunited eager to learn more about football.
When our turn came, the conference attendees were able to deepen their understanding of the tactical intentions of control, as well as its importance and what and how to train at each stage.
Read more:
- Sportdziennik.com (PL)
- Junioer.wezlo.com (PL)
Creating intelligent players is becoming a trend in modern football. However, its important to question, what is behind this expression? What makes an intelligent player? How should a Club or Federation organize themselves to create such profiles of players? What should I train if I want to become an intelligent player?
All of these questions and many more are coming from club owners, parents, coaches, and players from all over the world. But there is no single answer for any of them. Most importantly, what is useful and important in one country, may not have the same significance in another country.
In this book you will find the history of the EKKONO METHOD, a successful football model used by a wide range of clubs and federations world wide who share a common objective: become a reference in developing youth players.
GIVE US YOUR CONTACT INFO,
AND OUR TEAM WILL REACH YOU AS SOON AS POSIBLE
After more than 15 years developing projects all over the world, we know that adapting to the reality and needs of our clients is essential if we want to achieve successful projects. Our work philosophy is not based on imposing a certain work methodology. The workflow of any of our projects is as follows:
1. We define a personalized plan
We listen to you, analyze your reality and from here on we set up a project tailored to your needs. We will use all our experience and knowledge to present you with a proposal that will surely be satisfactory.
2. We assign a team
Within our organization there will be a team specially focused on developing your project. Such team will be made up of Ekkono licensed coaches, some located in Barcelona and others in your organization. Together, they will use the Ekkono Identity method to team up with your technical staff, providing them with support and resources in order to achieve the agreed results.
3. We do a follow-up
In addition to the daily work, we also produce regular reports to keep the management team updated about the project development. These reports include a mid-season chronogram and a comprehensive report based on key performance indicators to ensure that the organization is evolving adequately.
4. We adjust according to feedback
After submission of the reports, all feedback received from the board is channeled and the implementation plan is adjusted. In this way, the board will have guaranteed control of everything that happens in the organization and will be able to focus its efforts on the most appropriate areas.
5. We get tangible results
We guarantee that your identity will be enhanced in just one season. But most importantly, from the third season onwards, not only will you recover your investment, but you will have become a specialist in the generation and sale of professional players.
GENERATE IDENTITY
Boost the sense of belonging among your players, staff and fans thanks to a shared way of understanding football, playing style, values and philosophy among other aspects.
SAVE BUDGET
By ensuring your academy players reach the Pro Team, your organization is going to save budget in the market-transfer windows.
INCREASE REVENUE
Most organizations are going to be looking for your players, therefore, your chance of selling and generating revenue will be much higher.
FAN ENGAGEMENT
Your fans feel more attached to youth promoted players. It makes them come to your stadium in large numbers and increases club ecosystem consumption.
ATTRACT TALENT
When other young players find out about your successful model, they will all want to join your youth teams.
BE RECOGNIZED
By proving the success of your model, your organization is going to feel proud of its your sector and will become a world reference within the football industry.
Soccer Services Barcelona (SSB) is a consulting firm that has partnered with Federations and Professional Football Clubs for more than 15 years. The Company’s Ekkono licensed coaches have worked at Top Clubs such as FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, and offered their services to the National Federations of Japan, China and Thailand. These entities may differ significantly from one to another, but there is an unwavering common goal: selecting and developing talented players. By doing this, the best economic and team results are achieved.
SSB is the only firm with the Ekkono Identity method, a set of processes for reaching this goal. Unlike other alternatives that only focus on improving certain technical skills or game tactics, SSB proposes creating a Methodology Department. It does this with the aim of promoting, among other things, a coordinated plan of all the training content, a shared educational philosophy across all the teams, a unified game model, and a focus on certain values to create bonds between everyone in the organization.
The Methodology Department is the “invisible” element of overall success, which is fine, because fans love the game, the players, the great teams, the best plays and the most impressive goals.
