Tag Archives for " Trukan "

0 Passing and Fitness Pattern

By Alex Trukan This passing pattern practice is developed to work on the ability to produce repeated short sprints over a longer period of time without losing its’ frequency and quality. That might be useful especially towards the end of the game when players get usually tired and their intensity of actions drops. Apart from

1 The Role of the Full Backs in Attack

By Alex Trukan Full back’s position has evolved and is now one of the crucial positions involved in creating chances on the opposition half. Over the last years, we’ve seen many full backs converted into or playing on other positions including centre midfielder, defensive midfielder or winger. That only confirms that full back has become

0 Developing Explosive Power

By Alex Trukan The presented practice incorporates physical as well as technical and tactical focus of the game. From the conditioning point of view, it develops Explosive Power, which is needed to accelerate over short distances and win a sprinting race. That is relevant both for the attackers or defenders chasing for the ball, recovering

0 Breaking Through a Team Defending Deep

By Alex Trukan Many teams in modern football have adapted a reactive approach to attacking. That means they give initiative to the opposition, set up a deep defending block and try to win the ball in certain areas to then counter attack. The team that is attacking against such tactics has to carefully consider risks

1 'Playmakers' Game

By Alex Trukan This practice focuses on developing an ability to produce more actions during the football match through developing aerobic energy system. Due to man to man marking scenario, the players will need to show strength as well as balance on the ball. From the technical and tactical point of view, it incorporates movements

0 The Defensive Midfielder Out of Possession

By Alex Trukan Next to the centre backs and full backs, defensive midfielder is one of the main players responsible for restricting opposition’s from creating chances and regaining possession. The role of typical defensive midfielder emerged as a response to the newly developed position of ‘number 10’ years ago. His main role was therefore to

0 3 v 1 to Counter Attack

By Alex Trukan This practice combines 3v1 possession game and 1v1 scenario (striker vs defender) into a counter attack situation. It involves a lot of passing, movements to receive and most importantly forward runs off the ball. From the conditioning point of view, it focuses on the ability to repeatedly produce high intensity sprints sustaining

0 Defending the Counter Attack

By Alex Trukan Transition phases have become increasingly important phases of the game with many teams trying to exploit the moment when the opposition is not organised. Especially transition to attack (including counter attack and quick attack) is being used by many teams around the world as a primary attacking strategy. In response to that,

0 Forcing Play

By Alex Trukan It is often said that the team in possession dictates play and makes the opposition react. It is true if the defending team doesn’t take initiative to force play and guide the attacking team to make the defending easier. That requires great communication between players, understanding responsibilities of the units as well

0 Turning to Finish

By Alex Trukan This simple practice is easy to organise and can be suitable for a variety of age groups and ability levels. It contains a lot of technical work focused on turning as well as incorporates an element of finishing. Physically, it develops power to change direction, accelerate and exploit space in front of

0 Quick Attack Game

By Alex Trukan This game involves a 1v2 situation with a recovering player from behind that creates a transition based scenario. It also challenges the attacker to make a decision to counter attack quickly before opposition gets organised. From the conditioning perspective, the practice is based around developing capacity to produce high intensity actions with

0 Playing Forwards from Centre Backs’ Possession

By Alex Trukan Combination of playing out from the back through central defenders with quick penetration through the thirds is not only attractive to watch but also effective. The ability to prioritise passing options and play forwards if possible is one of the attributes modern centre backs will definitely need. That requires not only great

0 1 v 1 with Four Supporting Players

By Alex Trukan This modification of 1 v 1 scenario involves an option to use a teammate or go individually. It therefore creates more decision making than in a typical 1v1 situation and is more realistic to the game. From the conditioning point of view, it trains anaerobic energy system which is responsible for high

0 Striker's Runs in Behind the Defense

By Alex Trukan The ability of the strikers to effectively use space in behind of the opposition defense can lead to creating a handful of goal scoring opportunities. That key skill can be especially appreciated when the opposition applies high pressing or when it’s disorganised. However, not only counter-attack is a key moment for the

