Gary Curneen

Modern Soccer Coach Podcast

Sports EN ↓ 380 episodes

Our goal is to bring in-depth content to coaches with a combination of interviews, chats, and personal thoughts on the topics that really matter in the beautiful game and elite-level sport. Enjoy and thanks for listening! - Gary

Author

Gary Curneen

Category

Sports

Podcast website

soundcloud.com

Latest episode

Jul 2, 2026

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Episodes

Guerrilla Football and the Power of Simplicity with John Wall 25.09.2025

Watch John's full presentation FREE below: https://www.modernsoccercoach.com/product-page/purpose-planning-and-people-insight-into-jamaica-s-blueprint-with-john-wall In this episode, John Wall shares insights from his time as assistant coach for the Jamaican National Team (2022–2024). He discusses how to maximize player strengths, simplify complexity, and create repeatable structures, even with li...

Rethinking "Football Intelligence" with Jes Buster Madsen 18.09.2025

Join MSC Insider Below: https://modernsoccercoach.mimentorportal.com/subscriptions Jes is current Director of Football and Data Science at the Saudi Pro League and former Head of Research & Development at FC Copenhagen. He unpacks the science behind “football intelligence" and explains why vague terms like game IQ fall short, and how neuroscience can help coaches break intelligence down into concr...

Solving Football's Creativity Problem with Ian McCall 11.09.2025

Join MSC Insider and access Ian's full presentation below: https://modernsoccercoach.mimentorportal.com/subscriptions In recent years, creativity in football has become a hot topic. Many fans, coaches, and analysts have noticed that the modern game, while faster and more tactically advanced, sometimes feels robotic. Players follow strict systems, teams recycle familiar patterns, and moments of gen...

Mental Health, Emotional Intelligence Development, Leadership and Coaching with Sue Parris 04.09.2025

Join MSC Insider Below: https://modernsoccercoach.mimentorportal.com/subscriptions Gary is joined by Sue Parris, an emotional welfare specialist who has worked in professional football. for almost 15 years. Sue is an emotional intelligence advocate and developer, as well as Founder of The Changing Room and Simply Human and Head of Welfare and senior consultant for The Player Care Group. She spent...

The Game Is Not The Teacher. The Coach Is The Teacher - Carsten Dohm 28.08.2025

Gary is joined by Carsten Dohm, Head of Coaching San Diego FC (MLS) and Right To Dream. The San Diego FC project started last year, but Right To Dream have been impacting the football development world in a big way for over 25 years. They believe that "Everyone has the right to dream and talent deserves opportunity." Their work all over the world has launched the careers of 146 professional footba...

The Tactical Chameleon: Xabi Alonso's Philosophy With Tim Stegmann 21.08.2025

Gary is joined by author and coach Tim Stegmann to discuss his outstanding new book Xabi Campeon. Tim takes an in-depth look at Xabi's coaching journey including his personal influences, the remarkable transformation at Leverkusen and the tactical innovations behind Alonso’s dynamic and dominant style. What influential methodologies from Spanish football form the foundation of his philosophy? And...

Football Theory and Coaching Verticality with Ilya Orlov 14.08.2025

Gary is joined by Director of Football and Head Coach at Alliance United and University of Toronto, Ilya Orlov. In this interview, Ilya delves into the intricate background of his innovative football ideas, providing a comprehensive overview that is deeply rooted in the principles of the Football Theory approach. He articulates how this theoretical framework serves as a foundation for his understa...

Chelsea Approach To Player Development With Adi Viveash 12.08.2025

Gary is joined by Adi Viveash, who recently joined Middlesbrough first team coaching staff and also spent eight years at Chelsea as assistant Academy and assistant reserve team coach before being named Under-18 manager in July 2011. He was promoted to development squad manager in 2014, which saw him lead Chelsea’s Under-21s. During his time at Chelsea, among the players Adi had a key hand in devel...

Preparing Tactically for Pre-Season with Jo Chubb 07.08.2025

Gary is joined by Coastal Carolina University head coach, Jo Chubb, to discuss the progress that the team has made in recent years and where she is targeting to evolve for the upcoming fall season. Pre-season preparation is often focused around the physical side of the game, but Jo believes that the tactical and individual development areas must take center stage in order to compete at the elite l...

Barca Academy Learning, Coach Development and US Player Development with Conor Walsh 02.08.2025

Gary is joined by Academy Director and 1st team coach at Chicago City FC, Conor Walsh. They discuss Conor's experience at the Barca academy, his approach to personal development, how coach and player development align, and the north American player development model. Listen to Conor interviewing Gary on The Lowdown Podcast below: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lowdown/id1553685531?i=100...

Elite Level Back 3 Attacking Principles with Laurent Courtois 24.07.2025

Gary is joined by Laurent Courtois to talk about the details behind his back 3 system. Laurent was most recently head coach at CF Montreal (MLS) and has also worked at Columbus Crew 2 and LA Galaxy. In this interview he talks about: - Balancing patience with verticality - When freedom enters attacking principles versus structure - Player profiles of each position - Training flow and planning Pleas...

"Don't Isolate Set-Pieces in the Game Model" with Ruben Santos 17.07.2025

Join MSC Insider Here: modernsoccercoach.mimentorportal.com/subscriptions Gary is joined by Ruben Santos to discuss how to align set-piece frameworks and training into the Game Model. Ruben has worked at a number of Portuguese clubs including CD Trofense, FC Porto, and Torreesnse. His presentation for MSC is around "dividing Set-Pieces into Sub-Phases, the aim is not to remove the complexity of Fo...