Fans should be allowed to continue enjoying the “tip of the iceberg”. Not only that, we must work hard so they can be excited about their Team’s achievements, so they feel involved in a certain playing style, and to the degree possible, so future generations can experience a certain culture through the Club’s values. When this last aspect—which refers to building an identity—is developed systematically, success is guaranteed. Teams share their values with fans in a number of ways. For example, Liverpool FC conveys the value of respect by respecting its former players, FC Barcelona and Amsterdam’s Ajax share the value of commitment through their commitment to a specific playing style, Germany’s National Team conveys the value of discipline, and Uruguay’s National Team shares the idea of competitiveness.
The clearer the identity of a Football Federation or Club, the higher its likelihood of success. It is easier to channel an organization’s efforts in a single direction. This clarifies the criteria for selecting talent, the type of training activities that should be planned, the teaching style to be used, the playing system to be established and the lifestyle we should foster at our training centers, etc. The way to create, accelerate and/or optimize that identity is through a Methodology Department.
On the occasion of Soccerex US, held in Miami (Florida), David Hernández gave an interview to Soccerex.com. The interview addressed two fundamental issues: his experience as Director of Methodology at Paris Saint-Germain, and the main characteristics of Ekkono Identity, the new version of the method developed together with Carles Romagosa.
In relation to the time he spent implementing the Ekkono method in Paris, Hernández not only highlighted the victories achieved by the academy sides at PSG, but also, especially, the fact that 85% of the players who followed the Individual Player Performance Plan ended up making their first team debut.
With regard to the Ekkono Identity method, he highlighted that the aim of the method is to provide, via its implementation at each club that requests it, a model that defines aspects such as the style of play and training methods, but also, for example, the values to promote on a priority basis. The objective is to seek an overall and unique identity for each club.
One of the main focuses of the project that Soccer Services Barcelona carries out at the Football Association of Thailand is the Grassroots Program. It is aimed at developing football throughout the country.
Its approach is not strictly competitive as it involves stakeholders from all levels such as: clubs, social leaders, universities, sponsors, family members, volunteers and lots of players. Also, it is important to stress that this project is also focused on the promotion of the values that the association proposes around the entire country. In the following video you can see a typical day at one of the events organised, as well as the importance of the participation of coaches and volunteers.
"I got an immediate improvement on my performance due to my work with Ekkono"
"Ekkono has helped me to gain a better undestanding of football and become a professional player"
“The Ekkono Method has helped me interpret the game better and make better decisions"
"I have improved my performance as a center back thanks to the Ekkono Method"
“The Ekkono Method has helped me to gain a better tactical understanding of my position, as well as to identify details that I need to improve in my game in order to become a better player and take the next step in my career”
"The Ekkono individual program has allowed me to deepen my understanding of myself as a player, understand some details, and learn how to perform better."
"The Ekkono Method makes you a smart player, therefore it maximizes your performance"
"I have been using ekkono’s individual coaching program. They analyse me on video, give me qualitative feedback through private sessions and help me to improve day by day"
“The Ekkono Individual Performance Program helps me improve my performance and understanding of the game”
“Working with Ekkono helped me understand who I am as a player and how to improve”
“Ekkono did a fantastic job analyzing, organizing, and explaining their work so it was efficient, easy to understand and applicable. They can definitely help any player continue to improve.”
“Ekkono Method has been of great help to me in improving my performance during the Africa Cup of Nations. I am looking forward to continuing the program during the coming season”
“The Ekkono method focuses on the small details and this allows me to improve my performance”
"I would recommend Ekkono to reinforce those tactical aspects you do not have time to work with your team"
JAPAN
FRANCE
SWEEDEN
CHILE
INDONESIA
SPAIN
FINLAND
FINLAND
ISRAEL
USA
CHINA
MEXICO
CHILE
USA
SWEDEN
SCOTLAND
SWEDEN
POLAND
