Explore every episode of the podcast ISSPF Soccer Insights
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Sharkey: Football First, Data Second & the Reality of Sports Science | 05 Jul 2026 | 00:56:34 | |
Want to go deeper into soccer science, coaching, and performance? Head to the ISSPF site at www.ISSPF.com, and catch the rest of the ISSPF Soccer Insights Podcasts at www.ISSPF.com/podcasts. Podcast Overview: Jack Sharkey on Football Performance, Sport Science and Why Data Isn’t Enough In this episode, we sit down with Jack Sharkey, Director of Performance, to explore the reality of working in football performance. Jack’s career has taken him through Burton Albion, QPR, Aston Villa, the Australian national team and Olympique Lyonnais. Across that journey, he has worked in lower-league football, the Championship, the Premier League, World Cup environments and Champions League football. This conversation goes beyond GPS, data and gym work. Jack reflects on coming out of university with academic knowledge, then learning quickly that football demands something different: communication, trust, reliability, simplicity and the ability to make performance work useful to coaches and players. We discuss the importance of lower-league experience, working with different managers and players, the politics of football clubs, the demands of international football, and what it takes to lead a multidisciplinary performance department. The central message is clear: data is not enough. Football now has more information than ever, from GPS and video to AI and dashboards. But unless practitioners can translate that information into football language, it risks becoming noise. For coaches, sport scientists, analysts, psychologists and performance staff, this episode is about keeping performance work connected to the game. What you’ll take from this episode: * The reality of working in football sport science * Why trust, communication and reliability matter * Lessons from Burton, QPR, Aston Villa, Australia and Lyon * Why data must be translated into football language * The danger of specialists drifting away from the game * How performance departments can support better decisions ↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓ Want more? Visit the ISSPF Journal and grab your free soccer performance journal at www.ISSPF.com/journal. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Cold open 00:00:20 Intro 00:01:05 Jack’s route into football performance 00:03:00 Learning the reality of sport science at Burton Albion 00:06:00 Nigel Clough, hierarchy and communication 00:09:00 Trust, reliability and being a good practitioner 00:12:00 QPR, Aston Villa and the reality of football 00:18:00 Working with different players and career pathways 00:25:00 Ryan Manning and the role of luck in football 00:28:00 Australia, international football and the World Cup 00:32:15 Lyon and becoming Director of Performance 00:36:50 French mentality, communication and elite standards 00:41:20 Specialists drifting away from football 00:45:20 Bielsa, GPS and why data isn’t enough 00:53:00 Final reflections | |||
| Steve McClaren: Manchester United Standards & the Future of Coaching | 15 Jun 2026 | 00:50:22 | |
Want to go deeper into soccer science, coaching, and performance? Head to the ISSPF site at www.ISSPF.com, and catch the rest of the ISSPF Soccer Insights Podcasts at www.ISSPF.com/podcasts. Podcast Overview: Steve McClaren on Standards, Culture and Modern Coaching What does it really take to build standards, culture and winning behaviours inside elite football environments? In this episode, we sit down with Steve McClaren to explore the realities of coaching, leadership and performance at the highest level of the game. Steve’s career has taken him through some of football’s biggest environments, including Manchester United, England, Middlesbrough, Derby County, FC Twente, Newcastle United and Jamaica. Across that journey, he has worked with elite players, major clubs, national teams and some of the most demanding football cultures in the world. This conversation goes beyond tactics. Steve reflects on the new wave of English coaches, the rise of Liam Rosenior, lessons from working with Wayne Rooney at Derby, and what young coaches need to develop if they want to lead at the highest level. We also explore culture and standards through Steve’s experiences at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, where behaviours were driven every day by the manager and senior players such as Roy Keane. His message is clear: culture is not a slogan. Culture is behaviour. Steve also shares lessons from Middlesbrough, where he built an environment strong enough for major players such as Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Gaizka Mendieta to come in and thrive, as well as insights from Jamaica on spirit, togetherness and game management. For coaches, practitioners, analysts, sport scientists, psychologists and anyone interested in elite football environments, this episode offers a rare insight into what high-level coaching really demands. What you'll take from this episode:
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓ Want more? Visit the ISSPF Journal and grab your free soccer performance journal at www.ISSPF.com/journal. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 Cold open | |||
| Darcy Norman: Building Elite Performance at Bayern Munich, Germany & Chicago Fire | 05 May 2026 | 00:57:04 | |
Want to go deeper into soccer science, coaching, and performance? Head to the ISSPF site at www.ISSPF.com and catch the rest of the ISSPF Soccer Insights Podcasts at www.ISSPF.com/podcasts. What does it actually take to build a winning environment at the very top of world football? In this episode, we sit down with Darcy Norman, one of the most respected performance practitioners in the game, to explore the people, systems, and processes behind elite performance. Darcy’s journey has taken him through some of the biggest environments in world football, including FC Bayern Munich, AS Roma, the German Men’s National Team, the U.S. Men’s National Team, and now Chicago Fire FC, where he was appointed Director of Performance in December 2024. In that role, he leads medical, physical performance, nutrition, sports psychology, and performance strategy across the First Team, Chicago Fire FC II, and the Academy. This is not just a CV story. It is a deep dive into how high-performing environments are actually built. How do you align coaches, medics, sport scientists, analysts, nutritionists, psychologists, and leadership? How do you create systems that keep players available, developing, and ready to perform? And how do you use data, research, and technology without losing the human element? Darcy has lived inside winning cultures. He was part of the staff that lifted the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany, worked at Bayern during a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double, and was at Roma during their 2017–18 Champions League semi-final run. His message is clear: elite performance is not one department, one method, or one piece of technology. It is a connected system. Across the conversation, Darcy shares lessons on performance leadership, player availability, multidisciplinary working, data, physical development, culture, communication, and the importance of clear mission, vision, and values. For coaches, sport scientists, analysts, fitness coaches, rehab specialists, psychologists, and performance leaders, this episode offers a rare look inside some of the biggest environments in world football. What you’ll take from this episode:
Want more? Visit the ISSPF Journal and grab your free soccer performance journal at www.ISSPF.com/journal. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 01:30 Meet Darcy Norman 01:45 From alpine skiing to performance 04:11 Why mindset is the foundation 08:12 Arriving at Bayern Munich 10:49 Working under Louis van Gaal 17:27 Building a system at Roma 20:50 Germany vs Italy: two cultures 22:49 Supply chain managing human performance 26:04 Process over outcome 29:42 Why 2014 worked and 2018 didn’t 32:27 What a Director of Performance does 36:18 What a good day looks like 38:51 The World Cup and a humbling reality check 42:08 The future: data and principles 45:48 Power, efficiency, and a player’s pushback 51:31 Losing the forest for the trees 54:01 Wrap-up | |||