PRINCIPLES OF PLAY

AFC Technical Division

 PRINCIPLES OF PLAY

ATTACK DEFENCE
 PRINCIPLES OF PLAY

Allowing for differences of appreciation & differences

of style, whichever country @ club is playing. If that
team is playing well, it must do certain things well in
its playing method.
The principles of attack & defence are attempt to
identify those ideas which are fundamental to good
football WHEREVER is played.
PRINCIPLES OF ATTACKING PLAY

DEPTH (SUPPORT) WIDTH (DISPERSAL)

IMPROVISATION (DECEPTION)

MOBILITY (MOVEMENT) PENETRATION

Depth (Support) Width (Dispersal)
1. Involves on understanding Is used to stretch the
of support play often
distance between
through 360°.
defenders in order to
2. Based on the premise of 3
@ more players. 1. Create space for
3. Is established to provide
penetrating passes &
the player with the ball, all penetrating runs
round passing possibilities. 2. Isolate defenders
4. Good understanding & 3. Create more space/time
implementation of support to receive ball & operate.
is the basis of successful
Can be established in all
attacking play.
phases of play to great
5. Is based on 3
effect.
considerations- Angle,
Distance & Time.
Penetration
1. Involves a team in possession, moving the ball
accurately, sensitively & deceptively into the shooting
areas, to players who have moved, preferably
deceptively, into those area.
2. Is achieved in a variety of playing styles but requires
the implementation of :
Creation of good support positions of the ball/ahead of
the ball
Vision & ability to deliver high quality forward, diagonal
passes
3. High rewards will come to those teams who can
penetrate opponents defences quickly & accurately.
4. Players should be encouraged to attack spaces
between & behind opponents with & without the ball.
 Mobility (Movement)
1. Requires players to understand the effects of movement (ball &
players)
2. Movement of the ball affects opponents positioning in all phases
of play.
3. Player movement must be tracked @ marked. Involves positive,
calculated ability to interchange positions & to move defending
players from relatively good, to poor defending positions, & to
confuse opponents as to attacking objectives.
4. Movement- at its most effective when the movement by attackers:
Creates the situation for the player to receive a pass
At the same time, creates space for another player to receive a
pass
5. Movement initiates more movement.
6. Implies- “Awareness” of the situations on the field of play
“Awareness” of how defenders may react.
Improvisation ( Deception)

1. Used to hide the basic attacking strategy-

individually & of the team
2. Should not be considered as justification for
unlicensed & irresponsible individualism.
3. Involves an imaginative, unexpected response to a
normally predictable situation & is employed by
individual players team tactics.
4. Is closely related to:
a) Imagination & attitudes
b) Technical ability to perform the unexpected.
PRINCIPLES OF DEFENDING PLAY

DELAY SUPPORT

CONCENTRATION COVER

BALANCE CONTROL & RESTRAINT

 PRINCIPLES OF DEFENDING PLAY
Delay
1. Attacking play needs to be contained before it develops
rhythm & momentum
2. Attacking play may be developed in the early stages of its
development by employing EARLY defensive pressure, @ in
the later stages by the presence of a large number of
players between the ball & goal in defending half of the
field.
3. Involves- applying pressure in the possession of the ball.
Supporting the pressure by close marking on support
attackers.
Marking opponents & covering on opponents away from the
area around the ball.
4. Implies an understanding of who, when, where & how
pressure is applied & how to mark & cover around & away
from the ball
Support (Depth)

1. Not allowing opponents to play through, over @

behind a defence.
2. Often supplied by covering defenders @ sweeper.
3. Can be too deep- allowing opponents too much
space to play in front of the defence.
4. Can be too shallow allowing opponents space to
play the ball & to run in behind the defence.
5. Involves restricting the space through which & into
which attacking players can move with safely.
Concentration
1. Grouping of players
Around the ball & immediate areas.
Between the ball & the goal.
2. Requires that players understand
Lines of recovery
When to recover/retreat
How far to recover & how quickly
Roles once behind the ball & in a defending position.
3. Is closely related to cover, balance, support, as players
keep team concentration
4. Can be established in any & all phases of the game but
is specifically understood to apply to the central areas
in the defending third up to 35 yds away from the goal.
Cover

1. Involves secondary defenders & distant defenders.

2. Implies an understanding of angle & distance of
cover from the 1st defender.
3. Can be a two fold job- immediate cover for a team-
mate- no other responsibility @ split responsibility
of cover & marking an opponent.
4. Positioning is frequently controlled by the
movement & positioning of the pressuring player &
movement of the ball.
Balance
1. Is closely related to support & cover distances &
angles.
2. Implies an understanding of when marking space
is more important than marking of opponents.
3. Involves occupying @ moving to occupy space in
the defensive organisation that could be seen as a
threat by the opposition – AT THE APPROPRIATE
TIME- space is not dangerous until players
threaten it with & without the ball.
4. Is a two fold concept of covering spaces &
distance making of opponents.
 Control & Restraint
1. Defending play necessitates a high awareness of risk
& the priorities that must be recognised when
opponents have possession of the ball.
2. Defenders must pay close attention to their function
relative to other players in the team.
3. Lack of control & restraint is revealed by defending
players who:
Are always drown to the ball
Are ball-watchers & forget their defensive marking @ covering
responsibilities.
4. Defenders should show control & restraint in their
defensive play so that when they challenge, they either
have a very good chance of gaining possession or
other team-mates have a good chance of gaining
possession.
THANK YOU

AFC Technical Division