By Danny Carvalho
Question - “I like to have my players press high when the other team has the ball. I like this because if we can force a turnover near their goal, we have a good chance of scoring. But I need help in coaching this to my players. Sometimes when we press, we get beat too easily and that leaves us exposed. Can you help me advice on how I can teach how to press as a team?"
What a great topic this is, love that! Pressing high up the pitch is a mix of tactics, science and can I say arts?
To make sure your team is collectively pressing well, there are a few steps we must go over. As a fan of Pep Guardiola, Marcelo Bielsa and Jurgen Klopp, I couldn’t write this without looking at their teams to get the insights. Follow my lead!
1. Block passing lines
The first thing your team must ensure is that the player on the ball doesn’t have decent passing lines to come out of your pressing trap.
As shown above, all yellow player are under a lot of pressure and the goalkeeper will be forced to try a long ball.
2. Compact shape
Because each player is closing down their direct opponent, there’s a risk of being left behind with the opponent making a run on their back. For this reason, being compact is extremely important because this will make sure that if one player gets beat, another one will promptly cover them.
3. Minimize progressive options
Each player is going to position themselves in order to deny opponent’s ways forward. Now we are not only talking about passing options but also free space that the player on the ball could dribble onto.
The highlighted black player makes an angled approach that forces the yellow player on the ball to dribble towards the side line. There he will find two teammates near well marked, another teammate further who is also well marked and no space to comfortably dribble the ball.
4. Force a mistake or lead the ball to the weak link
And by following the instructions on step 3, you will be forcing that right defender to make a mistake if he is the weak link of that team.
So these are the four steps to success in a high pressing team! Make sure players are aware of these when you coach them at practice and reinforce the principles before your next match!
By Danny Carvalho, DOC at Corinthians Campinas Youth Club, Brasil
