Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today we will show a simple group warm up activity for keepers
A keeper starts in a small goal (6 yards wide). A player starts 15 yards out with a ball and other players start on an angle in each direction (also about 15 yards out)
The keeper with the ball starts by “shooting” toward the goal (the objective isn’t to score but rather to
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on attacking and defending with flank play.
This is a 3 v 3 game with a keeper using half a field. The three attacking players start at the midfield line with one of them out wide. The defending players can start wherever they want. A keeper is in goal and the ball starts with a server behind the midfield line.
The game starts with the server playing the ball out wide
By Waleed Zaghloul
Manchester City has just won the Premier League after beating QPR in dramatic fashion. What City has faced during this game was very similar to what they and Barcelona have faced almost all season. Many games have seen teams defending against these two fancy teams with 10 and 11 players for the whole game. It was interesting seeing Drogba playing as a left back against Barcelona in the Champions League.
Chelsea and Real Madrid have played way too negatively against Barcelona in recent weeks and so did QPR against Manchester City in the recent historic game. The worrying sign to us coaches is the fact that Chelsea and Real Madrid achieved their goals from such negative tactics and QPR almost did the same. Such negative mentality has been advocated in recent years by Mourinho when he was at Inter Milan (against Barcelona in the Champions League) and by van Marwjiik with the Netherlands at the World Cup final against Spain.
Many teams have become proficient at bunkering down or “parking the bus” in front of their goal. This necessitates coaches becoming better at teaching their team how to break down such bunkered defenses (or at least trying).
Variety is Key
A respected FIFA coaches instructor once said that how well a team is coached is usually apparent in the way they create chances. The better coached a team is, the more effective ways they have to break down the opposing defense.
Ball possession is important in football, but as most coaches can attest possession does not guarantee winning games (ask Guardiola!) So what could be done to increase your team’s success chances when it comes to breaking down bunkered defenses? I concur variety is a key factor!
Variety means utilizing different ways of attacking the opponent. This includes playing wide and attacking through the wings. It includes penetrating attacks though the middle, shooting from distance and attacking through set pieces specially free kicks and corner kicks.
Let us have a look at how Manchester City was faring against QPR in the variety sense.
First Goal – Principles of Attack
City switched play to the right wing, but after Zabaleta was closed down, they switched to plan B which was penetration though the middle (against nine defenders in the box with the tenth player just outside the box).
This goal involved several attacking principles carried out very well. The City players were
Continue readingCan you teach creativity? Some coaches believe that players are either creative or their not. Certainly there are players that we can all name that appear to be, 'naturally' creative but I believe that most players need to learn to be creative.
I don't think that you could have put Mozart in front of a piano at seven years old and he could just start playing. Learning the basic patterns and structures is vital first step in the process. Once you understand the framework and basic skills you can start to put things together in new an innovative ways.
I take this same approach when working with my teams when it comes to ideas for attacking. I like to give them a number of different attacking patterns to work on before freeing them to see what the defense is giving them and deciding how they can take advantage of it.
Since this is the first year I've implemented a 4-3-3 formation with any of my teams, I turned to an expert for idea on both the attacking and defensive
Continue readingThis article is by Stevie Grieve and is a sample excerpt from a new book "Modern Soccer Tactics", which is due for release this summer. This book takes a look at the top professional teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Man Utd, Man City, etc. and breaks them down tactically. The book also includes practical drills and exercises on how you can teach these tactics to your own teams.
We don't have a definite date yet, but look for it some time this summer.
This excerpt is from the analysis of how the five goals were scored in the final game of the season between Man City and QPR. The book is packed full of these kind of articles and observations.
Diagonal Runs around the box create goals by Stevie Grieve
In the final game of the English Premiership season, there were lots of teams with something to play for – no less than Manchester City v QPR. Manchester City need to win to guarantee winning the league, QPR need to win to guarantee avoiding relegation. If City don’t win, they need to hope Manchester United don’t win at Sunderland (they win 1-0). If QPR lose, they need to hope Bolton don’t win away to Stoke City to avoid relegation.
Manchester City 1st goal – Zabaleta makes run diagonal run inside to receive the last pass
Silva spreads play wide looking for a 2v1, as Zabaleta has pushed forward and he normally arrives
Continue readingBy Justin Cresser
I was watching the El Classico game over the weekend and it was a fantastic game. Although we most frequently talk about Barcelona’s ability to pass and move, another thing the players do so well is to protect the ball from pressuring defenders in tight spaces. In today’s exercise we will work on improving the ability to shield the ball from an opponent while developing anaerobic endurance and repeated sprint ability.
Set up a 15 yard by 15 yard playing area (it may be smaller or larger depending on numbers). With the exception of 2 to 3 players, give each individual a ball and instruct them to dribble around inside the playing area using small touches. Have the players without a ball stand on the edge of the playing area wearing a different colour bib (Figure 1). These are your pressuring defenders. You will want a ratio of approximately 1:4 defenders to dribbling players.
