TRANSITIONAL

FINISHING
PRACTICES

A Practical and theoretical demonstration

of how transitional complexity can improve finishing
practices and provide players with a greater level of
training that provides more realistic situations

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 [NON-COPYSRIGHT IMAGE]

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 Copyright © 2020 TheFootballCoach.Net

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other
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publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

ISBN: 978-1-6671-9745-6 (Paperback)

Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used ctitiously. Names,
characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination.

Front cover image by TheFootballCoach.

Book design by TheFootballCoach.

Printed by FootballCoaching, Ltd., in the United Kingdom.

First printing edition 2020.

London,
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TRANSITIONAL
FINISHING
PRACTICES THEFOOTBALLCOACH

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 BOOK CONTENTS
TRANSITIONAL FINISHING SESSIONS

The Author……………………………………..……….……..……………..….………….. x

Welcome…….……………………………………….………………….………………….…2

Importance Of Variety …………………………………..……….………….……..………5

Creating Practices………………….……….………..…………..….………………………8

Competitive Practices………………….………………………….………………………10

The Attacker………………….…………….……………………….………………………15

Manchester City Case Study…………….………………………….……………………20

Session Plans…………….…………………………………………….………………28-125

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 The author
THEFOOTBALLCOACH

Since 2012 TheFootballCoach has created some of Europes most popular

coaching resources ranging from tactical analysis of some of football’s most
popular coaches, to academy training sessions fresh from the curriculums and
training plans of professional clubs.

Throughout all of our coaching books we’ve tried to provide you with an angle
in to the professional game, sharing the philosophies and methodologies to
coaches and clubs worldwide. We’ve also tried to ensure that our books are
unique, o ering insightful information around topics that are relevant to coaches
of all ages, experiences and levels.

Our experiences as a team have left us in a great position to share information,

coaching experience across many of Europes most elite leagues, and fortunate
enough to work in some of The opportunity to work with some of Europes
greatest clubs has exposed us to some of Europes greatest coaches, and these
experiences have helped shape the books and the session within them.

We hope you enjoy our books as much as we enjoy making them

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 WELCOME

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 Welcome
Welcome to transitional nishing practices, the latest in our long line of
coaching speci c Ebooks. This eBook is speci cally going to look at the phase of
the game. Through the next few chapter we will look to provide a twist to the way
you may currently perform nishing practices, provide some rationale as to why
we do practices this way, and provide you with a bank of matching sessions to try
within your own coaching.
Our performance as players, coaches or teams is often de ned by two
moments, the moments where we defend our goal, and the moment where we
attack the opponents goal. Often in games it is the team who perform best in the
two boxes, that wins. Which is why in football there is only ever one statistic that
matters at the end, how many goals have each team scored.

As simplistic as a statement as the previous is, it sits true within our game, the
process and formation etc, may help us get in to these positions, but our
performance in front of those tho white poles, 8ft apart from each other, will often
de ne our success.

Now knowing this, we must understand the importance of nding the best
solution to train these moments, are the traditional unopposed nishing sessions
the real speci c training situations that are going to support our players
development and improve our teams e ciency?

This is the million dollar question often asked within the professional game!
“How can we be more e ective in front of goal?”. Are our traditional nishing
practices not exposing our attacking players to the scenarios and situations that
they might nd themselves in within the game situations, do the practices we
deliver ask every technical and tactical situation of them that we do within our
games?

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Why Transitional Finishing Practices ?
With the above in mind it is where we will rst look to introduce this books
unusual title ‘Transitional Finishing Practices’, what does this mean? And how
does it work?
A lot of what we do within TheFootballCoach is evidence based, although we
aren’t in the camp that everything must be evidence based, we do believe we
should be able to support the rationale behind our sessions with evidence, and so
we will provide this evidence to support this type of practice.

Why Are Transitions Important?

From research in to the modern game we know that most goals are scored
within 3.89 passes in the Champions League last season, with the champions have
just over 2.5 passes in the average goal scored, this shows how quick in
possession teams are, and how quickly a game can switch from defence to o ence
and visa-visa.
This quickly changing game requires players who are capable of really
performing quickly under pressure, we also know that this is further supported in
the Premier League where 36% of goals are scored from ‘ Fast Attacks’ directly
from transitions, so from this we can see how important the o ensive transition if
for our players, they must be capable of performing a defensive action, and then
very quickly capable of performing a ‘Important’ o ensive action.

