Defensive Organization

The goal of collective defending is to reduce attacking options for your opponents, thus making their play more predictable and attacks less threatening, and increasing the opportunties for your team to regain possession of the ball. Importantly, an organized defense will reduce the number of times an opponent can penetrate into the penalty area with the ball and should nearly eliminate breakaway attacks by the opposition. Good defensive shape will allow your team to withstand tough stretches of any match, and will provide your players with a firm foundation they can use to counter any opponent, even one that is significantly stronger "on paper". By working as a unit, you can enhance the effectiveness of your players' individual defending abilities to gain more than the "sum of their parts".

Consider several structural components, as illustrated below:

• Compactness refers to the distance between the frontmost defenders and the back line of defenders. Players on the defensive team who are not ballside do not contribute to the team's compactness.
• Concentration refers to the horizontal spacing of the defensive players behind the ball. To increase concentration, defenders should "pinch in" toward the center to limit space in front of their goal.
• Density refers to the number of players per unit of area who are ballside and goalside within the defensive unit. Density increases as the team becomes more compact or more concentrated. You also can increase density by requiring more players to recover ballside and goalside when the team loses possession of the ball.
• Seams refer to the gaps between each ballside defensive player.

Of course, the defensive principles of pressure, cover, and balance must also be incorporated into your team's defensive posture. Pressure is especially important, as this is the cue that guides the positioning of all the other defenders. With tight pressure from the first defender, the rest of the team can become more compact because the first attacker will be less able to play long services to his teammates. In turn, increased compactness allows the defense to put even greater pressure on the ball, thus increasing their chances of forcing a turnover of possession.

Conversely, if the team is caught without good first defender pressure, the back line of defenders will likely need to drop off from the ball. This reduces compactness, but it also reduces the risk posed by a long service over the top or a penetrating pass through a seam. Here, the principle of immediate chase becomes critical, as the covering defenders can't step back up to increase compactness until a recovering teammate can press the ball.

Pressure from the first defender also signals which other defenders should drop into covering roles as second defenders. This adjustment by the second defenders limits space that could be exploited by a creative dribble, and also serves to tighten the seams among the defenders near the ball. Since a large seam can be split easily with a penetrating pass, your defense must constantly shift to reduce the size of these gaps.

The remaining members of the defensive unit provide balance by staying goalside of any runners off the ball. They must also work to limit defensive seams, though, by becoming more concentrated. Increased density will limit through pass and entry pass options, and will also reduce shooting lanes for the attackers.

Awareness and coordination of movement are vital, as the back line must continuously seek opportunities to become more compact and more concentrated without conceding penetrating chances to the opposition. Should the first attacker be able to play a ball that changes the point of attack, all the defenders must move while the ball is traveling so that they can get pressure on the ball as soon as (or before) it reaches its recipient.

Whenever possible, you want to keep the play in front of your defensive unit so that you never find yourself chasing a ball while facing your own goal (and, most likely, under pressure of an attacking player). Your defensive shape should force square or dropback passes by the opposition whenever possible, and prevent your opponent from ever gaining possession behind your back line. Your defense must react quickly to press the ball after each pass. Otherwise, a simple dropback pass might allow a long ball to be played over the top of a compact defensive unit that hasn't had time to drop off in anticipation of the new attacking threat.

Robert Parr

Passing on the Diagonals

Consider a player with the ball in the following game situation:

As illustrated, this player has three passing options available to him:

1. Play a square pass to teammate A.
2. Play a vertical pass to teammate B.
3. Play a diagonal pass to teammate C.
   

Given these options, which is the best choice?

The square pass to teammate A represents the worst option of the three. Because the ball travels horizontally relative to the playing field, this type of pass only changes one dimension of play (width), which causes minimal disruption to the defensive shape of the opposing team. In addition, this pass doesn't move the ball closer to the attacking team's goal, which means that scoring options are not improved.

Worst of all, square passes can easily be intercepted by an intermediate defender before they reach their intended recipient. When this happens, the opponent has a direct path to your own goal while two of your players are positioned very poorly to defend the counterattack. Note that all three players are in line with each other at the instant of interception, but the opponent has the shortest route to your goal and has the advantage of momentum going the same way. Your players must turn, accelerate, and take a longer path to chase down the breakaway, which places them at a distinct disadvantage.

