All Posts by Mike Saif

1 Porto’s Midfield Protection Tactics

By Stevie Grieve

One of the main benefits of playing with a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 is that you can have a high level of flexibility using the 5 players in the midfield. We regularly see teams who like to press playing almost a man-man marking system, particularly in central midfield, where most attacks are constructed.

Another advantage is that defences are best protected via defensive triangulation between defence and midfield when close to goal, which covers most angles and forced 1v1 dribbles to make penetration opportunities.

Porto Midfield man-marking system

Here, Porto play 1v1 all over the field, meaning that 1 player is free from each team, so when Napoli are in possession, it is

4 Bayern Munich’s Defensive Aspects

By Stevie Grieve.

Bayern Munich are right now arguably the best team in Europe, and although they regularly enjoy over 60% possession in matches, they need to ensure that they don’t leave the back door open and conceded goals in the minimal amount of attacks that the opposition will have. In a recent Champions League match v Arsenal, Arsenal have a few noteworthy attacks, but many were cut off at source or stopped by very clever positional play and quick pressing once everyone was in position to do so.

Bayern Munich offside trap trigger

Arsenal are attacking down the left side, and Mesut Ozil makes the centre-wide run behind the full back. Bayern Munich have a very straight back 3, playing Sanogo offside. Bayern have a trigger

0 Build Up and Combination Play

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on combination play between a forward and midfielder and staying onside.

Start with 2 cones 30 yards from goal. A forward starts in front of the cones. Another player is 15 yards further back with a ball. There are players ready to take these two players spots and a keeper in goal.

The forward starts by checking away and then

0 Change of Direction Dives

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity involves fitness, agility, change of direction and extension dives.

Start with a keeper in the center of the goal with 4 low hurdles between the center and a post. There is also a flag on the 6 even with that post. There is a server 10 yards from goal on the end line.

The keeper begins by jumping over each hurdle (sideways), touches the near post and then

1 Speed and Agility Circuit with the Ball

By Jebreel Bubtana

Improving your player’s speed and agility will help them get to the ball just ahead of their opponent, so working on this is something that every coach should be doing.

Set up the field as shown below (figure 1).

Each stage of the circuit is broken down as below:

1. The players must run by placing both feet
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0 Bayern Munich’s Attacking Movement

Bayern Munich’s attacking movement to lose markers from crossing position - By Stevie Grieve.

Arsenal played Bayern Munich for a long period with 10v11, and defended fairly well against possibly the most fluid attacking team in Europe. Pep Guardiola teams play high possession football with total freedom of movement within specific areas of the field for each player.

Each player has 3 or 4 team mates that they make rotations in tandem with depending on ball position and team mate position, similar to Barcelona under Guardiola, but Bayern Munich have the ability to score goals from crosses, a weapon Barcelona didn’t have, which makes if more difficult to defend against this Bayern team as they can go over a defence, as well as through.

Muller Goal – Intelligent movement to cross over a low block

Here, Kroos has Muller and Robben moving between the lines looking for a way through the defence, either by

2 1st Touch Square

By Jebreel Bubtana

This exercise will work on your player’s 1st touch at different heights, progressing from being easy to control the ball at the start to being more challenging and working more on anaerobic fitness as well as 1st touch.

Set up the field as shown below in figure 1, with a 4x4 yard square and three players per group.

The player in the middle receives the ball from either of the players on the outside of the square. They receive the ball from the feeder and have

0 3x5 Small-Sided Game

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Todays featured activity works on passing, receiving, communication and much more.

Start with a 40 x 40 grid with three groups of fives. One group (in this case the black group) starts with balls, one other group is on offense and the third group is on defense.

Any of the players can go anywhere in

0 Extension Diving Drill

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on catching, footwork, extension dives and a bit of fitness.

Start with a keeper in goal and servers 12 yards from each post on the end line. These servers each have a ball in their hands. A third server is 15 yards out with balls.

The keeper starts by sprinting to the post closest to

0 Active Possession Drill

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on quick passes, accuracy, footwork and more

Start with three players in a triangle approximately 15 yards apart. One player has a ball.

The players start by passing to each other one touch so that the ball

0 Shot Blocking From Various Distances

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on reactions and shot blocking.

Start with a keeper in a small goal (4 x 6 or slightly bigger). A server is 8 yards away with balls. There is a line 3 yards in front of the goal.

The keeper starts by stepping out in front of the line and

1 Attacking and Defending At Close Quarters

By Keith Scarlett

This activity works on 1v1 attacking and defending in close quarters, 1st touch, intensity and to see who is willing to get stuck in on tackles. The exercise is done at top-speed, is a quick moving exercise and there is a good deal of contact.

Set-up:
The playing area is 18 x 44 metres (roughly the size of the penalty area). There is a goal on one of the 44 metre end-lines (where the goal would be if you were using an actual penalty area) and two markers should be 18 metres out directly opposite the goalposts (or roughly the location where the half-circle intersects with the top of the penalty area if using an actual penalty area for this activity). Players break into four lines. Two lines are on each post with balls and two lines are at the ‘markers’…or the corners of the “D”…without balls.

How it Works:
The line besides the goal drives the ball to the first person in the opposite diagonal line and then

0 Developing Anaerobic Fitness Using Sprints

By Jebreel Bubtana

This exercise will work on the anaerobic fitness of your players in a fun and competitive environment. As soccer involves a lot of short sprints, this exercise will focus on this.