0 Defending Wide Areas

By Alex Trukan Forcing opposition into wide areas is a strategy used by many modern teams when out of possession. First of all, once the ball is wide, the options for the player in possession are reduced as he has possibilities of playing only into three directions. Secondly, the ball is further away from the

0 Numbers Up Numbers Down Game

By Alex Trukan This game is focused on developing aerobic power with high intensity running intervals. It is also very stimulating tactically as the players have to deal with numerous situations including both overload and underload scenarios. That makes the practice realistic to the game and engaging. From the pure technical point of view, it

1 Four Grid Game

By Alex Trukan This practice is a fun game that can suit all age groups, ability levels and can be adapted in many different ways. From a conditioning point of view, high intensity, short periods of work are designed to develop sprinting power that can be repeated in the game as many times as possible.

0 Possession to Move the Opposition

By Alex Trukan Since the successes of the teams like FC Barcelona and Spanish national team in the recent years, many teams were trying to adapt ‘possession’ football approach. It has been widely used, however at the same time, widely misunderstood. The ‘tiki-taka’ style started to be played for the sake of it, and not

0 Switching Play Possession Game

By Alex Trukan The Switching Play Possession Game is highly engaging and high intensity game aimed mainly at more advanced players of higher ability. It helps to develop power to recover what helps in producing anaerobic actions more often. The practice strengthens aerobic energy system which generally acts as a platform to all football actions.

2 Defenders Joining the Attack

By Alex Trukan Defenders have been valued not only in defence but also in attack for the last couple of years. Full backs were a major revelation at the World Cup in 2002 and since it became common and obvious when a full backs is utilised on the opposition half. Centre backs’ role in attack

1 Aerobic Passing Game

By Alex Trukan

This practice have multiple outcomes in the technical corner including passing, receiving as well as movement off the ball. In addition to that, it develops the capacity of the body to recover quickly, what will lead to producing more high intensity actions throughout the game. That happens due to development of aerobic energy system. The practice can be well adapted to different age groups, number of players and ability levels.

Set up and directions

Set a square of approximately 15 x 15 yards, then further divide it into four smaller squares by putting a cone in the middle of it. Organise a group of players inside the

0 Classic Counter-Attacking

By Alex Trukan

According to the type, counter-attack can be divided into four different styles: solo, classic, collective and advanced. Solo involves a player picking up the ball and running with it to score, while other players just make supportive runs to create space. A Collective one is based on a group of midfield players who play against disorganised defence. The Advanced type is when the ball is won higher up the pitch due to pressing being applied. The Classical type of counter-attacking strategy, which involves regaining possession deep in their own half and using quick play to progress forwards and score will be presented below.

Using the target man

When counter-attacking from deep position it is often a case of having 10 players behind the ball what makes it extremely difficult to collectively threaten the opposition defence. That is why, it is crucial to have a target man in front of the ball who can be used as a player to pass to and gain time for the supporting players to arrive. His positioning should be ideally on the weak side of the

0 2v1 Practice to Develop Anaerobic Power

By Alex Trukan

This practice develops the ability to repeatedly produce high speed and power actions throughout the game. Relating to the context of the game, it might be used in a counter-attack scenario or when defending outnumbered. Simple set up and organisation makes it easy to adapt as well as manage regardless of the group size and ability level. On the top of that, players find this practice competitive and motivating.

Set up and directions

Organise an area of approximately 25x35 yards. Place two gates (3 yards width) on both ends of the area. Divide the team into two groups and further divide both groups into three smaller groups. There are three starting positions on each side of the area, between and next to the goals. The middle starting position is for defenders, while the two in the

0 Midfielders Getting into Goalscoring Positions

By Alex Trukan

Modern players are becoming more universal and adaptable to different situations and requirements. Defender is no longer responsible just for defending and striker’s role have evolved and now different types of strikers have emerged, who not only score, but assist, distribute and defend. Midfielders’ role has been probably the most multidimensional out of all the positions for many years. These type of players have numerous responsibilities both out and in possession of the ball. One of the crucial elements that can make a good midfielder a great one is his scoring ability.

Working off striker’s movements

The type and direction of midfielder’s forward run will be determined by the position of the striker who should move across the opposition back line and create space for the