Is It Only The Attacking Transition That Is Important?

One thing this book will look to continue to drive home is the importance of
both the o ensive and defensive transition within the attackers game. We are
currently seeing an increase in the importance of the game ‘Out of Possession’
which is supported by a drop of 13.% in goals scored in international tournaments
since 2012.
This means that attacking players are now provided with more defensive
responsibility that what was expected 8 years ago.
The number 7,9 and 11 are now often required to be the catalyst in the
attacking press and act as the rst line of defence and the last line of o ence, with

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 coaches providing more and more scrutiny on attacking players willingness and
ability to defend from the front.
So when devising session plans it is important in our opinion that we are
able to train both attacking moments after the attacking transition, how can our
players attack, just after a defensive action. Are they physically able to perform
two explosive bouts of exercise with out becoming physically drained? Can they
emotionally deal with the stress of defensive structure, whilst looking to pick gaps
and nd spaces in-between defensive lines? What about in reverse, can our players
perform an attacking action with con dence, with out worrying about the
outcome of the attacking action, transition instantly in to a defensive one? This in
our opinion will be some of the key attributes for attacking players to be able to
develop within our practice.
However it is still important that we do not forget the foundations of an
attacking player. The nishing technique, the timing and angle of the run and all
of those attacking attributes, this is why a varying range of nishing practices are
still required, just this book will speci cally look at how we develop those
transitional qualities in to realistic and meaningful nishing practices.

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 Variety Is Key
Why is variety key? Variety is key in everything we do from nutrition, to
coaching styles, to communication styles and session style is no di erent. It keeps
our players on their toes as to how the session will be delivered, but also provide
variety to their working day, and help prevent the stale like nature that often can
occur within football clubs because of the repetition.
Finishing practices that are unopposed and very ‘Drill’ like will o er players the
opportunity to work repetitively at a speci c situation, this might be working on a
technique or a speci c moment, such as nishing across the keeper from a tight
angle etc.
However it is not just repetition that is trained here, some players will gain
in con dence from routinely scoring, routinely hitting the back of the net. For
these players, unopposed practice will provide a signi cantly important role.
Unopposed practice also helps us dramatically in the professional game with
managing player work loads physically and mentally.
During the English Football League season players often perform 8 games in
24-28 days, this means recovery is key in almost every session. Performing
unopposed drills allows coaches to limit the distance players are covering, the
intensity that they are working at, but also the amount of recovery they have in-
between sets. But our players still get the opportunity to perform the action that
we need to train, in these moments the game will provide the majority of our
‘opposed’ practices.
However it is important to remember during the busy periods, and periods
where fatigue begins to become a controlling factor, that players psychological
recovery is key. We know from science that players recovery can take between
48-72 hours in most players, meaning we are participating in acquisition based
training before full recovery.

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 This has also got to be remembered for the psychological elements too,
pushing players through high cognitive loading during a busy period of games
(e.g. transitional practices) maybe counter productive adding stress to the
emotional and cognitive elements of performance that do not need this load.
Training games such as 3v3 or 4v4 will also provide a lot of opportunity for
attacking players to nish within ‘Real’ or more natural situations. Even the most
e cient transitional nishing practices, will only be able to recreate the speci cs
of a game to a degree. There is no replacement for playing, and we should never try
to replace this.
But there are also drawbacks to performing 3v3 and 4v4 practices as we know
these can be very taxing on the body, and usually exist on high acquisition days
within the training week due to the changes of direction, the intensity and the
volume of load put on the players. So even though we know their importance, we
also know they can only exist within a part of our program, and variety will be key
in supporting them.

