Tag Archives for " Tactics "

0 Defensive Pressing

By Sean Pearson Area Size: 18 x 22 Yards Teams: 3 v 3 + 2 Time: 12 - 15 Minutes Objectives For the defending team to work together as a unit To press the player on the ball and the surrounding players To cut half of the field off to force the player on the ball in a

0 Possession to Penetrate

By Eric Clermont -  Over the last few years, with the continued success on tiki taka and the possession style game, many youth coaches have taken it upon themselves to develop a syndrome I like to call a possession-itis. While many coaches teach the possession style along with it’s many coaching points, they have given their

0 Switching the Point of Attack

By Eric Clermont -  When developing a possession based style at the youth level (as I have done over the last few years), I believe that the focus on always needing to play short becomes predominant for many teams. While there are clear pros to this, players are often given only the technical tools to play

2 Role of the Wing Backs in the 1-3-5-2

By Alex Trukan

The 1-3-5-2 system has gained popularity in the last couple of years and is now employed by many teams around the world. One of the most remarkable examples include Holland national team in the 2014 World Cup. Apart from creating overload in midfield areas, one of the main advantages of 1-3-5-2 formation are wingbacks, who help in forming a block of five players out of possession, as well as support two strikers and midfielders when attacking.

Out of Possession – Basic Shape

When the ball is in the central areas, the wingbacks’ role is to drop back and form a line with the back three. Their main responsibility are opposition’s wingers as well as supporting central defender in case he is following striker dropping deep. The distances between wingbacks and

0 Building From the Back Against Medium Pressure

By Alex Trukan

Building up from the back has been a buzzword in soccer over the last years. Some teams have applied it effectively, others, however, struggled to understand the purpose of it which has led to many misunderstandings around the topic. Building-up from the back has many variations and types, some involving more direct play using long passes into striker’s foot, some are based more around sequence of shorter passes and patient progress through the thirds (depending on the philosophy of the club, opposition characteristics, pressure applied or result). However, regardless of its variation, the main aim remains the same: transfer the ball into opposition’s half and start creating chances. Therefore, as coaches, it is important to remember, that if the opportunity for a direct pass into strikers arises, it should be taken as soon as possible. At the same time, it shouldn’t be the only option. In this article, some aspects of the more common way of a building-up from the back against medium pressure will be presented.

Central defenders in possession

When the goalkeeper is in possession, central defenders usually become first players available to receive, starting the build-up play. Therefore, they shouldn’t possess lower technical abilities than midfielders or strikers. Unfortunately, that is often neglected and has negative effects on the

0 Striker’s Movements in the Final Third

By Alex Trukan

Most of the work done by the strikers shown on the TV and appreciated by fans is when they're in possession of the ball: goals, assists, one on ones. That’s what matters the most, but we, as coaches especially, should also focus and appreciate all the work behind the scenes: subtle movement to create space, dropping down into midfield, body position to play forwards. All of these things have influence on the performance of the team. Striker’s movement in the final third is one of fundamental team tactical component that not only creates chances for himself, but also helps in the build-up play of the whole team.

Starting position and playing between the lines

Basic position of the central striker (number 9) in a 1-4-3-3 system would be between two central defenders of the opponent. That provides him an opportunity to be able to

6 Movements of the Midfield Three in a 1-4-3-3

By Alex Trukan

The system with a three midfielders operating in a triangle is widely known and implemented all around the world. Over the last years, numerous variations of this tactics have been developed and used what has led to the successes of the teams like FC Barcelona or Bayern Munich. One of the crucial components of this system are movements of the midfield three, which not only enable more effective build-up play but also support forwards in the final third of the pitch.

Starting positions – basic shape

When the defenders are in possession during building up play from the back, three midfielders form a triangle with a point down (defensive midfielder being positioned closer to own goal than the two offensive midfielders). That creates some defensive cover and great attacking potential with two

1 Counter-pressing of Red Bull Salzburg

By Alex Trukan

Red Bull Salzburg was a revelation in the 2013/2014 season, winning the domestic league, cup as well as knocking out renowned Ajax Amsterdam in the Europa League. In the current season, the club is also leading the league with 10 points above second Rapid Wien and four matches to go. However, it is not the results that drew the main attention to the club from Salzburg. The club has become widely known for its ultra-high pressing, attacking style of play. Pep Guardiola, a coach of Bayern Munich, after playing a friendly match against Red Bull Salzburg managed by Roger Schmidt at that time, stated: I’ve never played in my career against a team that has played with such a high intensity’. The philosophy which has been brought to the

0 Barcelona's Attacking Process

By Stevie Grieve

This is the second of two posts looking at Barcelona's methods and tactics from the Champions League Final versus Juventus. This week we look at Barcelona's attacking process.

