By Mike Smith “Real” soccer for me develops through the midfield. What I mean by “real” are the aspects which make the game beautiful and allow teams to impose their will consistently on their opponent. Now, it is possible to pack the defensive third with 8 or 9 guys and call a few of them midfielders,
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By Wayne Henderson - This Drill is for all standards and ages of Goalkeepers and is used to improve Footwork, Movement and Shot stopping, with many variations in the type of movement used within the box and lots of different handling techniques used to save a wide variety of shots from outside the box. Set
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By Sean Reed - Objective This is a session that focus’s switching the play to change the direction of attack in order to maintain possession and create chances on goal. Set Up – Possession Switching the Play The session is set up within one half of the pitch. The area is approx width of the
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By Steven Smith Target play is the emphasis of this training session from the first to the final activity. Extra points are given for finding the target and coach feedback must be focused on this vital aspect of play. This is a great progression for teams that desire to run an up-back-and through approach to match
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By Philip Joe Cauchi Situation analysed taken from the La Liga match Real Valladolid v. F.C. Barcelona which was played on the 25th of August 2018. When we talk about the rear block we are not only referring to the back line, but the back line and the midfield sectors functioning as a unit. Still
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Defend Like the Pro's By Luca Bertolini Table of Contents PART ONE First Game Analysis Defending Data - First Game PART TWO Second Game Analysis PART THREE Defending Data - Second Game PART FOUR Analysis of the Goals First Game Analysis In this match, the defenses beat attacks. The first leg was a
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Defend Like the Pro's By Luca Bertolini Table of Contents PART TWO Second Game Analysis Second Game Analysis In the second leg, Pep Guardiola set his team up in their usual 1-4-3-3 basic formation, with Fernandinho as the deepest of three central midfielders and Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling providing attacking width. Americ
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Defend Like the Pro's By Luca Bertolini Table of Contents PART THREE Defending Data - Second Game Defending Data - Second Game The basic match data confirm that the second leg was less tactical than the previous one and that open play allowed both teams to finish more than in the first match.
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING Defend Like the Pro's By Luca Bertolini Table of Contents PART FOUR Analysis of the Goals Analysis of the Goals Manchester City 1 - Liverpool 0 Despite the overload of the left side of Manchester City’s attacking direction and of Liverpool’s right defense block (a general numerical advantage for the Reds is very
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By Mike Smith Question - I coach an U13 team in Mauritius. We are actually doing our pre season and have played two friendly games. We got beaten on both games 1-3. We created a lot of opportunities but we are not converting them. I spent some time working on playing from the back, possession with
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By Anthony Hazelwood The following activity has two teams of four players playing a 4 vs. 4 possession game with an additional neutral player. The restriction in this activity is given to the amount of touches a player can take within a sequence. Initially, the first arrangement will be a 2-2-1 repeat. This means the
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By Sean Pearson Area: 34 x 46 yards Time: 20mins Players: 6v6 Objective: • To recognize when and where to change the point of attack on the flanks • To decide how to change the point of attack Set Up: The playing area is 3 zones one large middle zone with 2 end zones. Both
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By Mike Smith Something which can get lost in the maze of formations and tactics, especially with young teams, is the idea of what is actually “ going on” during the run of play ( situational awareness). Obviously the “goings on” can change from second to second during a match and this is where, to me,
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By Wayne Henderson - As I have mentioned before, not all coaches have the luxury of state of the art training facilities, massive budgets to allow the purchase of any training equipment the coach’s desire or limitless hours with your goalkeepers every week. This drill is designed with this in mind. Sometimes it is vital
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By Sean Reed - Objective This is a session that focus’s on possession with an overload and the transition in gaining and losing possession. Set Up – Possession The session is set up within an area approx 15-20yds x 15-20yds. The game is set up as a 6v3. The ball will always start with the
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By Steven Smith This training session is designed to teach the team the importance of transitioning up and down the field while still focusing on lateral wing play. If teams are able to get the ball to the wing on the attack or for targets coming out of the back then the rest of the team
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By Philip Joe Cauchi When playing against teams who are extremely skilled, have a high level of game insight and who are mentally strong, the main style of play we should adapt and the system of play we should use will be our main concern. Further to this, we need to choose the right players
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING 40 Group and Tactical Defending Exercises By Luca Bertolini Table of Contents PART ONE Introduction The Principles and Tactics of Team Defending PART TWO Defending With and Against the 4-3-3 Defending With and Against the 4-2-3-1 PART THREE Defending With and Against the 4-4-2 PART FOUR Defending With and Against the 3-5-2 Introduction:
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING 40 Group and Tactical Defending Exercises By Luca Bertolini Table of Contents PART TWO Defending With and Against the 4-3-3 Defending With and Against the 4-2-3-1 1-4-3-3 Exercise 1: 3 + 3 v 4 (1) Set-up and Sequence: a rectangular area is divided into 3 parts and 10 players are involved in
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING 40 Group and Tactical Defending Exercises By Luca Bertolini Table of Contents PART THREE Defending With and Against the 4-4-2 1-4-4-2 Exercise 19: 4 v 4 (1) Set-up and Sequence: a rectangular area is divided into 4 parts and 8 players are involved in the exercise. 4 players of the yellow defending
Continue readingWORLD CLASS COACHING 40 Group and Tactical Defending Exercises By Luca Bertolini Table of Contents PART FOUR Defending With and Against the 3-5-2 1-3-5-2 Exercise 31: 3 + 2 v 3 (1) Set-up and Sequence: a rectangular area is divided into 2 parts and 8 players are involved in the exercise. 3 attacking players are freely
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By Philip Cauchi Question - What do you look for when scouting/analyzing an opponent? Is there a series of questions the try and break down the opposing style of play? Introduction: Analysing opponents enables us to better understand how we need to prepare for matches to the least possible detail with the aim of achieving
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