When ready, the coach should direct the defenders to sprint inside the playing area and try to
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on positioning, reading the game, communicating and shot blocking.
This is a 3 v 2 activity with a keeper in goal and uses half a field.
The player in the middle starts with the ball and can initiate the attack with a
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s activity combines simple skill work with agility and fitness.
Start with 6 flags (or cones) staggered to create a “zig zag course”. The players start at one end and a server starts with a ball in the middle.
The first player in line sprints around the near flag and as he is sprinting to
There is no question that the world's best teams play regularly in the Champions League. And one of the great thing about the Champions League is the diverse tactics employed by the various teams. Barcelona have their style, Man U play with a 4-4-2 or the variant 4-5-1, Bayern Munich play with their familiar German style, Chelsea with a 4-3-3 and so on.
All the styles obviously have some merit because the teams are all successful in their own leagues and to a certain extent, in the Champions League. But as a coach, what style is the most effective? What style should you adopt for your own team? No one can answer these questions for you, but most experts will say that whatever style of play you prefer, it will have to be flexible enough to fit the kind of players you have in your team.
Our book, Champions League Tactics, gives you an in-depth look at the methods, tactics and systems of play from the best known coaches and clubs in the world. The book begins with a overview of the characteristics and tendencies of
Continue readingIn last week's post I discussed the first few fakes that I teach young players. I thought it would be a good idea to share HOW I teach these fakes to players as young as six and seven.
I set up by arranging a set of cones in the pattern below.
This allows me to see everyone from the front of the group and it gives them the
Continue readingWelcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on a keeper reading the situation when the ball is on the end line. This activity is great for keepers as well as the rest of the team.
Start with a keeper in goal, an attacking player on the end line just outside the 18, a defender 3 yards behind the player on the end line and a few attacking and defending players in the 18.
As soon as the attacker with the ball touches it, the game is live.
The attacker can dribble straight toward
Continue readingWelcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity involves supporting the backs on their first touch.
To start, have a server with balls around midfield and a back near the top of the 18. A midfielder is 10 yards in front of the back.
The server plays a ball into the back and the midfielder has to position himself to receive a
By Justin Cresser
There are times when attacking teams are deep in their opponent’s half, but are keeping possession with the players at the back. However, if the ball is lost at the back from a poor pass or a player trying to beat an opponent off the dribble, this can be very problematic as the team that lost the ball is likely to be spread out in an attempt to provide width, and therefore out of position.
When this happens, defenders have to recover as fast as possible over a great distance and therefore require good speed endurance; whereas attackers need to make rapid decisions in terms of passes and movement off the ball and therefore acceleration and speed of reaction would be beneficial qualities to have.
Today’s activity mimics the situation described above and will involve 3 attackers counter attacking against 3 defenders and a goalie. You will need half of a regular-sized playing field for you playing area. Place two cones at the halfway at the points where the centre circle intersects the line. Place a third cone on the half way line 5 yards in from right side line. Have a player stand behind each of these cones. These will be your three attackers.
Set-up another 3 cones where your recovering defenders will start. Place a cone i) 5 yards behind the cone on the halfway line near the right touchline; ii) on the bottom edge of the centre circle so that it is in line with the centre of the goal; and iii) 5 yards in from the left touch line and 5 yards in front the half-line (Figure 1). Note: the defender on the centre circle must start facing away from goal.
Play starts with the coach playing a firm ball towards the corner flag in the top, right-hand corner of the field (for the right winger to run unto). As soon as this happens,
I'm in favor of teaching young players to be very comfortable and confident with the ball by teaching them different fakes . During the initial learning phase I want the players to use them every time they get the ball. Some coaches have told me that you can't teach creativity but I think you give them the tools and then teach them how to use them. This can look a bit rough at first as the kids get comfortable with the fakes but if they use them enough they learn when to use a move and when to choose another option.
There are so many different fakes you can teach that an important question becomes
Continue readingWelcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on reading the touches on breakaways.
Goalkeepers tend to work on the technique and footwork for breakaways but just as important is reading the opponents touches. Frequently the breakaway opportunity comes about real quickly.
An example of a typical way keepers might work on breakaways is to have a player start 30-40 yards out and dribble in at speed.
In this activity the keeper knows where the breakaway is
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on playing the ball out of the back.
We are going to play with two teams playing 4 - 4 - 2 but you can use any formations you choose. There is a keeper in one goal and the other end line (70 yards away) has two 8 yard wide goals on the ends.
The ball starts with the keeper and the team defending the goal (in this case the black team) gets a
By Justin Cresser
In today’s activity we work on teaching the principles of group defending (Pressure, Cover and Balance) while working on anaerobic conditioning.
Divide your players into groups of three and pair two groups together. Set up a playing area that is 15 yards long and 20 yards wide for each set of 6 players. Have the players of one group stand at both corners and the centre of the touch line at the top of the playing area. (These players are not allowed to move or enter the playing grid) Instruct the players of the second group to stand opposite to the players of the first group on the bottom touch line (These are your defenders). The defender in the centre of the bottom touch line should have a ball (Figure 1).
