All Posts by Mike Saif

2 Flexible Formations – Defending eBook

0 Playing the False Nine in 7v7

By Matt Carroll Made famous by Lionel Messi, the false 9 tactic allows a single forward the freedom to occupy spaces between the defensive backline and midfield, with runners playing off them creating the depth and width in the attack. To utilize this in a 7v7 model the formation should be either a 2-2-1 or

0 Rondo to Train the Covering Defender

In this week's Animated Drills Video Matthew Carroll shares a rondo that will help train your players on the first defender, the covering defender and also passing and possession. The diagram is created with the Academy Soccer Coach software. See more at www.academysoccercoach.co.uk Tom

0 Waist High Service to Force Mistakes

By Mike Smith What if your early service to the far post isn’t working? What if your opponent packs the box so full your players can’t find the combinations on the ground? What if your players who are usually good in the air are marked by players who know how to take that advantage away?

0 How Do I Coach My Goalkeepers With No Goalkeeper Coach - Part 2

By Philip Cauchi Question - We don't have a goalkeeper coach, so I have to do all the GK training.  I have to get this done in regular training sessions with the team, so do you have any ideas for me to get my goalkeeper training done at the same time as my players? The

0 Conditioning With Quick Transition Game

By Philip Cauchi Title: Quick transitions. Theme: High intensity intermittent. Development of the soccer domains: Technical: Passing, dribbling, running with the ball and shooting. Tactical: Attacking in a numerical superiority and defending in a numerical advantage. Socio-psychological: Concentration, composure, quick decision-making, communication and collaboration. Physical: Quick recovery between soccer actions. Organisation: The practice area should

0 Diagonal Transition Game

By Matthew Carroll - Description: The Purpose of the Diagonal Transition Game is to develop, in a game like setting, player’s recognition of opportunities to play long diagonal balls on the counter to open up space on the opposite field for 1v1 situations of a striker against a outside back. Setup: Play on either full

0 Closing Down the Shooting Angle

By Philip Cauchi - Aim: Narrow down the opponent’s shooting angle. Outcomes: 1. Feet shoulder width apart. 2. Toes pointed forwards. 3. Knees slightly bent. 4. Be light on the balls of feet. 5. Eyes focused on the ball. 6. Lean slightly forward. Practice 1: Catching mid-level balls from three different shooting angles. Preparation: Goalkeeper

0 Diagonal Shooting SSG

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – One third of field. Players x 8. GK x 1. Mannequins x 2. Markers x 2. Balls. Players on both sides of the goal, one player 25 yards from goal behind mannequin and one GK in goal Execution: Players at A and C start with a ball. Player

0 The Backwards Diagonal Killer Pass

By Matthew Carroll If you watch Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City you will see an abundance of this type of assist: It often comes from some type of patterned play that leads to a winger getting isolated with a fullback on the edge of the box, takes the ball to the end line, and plays a

0 Flexible Formations – Attacking eBook

0 Effective Attacking as an Inverted Winger

By Dan Severn An inverted winger if the use of a player on the opposite wing to their dominant foot (a left footed player, playing on the right wing, or vice versa). The obvious benefit to playing with an inverted winger is that it will allow for better opportunities to shoot when cutting inside; but

0 Pass and Move or Pass and Hold

By Mike Smith “ Go!!!!”, “ Give them some options, don’t just stand there!” , followed by “ Support!!!”, “ Don’t run away from the play!”. These are some of the most confusing and contradictory instructions players hear. If a player is supposed to always pass and move, how can they also stay in and

0 Attacking and Conditioning Drills

By Philip Cauchi Title: Combined technique and strength endurance. Theme: Applied strength. Development of the soccer domains: Technical: Attacking heading, aerial passing, dribbling, feints/fakes, and tackling. Tactical: Defending 1v1. Mental: Concentration, quick shift of focus (attacking in a 1v1 after heading the ball) and attitude to the positive or negative transition if the defender wins

0 Swiss Flag Four Corners Game

By Matthew Carroll - Description: The Swiss Four Corners drill is similar to the normal four corners game except that instead of being a large grid it has four channels, similar to the shape of the Swiss flag. The purpose of these channels is to create opportunities for players to possess through the middle in

0 How Do I Coach My Goalkeepers With No Goalkeeper Coach - Part 1

By Philip Cauchi Question - We don't have a goalkeeper coach, so I have to do all the GK training.  I have to get this done in regular training sessions with the team, so do you have any ideas for me to get my goalkeeper training done at the same time as my players? The

3 Defining the Danger Areas in the Attack

By Matthew Carroll This article is less to tell you how to use common terminology to explain the areas of attack to your players, but to give you an idea how this can be structured so you can create your own that fits your team and style of play. The use of common terminology is

0 How to Call For the Ball

By Mike Smith - In almost every game, there are going to be those moments where the keeper and the defenders both have a play on the ball. While we all know the keeper can and should call off the defense, most of the time coaches just go with any outcome which doesn’t result in

0 4 v 4 With Four External Supporting Players

By Arthur Bell - Setup: Area – 40yd x 60yd box. Players x 12. Attackers (Black) x 4, Defenders (Yellow) x 4, Neutral (Red) x 4. Execution: Area is divided into 2 equal rectangles. Play 4 v 4 in one half of the field with the support of 4 external players. The attacking team keep

3 Atalanta Defending eBook

0 Turn Your Shape to Train Possession

By Mike Smith I have found 3 distinct common developmental categories for initial youth soccer teams. I am talking about the time around 8 to 10 years old when the focus on teams and tactics starts to take hold. What I have seen from a strictly cursory non-scientific view point are teams ( and thus

0 Finding Half-Spaces as an Attacking-Midfielder

By Dan Severn Being successful in an attacking midfield role requires the player to be intelligent off-the-ball. They need to have great awareness and timing of movement in order to find spaces at good times to receive the ball. If they manage to combine the timing with the movement, it can lead to opportunities to

0 How to Motivate Your Players to Give Maximum Effort

By Philip Cauchi Question - Sometimes my players just go through the motions at training sessions. Are there any tips for getting them motivated to put in maximum effort at training sessions? The best way to get our players to give their one hundred per cent in training is to get them motivated through interesting

0 Conditioning With Attack v Defense

By Philip Cauchi Title: Position specific explosiveness. Theme: Applied power. Development of the soccer domains: Technical: Medium range passing, oriented first touch, dribbling forward at speed, tackling, crossing (including cut back passes) and finishing. Tactical: Attacking down the flanks and getting unmarked inside the penalty area. Mental: Quick decision-making of how to create space, get