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.