Because square passes offer almost no attacking benefit, and because they represent a high defensive risk, they should be avoided as much as possible!

The forward vertical pass to teammate B is a somewhat improved choice. Assuming the receiving player moves toward the ball to control it, this pass offers much less opportunity for interception by the defense. It also moves the ball closer to the attacker's goal, which improves the attacking team's ability to score.

However, this combination still poses some shortcomings. Again, it only changes one dimension of play (depth), so the defending team can adjust easily to counteract the pass. The recipient must receive the ball while facing away from the goal, which limits his vision of the field and reduces his options to go to goal on the first touch. Further, the positioning of the supporting target player (and his associated defender) impedes the ability of the first attacker to dribble into space and toward goal, and also limits the first attacker's ability to see the goal and attempt to score directly off the dribble.

The diagonal pass to teammate C represents the best option of the three. This type of pass changes two dimensions of play (both width and depth), which forces a much greater adjustment by the defensive unit to restore pressure, cover, and balance. It moves the ball closer to the attacking goal, thus increasing scoring options. The receiving player can minimize the risk of interception by moving a step or two to meet the ball after it is played. In the event the defense does manage to intercept this pass, the passer is already goalside and thus positioned reasonably well to defend against any counterattack.

As another benefit, the diagonal pass allows the recipient to receive the ball on an angle, which makes it easier to play a first touch toward the goal while maximizing forward vision of the field. Finally, because the supporting forward player is positioned to one side, the first attacker retains the option to dribble into space toward the goal, which further complicates the opponent's defensive task.

For these reasons, passes along the diagonals will generally be the best choice. However, the real benefit comes when you are able to string multiple diagonal passes together in the same possession. To see one example of this, consider the original game scenario as revised in the illustration below:

Here, player B has taken a slightly wider position relative to the first attacker, which would permit a diagonal pass into player B if desired. Because the central defender must stay in place to protect against a penetrating dribble by the first attacker, this wider position also creates some separation between player B and the defender.

This attacking shape also makes it simple to play the ball into the space behind the defensive line with just two diagonal passes. These passes can be made with one touch each, which maximizes speed of play. Further, the diagonal path of the final service into the penalty area makes it harder for the goalkeeper to intercept before player B can reach the ball and attempt to finish.

Finally, you should recognize that diagonal passes do not always have to be played forward to be effective. For example, a forward checking back to the ball may want to "play the way he is facing" by giving a one-touch diagonal pass back to a supporting midfielder. Assuming this pass travels to a teammate on an "x" (and not a "+"), and if it traces a different path than the one it followed into the feet of the forward, it will likely be a well-chosen touch.

About the Author: The co-creator of SoccerROM, Robert Parr holds a USSF 'A' license and a USSF National Youth Coaching license. He is currently the Head Women's Soccer Coach at Georgia College & State University, and a member of the Georgia State Soccer Association Olympic Development Program Coaching Staff. From 1995-2002, Robert was the Director of Training for the American Soccer Club "Eagles" youth program in Austin, Texas. He also served as the South Texas Men's State Team Coach from 1996-1998, and a South Texas YSA State Staff Coach for both the Olympic Development Program (1991-1999) and the Coaching Education Program (1991-2002). From 1989 until 1995, Robert was the Head Coach of the University of Texas Men's Soccer Team, where he led the program to a National Collegiate Club Championship in 1990, three other National Tournament appearances, and an overall record of 80-25-16. You can reach Robert at robert@soccerrom.com.

Analyzing Your Team's Defensive Play

Read through and ask yourself whether or not we as a team, or you as an individual player can answer any of these questions with a "YES". If so, we have work to do!

As a first step toward mastering match analysis, you can divide the game into three main pieces -- defensive play, offensive play, and transition. Within each of these elements, you can then compile a list of questions or key coaching points to consider that will help identify your team's relative strengths and weaknesses. To illustrate this process of mental modeling, this article will focus on analyzing your team's defensive play.

The simplest way to understand your team's defensive effectiveness is to look at the types of opportunities that you are conceding to your opponents. As you observe the game, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are we allowing breakaways and 1v1s against our goalkeeper?
• Are we getting beaten 1v1 in the open field?
• Are we getting beaten by combination play in the open field?
• Are we allowing shots off crosses and flighted balls?
• Are we conceding dangerous set pieces (free kicks, corner kicks, and deep throw-ins)?
• Are we allowing chances at the far post?
  

