How Pro Footballers ACTUALLY Communicate | 50+ Phrases

Timestamps:
0:00-0:48 - My Story Learning On-Field Communication
0:48-5:21 - Positioning on Defense
5:21-10:02 - Organizing Tactically on Defense
10:02-12:35 - Relaying Information on Defense
12:35-14:00 - Positioning with the Ball
14:00-16:55 - Organizing Tactically Attacking
16:55-19:05 - Relaying Information with the Ball
19:05-20:05 - Pressuring the Referee
20:05-20:55 - Motivational Communication
20:55-22:00 - The Most Difficult Part about Communication

About Me
Name: Matt Sheldon
Age: 31
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 170 lbs
Nationality: USA
Job: Professional Soccer Player
Current Team: Detroit City FC
Current League: USL Championship (USA 2nd Tier)
Last Team: Hartford Athletic
Previous Teams: Charleston Battery, FC Tulsa, Tulsa Roughnecks, Waterside Karori FC, Saint Louis FC, Orange County Blues, SG Kinzenbach
Position: RB/LB/RM
College: UC Davis (D1)

[Edward-ysyd]

The most underrated aspect of the game. Thank you!

[toby]

matt really gave us a duolingo lesson 😭💀

[kpharm]

Definitely one of the hardest things to coach young kids to start doing but one of the most important parts of playing better as a team! Thanks for putting this video together!

[parispierre]

As a winger.. My RB is who guides me on the field defense wise. I always listen to him. That stuff is game changer man!

[Tninja]

I've been looking for content like this. I didn't grow up playing in youth academies, so I never learned communication skills on the pitch until I'm much older and more mature player. This stuff is very useful. Thank you Matt.

[stuartcampbell]

Great combination of verbal and visual analysis.

One more: Having been playing or coaching for almost four decades, there's one communication tactic that brings me so much joy whenever I hear it...because I do so rarely hear/see it...

Make a run to draw defenders and to be an option, while calling SOMEONE ELSE'S name and positioning! The mark of a mature player.

[SangyupLEE]

I will try to use every single phrases!thanks for the advice ❤

[RobertHeathfield]

In England you give away a free kick if you shout leave it! Or if you say "mine" as it is considered dangerous and too ambiguous. So I was taught to call your name when you are going into the challenge or call a teammates name if you want them to make a challenge. As for emotional communication we had a rule that you NEVER bad-mouth one of your team, but always give them positive direction. But in context I usually played in teams that were grateful that everyone actually turned up :-)

[carljensen]

As a youth coach, I have been searching for a video like this. Communication is always the weakest point of youth soccer. I have played soccer my entire life, but always recreational. To learn how pro's communicate is golden. I'm going to incorporate these just a few at a time.

[GSBaekeMusik]

Pretty much the same as in amateur football, I've gotta say. And that doesn't surprise me at all. I've been actively playing for 40+ years, way out of sight of any pro level, but this is the kind of talk I hear and deliver on the pitch every single game. Why would amateurs not talk in much the same way? We've got the same needs of letting our fellow players know what's up, helping them out, pushing/motivating them, influencing the ref, and all of that.
And one of the things you most often hear at halftime, when the game isn't quite running your way is: talk to each other! When there's not enough on-pitch communication, that's always a sure sign that you probably don't perform good as a team. Also, sometimes you need to adjust the tone of communication at halftime, like when there's too much negative comments being given, to make sure you're starting to push each other up instead of pulling one another down.
Yeah, but anyway a nice compilation, I'm sure it's very interesting for folks who do not play actively to hear what kind of communication is going on during a game: it's a lot! There's always someone yelling or shouting something. Just look at footage from COVID times, when the pro matches were being played in empty stadiums. You can hear the on-pitch communication quite well on these videos.
Also explains why someone like Thomas Müller is such an important player for his team. They call him "Radio Müller" because he's constantly helping his teammates with his talk.

[angieloverboy]

As a 30 year old want-to-be coach, I'm taking time to learn some of the foundations of the game that you don't just get to view in matches and your content has really helped me. Thank you for your work and passing on useful knowledge for further generations of players and coaches and fans alike.

[differentgravy]

awesome video. Really shows your understanding of the game when you can clearly explain information that everyone is thinking but is unable to put it in words.

[asekhonangaka]

Really would love to see you vlogging your coaching career when you’re done with your playing career Matt. Your understanding of the game is something to admire⚽️.

[flavioazevedo]

This video is a pure masterclass. Thanks!

[liambeatz]

So much respect for all the editing that would've went into this omg man <3

[kilahquaker]

Very useful video!! Going to try and integrate these into my game.

It would be cool to see how this pairs with non-verbal communication. Things like making eye contact with a player before moving the ball, pointing where they should give the ball so the opposition can't see, head shake to say don't give me the ball. I suppose mostly this is on attack to shield your intentions from the opposing team, but maybe that's my bias!

[footballfanclub]

one of the most useful videos you've ever made 100%!!! well done!

[simple]

The hardest part about communicating is team mates with big egos or overly defensive towards advice. If you tell some players anything they take it as a insult and then try to flip it to criticism towards you. For example if you tell someone " step out you got space " and they lose the ball they take that as you having a pop at them and then look to return the favour by being overly negative towards anything you do. So many times I have seen positive players trying to communicate and then they get hammered by the team mates they were trying to help because they took the comments the wrong way.

I have seen someone saying something as simple as "you should of passed left" to a team mate who passed the wrong way turn to the team mate then giving him abuse everytime he gets the ball even before he has don anything with it. That then makes players reluctant to communicate as fear it leaves them open to being verbally assaulted all game by weak minded players on their own team.

[Magus]

This is why managers and other players love some players which fans might not be rating so highly. This is so important in the game and especially important when things aren't going your way or your team is under pressure.

[lucasbotto]

Great video man👍👌 this truly helps!!!! I just want to know if you can rank soccer/football drills again but this time individual drills ? If not no problem 👌