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 “You Play at the Rhythm You Train
at, if You Train Badly, You Play
Badly”

PEP GUARDIOLA

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 CREATING PRACTICES
When creating practices, as a coach you must have considered a 1000 different
things, we have all been in that moment as a coach. How fresh are the players,
what do the players need, what I do I want from the players, what space do we
have, what time do we have and there are a million different considerations.
The best coaches we have been lucky enough to work with have a
decisive manor in creating session where they are able to see past the confusion
and the complications and deliver a practice, specific for the players in-front of
them.
However it is our job within this book to try and provide some clarity to
what we take in to consideration when creating a session for players to compete
in. For example with finishing sessions, what do we want to create, do we want
to create easy, high confidence opportunities for our attacking players. Or do we
want to create meaningful practices that are based on evidence, that will help
recreate moments to the best of our ability for our players to compete within.
When creating a session for attacking players to look to create finishing
opportunities it is important to first understand what you want the players to
achieve, and this will be different based on age group, gender, ability and period
of the season.

YOUTH FOOTBALL

For example youth players will naturally need a more rounded and less speci c
style of practice, they will need to be exposed to lots of of opportunity to nish in
all types of situations and angles to ensure that they receive a very rounded
learning experience. They will still need speci c support, maybe with a type of
nish they have found di cult in games, e.g. if a player is struggling to nish in
1v1 situations, let's try and create some practices for this player to try and develop
this.
With these young players it is also beneficial to the teenage brain if we share the
reasoning for the session, if the session is built around a specific player, for their
needs, tell them and embrace them in to the learning process.
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For the more general sessions, why not also include players in the learning
process and provide them with links to the professional game that help them see
the link between ‘Themselves’ the youth player and the ‘Professional’ the player
they idolise or at least recognise.
Within youth sport recovery and periodization will generally play less of a role
than in senior sport (Generally) however finishing sessions can still be adapted
to ensure that they cater for the periodization that occurs within youth sport.
For example those coaches that use a model of Tactical Periodization or some
form of lateral periodization.
Many find that they can fit transitional finishing practices in to their
‘Strength Day’ (The day of Small Sided Games) and more traditional blocked
practices in to their aerobic acquisition days. As well as being able to fit smaller
practices in to recovery days.

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 COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
Within senior football (Or competitive football) the rationale behind session
design can be very different to that of the youth game. This is because within the
competitive footballing environment we have changed focus towards results, and
results are as previously mentioned, usually based around our performance in
both boxes, so analysing and understanding our performance in the opponents
box has become even more important.
The first thing we need to understand when creating practices is our
game model, and specifically what do our goals look like? As coaches we must
look at our own model and ask ourselves; What do our goals look like? And you
maybe sat their thinking “Our goals look very different?” And you maybe correct
as football is a very fluid and unpredictable sport.
However because we as coaches should have a playing model, we should
have a type of goal that is created because of that, for example if you are
Manchester City and you constantly look to keep possession and use the half-
spaces, you can expect that a lot of the opportunities will be created by low
crosses in behind the opponent, so when we are training it is important that our
centre forwards get the opportunity to train the behaviour and our midfield
players get the opportunity to practice these types of crosses in training, as it is
the moments they are more likely to see in games.
Within the senior/competitive game the opponent will also provide ideas as to
how you setup your nishing practices, the opponent plays a key role as their
tactical setup might lead you as a coach to look to exploit them in a speci c way.
For example if you are playing against a team who press high and look to su ocate
you with long periods of possession. You might nd yourself playing on the
counter-attack to tactically exploit the opponent, in these situations coaches may
nd themselves developing counter-attacking practices that look more like the
scenario that will be faced at the weekend.
In these moments the training is speci c to the tactical situation but does not
deviate from the coaches principles, but does create a level of con dence in players
as they’ve seen the video footage of the opponent, they’ve seen a replica of the
opponent on the grass, and have also experienced exploiting the opponent in

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 replicated situations. This will help players begin to believe that the plan they're
devising will be successful.
Player recovery also plays a huge role within the competitive games programme
as previously mentioned, players who our within 48 hours of a game are very
unlikely to be competing within a highly end-to-end high transition format game
due to the physical and cognitive load that is applied to the player. So coaches
within the elite game will look to provide the session when the player is at the
optimal moment to receive these sessions.
Individual player needs also play a key role in session design within the elite
game, nishing practices can be very speci c to players, and including players
feedback in to this process will help you engage players and understand their
needs. Although we can’t 100% go by what they feel they need, we can use the
democratic approach to include them, show value in them and help them buy in to
the process of helping themselves.
This player engagement will create cohesive relationships between players and
coaches and help provide a culture that is focused on improving and dedicated to
the small improvements required.