In addition, you should evaluate your team's defensive effectiveness as a function of time and game conditions:

• Do you defend well early, but allow a large number of goals late in the half (or the game)?
• Do your field players perform differently depending on who you play as your goalkeeper?
• Does your team look disorganized in the early moments of each half?
• Do your players take unnecessary chances when the game situation calls for safety first?

About the Author- Robert Parr holds a USSF 'A' license and a USSF National Youth Coaching license. He is currently the Head Women's Soccer Coach at Georgia College & State University, and a member of the Georgia State Soccer Association Olympic Development Program Coaching Staff.

Analyzing Your Team's Attacking Play

Read through and ask yourself whether or not we as a team, or you as an individual player can answer any of these questions with a "YES". If so, we have work to do!

Simplicity is the key to real-time match analysis. If you can frame your assessment of the action in terms of a modest list of questions or checkpoints, then you can quickly identify the areas where your team is performing well and the other aspects that you should address in training.

First, consider the following questions that focus on individual attacking play:

• Do players have a clean and positive first touch?
• Are players maintaining proper vision of the field?
• Do players demonstrate creativity with the ball?
• Are players striking the ball with appropriate technique?
• Are players choosing the appropriate attacking options?
• Do players maintain their poise in front of the goal?

Next, look at how players are working away from the ball to support the attack:

• Are players running off the ball to provide penetrating and supporting options?
• Are players ahead of the ball checking back toward it, or just running away?
• Do supporting players communicate with their teammates?
  

Third, examine the overall effectiveness of your team's attacking efforts:

• Are we able to maintain possession of the ball after we win it?
• Are we able to penetrate the opposing team's defensive third of the field?
• Are we creating enough scoring chances?
• Are our attacking restarts organized and effective?

About the Author- Robert Parr holds a USSF 'A' license and a USSF National Youth Coaching license. He is currently the Head Women's Soccer Coach at Georgia College & State University, and a member of the Georgia State Soccer Association Olympic Development Program Coaching Staff.

Defending Responsibilities

Outside Back Responsibilities- These players are responsible fas marking backs and must be in good shape, physical players with good 1 v. 1 skills. The left back marks the right forward; while the right back on left forward.

Sweeper Responsibilities - The sweeper position is one of the most important positions on the field and should be manned accordingly. The sweeper is everyone's second defender. A sweeper needs to be smart, fast, skilled and very comfortable with his / her ability. Because they are the last line of defense they very rarely make offensive type runs. Their job is to control the back. They are the leader of the three defenders and it is their job to back the other two up at all times. He/she must be able to see the play of the opposing offense before it develops and thus anticipate where the ball is going. The sweeper must be extremely vocal with his/her defense letting them know what he/she sees, if they are out of position, and if they must pull up for an offside trap. If the opposing team is coming down the right side of the field the sweeper needs to be ready and able to back up his right fullback if he / she gets beat. The sweeper needs to do it all. He / she must be able to clear the ball, send the ball to open space for the forwards (generally aiming for the corner flags), clear balls out, control the other defenders, stop breakaways from happening as well as work with the goalie in setting up defensive situations such as corner kicks, free kicks etc. The sweeper is an extremely important player.

Stopper Responsibilities- The Stopper takes first attacking mid player which may be a striker/forward or it could be a central attacking mid. Speed is not a must here but one thing that is a must the ability to play consistently. This player must do things the same way constantly and not be sporadic. The stopper has one responsibility stop attacks from happening. He / She is to tackle the ball away from the opposing player and move the ball to either the open space of his / her midfielders. The stopper is not a playmaker or a showboat. He / she is the simplest player on the field and the first line of defense. Win possession of the ball and get it to another player on your team. Although limited in his / her tasks, the stopper is still an extremely important player.

Wing Midfielders- man-mark attacking wings the length of the field.

Effective Communication

Communication is often interpreted as "talking on the field." Calls like "man on, time and turn" are viewed as evidence that a team has reached a high level it. But this is only one element, albeit an important one. Effective communication involves much more then just verbal skills. Insight without good communication is like a band playing from different music sheets. Everyone can be playing brilliantly, but no one is playing the same tune.

