What's it like to be the youngest Director of Performance in the Top 5 leagues in Europe? Furthermore what is it also like when your role also entails being the Assistant Coach readying your players for weekly Bundesliga games?

Today we are joined by Hamburg's Director of Performance & Assistant Coach; Basil More-Chevalier. He discusses the influences that sparked his curiosity to merge neuroscience with football, and how his time at Lyon, across multiple roles, helped form his thinking around methodology, learning, and developing players coming through the system.

In his current role at Hamburg, Basil shares how research is applied in the reality of week-to-week competition. He breaks down the difference between training to maintain and training to perform, how Individual Development Plans can be adapted to enhance learning, and the challenge of carving out time to study while preparing for games.

Listen to find out more including;

- Creating a training methodology to further bridge the gap between theory and practice.

- What coaches do not understand about cognitive fatigue?

- How Basil manages the short and long term in his daily work?

- What does integrated coach development look like?

- Training to maintain vs training to perform and adapting IDPs for learning.

Timestamps;

00:00 - 13:06 - Neuroscience

13:07 - 27:46 - Lyon

27:47 - 35:06 - Culture

35:07 - 43:10 - Coach Development

43:11 - 51:21 - Advice

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: cwalsh95@outlook.ie

In this episode, we sit down with Jonas Munkvold; First Team Recruitment Analyst with Bournemouth & Analyst with the IFA whose coaching journey offers a window into how football minds are shaped. He explains how writing and deep reflection on the game helped him clarify his ideas, sharpen his thinking, and develop a more considered approach to coaching and analysis.

The conversation explores the growing prominence of the coach/analyst hybrid role, with Jonas sharing how he has seen this space evolve over time and what it now demands from practitioners. We also dive into the idea of the player as analyst, discussing how players can take learning from the pitch, build their football intelligence, and become more self-directed in their development.

Jonas looks back on his five years at Nottingham Forest, where he worked across a variety of roles and gathered lessons that continue to shape his perspective today. He shares insights from his early specialization in developing 1v1 players, including what he believes is most important in nurturing creativity and decision-making in those moments. Finally, he explains his transition from coaching into recruitment, what motivated that move, and how his coaching background still informs the way he evaluates talent.

Listen to find out more including;

- Jonas revealing the single most formative experience of his early coaching career.

- How writing about football fundamentally changed the way he sees the game?

- His inside view on how the coach/analyst role has transformed in modern football.

- Why he believes players should think more like analysts on and off the pitch?

- The real reasons behind his move from coaching into recruitment.

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: cwalsh95@outlook.ie

Next summer Haiti and Gabriel Calderon will compete in the 2026 World Cup. It is the latest chapter in the Calderon's family relationship with the trophy. As a four year old inspired by watching his father in the 1990 World Cup Final Gabriel had his mind set on etching his own mark on the game.

A childhood spent across France, Spain and the Middle East has shaped Gabriel's worldview, leadership style and understanding of the game beyond the touchline. Forging his trade across several Spanish clubs gave Gabriel the tools to lead prior to embarking on a leadership role with FIFA working closely with developing countries.

One of which was Haiti where Gabriel has served several roles including First Team Coach, Assistant & Technical Advisor. On the back of last week's World Cup draw Gabriel joined the podcast to discuss his journey to date.

Listen to find out more including;

- Why Gabriel believes "football has the same language"?

- The impact working in FIFA's Technical Department had on his development?

- Inside Haiti's historic World Cup Qualifying campaign.

- How Haiti will prepare for Brazil, Scotland and Morocco?

- How technical leadership is evolving and what skills matter most?

Get in touch;

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conorwalsh1995/

YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/@TheLowdownPod

Email: cwalsh95@outlook.ie