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 CREATING THE SESSION

When creating this Ebook we took a huge bank of information onboard rst to try
and understand how we could ensure these sessions were as speci c and detailed
as possible. How could we ensure that coaches were able to receive the most
accurate and bene cial information, from a mixture of experiences and a mixture
of evidential support too.
Within our evidential support we will try and pull together statistics and trends
from the modern game, and see if these statistics can help us understand what
areas teams are exploring and how we are able to learn from these moments, and
from these moments look to build sessions that can support our players ability to
perform the tasks required.
We know in the last ve to seven years we have began to see a drop in the
amount of goals scored within the professional game. This has occurred within
international football especially with major European tournaments seeing a drop
of 13.5% from 2012 to 2016.
Now the di cult part is working out why. Now many coaches will look to point
out the drop in counter attacking goals, in 2012 many of the goals scored, were
scored via counter-attacking moments. In 2016 the number had dramatically
dropped. It wasn’t that teams decided not to counter-attack, but teams began to
tactically evolve against the counter-attack.
As teams like Leicester City became so e ective on the counter-attack, other
teams started to sit deeper, creating ‘Low-Block’ like formations, which teams
could not overload on the counter-attack, the kind of shape associated to Atletico
Madrid in the media.
Teams have also been looking to nd a tactical response to teams looking to
exploit ‘Zone 14’, the small zone in front of the penalty box that became such a
hot bed for number 10’s to exploit. As time has developed teams have used two

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central mid eld players (Sometimes called a screen) to block the centre o the
pitch.

With the above messages combined, we now can see some of the reasons that
we have seen a temporary drop in goals scored, we have however seen a large
increase in the goals scored from ‘Crosses and cutbacks’ with 42% of goals in Euro
2016 coming from those situations. This supports are previous claim that teams
are blocking central areas, with teams now looking to get the ball wide before
penetrating the box.

What Does This Mean For Practice?

This has very simple consequences for practice, if we know that tactically teams
are looking to move more players in to central areas, and are looking to block
central spaces to prevent our teams playing through their lines, we may need to
pass the ball in to the wide areas in order to exploit the crossing situations that
may occur, with this in mind we will need to adapt our coaching sessions to

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ensure that our players are receiving the ball in these wide areas, with a compact
central area to nd when crossing.
As previously mentioned the closer the practice can relate to the game the
better opportunity we have for transferability from training to games. Premier
league statistics show that in the previous premier league season (2018/19) teams
scored with an average of 3.89 passes in possession before scoring, and the
average time in possession before scoring was 12.50 Seconds.
Although this is seemingly longer in possession than historically, it still shows

how quickly our attacking players must act in order to exploit the opponent,
leading us back to the title of the book, and the importance of acting quickly in the
transition.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool showed a noteworthy statistic, scoring with an
average of 2.51 passes in a lead up to a goal, showing how dominant they are in
becoming defensively organised following an attacking transition. Within 7.81
Seconds Liverpool scored following the regain of possession
This provides interesting feedback to our sessions design, with the Champions
League winners showing how e ective they can be by reacting quickly the
attacking transition, our practices may need to match their best practice, ensure
our own sessions are very quick, small time in possession, quick passes and an
importance on playing forward early and quickly.

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 The need for quick attacking practices is further supported by Opta’s claim that
36% of all EPL goals so far this season have been scored by fast attacks, although
it can be a di cult stat to record, it does again support the need to ensure that our
practices have tempo, intensity and purpose.