Set up the field as shown below with two cones 8 yards apart. You can set up multiple areas so that your whole team can work on this, with two players per area facing each other in the middle between the two cones (figure 1).

The players will give themselves a letter, A or B. A’s will start by

0 Finishing With Quick Touches

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on quick touches, sharp cuts and finishing

Start with two goals 40 yards apart with a keeper in each goal. There is a line of 6 cones 1 yard apart across the middle of the field. A line of players, with balls starts at one end of the cones.

The first player starts by dribbling through the cones and when he gets to the

0 Shot Blocking and Balance

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on footwork, shot blocking and balance.

Start with a server, with balls. near the 18 on a slight angle and a keeper in goal at the near post. There is a cone in the middle of the goal.

The keeper starts by

0 Philadelphia 3v3v3 Penetration and Defense Activity

By Keith Scarlett

This activity works on possession to penetrate, combination play, defending, pressure, cover, recovery and communication.

It is important for all the players to be on the same page. Both attacking and defending requires teamwork and that means every single player has to be on the same page. In this activity, we put the players under pressure from all sides and if they don’t play well as a unit, chances are, they’re going to be letting in quite a few in the game. The exercise is about playing your responsibility and staying on top of things. REMEMBER: the FIRST pass is of the utmost importance!

Set-up: The playing area is 30 x 20 meters, divided into two halves of 15 x 20 meters. One ball is used. There are three teams of three players each.

How it Works: The game begins with one team (Red) standing in the middle while the other two teams (Black and Yellow) stand at opposite ends of the playing area. The ball is given randomly to

0 Dribbling Races For Fitness

By Jebreel Bubtana

As always, making fitness exercises fun and adding an element of competition will make your players psychologically more willing to work hard, which will help to develop their fitness. The exercise below will try to do that.

Set up and instructions:

Split your squad into two teams and set up the field as shown below in figure 1.

The first player in each line will now dribble in and out of the cones in the direction as shown by the arrows. When they reach the end cone they

0 Speed Off the Mark and Finishing

By Alex Trukan

The exercise is focused on developing speed off the mark and finishing skills. Short distance speed is required to lose tight marking, win short distance duel or be the first player to shoot from the cross. Therefore, this fitness component is integrated with finishing skills.

Set up and directions
Divide players into two groups and organise them as on the diagram below. One group of players should be placed on the cone in front of the goal, second group of players, on the cone situated on the side of the penalty box. This exercise, ideally needs to be done with 4-6 players and a goalkeeper. That is why, it is suitable for small group training. However, if two independent goals are used, this practice can be also suitable for bigger groups.

First player from the attacking group makes a quick slalom between two mannequins. Shape and direction of runs can be

0 How To Defend Break-Aways

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on defending breakaways.

Start with a keeper in goal, a server 30 yards out with balls and an attacking player facing the server.

The server passes the ball past

0 Spreading the Field With Depth

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on spreading the field with depth.

Frequently when we talk about spreading the field, they talk about getting wide to open up space in the middle.

The part of spreading the field we frequently forget to work on is

0 Avedikian 2 v 2 Forced Man-Marking Activity

By Keith Scarlett

This activity works on 1v1 defending, pressure, cover, recovery and defensive communication.

When moving up the pitch to attack the opposition’s goal, losing possessing can lead to a counter-attack. This technical training activity is designed to help players understand the importance of falling back to defend their own goal. A couple of players will need to pass around or dribble past opposition to score a point and when they do, or if things don’t work out; they need to get back quickly and help out on defense. REMEMBER: the BALL is the MOST IMPORTANT THING!

Set-up:
The playing area is 25 x 20 metres. Only one ball will be in play at a time. There are two-lines on either end of the pitch, the end-line; which is at either end of the playing area and the ball-line; which is 3-metres inside the playing area; per the diagram.

To start this activity, one team starts with possession of the ball, at random. This team’s (the attacking team), players need to

0 Making Runs For Long Passes

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on making a long pass, receiving a long pass and then timing runs for balls served from the side.

With the big emphasis on small sided soccer (which usually means small fields) a lot of players have lost the ability to pass a ball 35-40 yards accurately and also to receive these type of balls. This is a progression which works on that, and a lot more.

Start with a player in the middle of the field 45 yards out or so. Another player is out wide and then there are two players on the other side. There is also a keeper in goal.

The player in the middle starts with a ball and drives a ball out

0 Complete Goalkeeper Warm-Up

By Lawrence Fine, Author of the FineSoccer Coaching Bible.

Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity is a simple warm up that works on collapse dives, high balls and footwork.

Start with a keeper and a server. The server is 10 yards in front of the keeper with a ball.

The server throws a ball to the keepers side and the keeper

1 Dutch Flow Exercise

By Keith Scarlett

This activity works on technical and tactical aspects of finishing, passing, attacking in a 1v1 situation and goalkeeping.

Set-up:
Field length is 44 yards (length of the penalty area). Width is from the edge/corner of the penalty area to the midfield line. Two flags should be placed in the middle of each end line to be used as goals. 4 additional cones should be placed equidistant from each corner-flag (goal-post) and each corner cone on the end lines; per the diagram.

Each goal should have a goalkeeper in it whom is playing full-out and the balls should be split into two groups and placed