Good communication starts with everyone being in agreement with the plan. Everyone's tasks must be clear and understood. Too often this is not the case and miscommunication results. Example. In a 4v4 match the sweeper has beaten his immediate opponent and has moved into the midfield. What should the two midfielders do? If both go ahead of the ball the available space for the top and sweeper will get very crowded. If the sweeper loses the ball who will stop the counter attack? This is a moment that the midfielders need to ask themselves "what should I do?" But that answer is partly dependent on the other midfielders' actions.

If the plan is to let the sweeper through to combine with the top, then both midfielders will hold behind the ball. If one midfielder has a supplementary task of going forward, but is not in a position to do so, what should the other one do? These situations happen so quickly and are so common that they can be overlooked. There is simply not enough time to "call" instructions by either players or the coach. Communication is based on reading the situation, analyzing it and acting on it. All against the backdrop of the plan.

Effective communication is more then "talking on the field." It is the factor that can bind a team together and allow it to be more then the sum of its parts.

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The Art of Passing

"Nothing destroys a team quite so quickly as inaccurate passing. Nothing builds a team's confidence more rapidly than accurate passing. Without good team-work accurate passing is impossible... The more successful passes a player makes the better he is likely to play and the more he is likely to want to play. The art of passing in Association Football is very largely the art of doing the simple things quickly and well."

-Charles Hughes

It takes two people to make a pass. One has to give the ball, the other has to get it.

The Receiver

Move to meet the pass. "A large number of passes are intercepted by defenders who take advantage of attackers who wait for the ball to reach them. Attackers should move to meet the pass." This is one of the big problems with front players in youth soccer. Top players are often waiting to receive a pass facing their own goal and wanting only to go in the opposite direction, towards the opponents goal. The idea of having to move towards their own goal before moving towards the opponents doesn't make sense. They'll just wait until the ball gets to them and then take off. On the other hand the defenders are watching the pass come towards them and can see the opponents goal at the same time. Their natural inclination is to attack the ball and they usually steal the first step on the attacker. This is not a matter of physical but mental speed. Johan Cruyff, "Speed is often confused with insight. When I start running before the rest, I appear faster."

Choose the correct moment to move. If the receiver moves to soon they will either have to stop and wait, killing the space and losing initiative, or they will have to keep moving past the space that they want to receive the ball in. If they move too late the defender can intercept the pass. This is where the I and C in TIC come into play. Receivers must be able to read what the player on the ball is capable of and needs. They must work together and their timing and ideas must match.Move into the line of the pass. A common coaching instruction is "move to get open." This is like driving without direction. Players run with no clear idea where they are going or why.

Create space before the pass by moving away from where you want to receive the ball. Even a few steps in the opposite direction can get defenders to move and buy the time needed to receive the ball.

The Passer

Calculate when to pass the ball forward, and when to pass the ball backwards. "If a player can pass the ball forward he should do so... If the player with the ball is pressurized and cannot pass the ball forward he needs support from behind, and he should pass the ball backwards to his supporting player. One of the reasons why teams are poor in supporting play is that players, who are in no position to pass the ball forward, refuse to pass the ball backwards... If this attitude prevails there is no point whatever, or any likelihood of employment, for the player who supports from behind the ball... The fact of the matter is that if a player cannot pass the ball forward, the quicker he realises this, and chages the point of attack by passing the ball to a player who is in a position to pass the ball forward, the better... The converse is also true. If a player is in a position to pass the ball forward and fails to do so he has played badly."

Passing do's: accurate, simple, quick, timed properly, disguised, risk to return, look deep first.
Accuarcy. Generally passes should be made to feet and on the ground. At higher levels they'll need to be made to a specific foot. Pass to the side away from defenders.

Simple. The vast majority of passes in a game are designed simply to keep possession. Ineffective players try to hit defense splitting passes far to often. They either overestimate their abilities or they become impatient. "Once a player becomes impatient he takes uncalculated risks, and thereby he takes the first step towards... reducing his part in the game to a lottery." Play simple is a useful phrase for coaches to repeat with players.

Quick. Players need to be two mental steps ahead of their first physical touch. In the old days players could play receive-decide-decide. With the speed of the modern game the equation is now decide-decide-receive. Poor control, passes in the air, poor timing and poor support can also slow down the passing game. If you don't have a pass in mind give the ball immediately to someone who might.

Timed properly. The communication between within the team and individuals must be good.
Disguised. When defenders can read attackers intentions they can get the jump on them. Look away from where you want to pass the ball.