THE ATTACKER
Through out the start of this book it is clear we focused on the assist area, and
where goals are being created (Later in this book we will look more speci cally at
a Manchester City Case Study). However, what we haven’t focused on is the
nisher, what are the properties of an attacker who is successful at the highest
level.
What are the properties of an e ective nisher? And has the expectations of
the attacker changed? Are we asking di erent questions of our attacking players
today, then we were 10 years ago. Has the changing game resulted in a changing
and adapted set o practices for our players to learn in.
Over the last ten years we have seen more expectation on strikers or attacking
players performing actions out of possession, that are not traditionally associated
with attacking players. For example the above heat map shows how a players

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 movement is recorded interns of time spent in a speci c area, this is actually the
heat map of Liverpool’s number nine, Roberto Firmino, however looking at the
location, we can see it is not what the eye might expect from a traditional number
nine. With this in mind we must be capable of critiquing our own playing
philosophy and understanding where we might expect fo nd our number 9 and
what positions and opportunities we expect them to nd themselves in. The
Frimino example is not, however the position you will nd every striker in, we
still see a lot of strikers who will look to penetrate the box as often as possible and
score the majority of their goals within a real close proximity of the goal.
These more traditional number 9’s will often like to receive the ball in behind
the opponent and look to make more direct runs towards the goal. The above xG
map will show the goals of Jamie Vardy since his breakthrough season in the
premier league, in this map we can see that almost every goal he has scored has
been within the penalty area, the darker circles (more expected goals) are within
the area considered by some coaches as the POMO, the position of maximum
opportunity.

STATISTICS AND STRIKERS

Over the last ten years we have all seen substantial changes in the way that
analysis and statistics have in uenced our game, we are now more aware than
ever on how a player has performed in terms of hard numbers, these numbers
might be distance covered, or areas covered (Such as Firmino head map). But we
have also seen statistics such as the traditional ‘Shots on target’, become more
complexed.
These more complexed statistics have begun to arrive such as those Expected
Goals stats that have been previously mentioned. How do these advanced analytics
in uence our game, and more importantly for us, can these statistics in uence our
ability to improve our training for our players?

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 Although we are going to provide a really simplistic overview of Expected
Goals (xG), it is a statistic that can provide some support to the coaching process.

Expected goals really try to provide statistical support to what team are more
likely to score the most goals in such game, this traditionally has been used
gamblers in their predictions. However predicting goals isn’t that simple, and with
only 2.73 goals on average scored in the Premier League, the gures aren’t large
enough to be anything more than random, meaning the predictions would be very
unhelpful to gamblers and coaches alike.
Therefore analysts looked at a data set that was much larger, perhaps the
amount of shots per games which in the Premier League averages 25.7 (a
substantial gure compared to 2.73). However there is one large di culty here,
every Goal is worth the same, if it is a goal, it is a goal!.
However this is not the same with shots, a shot from the halfway line, is a lot
less valuable, than a shot from the 6 yard box, but how are we able to prove this.
This is where the creation of Expected Goal or xG was created.
We know that in the Premier League, 9.7% of shots were converted in total,
but what expected goals looked to create was a set of data that showed how much
this number can range, dependent on where the shot is taken from.
The easiest way to work out a goal value is penalties (as these are all taken
from the same place, under the same conditions) 347 penalties were scored out of
443, with a conversion of 78.3%, meaning the expected goal value for penalties is
xG 0.783.
This then links well to Optas’ ‘Big Chance’ stat we have all seen many times,
these chances that occur usually within one on one or very close opportunities.
Last season 6,213 of those chances occurred, with 2,579 nding the back of the
net meaning, 38.7% of those chances are scored, again this means the xG value
would be 0.387.

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 For chances inside the box that were not big chances, the number looks very
di erent. 22,822 of those chances occured, with only 1,587 nding the back of the
net, this expected goal value sits much lower down with a score of 0.070.
The positives of these gures for coaching are limited, but can provide us with
some support. Although the above model shows a very simplistic approach, and
some more advanced models will use the type of nish, area of assist, type of
assist etc (and much more e ective). It does begin to provide us with an evidence
based approach to knowing where our attackers are most likely to score in open
play.
As the above heat map shows, we can begin to understand the areas where
statistically we have the best opportunity to score, this can then have implications
for us as coaches, if these areas are the most likely areas of scoring, do we focus
are time in these areas to improve our e ciency?
Although this simplistic approach might not show a huge amount of the data
available on xG and other statistics measures, it does begin to show numbers can
in uence our practice. As we can clearly see where are players are most likely to

score and compare this to the time we spend in each zone. For example how many
of our sessions involve nishing around the edge of the area, when we know
within the professional game when the xG value is around 0.036.

