All Posts by Mike Saif

3 Why Manchester United Won't Win the EPL

0 Defending in 5-3-2 vs. 4-3-3

By Alex Trukan When playing against 4-3-3 one of the first thoughts is how to prevent the opposition from dominating centre of the pitch. Especially when the opposition plays with narrow wingers and relies on full backs in wide areas, the biggest danger is centre of the pitch. One of the systems of play that

0 Possession for Tactical Front Third Direct Play

By Mike Smith This training session is a functional tactical approach that emphasizes that we must have clarity on our roles. For this session, seven and eleven must stay wide when ball is down the middle of field. When ball moves to flank, the near side player must stay wide and the far side needs to

0 7v7+2 Man Marking Game and Aerobic Capacity

By Alex Trukan From the conditioning point of view, this practice is focused on improving aerobic capacity. This is a fundamental physical quality needed to develop all the other conditioning elements. The main role of aerobic capacity is to deliver a proper supply of oxygen into muscles. This mainly happens through improvements made in lung

0 How to Park the Bus – Mourinho Style

By Sean Pearson Area: Half a field Time: 20mins Players: 6v6 Objective: • For players to understand the defensive shape of the style • To frustrate the attacking team Set Up: The defending team sets up in a 4-2-3 or a 4-4-1. The attacking team is in a 4-3-3 formation without the 2 CB’s. The

1 5v5+2 positional switching play through midfield

By George Kee Players at all levels struggle with switching the field of play. Often time’s players concentrate themselves on one side of the field and the ball does not get switched until possession is lost. This exercise helps players to develop patience when going forward, helps to develop a certain level of comfort in being

0 A Quick Guide to the 1-4-3-3 eBook

Or view in easy-to-read web pagesPART ONEPART TWOPART THREEPART FOUR

0 A Quick Guide to the 1-4-3-3 - Part One

WORLD CLASS COACHING A Quick Guide to the 1-4-3-3 By Luca Bertolini TABLE OF CONTENTS Part One INTRODUCTION THE DEFENSIVE PHASE Part Two HOW TO COACH THE 1-4-3-3 DEFENDING DEFENSIVE EXERCISES DEFENSIVE SMALL-SIDED GAMES Part Three THE ATTACKING PHASE Part Four HOW TO COACH THE 1-4-3-3 ATTACKING ATTACKING EXERCISES ATTACKING SMALL-SIDED GAMES Introduction In this e-book

0 A Quick Guide to the 1-4-3-3 - Part Two

WORLD CLASS COACHING A Quick Guide to the 1-4-3-3 By Luca Bertolini TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Two HOW TO COACH THE 1-4-3-3 DEFENDING DEFENSIVE EXERCISES DEFENSIVE SMALL-SIDED GAMES HOW TO COACH THE 1-4-3-3 DEFENDING Exercise 1: 11 v 11 game Exercise 1: 11 v 11 game Objective: to coach all these defense formations we've discovered during this

2 A Quick Guide to the 1-4-3-3 - Part Three

WORLD CLASS COACHING A Quick Guide to the 1-4-3-3 By Luca Bertolini TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Three THE ATTACKING PHASE This second part of this e-book is about the transitions to attack and the developments of the attacking moves, starting from the defensive formation shapes. First of all, let's look again at the main all-pervading principles

0 A Quick Guide to the 1-4-3-3 - Part Four

WORLD CLASS COACHING A Quick Guide to the 1-4-3-3 By Luca Bertolini TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Four HOW TO COACH THE 1-4-3-3 ATTACKING ATTACKING EXERCISES ATTACKING SMALL-SIDED GAMES Exercise 3: 10 v 9 game Exercise 3: 10 v 9 game  Objective: build up the moves fast, support the attacking phase and stay balanced to prevent counter attacks.

