Football Dominating Possession

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 3
At a glance
Powered by AI
The passages discuss the importance of possession in soccer and provide exercises to teach players how to retain possession and find the right moments to attack.

The passages suggest exercises like 'The Conductor' and 'Five Passes' to teach players positioning and when to pass vs. attack. The Conductor exercise teaches players to communicate positions while the Five Passes exercise teaches patience and finding space in attacks.

The Conductor exercise teaches players to analyze a game in progress and communicate best defensive positions to stop attacks and retain possession.

DOMINATE POSSESSION

Xavi helped
Spain to
average 60%
possession at
Euro 2012

Keep Hold Of The


Ball And Win Games
Your team will dominate matches if you can teach your players to win the ball and then
make them understand how to keep hold of it

hen Manchester United were


beaten 5-4 by Chelsea in the
cup earlier this season, Sir
Alex Ferguson didnt have to be told
where the game had been lost. Leading
3-2 in the dying seconds of normal time,
it was Uniteds inability to keep hold of
the ball that cost his side the match.
We gave the ball away for the
third goal having been in complete
control, he said afterwards. All
we needed to do was see the game
out with good possession.
Possession has never been
more talked about in an era that
has witnessed Spain achieve a
hat-trick of major international
tournament victories and
Barcelonas famed tiki-taka style
dominating European football.
This success has been built on a
close passing possession game and

both sides have enjoyed some of their


biggest moments playing without
the advantages of a traditional
lofty target man at the front. But as
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers
said last year: It doesnt matter how
big or small you are, if you dont
have the ball you cant score.
This rule applies whether its at the
Nou Camp or on the local recreation
ground. If you can get your team to
retain possession of the ball it will
take the sting out of a match and
it will be your players dictating the
tempo of play, while your opponents
are left chasing the game.
Treat the ball like its made of
gold and never let it go, said Sir Alf
Ramsey to his players before England
faced Brazil at the 1970 World Cup.
Over 40 years later his words still ring
true and to help you develop this

skill for possession football, weve


got an exercise called The Conductor
(p8) that will teach your players to
win the ball and then keep hold of it.
After theyve perfected the session,
they can then try Five Passes (p9),
an interesting activity aimed at
helping players add an end product
to their beautiful possession play.

Words by:

Tim Ward

Activities by:

David Clarke

If you are better than your opponent


with the ball you have a
79 per cent chance of
winning the game
- Manager Brendan
Rogers on his philosophy
of possession football
Issue 299

SOCCER COACH WEEKLY

DOMINATE POSSESSION

The Conductor
If you want your players to learn how to win back the ball and retain possession, just
follow the instructions of the Conductor

WHY USE IT

s
yd
30

Players can get great


experience by analysing a
game as it is being played.
This is a simple defence
game if players can work
out the best positions
for defenders to be in to
stop attacks, it will help
them when they are in
that situation in matches.

Divide your players into two


teams with one player on
each side nominated to be
the defensive Conductor

Sweeper/
conductor

s
10yd

Sweeper/
conductor

s
20yd

SET UP

This is a 3v3 game but


each team should also have
a defensive Conductor
to shout instructions.
Create a playing area of
30x20 yards and place the
Conductors in a five-yard
zone at each end.You need
balls, bibs and cones.

s
10yd

The Conductor stands


off the pitch and will
communicate positional
instructions to his teammates, telling them where to
go to defend the end zone

Begin the game with the


coach putting a ball in play
and the team receiving it
must try and take it to the
end zone

HOW TO PLAY

While its the players who


must stop the opposition
getting to the end zone,
the Conductors are in
charge of the defensive
tactics and use just
verbal communication
to direct team-mates.
If players succeed in
getting into the end zone
a point is awarded to the
attacking team and play
isrestarted with a pass
from the end zone toa
team-mate attacking
the opposite end.

Show inside...

Conductors on both teams


must react to the changing
situations on the pitch.
Here the defending team
has won the ball and is
counterattacking

The defending Conductor


reacts to the position of
the ball by calling out
instructions to his players

Get goalside...

TECHNIQUE

The Conductors will learn


a lot by watching and
controlling their teammates. The Conductor must
provide verbal support
with instructions such
as: get tight, someone
support, get goal side,
show inside etc.

Player movement

Ball movement

Shot

Run with ball


Issue 299

SOCCER COACH WEEKLY

DOMINATE POSSESSION

Five Passes
Try this game to give your players the incentive of a little goalscoring end product to
their possession. It will teach them when to play forward and when to shoot

WHY USE IT

s
yd
20

For your team to be


successful in getting
the ball into shooting
positions, they must
find a balance between
exploiting space and not
losing the ball. Patience
is the key keeping
possession and delaying
that scoring pass can often
result in a better chance.

Play starts with either keeper


passing to the six-player team

s
40yd

SET UP

Create an area measuring


40x20 yards. Play 6v4
with 12 players including
two neutral keepers.
You need balls, bibs,
cones and goals.

HOW TO PLAY

The team of six needs to


make five passes before
attacking. Once reaching
five passes they can start
looking for an opportunity
to attack but when
ready they must attack the
goal in the other half of
the pitch from where the
fifth pass was received.
The team of four try to
win the ball back and
counterattack into either
goal. Teams can score in
either goal, so no offsides.

TECHNIQUE

They must observe the


five-pass rule before
attacking the goal at the
opposite end to the one the
fifth pass was received in

Play can move quickly from


one end to the other after five
passes have been made and
the overload gives plenty of
options in attack

The team of four tries


to intercept the ball
when possible

Players should recognise


when to play forward
and move to support the
pass. They should play
quickly to take advantage
of the space from the
overload situation. This
means awareness of
space is crucial. Coaches
should look for players
switching play or bringing
the keeper into play.

Player movement

When they get the ball, the


four can attack either goal
straight away. The five-pass
rule does not apply to them

Ball movement

Shot

Run with ball


Issue 299

SOCCER COACH WEEKLY

You might also like