Winning Your Restarts

Many, many games are won or lost on restarts. The extent to which goals result directly from restarts remains an ongoing subject of debate, but research performed at the highest level of the game indicates that corner kicks, free kicks, and penalties produce nearly 30% of all goals. FIFA's official Technical Reports from eight recent championships provide the following data in support of this assertion: Tournament Goals from Corner Kicks Goals from Free Kicks Goals from Penalty Kicks Goals from All Restart Kicks Athens Olympics 2004 (Women) 5/55 (9.1%) 4/55 (7.3%) 2/55 (3.6%) 11/55 (20.0%) Athens Olympics 2004 (Men) 10/101 (9.9%) 6/101 (5.9%) 7/101 (6.9%) 23/101 (22.8%) WC 2003 USA (Women) 12/107 (11.2%) 19/107 (17.8%) 8/107 (7.5%) 39/107 (36.4%) WC 2002 Korea/Japan (Men) 16/161 (9.9%) 16/161 (9.9%) 13/161 (8.1%) 45/161 (28.0%) Sydney Olympics 2004 (Women) 3/42 (7.1%) 7/42 (16.7%) 4/42 (9.5%) 14/42 (33.3%) Sydney Olympics 2004 (Men) 3/103 (2.9%) 10/103 (9.7%) 12/103 (11.7%) 25/103 (24.3%) WC 1999 USA (Women) 12/123 (9.8%) 12/123 (9.8%) 7/123 (5.7%) 31/123 (25.2%) WC 1998 France (Men) 21/171 (12.3%) 22/171 (12.9%) 17/171 (9.9%) 60/171 (35.1%) TOTALS 82/863 (9.5%) 96/863 (11.1%) 70/863 (8.1%) 248/863 (28.7%) Source: FIFA Technical Study Group http://www.fifa.com/en/development/technicalsection/ What these statistics don't show is the impact all restarts (including throw-ins, goal kicks, and goalkeeper distributions) have on creating attacking chances and limiting defensive exposure. Even though your team may never score a goal directly from your own goal kick, failure to maintain possession following your goal kick could easily provide your opponent a chance to score against you in the run of play. With that said, we need to have a more precise understanding of what it means to "win your restarts". Where does a restart end and the run of play begin? In general, if your team had both the first and the second touches on the ball after it was put back in play, you can view that as a successful restart (the "first/second" rule). Any breakdown in possession or attacking execution beyond the second touch should be addressed as an error during the run of play. Of course, any restart that produces a goal for your team must be counted as a success as well! The corollary to this idea is that your restarts should be simple by design, requiring no more than two or three touches to execute. Make your approach more complex than this, and you introduce all the challenges and risks associated with free-flowing play. In addition, each situation has its own unique requirements for success, including the following points: Goal kicks and goalkeeper distribution. The main priority with these types of restarts is to not turn over possession in your defensive half of the field. Whether played long or short, these services must go directly to your own players. Receiving players must have good, close, supporting options within their line of sight before the ball arrives, and the first/second rule has special importance here. An ideal scenario calls for the receiving player to deliver a one-touch pass (often with a header or volley) to a nearby teammate who then settles the ball. This tactic works well because many defenses tend to focus their pressure on the first player (and the ball) and lose track of close supporting players in these situations. Throw-ins. Generally, teams that turn the ball over on their own throw-ins suffer from a lack of mobility. The thrower needs to have multiple runners as options, with some players running into open spaces and others checking back to the thrower. Other considerations here include the quality of the throw itself (aim for the receiver's feet to maximize his options) and of the receiver's first touch (which must be technically clean). Again, the first/second rule applies, with the thrower often available to receive a one-touch return pass from the initial receiver. Of course, if you have the option to use a very long throw-in, you'll want to play throw-ins in the attacking third similar to an attacking corner kick. Corner kicks. Attacking corners must start with a quality service. No team can afford to squander such a valuable attacking opportunity by striking the ball far beyond the target players or (worse yet) out-of-play behind the goal! In addition, your team must "finish the play" with a shot that either scores or goes out of play. There are few momentum killers worse than allowing a counterattack goal from your own attacking corner kick, so make sure your opponent doesn't get that chance. Even if your team's shot is less than ideal (very high or wide of the goal), finishing the play ensures that you have time to get numbers back defensively before play resumes. Further, you can't score if you don't shoot; an emphasis on finishing the play will encourage your players to turn half-chances into legitimate scoring sequences (and not keep waiting for a "perfect" opportunity that never comes). Free kicks. The priorities for direct and indirect free kicks vary across the thirds of the field. In the attacking third, your set piece must conclude by finishing the play (see above). In the middle third, you must maintain possession of the ball. In the defensive third, you'll want to change the point of attack as quickly and safely as possible (often, but not always, with a long service). When the chance presents itself, be sure to use a quick restart to catch the opposition when they are somewhat disorganized defensively. If you can't restart quickly, then take your time and ensure that you execute everything correctly. In this case, make sure you have the right people around the ball and the right players pushed into forward (target) positions, and do not put the ball back into play until you've allowed the referee to deal with any encroachment. As is the case for your attacking corner kicks, never allow your opponent to counter on your own free kick! Penalty kicks. Penalties should be "easy points" for your side, but experience proves they are far from automatic. To make the most of these opportunities, you must know who your best penalty-takers are before the match. Further, all of your players must distribute themselves across the top of the penalty area and rush into the area as soon as the shot is taken so they can put away any deflections. As the coach, you should think twice before allowing a player who has just been fouled to take the subsequent penalty. Even if that player is your best penalty-taker, the recent foul often will reduce his effectiveness from the spot. A minor injury can impede the shooter's normal mechanics, a hard fall can leave the player unfocused, and the emotional surge that accompanies a violent challenge could cause the player simply to overstrike the ball. Thus, your chances of converting may well be improved by giving the assignment to your next-best finisher in this circumstance.

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.