0 Possession for Scoring Training Session One

By Steven Smith Possession of the ball is an essential element for game domination. However, in the modern game a team can possess the ball for long periods of time or a majority of the game and not be successful in winning the game. The team must be effective in their possession and it must result

0 Movement and the Set Position

By Wayne Henderson - The goalkeeper stars in a central position as shown in diagram 1 The goalkeeper reacts to the instruction from the coach to move to the right or the left. The keeper moves quickly into position to deal with the serve from feeder 1 or 2. The service can be varied depending

0 Pre-Season Fitness

By David Johnson Objective This session will focus on overall fitness of the player.   These sessions can be done with a ball or without a ball focusing on balance and acceleration.  The key to this session is for the player to operate at game speed. Set Up Position 6 agility poles in two lines.

0 Movements to Allow Forward Passes

By Alex Trukan Without penetration there won’t be any chances created and goals scored. Playing forwards is essential part of attacking football. When talking about getting the ball forwards, we usually mention great passes between and around the defenders. Much less attention is given to the work done by a player who receives that pass.

0 Small-Sided Game 3v3+1 Finishing from Service

By George Kee This small sided game is designed to help players develop the finishing touch in the penalty box when service is from wide areas. Not only does this SSG game help players develop service from wide areas but it allows players to become comfortable with play in the penalty area. Players learn to control

2 Coaching the Back Three - Conte - Part One

WORLD CLASS COACHING Coaching the Back Three - Conte By Stefano Santona TABLE OF CONTENTS Part One INTRODUCTION COACHING DEFENSIVE DEVELOPMENT Part Two 3V2 DEVELOPMENT 6V4 DEVELOPMENT Part Three DEFENDING EXERCISES ATTACKING EXERCISES Part Four CONDITIONED GAMES DEFENDING BY FINISHING CONCLUSION Introduction Tactical evolution is not a linear process. It is a path made of breakages,

0 Coaching the Back Three - Conte - Part Two

WORLD CLASS COACHING Coaching the Back Three - Conte By Stefano Santona TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Two 3V2 DEVELOPMENT 6V4 DEVELOPMENT   3. 3v2 DEVELOPMENT 1° exercise: 3v2, covering an overlap 1° exercise: 3v2, covering an overlap Area size: depending on age and quality of the players;  Number of players: 6 (2 defenders, 3 offensive players, 1

0 Coaching the Back Three - Conte - Part Three

WORLD CLASS COACHING Coaching the Back Three - Conte By Stefano Santona TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Three DEFENDING EXERCISES ATTACKING EXERCISES   5. Defending Exercises 3v5; control the central lane Area size: depending on age and quality of the players Number of players: 9 (3 defenders, 5 offensive players, 1 gk) Objective: defensive movement, keep up

0 Coaching the Back Three - Conte - Part Four

WORLD CLASS COACHING Coaching the Back Three - Conte By Stefano Santona TABLE OF CONTENTS Part Four CONDITIONED GAMES DEFENDING BY FINISHING CONCLUSION   7. Conditioned Games 6 V 6, score on the sides. Area size: depending on age and quality of the players Number of players: 12 (6 defenders, 6 offensive players) Objective: find the

0 Coaching the Back Three - Conte eBook

Or view in easy-to-read web pagesPART ONEPART TWOPART THREEPART FOUR

0 6v3 Transition Game and Aerobic Power

By Alex Trukan This practice is aimed at developing players’ aerobic power which is responsible for recovery speed in between high intensity actions. Players with more powerful aerobic system will be able to make more sprints and bursts with their fatigue building up slower. This game also focuses on possession to play away from pressure

0 Session Specific Warm Up

By Steven Smith Setup: Warming up our players often happens separate from the actual skills of soccer and is viewed by many coaches as unrelated to the theme of training in the main series. This activity emphasizes a gradual warm up using the skills that will be needed during the main series when working on passing

0 Hold Your Space

By Mike Smith “Be in the right place at the right time.” Tons of success stories on and off the field and in all walks of life have come down to that statement. In soccer, the idea of team shape exemplifies this concept. However, actively managing team shape can be hard for players (especially young ones