By Alex Trukan Defending in midfield and central areas is usually a big emphasis in a lot of teams. When out of possession, midfield is a unit that prevents the opposition from exploiting the back line as well as breaking into the final third of the pitch. Therefore, from the attacking point of view, finding
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By Alex Trukan The ‘Four Goal 1v1 Game’ helps the players to develop explosive power, an ability mainly used in 1v1 duels as well as when intercepting the ball or during shoulder to shoulder battles. It is evident all over the pitch that more explosive and powerful players get advantage and pose a real challenge
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By Alex Trukan Defending when compact has many advantages, including restricting space for the opposition, more effective pressure on the ball as well as better support and cover around and away from the ball. It can also lead to creating overloads around the ball and eventually winning possession. On the other hand, however, it also
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By Alex Trukan This practice is designed to develop player’s ability to maintain speed and power of actions throughout the whole game. That is a crucial component of physicality as often the last minutes of the game is the time when the opposition is weakened and more disorganised. That is why, increasing players’ ability to
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By Alex Trukan As an alternative to traditional sequence of wing play based on a cross into the penalty box from wide positions, trying to penetrate further into the penalty area before passing it across can be an effective strategy to create goal scoring opportunities. Its usage has been on the rise recently due to
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By Alex Trukan This practice is designed to help the players in developing starting speed over short distances. That crucial ability often makes a difference between winning or losing a tackle or scoring a goal. Some players might be really quick over longer distances but that not always translates to football, where actions are short
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By Alex Trukan Doubling up is a defending strategy based on applying pressure on the ball by two defenders at the same time. It is a very common component of high and counter pressing game but it can be also used effectively in the middle or defending thirds. The rationale behind using it is to
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By Alex Trukan This game is developed to improve players’ aerobic power, an ability which serves as a fundament of other conditioning components as well as aids player’s ability to recover quickly and efficiently improving recovery capacity. From the technical point of view, it focuses on dribbling and decision making when to dribble and when
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By Alex Trukan This game is designed to improve players’ ability to recover quickly between high intensity actions by improving aerobic energy system power. It has also positive effect on agility (i.e. ability to change direction and speed) as well as spatial awareness. From the technical point of view, it is focused on developing recognition
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By Alex Trukan Combination play has been an important aspect in soccer coaching for many years. There are several ways it can be defined and then created during the game. One of the elements contributing to it are ‘wall passes’, an attacking combination based on quick passing movement between two or three players, in which
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By Alex Trukan This practice is focused on developing an ability to produce explosive actions based on combining speed and strength. That is very demanding for the body’s energy system and therefore work to rest ratios should be administered carefully. Technical focus at the same time is turning in 1v1 situations what links perfectly to
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By Alex Trukan Attacking through the wings is usually associated with the role of the wingers or full backs. Although, these two positions probably play the biggest role in creating opportunities from wide areas, players away and around the ball are also crucial in facilitating this type of attacking strategy. One of the key players
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By Alex Trukan This possession game is aimed at improving players’ capacity to recover between high intensity actions, what will then enable them to produce more explosive actions when needed without losses in quality. That is linked with transition to attack scenario which forces players to make decisions whether to secure possession or counter-attack quickly.
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By Alex Trukan Pressing is a defending strategy based on applying pressure on the ball and restricting spaces around and away from the ball in order to regain possession. It is often associated with teams defending with intensity and desire to win the ball as high and as soon as possible. However, it is important
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By Alex Trukan Starting speed is a physical quality that often makes the biggest visible difference in football games. Players able to accelerate over short distances and start the run powerfully gain immediate advantage over other players. That ability might be used in attack, for example when a striker makes a run past a defender
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By Alex Trukan Red Bull Leipzig, one of the clubs owned by Red Bull holding has been a revelation of this season’s 2 Bundesliga, currently (07.01.2016) occupying 1st place in the table and not only winning the games but also playing very interesting and unusual style of play. Team managed by Ralf Rangnick, one of
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan Defending in and around the penalty box area is, alongside finishing, one of the two critical micro phases of the game. They are usually neglected and hoped they will ‘take care of themselves’. However, at the same time, it can be argued that these two phases are the two most important ones
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan This practice is focused on developing sprinting ability through improvement of anaerobic power energy system. It is based on combination of simple technical component of dribbling and ball manipulation around the cones with a pass followed by a sprint. The practice can be adapted in many ways to suit individual and group
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan Creating, maintaining and exploit space is one of the crucial concepts in attacking phase of the game. It allows to build up from the back, play through the thirds as well as penetrate forwards. Especially on the opposition’s half, space becomes a valuable asset as the defending team will aim to reduce
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan The following practice is focused on developing endurance to maintain high quantity of actions throughout the whole game. This physical component is fundamental to develop any other conditioning characteristics and is important in aiding and speeding up the recovery process. That is achieved in a simple to organise possession game which can
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan Medium pressure is a defensive strategy based on setting up a confrontation line (area of the pitch from which the team out of possession starts to apply pressing) around half way line. It is the most popular, yet not often very effective type of pressing. Many players associate this type of pressing
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By Alex Trukan This practice is designed to improve player’s ability to produce quicker and more explosive actions. That in example might be used in 1v1’s as well as high intensity sprint duels. In this exercise, physical component is incorporated into technical practice based around 3v1, 1v1 and 1v2 scenarios. Interchange between those situations makes
Continue readingBy Alex Trukan When selecting the attacking strategy, there are several options to choose from. One team might try to threaten the opponents on the counter-attack, another one might choose to attack quickly, and third one’s preferred option may be in turn a patient, positional attack. Regardless of what’s the team’s strongest choice, the players
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By Alex Trukan The following practice is designed to develop an ability to repeat high intensity sprints during the game. That is achieved by working on anaerobic energy system’s capacity, which helps in sustaining the frequency of explosive actions throughout the game. The physical component is linked to the technical element of running with the
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