What Makes a Great First Touch? Slawomir Morawski On the Art & Science of Football Decision Making 10.07.2025

Read Slawomir Morawski's Article FREE Below: https://www.modernsoccercoach.com/post/guest-article-the-art-of-first-touch-collecting-information-in-football Gary is joined by Analyst at Bolton Wanderers Football Club and coach Slawomir Morawski to discuss the first touch in football. Slawomir argues that first touch is not just a technical action, but instead a cognitive one where decision making d...

A Different Approach to Data! Analytics and Flying Birds with David Sumpter 02.07.2025

Check Out Sportslab360 Below: https://sportslab360.com/ Gary is joined by Professor, Soccermatician and co-founder of Twelve, David Sumpter. He has worked with some of the biggest clubs in the world, including Barcelona and Ajax, and his company Twelve are helping support professional clubs all around the world with data solutions. David's approach is certainly unique. He has studied and researche...

Messi Live Experience, PSG Tactical Appreciation and World Club Cup with Conor Walsh 30.06.2025

Join MSC Insider For Exclusive Content: https://modernsoccercoach.mimentorportal.com/subscriptions Gary takes a trip to Atlanta to watch Lionel Messi live for the first time. He talks to Chicago City FC Academy Director and 1st team head coach, Conor Walsh about the impact of Messi, the tactical work of Luis Enrique and the player profile of Cole Palmer.

"Grassroots Game Today Is Worse Than Ever!" - Dean Austin (Coventry City Head of Recruitment) 26.06.2025

Join MSC Insider Here: https://modernsoccercoach.mimentorportal.com/subscriptions Gary is joined by Coventry City Head of Recruitment, Dean Austin to discuss the current landscape of player development in England. The rise of the game at the highest level is potentially impacting the youth game and Dean gives his expert opinion why. He also discusses his role as Head of Recruitment at Coventry and...

2v1 Philosophy and REALLY Coaching Attacking Football with Andre Schumacher 18.06.2025

Gary is joined by Andreas Schumacher to talk about his new book, 'Two Versus One' and the complexity of coaching attacking football. Andre has written the book alongside Bernhard Peters and is challenging coaches to get into more detail and context when coaching teams to score goals. Andreas has a masters degree in Sports Science and has worked at a number of professional clubs including Hamburger...

Lee Grant Journey: From Man Utd Goalkeeper to Forwards Coach.... To Head Coach! 13.06.2025

Gary travels to Ipswich Town to speak with assistant coach Lee Grant (since then he's been appointed head coach at Huddersfield Town) to talk about his unique journey in the game, plus his insights to individual development. Lee was a pro goalkeeper at Manchester United and then joined Kieran McKenna's staff as a forwards coach, before recently taking the job at Huddersfield. Player development is...

How to Develop Creative and Independent Elite Players with Dan Micciche 05.06.2025

Join the MSC Insider for more Exclusive Content: https://modernsoccercoach.mimentorportal.com/subscriptions Gary recently travelled over to England to meet Dan Micciche for a coffee and a chat about the progress they have made in the area of player development. In addition to his passion around the game, Dan has worked in some outstanding environment's (England FA, Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton)...

Rui Faria on Tactical Methodology, Working with Mourinho, and Current State of the Game! 28.05.2025

Gary is joined by Rui Faria this week. Rui had seventeen years working with Jose Mourinho at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United with phenomenal success during this time. He is credited with the tactical methodology that has had a dramatic impact on the world of coaching. Here he discusses: - What is the REAL starting point for a tactical methodology - How did Rui and Mo...

Creating a 'Captivating' Youth Soccer Environment with Ashley Gumbrell 15.05.2025

Gary is joined by Ashley Gumbrell to discuss ways that coaches can create an optimal environment for young players to love and learn the game. Ashley is a Coach Developer and also a lecturer at St. Mary's University. He also discusses the role of coach education along with his work with Eamon Devlin at Minute9. The St Mary’s University Performance Football Coaching master’s is a unique opportunity...

Improving Player Engagement and Challenging Coach Behaviors at Youth Level with Jack Rolfe 08.05.2025

Check out Jack's Game Changer online course below - https://thecoachinglab.org/pages/game-changer-2025-online-sports-coaching-course Gary is joined by Jack Rolfe, founder of The Coaching Lab, to discuss ways that coaches can improve and challenge some traditional behaviors during training session. Jack has worked extensively with coaches around the world to improve training environments and maximi...

"The Current College Landscape is Terrifying!" - College Soccer Today with Jack Winter 06.05.2025

Gary is joined by Jack Winter, who most recently worked at Stanford University as an assistant coach, to discuss the current landscape of college soccer. In this interview, Jack gives his views on the following: - Impact on the Portal and NIL in the college game - How high transfer rates impact team culture - Why soccer programs should be compensated if players move to advance their careers - The...

Role of Cognitive and Neuroscience-Based Training with Dr. Konstantin Sonkin (CEO of i-BrainTech) 24.04.2025

On the recent Modern Soccer Coach Podcast, we spoke to Dr. Konstantin Sonkin about the role of neuro training in the world of elite player development. Dr. Sonkin is a DeepTech entrepreneur with a blend of business acumen and technical expertise in Neuroscience and AI. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of i-BrainTech, a SportsTech company that is leveraging the power of applied science and neuro traini...

Development Destroyer? Does the Thirds of Play Model Impact Creativity in Football Development with Jake Pickles 14.04.2025

Coaches: You can read Jake's full article here: https://theraumdeuter.sport.blog/2024/12/14/boxed-in-how-the-thirds-of-play-impact-creativity-in-football-development/ Gary is joined by former Premier League Academy Coach, Jake Pickles, to discuss and challenge a common approach to possession football: the thirds model. Jake believes that, rather than educating players on the tactical principles of...

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