In the Juventus analysis, I looked at how they would try to stop Messi, which forced Barcelona to adjust and look for alternative routes to goal – they would often switch play and attack from Neymar and Jordi Alba.

If Alves was high, Alba stayed deep and vice versa, or if both were high, Busquets stayed deep to form a 3v2 situation at the back and cover the defence in the pre-transition phase.

They looked to play less of a positional game behind the

1 Barcelona in Defense

By Stevie Grieve

This post is the first of two looking at Barcelona's methods and tactics from the Champions League Final versus Juventus. This week we look at Barcelona's defending process.

Set Pieces; Pique the spare man in mixed marking system

Barcelona have only conceded one goal from set pieces all season while Juventus are a dangerous team from them, so this may have been a game where Barcelona may have been legitimately worried about conceding from a set play. With Barcelona’s lack of height in comparison to Juventus, Gerard Pique’s role in defending set pieces would be key – the only player other than Sergio Busquets and GK Marc-Andre Ter Stegen above 6ft2 and capable of competing in the air.

As the ball is delivered, we see Pique is the spare man with

0 Attacking Barcelona

By Stevie Grieve

This post continues our look at the Champions League Final between Juventus and FC Barcelona. This week we look at Juventus' attacking process.

Isolate the centre backs 1v1 in wide areas

When playing with 2 centre forwards in a defensive based system, the natural idea is to isolate the centre backs 1v1 in transition, and to try and take them on and go direct to goal. For Juventus, both strikers are quick and good in 1v1 play, so isolating the centre backs in wide areas would be a natural way to play with 2v2 at the back.

Mascherano is dragged wide by Morata who takes 1 touch and

2 UEFA Champions League Final - Part 3

By Stevie Grieve

Overcompactness
Vulnerable to the switch of play especially Messi-Neymar or Alba on the left

Barcelona exploit this via switching play to Neymar / Jordi Alba
The biggest problem with Juventus playing closer to the left side (Messi’s side) and compacting the space is that the defensive and midfield chains get dragged across to cover for each player moving across, resulting in a lack of protection on the far side.

Often Neymar would drag Liechtsteiner inside, while Jordi Alba made late runs from deep and exploit the space 2v1. The 1st goal comes from this, resulting in Bonucci being drawn across to deal with Neymar while Vidal failed to track Iniesta who passes to Rakitic for the opening goal.

Here, we can see the

1 UEFA Champions League Final - Part 2

By Stevie Grieve

Evra pressing out of the defensive line to close down Messi, Rakitic or Alves at RW

As Messi plays the deepest of the Barcelona front 3, Patrice Evra was tasked to push out of the defensive line and play close to Messi, usually with Paul Pogba but often with Vidal close to Messi (Pogba moved to RM on 30 minutes for 6 minutes then back to LM).

When Evra pressed ahead of the defensive line, it often would leave a large space for Suarez, Alves or Rakitic to move into, which would draw the Juve defensive line over and leave them ‘over compact’ and vulnerable to a switch of play, particularly from Messi to Neymar or Jordi Alba.

Messi has been closed down but not enough to impact where he will dribble into and release the ball as the exit diagonally hasn’t been sufficiently closed enough as the

0 UEFA Champions League Final - Part 1

By Stevie Grieve

Juventus v Barcelona

In what proved to be a fantastic game of football both technically and tactically, the team with the most flair in attack proved to be the winners, but it was a game of defensive organisation in both teams, particularly in defensive transitions where both teams were incredibly quick to get back into position form an attacking phase, then become organised. Some clever tactical implementations where used, such as Ivan Rakitic and Dani Alves rotating positions defensively when the right back zone needed covered, and Gerard Pique playing as a single ‘defensive target’ when Barcelona defended.

