Coaching Football Intelligence: Scanning vs Situational Awareness

Michael Bunel, Technical Director of the famous Le Havre Academy, and Javid Farahani, Cognition and Skills Acquisition Consultant at Fulham share their views on the perception and decision making skills which single out international superstar players like Lionel Messi and Killian Mappe from very good domestic league players.

They discuss the importance of scanning/situational awareness, how it can be coached, when it can be coached and most importantly how do you test the development of 'brain skills' in young players.

The coaching of perception is a central theme of player development at Le Havre Academy which has developed three World Cup winners in Paul Pogba, Steve Mandanda and Benjamin Mendy as well as other stars like Riyad Mahrez and Dimitri Payet.
Fulham Academy graduates in recent times include Harvey Elliott, Moussa Dembele, Tayo Edun, Dennis Adeniran, Patrick Roberts, Steve Sessegnon and Ryan Sessegnon.