Play is initiated by the defender with ball playing a pass into the feet of the centre player at the top touch line. This defender immediately pressures the player who receives the pass, while the other
Continue readingBelieve it or not, most coaches spend little time coaching defending compared to coaching possession and attacking. Yet not conceding goals is just as important as scoring them if you want to win games. There are reasons coaches spend more time coaching possession and attacking...first and foremost, it's more fun to coach and players prefer the fun of scoring goals in practice more than they do working at stopping them. Another reason is that some coaches find it difficult to coach defending...they just don't have enough defending drills and exercises in their library.
The good news is we have a great book on defending. Zonal Defending the Italian Way. This book will give you the tools you need to create some great defending sessions. And who better to learn from than the Italians. The Brazilians are known for their trickery and technical skill. The Germans for their organization and discipline. But when it comes to defense, then the Italians are the best around. So if you’re struggling for ideas on how to tighten your back line, how to concede fewer goals and how to win more games, then the tactics used by the best Italian coaches of the last two decades are the perfect ones to study.
Zonal Defending the Italian Way provides an in-depth look at the Italian back four and their
Continue readingI've always had a standing challenge to my teams (U13 and below), if they score a headed goal, I buy ice cream for the next practice. It's been a way to encourage the players to try and score with their head if they can. This has been most successful with the girls teams I have coached. The extra incentive has become something that the team rallies around.
After spending a few weeks working on our combination play to score we played very well in our next games. Two of our three goals came from combinations in the middle of the field.
Another area that I've wanted to address
Continue readingBy Waleed Zaghloul.
Watching the latest Classico, I was wondering how much change will be seen from both teams based on the analysis of some vulnerabilities in a previous meeting this year (discussed in previous blogs). Some of the points analyzed back then showed two vulnerabilities for Barca, defending the counter attack specially against speedy opposition and the other was their left back. Real Madrid were overly aggressive in closing down Messi that they left other Barca player wide open at the back. Madrid were also notably losing their heads and committed very hard fouls when whatever they tried tactically did not work. Let us have a look at some instances of the latest Classico and decide for yourselves.
Asleep at the Wheel
This first image shows, in addition to the fact that this goal should very well have been called off for offside, a lack of interest from the Barcelona players. Four of the five players are off position and do not seem to be marking any of the Real players and all four are
Continue readingBy Justin Cresser
A good first touch is essential in soccer; and as a coach, one of the coaching points that I repeatedly stress is taking the first touch into Space. Whether it is the space you want to attack with a dribble, or it is into space away from a pressuring defender, taking a dynamic first touch will prove beneficial.
The following exercise is geared towards developing the ability to take the first touch into space, but also incorporates speed dribbling and sprinting.
Divide your players into groups of 2. Each group needs 1 ball. Set up the following station for each pair: Place 2 small cones 5 yards apart so that they are in a straight line. Have both players stand at a cone each so that they are facing each other and ensure one of the players has a ball at their feet. Place another set of 2 cones (5 yards apart) 20 yards to the side of the first two cones so that both sets are in line with each other (Figure 1).
When ready, have the player with the ball pass to their partner and then immediately sprint towards
Welcome to the Goalkeeping Newsletter. Today’s featured activity works on reading the game and anticipating shots.
When training keepers we frequently put them in a situation where they know a shot is coming. In many cases, not only do they know when the shot is coming but also from where. To allow the keeper to work on this we can play a 4 v 4 (any numbers really would work) possession game using the width of the 6 as one set of boundaries and the penalty spot to the top of the D as the other set of boundaries. A keeper is in goal.
Whichever team has the ball must make 3 consecutive passes and at that
Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured activities work on heading. There is an excellent DVD devoted just to heading that you might want to check out at 30 Minute Soccer Clinic - Heading
When you watch a lot of youth games (and it’s probably safe to lump a lot of professional games into this statement as well) you see that heading is an often neglected skill. Great opportunities are squandered because players aren’t prepared to finish with their head. Goal scoring opportunities are given to the other team because of bad clearances with the head.
Here is a simple game to work on heading with a purpose.
Start with a 30 x 30 area (size can vary) and have two teams of five plus a neutral player in the grid
One team starts with a ball in one of their
As I've written about several times, I've been going through the process of training one of my teams to play the 4-3-3 formation. I've always used a 4-4-2 or a 3-4-3 in the past so this has been a learning experience for me as well as the players.
I began with the defensive phase of the game to give the team a foundation to build on. They now have a good understanding of their responsibilities when we don't have the ball and that has made us a tough team create chances against. As a part of this we've worked a great deal on getting our wing backs involved by pushing them forward when we win the ball. This put emphasis on our wide play and we've been able to generate a lot of our offense by attacking the flanks with both our wing backs and wingers.
The area that we have been lacking
Continue reading