Believe it or not, most coaches spend little time coaching defending compared to coaching possession and attacking. Yet not conceding goals is just as important as scoring them if you want to win games. There are reasons coaches spend more time coaching possession and attacking...first and foremost, it's more fun to coach and players prefer the fun of scoring goals in practice more than they do working at stopping them. Another reason is that some coaches find it difficult to coach defending...they just don't have enough defending drills and exercises in their library.
The good news is we have a great book on defending. Zonal Defending the Italian Way. This book will give you the tools you need to create some great defending sessions. And who better to learn from than the Italians. The Brazilians are known for their trickery and technical skill. The Germans for their organization and discipline. But when it comes to defense, then the Italians are the best around. So if you’re struggling for ideas on how to tighten your back line, how to concede fewer goals and how to win more games, then the tactics used by the best Italian coaches of the last two decades are the perfect ones to study.
Zonal Defending the Italian Way provides an in-depth look at the Italian back four and their philosophy of total team defending. This includes a look at the history of Italian’s dedication to defense above all else; how it has evolved to accommodate the more attacking style of football that modern audiences crave for and the strategies used by many of Italy’s leading coaches, such as Arrigo Sacchi, Marcello Lippi and Fabio Capello.
Here's what Rob Parker has to say about this book.
“Zonal Defending the Italian Way provides a comprehensive analysis of defensive coaching methodology within Italy’s top professional league, Serie A, while also including training sessions on the topic from elite Italian coaches that can be modified to educate players at all levels.This book is a great resource for coaches who want to implement a quality defensive system but also one that can be easily adapted to fit the needs of any team composition. It’s a must have resource for coaches who want to strengthen their background and coaching on the defensive side of the ball." - Rob Parker assistant coach Union College (NY) Women's Soccer.
To give you an idea of the book, here are a few pages. You can see more info on the book here.