We also saw Massimiliano Allegri block the influence of Lionel Messi in a penetrative way, not stopping his influence completely as he was able to open up the play with his range of passing and be a danger even 40m from goal, instead of the position we have become accustomed to seeing him in recent years as a false 9 and being the

1 4-2-3-1 Defending Numbers Up Against 4-2-3

This article is an excerpt from our new best-selling book, Coaching the 4-2-3-1 by Stevie Grieve.

The Blacks play 4-2-3-1 v the Yellow 4-2-3 formation. The Yellows play 9 v 10 and when they win possession, look to counter attack quickly over the line with passes and dribbles. Players must not go chasing the ball and remember the distances between players are important, and moving forward to close down passing angles while closing off passing lanes into midfield are a crucial element of the defensive strategy. Above, the right back is in possession. The full back plays close to the winger, leaving a back 3 as the far side full back tucks in. The 2 holding players cover the spaces making an ‘M’ formation, playing close to the attacking midfielder and stopping passes into him. The 3 attacking midfielders press the ball and closest passing options, with the far side player playing almost in line with

0 Too Much Focus on One Player

By Stevie Grieve

Since January, the return to form of Lionel Messi has seen him reach new heights in performance, unseen ever when he was World Player of The Year for 4 seasons running (2009 2010 2011 2012) and now he has changed his role in the team to play as a deep inverted winger, who has almost a free role as Dani Alves and Ivan Rakitic adapt the RB and RCM positioning to change and cover for Messi as he goes looking for solutions from deep.

We often see Messi in a position where he can play a now trademark diagonal through ball from the inside right channel to the inside left channel, where Thierry Henry, David Villa, Pedro, and now Neymar are the main beneficiaries of his fantastic through balls and lofted passes from this deep position.

In the game v Bilbao, they tried to overload Messi 2v1 and 3v1 on the touchline and block his access to the dribble diagonally towards the centre backs with the ball protected on his left side, but often left his supporting team mates unmarked or left the space inside open to be attacked by the supporting team mates. Often, this would mean that Messi would simply make a pass and allow his team mates to attack the defence with players on the

1 Sevilla Blocking Diagonal Passes

By Stevie Grieve

Europa League holders and this seasons finalists, Sevilla, are a team with a strong defensive unit and a strong attacking process, particularly on the counter attack.

Against a possession orientated team like Fiorentina, they allowed the Italians to have the ball and then defend from areas where they felt comfortable to make Fiorentina predictable; on the sides where Fiorentia played with ‘inverted wingers’ in a 4-3-3.

From the wide zone, they looked to block the cut inside with close positioning to play 2v1 or if the play was with a midfielder or full back in a wide zone, they would ensure they had solid defensive triangles to cover the pass through the movement to engage 1v1 on the side which would often be in 2v2,3v3 or 4v4 scenarios.

To do this, the central midfielder on the far side would look to cover any angle between the 2 closest pressing players to the ball and block anything diagonally between the

0 Bayern's Failure to Stop Messi

By Stevie Grieve

In the Champions League Semi Final between Barcelona and Bayern Munich, the score was decided by one player's ability to find space when there is little available, despite Bayern Munich’s best attempts to control the space around Lionel Messi, particularly in the 1st half.

For the 1st half, Bayern played wide and looked to enter the attacking phases from the CF drifting wide then playing 1v1 on the side and attacking from there, while Barcelona played more direct from central zones in transition, looking to use Suarez’ tenacity behind the Bayern defence, or with lots of circulation which kept the ball and looked for a breakthrough from quick combinations around the goal or in 1v1 play.

The 2nd half changed for Barcelona when Iniesta, Neymar, Messi and Rakitic all played directly through the channels, looking to cut inside and combine with centrally based players; Suarez or Neymar on the last line of the defence, with Alba and Alves staying deeper and making late runs outside the play.

The main danger was always through an ‘inverted’ player, cutting inside, particularly Messi from the

0 Flexibility of the 4-2-3-1 System

This is a short excerpt from Coaching the 4-2-3-1 Advanced Tactics by Stevie Grieve. The book takes a detailed look at how to get the best out of this very popular formation.

When changing formation, there are many variables that can come from this, mainly from an attacking and defensive positioning starting position basis.

