By Philip Cauchi
The aim of this session is to achieve penetration. Penetration can be achieved through various means but the most important outcomes are to have width in attack, length, movement off-the-ball, timing of passes through seams in the defence and timing of runs behind the defence.
Session title: Achieve penetration.
Total duration: Approximately 90 minutes.
Moment of play: In possession.
Team task: Scoring.
Lines involved: The midfield and forward lines and the full back overlapping into attack.
Theme: Attacking the space behind the line of restraint (defensive line).
Aim: Play the ball behind the defence to score.
Principles of play: Penetration, width in attack, mobility and support.
Sub-principles of play: Staggered angles in midfield, one of the forwards giving the team length, the other forward dropping between the lines, lateral midfielders providing width and staggered and support angles between the lateral midfielder, closest central midfielder and the full back.
Sub-sub-principles of play: Timing of movements to open up space, angle and direction of movements to either open up space or attack the ball played behind the defensive line, correct angles and distances between the players, stance to receive and play the ball quickly, oriented first touch and the quality and timing of passes.
Coaching: As a coach you should identify on which sub-sub-principles or sub-principles you are going to focus on. Therefore, select just a few and reinforce them throughout the training session. As we are working with the interactions between different lines and sectors it is more recommended to focus on the sub-principles. These are the specific outcomes that target the behaviour of a group of players and how they interact with each other during a particular moment of play. The sub-sub-principles are more based on individual performance. Therefore, these outcomes should be targeted in small group practices of up to 3v3 where the individual techniques and tactical details are frequently repeated.
Equipment: Mannequins, balls, bibs, markers and mini goals.
Warm-up – technical-tactical activation.
N.B. Prior to this activity carry out a 7 minute movement preparation session that includes dynamic flexibility and mobility.
Duration: 10 minutes.
Aim: To prepare the players on performing skills related to achieving penetration.
Set-up: Each set-up should measure 25 yards by 10 yards and must consist of not more than four players.
Description of exercises:
Exercise 1 – Player B stands between the two mannequins and performs a counter-movement as to lose the defender prior to receiving the pass from player A. The ball is played back to player A, who passes to player B through the mannequins after the latter performs a spin off.
Exercise 2 – Player A passes to player B. Player B dribbles towards the second mannequin as if to commit the defender and passes to the overlapping player A between the mannequins.
Game: Penetrate inside the penalty area.
Duration: 18 minutes (2 series x 8 minutes with 2 minutes recovery between series).
Aim: To create space and recognise the moment to play penetrating passes behind the defence.
Set-up: Area measuring 45 yards by 40 yards with a regular goal at one end and three mini goals at the opposite end. Two teams of 7 plus two neutral wingers and a goalkeeper with the defending team. Players play in their normal position.
Description of exercise: Play takes place in front of the penalty area. Before the ball is played into it, no player (from both teams) can enter the penalty area. A goal coming from a through pass played into the penalty area by the attacking team equals two points. Any other means of scoring equals one point. The defending team aims to prevent the attacking team from scoring, win the ball and counter on the three mini goals.
Functional practice 1: 1v1+1 – play the through pass.
Duration: 10 minutes (2 series of 4 minutes each with two minutes recovery in between).
Aim: Combine play with quick penetration.
Set-up: Area measures 15 yards by 12 yards set in front of the penalty area as shown in the image above. Players are divided into three groups. We have the midfielders (reds) who act as neutrals, the attackers (blacks) and the defenders (yellows).
Description of exercise: The neutral midfielder starts with the ball and aims to play it to the attacker. The attacker and the midfielder aim to pass the ball into the space inside the penalty area. Both the midfielder and the attacker may make the run forward to take the shot. The shot must be a first timer. All the players are allowed to follow play inside the penalty area after the ball is played into it. If the defender wins the ball he counters by dribbling through the blue dotted line. The midfielder aids the defender in this case.
Progression: Play as a competition. A goal for the attacker counts as a point. The attack must be concluded within 10 seconds for a goal to count. If the defender scores he earns a point.
Functional practice 2: 2v2+2 – play the through pass.
Duration: 10 minutes (2 series of 4 minutes each with two minutes recovery in between).
Aim: Combine play with quick penetration.
Set-up: Area measures 15 yards by 12 yards set in front of the penalty area as shown in the image above. Players are divided into three groups. We have the midfielders (reds) who act as neutrals, the attackers (blacks) and the defenders (yellows).
Description of exercise: The neutral midfielders start with the ball and aim to play it to the attackers. The attackers and the neutral players aim to pass the ball into the space inside the penalty area. Both the midfielders and the attackers may make the forward run to take the shot. All the players are allowed to follow play inside the penalty area after the ball is played into it. If the defenders win the ball they counter by dribbling through the blue dotted line. The midfielders aid the defenders in this case.
Variation: Enlarge the area of play to make it easier for the players to circulate the ball. This might be required when practicing with players bearing a lower technical ability.
Game: 7v7 on half a pitch.
Duration: 23 minutes (2 series x 10 minutes with 2 minutes recovery between series).
Aim: To evaluate if the players can transfer any of the movements experienced during the functional practices to the global game.
Set-up: Half pitch with a regular goal on the goal line and three mini goals on the halfway line. Two teams of seven. One of the two teams (the defending team) has a goalkeeper positioned in the regular goal.
Description of exercise: Normal game but if the attackers score after playing the ball behind the defence, as shown in the above diagram, it counts double. If the defenders win the ball they counter on the three mini goals.
Variation: Play takes place in front of the penalty area. All the players except the goalkeeper must be in front of the penalty area until a pass is played into it.
Cool down: Light jog plus static stretching exercises. These should take approximately 10 minutes.
By Philip Cauchi