Risk to return. There are times and places to try passing through small gaps and into small spaces. The attacking third of the field brings high returns and smaller risk. Conversley, a more conservative approach needs to be taken in the defensive third.

Look deep first. Players should look to play the deepest possible pass first, then work backwards. When they find the deepest pass that they can make they should make it.

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Tactical Soccer Situations Test

In the spring of 1988, German coach T.K. Trapp administered a 30-question quiz that he had designed to a group of U.S. National Staff coaches. The objective of the test was to examine and make the correct tactical decisions in each of the diagrammed situations. Eugene Chyzowych provided a copy of this test to Soccer Journal, where it ran as a six-part installment. This proved to be a highly popular feature, so much so that coaches were encouraged to offer their own contributions. The response was tremendous, building the library to nearly 200 tactical situations, which came to be known as "Quizzies."

NSCAA.com is now pleased to offer a portion of these "Quizzies" as an online resource for coaches and players to help develop their situational awareness and decision-making skills. In each diagram, the shaded player is the one who must make the decision. The arrow at the side of the diagram indicates which direction the possessing team is moving.

Studies have shown that outstanding soccer players make as many as 10 decisions per minute of a match. Each situation will be presented as a diagram, and you will have 20 seconds to make the correct tactical decision. On the diagrams, a dotted line indicates a pass, a solid line is a run, a wavy solid line is a dribble and a sharply-angled solid line indicates a sudden feint or move. Attacking players are shown as triangles, while defenders are circles.

LINK: http://www.nscaa.com/quiz.php

Positional Dynamics and Team Formation: 4-5-1

The 4-5-1

Defense:
The defenders are usually arranged as outside left, inside left, inside right and outside right. The most recent idea is to have them lined up in a banana shape with the middle of the curve closest to the goalkeeper and the outside defenders, the points, slightly ahead but behind the midfielders.

Some considered the flat back option but this means much more communication from the captain of the defense usually one of the insiders. The general idea is to have the two defenders attend to the attack coming in from their side. This format requires a high degree of verbal communication in addition to sight and hand gestures.

With both of these options the opposite outside tucks in a little to mark the center of the field covering the goal and any incoming additional attacking opponents. When the team has possession the defenders would then play wide to stretch out the other teams attackers. This is also known as playing it around the back.

Sometimes the defenders can be lined up in a diamond shape. This is to utilize the last player back as a "sweeper" who clears the ball up the field and out to the other defenders and mid fielders. This player is in constant communication with the goalkeeper and relays the message to the other defenders. This is because the goalkeepers can see the complete field from their vantage point.

At times and in some cases too often these central defenders will by-pass the midfield and play it up to the forwards. I say too often because this usually has the forwards out numbered by the opposing defenders.. However there are a few "power forwards" who could handle this situation, but most are unable too.It does create a certain amount of excitement with this surprise attacking option.

The defender at the top of the diamond is considered the "stopper" whose duty is to challenge any attack or attacking play. They usually play from side to side rather than up and down the field. This defender is involved in shutting down any play and play making. These players really read the game well. They need to, or they would be doing the entire running as the ball is in constant motion.

Midfield:
Two outside/wing players who dominate the flanks of the field. They also act as attackers creating many scoring opportunities for their teams. These are hard working players and a usually super-fit. However sometimes after a few runs on the side these can switch with inside players for a rest. If this is possible, the team can keep their opponents confused and always looking for changing plays and positions. This type of positional play cannot be defended by a man-on-man team defense. This requires a good zone defense and a constantly communicative team.

The inside players are usually defensive in their roles but will become part of the attack when their team has possession. They will generally use the central midfielder to create plays and control the tempo of the game.

Forward:

This team is usually confident of their lone striker. The striker in this formation actually acts as a "post-up" player. This means that this striker at times plays with the opposing defense at his/her back. This player will try and stretch the defense, will receive the ball to lay it back to the oncoming teammates to close the ground/space that this striker has created. The cycle continues until a good scoring opportunity has been formulated. Occasionally this striker will turn and attack the goal when the timing is right. This is usually communicated to the strikers by their team-mates. However a great striker will sense these situations based on the run of play and the opportunities that this striker has created.

Steve September of On The Ball Soccer Training has been involved in soccer for over forty years and on three continents.

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