WORLD CLASS COACHING
30 Finishing Rondos
By Luca Bertolini
Table of Contents
PART ONE
INTRODUCTION
MOVING FROM POSSESSION TO FINISHING PHASE
KEY POINTS FOR PRACTICING FINISHING RONDOS
PART TWO
ONE-GRID RONDOS
PART THREE
TWO-GRID RONDOS
PART FOUR
THREE, FOUR AND SIX-GRID RONDOS
Introduction: The Possession Principles of Play
Soccer is an attacking game whose objective is to score against another team by winning the battle against the opposition's defense. Principles of play underpin all the aspects of the game and they can be coached from the first stage of a player development.
If a player is able to understand these principles, he can make better decisions regarding skills, techniques, and tactics.
Whenever we refer to the possession phase concerning a specific team’s tactics, to a system of play, or to a player’s tactics, it comes from and it must be coached following the five principles of play of the attacking phase:
• Penetration: dribbling and passing forward, or shooting, attempting penetration. The first objective, when the possession is won back after a transition phase, is to get the ball forward by the using a shot, dribble or pass. First of all, these must be individual reactions of each player and only when the technical skills are improving, then it's possible to work on team play combinations to move the ball up the field. As combination play depends on a decision-making process, the player technical and tactical skills for a good execution must be coached first of all.
• Depth and Support: depth provides the player on the ball with all around support so that there are options to play the ball forward, square or back. The more options a player has, the less likely the team will lose the ball. Creating depth means creating space up the field. On the other side, support means to create space in behind the player in possession of the ball to save the possession if it's not possible to play forward. Support is linked to depth because a back pass can be useful to create a depth space behind the opposition defense line if the angles and the distance of support are correct. We can now talk about triangles; if a player is in possession, he should find a teammate in depth position and another one backward with a different angle.
• Mobility: movement on the ball and off the ball is important so that players can create space for themselves or for their teammates. Players without the ball need to keep moving to unbalance the opponent’s defense, and by making “runs” into positions that will create scoring opportunities or create space for the teammates near the ball, making the field as big as possible. This principle progresses from the player on the ball in the first stage of training (under 11 years old), the players near the ball in the second stage of training (11/12-14 years old), and those away from the ball (from 14 years old). The idea of "timing of play" becomes very important now.
• Width: creating space sideways on the field for opportunities to attack on either flank of the field. Usually the wide shape is considered useful to save possession rather than to attack; but thinking about how the players can take advantage of the available space moving towards, along or inside from the sidelines, wide play can have dramatic impact on the opponent’s defense. If the opposition defense is compact then there are more chances to attack down the flanks. If the opponent spreads out to the attacking team’s width, center passing lanes should allow penetration.
• Improvisation: individual ideas to create passing or shooting opportunities for themselves or for teammates. Clever dribbling or passing to overcome the opponents and to create open spaces for attackers. It must be always encouraged all over the field beginning with the younger ages and it should be coached through the years, to make the player understand when and how it's a good solution for the possession/attacking phase.
Finishing
This is the last but most important principle of play for this ebook. It means successfully scoring a goal; shooting with the right timing wherever the player is placed or has come from. The finishing phase doesn't involve only strikers as all players shall be able to shoot and score and all of them should be skilled with these elements:
• Shooting quickly when presented with an opportunity. The practices should replicate the game situations as much as possible, in and around the penalty box and with opponents trying to prevent shots.
• Positions of the players, movement on and off the ball to create space, and body positioning to receive all the kinds of passes and to shoot.
• Coach the technical skills to strike a ball while moving away from the forwards to be able to finish receiving balls from wide positions and with the back to goal.
• The offside rule during the game of youth players, it has to be included while performing the shooting sequences. Include the offside rule also during crossing and finishing exercises, to coach the player to attack the space between the opposition defense line and the goal with the right timing. It's not necessary during the first seasons.
• Be sure the players not only shoot, but score as much as possible.
The decision making process when in possession to take a move to the finishing phase.
Finishing rondos can be useful to coach penetration, dribbling, crossing and shooting from short distances sequences, when the team is already in possession, and it's possible to play directly to try to score. All the other players off the ball, they work on all the elements of the flow chart.
From possession phase to finishing phase
As we have already realized in the first two volumes of this e-book set, 35 Possession Rondos and 30 Transitions Rondos, everything that happens during those 90 minutes could be linked to a rondo: passing, passing combinations, receiving, oriented ball control, one-touch and two-touch play, vertical play, wide play, inside/outside play, pressure, closure of passing lanes, coverage of a space, intercept, playing rhythm, speed of play, individual transitions (when a player loses the possession and when a player wins the possession), change of positions between the players, exchange of positions among the players.
The finishing phase is the consequence of all these sequences; the player technique and tactics to solve these situations can be coached and improved through rondo exercises; and the finishing phase is the last of four to be run during each single move or a lot of these:
1. Building-up
2. Moving and circulating the ball, in search of penetration or wide play
3. Penetrating the opponents
4. Finishing
Then it's very important to have an idea and a tactical plan on how the team can play during all these phases, if we talk about an adult first team, or to coach all the possible individuals’ acts if we refer to the youth players.