Some players’ roles and responsibilities change, although not drastically. In a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 some players responsibilities stay the same, mainly the back 4 and central striker. The back 4 as always must protect the goal and defend as a priority, then support the attacking phase secondary.
Full backs in very attacking teams can allow wingers to play slightly more infield if they wish, or if the winger stays on the touchline, provide deep support or an under lapping run to offer an extra option if places under pressure. The runs from the full back can open up new solutions when the ball is with the winger.

Some wingers can commonly play 1v2, so the

0 Atletico Attack the Strong Side

By Stevie Grieve

Atletico Madrid may not regain the Spanish League title that they earned last season, but Diego Simeone has kept them competitive in 3 competitions with arguably a weaker starting XI than last season, losing Goalkeeper Thibaud Courtois, Left Back Felipe Luis and Talismanic Striker, Diego Costa all to Chelsea. Simeone replaced these players with players of similar playing profiles;

Jan Oblak and Guillherme Siqueirha from Benfica, Mario Mandzukic from Bayern Munich, while adding mobile attacker Antoine Griezmann from Real Sociedad. This has given them a team with similar profiles in each area from last season while arguably a weaker team, other additions such as creative midfielder Cani, have given them more options Siqueirha is an attacking left back, Manduzkic is the

2 Lyon’s Attacking Movements

By Stevie Grieve

Lyon have been this season's ‘surprise’ package in Ligue 1, with a team of cast-offs who have proved unsuccessful at other clubs and academy graduates, staying in the top 6 would be the realistic aim and top 3 would’ve been ambitious. As it has unfolded, Lyon have been one of the most attack minded teams in the league, scoring 60 goals in 31 games, and having the best goal difference in the league.

Some of the success has come from the emergence of Nabil Fekir and the continued improvement year on year of Alexandre Lacazette, the return to form of Yoann Gourcuff, and a stable 4-4-2 diamond formation, with attacking full backs providing the width when the dual strikers are more central.

Lyon use a fluid formation and one of the reasons for this is the above mentioned Full Backs, the fluidity of movement from the strikers and how they stretch the field when in possession.

Basic Shape; 4-1-2-1-2 becoming 4-3-3 becoming 2-1-4-3

Both FBs (black circles) are very high, on the line of the

0 Juventus Compact Defense

By Stevie Grieve

Massimiliano Allegri was appointed Juventus coach in the summer after the departure of Antonio Conte to the Italian National Squad, and has tried to adapt the Conte 5-3-2 formation and solid defensive system, to a more expansive 4-4-2 diamond formation, using the energy or Pogba and Marchisio in central midfield while giving Tevez and new summer recruit Alvaro Morata more freedom of movement by playing a front 2 with an attacking central midfielder giving a central presence behind them.

This has led to success in the Champions League this season, and currently leaves them in an almost untouchable position at the top of Serie A. A large part of this is the coach and team’s ability to alter the 4-4-2 diamond and change to a 5-3-2. In the game v Borussia Dortmund, Andrea Pirlo was unavailable and inside the 1st 20 minutes, Juventus lost exciting midfielder Paul Pogba to injury.

The coach reacted to this by changing to

0 Thiago’s Flexibility to Play Multiple Defensive Shapes

By Stevie Grieve

During the run to winning La Liga in 2014 and reaching the Champions League Final in 2014, Diego Simeone’s well organised team were very flexible in their defensive structure. Normally a team who would play 4-4-2 in attack, they could play defensively in multiple formations; 4-4-2, 4-1-4-1, -4-5-1 and 4-3-3.

To do this from a starting position and stay in these positions and defend in the one shape is fairly easy to coach, but much more difficult is to teach players to understand how to come out of a compact 4-1-4-1 into a high 4-4-2 press and who compensates for the player coming out of line to help the front player, and what the different roles are for the players around the space which is vacated.

Thiago of Atletico de Madrid has been able to demonstrate the flexible positional qualities to understand when to move forward or back, how to shift laterally and cover space, without being exposed between the lines or in the space left to press, such as against Bayer Leverkusen.

Thiago between the lines in a 4-1-4-1

Here, we can see a clear 4-1-4-1 shape for

1 Organizing Small-Sided Teams - Part II

Last week I gave examples of formations that you can use in the 6v6 format that is used in many areas of the US for U9 and U10 teams. You don't have too much flexibility when there are only six players on your team.

With the 8v8 format you can do a number of things to play to the strengths of your team or the weaknesses of the opponent.

The most common line-up I've seen is a 3-3-1. This formation gives you