By Dan Severn
Attacking full backs (#2 & #3) can be crucial to creating overloads in wide areas and thus creating more chances and scoring more goals! Here we take a look at how and when full backs can look to exploit the attacking areas of the field to have a positive impact on their teams’ attack.
We’ll look at when we have established possession with a central defender. It can be beneficial for an outside defender to show patience initially; holding position to draw an opposition winger higher up the field, with the goal of leaving space in behind them to exploit. This of course depends on the opponent’s system and that “higher pressing winger” is more likely to come from a team that is playing with 3 players across the front.
As shown above, as the winger comes to close down space for the full back, they should look for the cue to explode into the space left behind. One cue might be a pass into a central midfielder, another may simply be that the central defender has space to drive forward with the ball. A third may be that the winger steps to cut off the angle for the central defender to play to the full back directly (forcing them to play elsewhere). If that happens, the central midfielder could look to receive the ball and play to the full back quickly who can drive into that space.
Another key moment in which the full back should be getting both high and wide up the field is when the winger makes a run inside. As soon as the winger gets the attention of the opposition full back by making a run inside/across their path, this would typically get a reaction, dragging that full back inside and leaving space to move into for the full back.
From here it is down to the full backs attacking intuition. They can look to cross the ball, combine with another attacking player and make another run off the ball, or even drive in to draw another defender out before passing/crossing/shooting.
The key to exploit the attacking space is in the timing of the movement. Making the forward run before drawing an opponent in the earlier instance, or before your winger makes an inside run to take the full back away, means you may end up overcrowding a certain area and thus make it a little easier to defend. Drawing the opposition winger to press too early, or having your own wingers drag opposition full backs away from spaces, will leave the full back space to attack.
Dan Severn has over 16 years coaching experience in both the USA and England. He has the United Soccer Coaches Premier Diploma and has taken courses with the Deutscher Futball-Bund (DFB).
