All Posts by Mike Saif

0 Defensive Cover in the 3-5-2 Formation

By Matt Carroll The defensive area that is left vulnerable in the 3-5-2 is the area behind the wingbacks. Opposition wingers, wingbacks, strikers, and even midfielders can create dangerous runs into these areas that pull centerbacks out of position leaving gaps in the middle of the pitch or isolating centerbacks and leaving them vulnerable. Here

0 Playing Combinations to Switch Play

In this week's Animated Drills Video, Matthew Carroll shares how to create combinations so that you can switch the play. The diagram is created with the Academy Soccer Coach software. See more at www.academysoccercoach.co.uk 

0 Creating Goal Chances in the Final Third

By Danny Carvalho With the modern game having more and more compact defenses, our teams need to create as many goal attempts as possible and make the most of each chance created. Today’s session is all about flair, creativity and scoring goals! Warm Up A 2v1 game situation on the top of the box to

0 3v2 Bring Them In

By Tug McTighe - Description: The purpose of this activity is to help players create and take advantage of overloads. It also forces quick transitions from defending to attacking and back again by making the play continuous. Setup: 30x20 grid with two small goals as shown. You can vary size and distance between goals per

0 Active Shooting Drills

By Danny Carvalho Question - “Can you share some small-sided games for shooting that include at least 12 players?  This way, I won't have players stood on the sideline” Alright, here goes three top games that your players are going to love! Activity 1 1st step: (A) starts from the yellow cone and goes unopposed

0 Interval Sprints With and Without a Ball

By Matt Carroll - The purpose of this conditioning drill is to simulate in game and experiences of jog and sprint dynamics, as well as maximizing sprint speeds. Start by setting up a cone 5 yards apart, then another cone 10 yards from that, and a fourth and final cone 5 yards from that. The

0 The Role of the Fullbacks – Defending eBook

0 The 1-2-1-4-1 in the Defensive Organization Phase

By Philip Cauchi One of the drawbacks that the 1-2-1-4-1 system has in the defensive organization phase is the lack of width at the backline.  The spaces on the outside of the center backs are left unguarded and these could be easily exploited by the opposition team’s wide players.  This could be fixed by dropping

0 Goalkeeper Distribution Following Cruyffs Principle

By Danny Carvalho,  The one and only Johann Cruyff once said a phrase that is forever immortalized in soccer for the ones who appreciate attacking and possession-based soccer. It was something like: “In my teams, the goalie is the first attacker, and the striker the first defender.” As I’m a big fan of this philosophy,

0 Figure 8 Passing Drill

By Matt Carroll - The Figure 8 Passing Drill is designed to both work on acceleration, as well as deceleration, a concept that is rarely addressed except maybe in teaching touch-tight defending activities. Deceleration allows players to quickly move from full speed to an appropriate speed for playing or receiving a pass, which will leave

0 The Midfield Triangle in the 3-5-2 Formation

By Matt Carroll In the 3-5-2 the midfield triangle is the positional relationship that most determines how a team’s 3-5-2 will play. A front facing triangle allows for a more defensive or counter attacking style that focuses on the attacks in the midfield coming from one of the 6s releasing and hoping to exploit openings

0 Switches to Create Crossing Opportunities

In this week's Animated Drills Video, Matthew Carroll shares how to create crossing opportunities by switching the ball. The diagram is created with the Academy Soccer Coach software. See more at www.academysoccercoach.co.uk 

0 How to Delay Counter Attacks

By Danny Carvalho In modern soccer, a deadly counter attack can sometimes be what determines a good or a bad result. For this reason, we must be effective right after losing the ball when we are transitioning from attack to defense. In today’s session we are going to talk about and work on delaying counter-attacks.

0 Drills for Playing Out of the Back

By Danny Carvalho Question - “I want my team to play the ball out of the back third and build up play to attacking situations. Can you share some drills that start with small numbers and then build up to 11v11?” Personally, I’m a fan of building from the back with short passes like Guardiola’s

0 The Michigan Drill

By Matt Carroll - This is a common football conditioning drill that has been adapted to utilize soccer specific elements so that there is a level of technical work that is included on top of the conditioning work. To set up the drill coaches should start at a corner flag and put a new cone

0 Pass Receive Dribble

By Tug McTighe - Description: Since all coaches are strapped for time during training, here is an activity that is great for a practice or a game day warm up that incorporates passing and receiving as well as change of direction and 1v1 moves. All within a simple setup that doesn’t take up much space.

0 Diamond Color Game

By Matt Carroll - The purpose of the diamond color game is provide the player with a series of verbal and visual cues which will force them to utilize the correct technique and body position to play a series of passes or dribbles. Setup: Setup will be determined by the number of “passing players”, walls,

0 The 1-2-1-4-1 in the Offensive Organization Phase

By Philip Cauchi In this article, we take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the 1-2-1-4-1 system of play when the team is in possession of the ball.  The playing style we refer to is the associative style which consists of building up by playing through the thirds with the aim of getting

0 Goalkeeping Specific Agility and Reactivity

By Philip Cauchi - The follow three practices target the development or maintenance of agility and reactivity that are specific to the position and role of a goalkeeper. Through these practices we also develop quick footwork, quickly getting into position with reference to the position of the ball with the goal, establishing the correct body

0 The Role of the Fullbacks – Attacking eBook

0 Playing Through Midfield

By Danny Carvalho In my humble opinion the wisdom of knowing when to pass and when to dribble is key to differentiate a beginner to an advanced effective player. In this session we work on this specifically on the middle third where the is usually crowded, with less time and space and under a lot

0 The Wingbacks in a 3-5-2 Formation

By Matt Carroll In a 3-5-2 the wingbacks play the most important role in the formation as they are vital to maintaining the width in attack, stopping counter-attacks from opposition wingers and wingbacks, and eliminating attacks from the wide areas. This article discusses some different ways to utilize your wingbacks in the formation. The most

0 Finding the Attack Through the Midfield

In this week's Animated Drills Video, Matthew Carroll shares how to find the attack by building up through the midfield. The diagram is created with the Academy Soccer Coach software. See more at www.academysoccercoach.co.uk 

0 Training Passing and Possession

By Danny Carvalho Question - “I love training passing and possession.  Do you have any drills or SSGs that include all players being active in the drill?” We are on the same boat mate! I’m also a big lover of possession-based game and practicing on it is one of my greatest joys in coaching. So