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 THE ATTACKER WITHOUT THE BALL
From the above section we can clearly see that the role of the attacker or striker
has been a changing role with and without the ball, but more than ever the role of
the striker with out the ball has changed in the last 10 years.
Strikers are now often seen as the catalyst and the instigators in defensive
shapes in many di erent situations.
When defending in a block, some attacking units now replicate the defensive
shape of defensive units with well positioned, shifting attacking lines that prevent
the opponent playing through the lines. This role is seen as pivotal in some
systems (Klopp’s Liverpool).
Other coaches in Europes have used their attacking players to apply pressure to
teams who look to build up through their defensive third, for example Bielsa’s
teams who’ve used high pressing forwards to apply pressure to the defensive line
and look to force transitions from the opponent to start counter-attacking
moments.
As we can see from the above the attacker is now expected to cover more
distance in defensive roles than ever before, this expectation will put a greater
demand on the physical performance of the attacker but also move the attacker
from the traditional attacking location, this can have implications for attacking
shapes. This can also bring a lack of familiarity to o ensive patterns as the nine
may nd themselves in di erent locations.
In conclusion we should really begin to understand the role of the nine, what
speci cs you as a coach demand from your 9 and how his or her role may need to
be carried out in order for your team to be e ective.

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 PEP GUARDIOLA
MANCHESTER CITY
CASE STUDY

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 MANCHESTER-CITY CASE STUDY
During the next chapter of this Ebook we are going to try and explore a Case-
Study of a professional club, speci cally Manchester City. What we are going to
attempt to do is create an understanding of the basic philosophy, the intent both
in and out of possession, use analysis and data to support our beliefs and
understand the players available at our disposal in order to create some very
speci c and e ective training sessions.

Firstly we must understand the playing philosophy of the coach we are looking
to understand. In this case it is Pep Guardiola. Guardiola has a very attacking
philosophy built around the ball “I like the ball, I love the ball” he once
commented when asked about his philosophy.
In essence the philosophy looks to dominate the ball, stay in possession of the
ball but always look to dominate the space and dominate the opponent. Guardiola
has also shown the ability to be adaptable to the players at his disposal.

Guardiola has generally used a 1-4-3-3 formation with his teams. However like
with most teams the tactical uidity means that their starting formation doesn’t
look anything like the tactical animations that exist within the real game
moments. When in possession Guardiola’s Manchester City often look to take up
a 1-2-3-5 formation.
Generally this can be split in to a 5-5 formation where 5 players look to get
head of the ball and attack, this is something that Guardiola has developed over
time with Manchester City. He has spoken openly about becoming a coach that
looks to use less mid eld players and more attacking players (Except when
playing away in Europe).
However another reason for the 5-5 tactic maybe to prevent the opponent
counter-attacking against his team. In order to perform this he decided to invert
his full-backs, this tactical ploy means the two centre backs sit deep in the

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defensive line, while the full backs join a single mid eld player to create a second
defensive line of 3.
This second line in possession is capable of supporting play behind the
attack, whilst they can also defend for second balls agains a direct attack. But even
more common is the inverted full-backs ability to match runners who look to
break beyond city, and commit fouls higher up the eld of play to prevent
dangerous counter attacking moments.
Positional play also plays a key role within Guardiola’s philosophy with his use
of ‘Juego de Posicion’, this system does make life much easier for us as coaches
when designing practices, as their is a natural element of predictability because of
the tactical rules in possession.

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 "TO SCORE A GOAL
YOU NEED THE BALL.
SO AS MUCH AS YOU
HAVE IT AND YOUR
PERCENTAGE IS
HIGHER, YOU HAVE
MORE CHANCES TO
SCORE A GOAL. I
WANT TO SEE MY
TEAM TRY TO PLAY
OFFENSIVELY, THAT IS
PRINCIPLE NUMBER
ONE."