It's also very important to understand that if possession or transition rondos can be useful to coach the players inside the game situation, finishing rondos are improvement exercises and they can't be a ultimate way to coach the whole finishing phase; a shooting phase must always be coached as preparatory phase to complete the finishing rondos objectives. Finishing Rondos are linked with team tactics more than the others.
These shooting exercises are mainly technical and tactical, but just from a "player point of view" and they include:
• Continuous free shooting sequences
• Shooting from cross passes
• One touch shooting
• Simple give and go sequences and the inside group activity
• Inside runs
• 1 v goalkeeper
• 1 v opponent and goalkeeper
• Finish outnumbered
How to practice Finishing Rondos: the key points.
These are the key points to organize, to practice and to correct a finishing rondo exercise:
• Small sided space: rectangular, square, grids or any needed shape
• Main goal with goalkeepers and another one or mini goals to finish after transition to attack and to save after a transition to defend
• Players must be have a specific position inside and outside the shape, but they don't play all around and the shooter are not only to forward one.
• Sizes of the shape must be related with the number of players and the objectives of the exercise
• Balls shall be always available next to the playing area
• Fix a passing and receiving rhythm before finishing
• Stay on the balls of the feet with an open body shape and be ready to receive the ball from any side or forward directions
• Pass forward if possible; those are the killer passes to score
• Speed of thought
• Speed of play
• Have fun and bring energy to the group. A player who is having fun is being trained twice
• Underline the great passes and finishing solutions
• Creativity and teamwork must go together
What are the benefits of coaching a player with rondos?
Speed of thought related to the number of touches:
Players must think very quickly during a game as well as during the rondos exercises, as the ball is passed and received very quickly. Rondos can help the players to understand when to play quickly and when to put their foot on the ball and slow the rhythm down depending on how close the opposition player is.
Players get 20-40 touches within five minutes during rondo training. This might be the same number a player gets in a whole match. So, if a player is coached through rondo exercises, he must think and play with high rhythm many more times then in a 11 v 11 match; for this reason he is supposed to be ready enough when he plays matches.
Technique, Mobility & Agility:
The players are asked to be skilled at a good level to keep the possession during a rondo exercise sequence; the ball moves very quickly in a rondo and then the players need to execute very fast as well. Rondo does not build skill quickly; these exercises improve the skills with an already good basis. If the players must work fast, their motor, mobility and agility skills are improved at the same time.
It’s easy to fix how many touches players can take as a coach, but by using rondos, 1 or 2 touches, the passing/receiving sequences, are ensured without any rule. Playing in tight spaces forces the players to have a good first touch and also to realize if they need to take a first touch away from an opponent. The same is for the movement to open up the passing lanes for their teammates. Passing, receiving and moving become habits thanks to these repetitions.
Team tactics:
Rondos can be considered a first team tactical work during the possession phases, as the players with the ball are always more than two and with numerical advantage.
Coaches ask their players to move constantly, and through rondos they will be used to moving, whether it’s 2 yards or 10 yards. This also helps the players with the understanding of passing lanes, where to find them, and how to move in to give a teammate a passing option.
Using rondos in training sessions can help players to understand when, where, and how to overload an area to keep the possession or to exploit a weak area or side among the opposition defenders.
When the defending players are two or more than two, we can consider the rondos as first team tactics work for the defense phase of play. Basically, the understanding between the players is very important, as they begin to work as one unit.
Problem Solving & Creativity:
Rondo tests the player’s skills to problem solve the entire time as they play fast and with high rhythm. The players in possession must be creative to break down the opposition’s pressure or a defense line, as they are always under strong pressure if in possession and they must be organized to recover the ball.
Not all the passes are perfect and rondos can help the players to learn how to improvise if a pass is short or played harder than expected. For instance, most of Barcelona Academy players are able to pass with any surface of their feet or of their bodies; these skills are built up through the rondo exercises inside small-sided spaces.
Competition and Have Fun:
Rondos are always very fun for the players and they make the practices healthy competitions to train at high intensity and rhythm. The skills to keep the possession of the ball in tight spaces against the strong pressure of the opponents can be useful for any team even if they are not Barcelona.
Physical Conditioning:
With rondos a team may work on anaerobic resistance by varying the space, time and number of players involved and even on specific soccer stamina.
How the Rondo e-books collection is organized
Rondos are not only possession games, and they can help players to understand how to change their positions, how to exchange positions between two players and among more players, how to play the transitions to attack and the transitions to defend. They can help the players to be unmarked before finishing as well.
This collection is then divided in three volumes:
• The first volume is about Possession Rondos
• The second will be about Transition Rondos
• The third one will be about Finishing Rondos
Note: possession phases to wait and to find the right time and space to carry out the requirements are implied in all the exercises.