PEP GUARDIOLA

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 Guardiola’s very complex system, has some very simple basic principles. When
in possession never can there be more than one player in the same line, in order to
achieve this the full-backs tuck inside, allowing the wingers to spread

high and wide stretching the opponent. In order to relay this information
Guardiola uses the above pitch map that details the positional zones, in order to
dominate the space and the opponent.
One of the key tactical measures in creating success against the opponents
shape, is Guardiola’s use of the half space (The blue strip on the diagram), Pep
looks to x players in to these zones meaning the opposition full-back will play
against a wide player in the outside zone and a player in the half-space, this is
where Manchester City will look to create a lot of their crossing a cut back
situations.
The cutback and crosses are also caused by Silva and De Bruyne being allowed
to play higher up the pitch because of the inverted full backs behind them. The
space they left allows them to create space to feed balls in behind for the wide
player to cross, or for themselves to cross. Naturally because of Manchester City’s
5 and 5.
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 Now we have basic understanding of Guardiola’s playing style (For more see
our Guardiola Ebook). We can start to understand that the half space and the wide
area is likely where we will nd our assist opportunities, however our assumption
alone can at times be dangerous, and supporting our beliefs with evidence is key.
The below diagram shows the location of all Manchester City’s assists so far
this season, as you can see there are some links between what we though we knew
and what the data shows us.
27 of the assists are from the central zone, however we can we see a high
quantity from the half space, the zone where the assists are marked in black, we
can link this to our tactical analysis, that these assists are likely crosses that go
behind the defensive unit.

The second bit of information we can take from this is the assists close to the
goal line, 9 assists occurred from the six yard box or deeper, these are likely
associated with the wide players willingness to stay wide and the use of the half
space allowing the player to play a straight pass in behind for the wide player to
make and out to in run to then play cross the box.
However it is important to also notice that 27 of the assists come from a
central area. This is no surprise as this is the area that gets attacked the most,

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 naturally because the goal is central. But there are other reasons, Manchester
City’s spacial dominance stretches the opponents shape, opening spaces within
the defensive line, allowing passes to be slipped through to the attacking players
playing high on the opponents defensive shape.
As the below map shows Manchester City to date had scored 56 goals from
open play (not including set-plays) Interestingly we can see that 47 of those
opportunities were taken inside the box meaning near 84% of the goals are scored
within the box. This provides some clear support for our sessions requiring the
nish to occur within the box.

Further to this we can see the average distance is around 7 yards for a goal to
be scored. This gives us more information for our practice design. Interestingly we
can also see the amount of touches the goal scorer has taken per goal. Within the
six yard box 80% were nished with one touch, whilst 100% were nished with
two or less touches.
More importantly there are clear trends in the behaviors of goal scorers in this
team 79% of all goals scored from open play were two or less touches. With 55%
of them being nished rst time, this rises to 65% when we look to only include
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 the goals from within the penalty box. In conclusion of this case-study we can see
that the use of our eyes, our opinions and analysis can come together to create
relevant information to support the design of practices, clearly we can see here
that the behaviors of the players suggest that the assists and the passes where the
goal will come from will usually be in either the half space, or threaded from the
edge of the box.
We can also see how the attacker will usually need to nish rst time to be
e ective, but at times can take two touches. This leads us to believe that if you
take more that two touches inside the penalty box, you re unlikely to score (based
on this case study).
The key part for this case study now is how this information leads to the
creation of more in depth sessions, that show a clear resemblance and relevance to
the teams tactical behavior.

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 SESSION
PLANS

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BACK
TO
BACK
ATTACK
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 BACK TO BACK ATTACK
The session is very simple the practice is setup with 2 20x20Overview
Session spaces with a goal
at each end, the two middle goals are back to back. The red attacks the blue in a 1v1
situation. Once this nishes the red races out to defendThisagainst the green
is a very player.
e ective way
Creating a 1v1 here, where the red has transitioned from attack to defence. At this
to produce players tactically
point the blue makes his/her way to the red queue before, once the green has
aware
nished his/her 1v1, they break out and defend against theofred,
thewhere
transition, whilst
this session
incorporating
continues to move forward in a carousel like practice, with the bluea line
high quantity
disappearing once it has performed the rst action.of high intensity running that
can provide players with
opportunities to reach near
maximal speeds, with quick
decelerations. The session
also provides opportunity to
nish under pressure, and
under physical duress.

Session Requirements
Players 12
The session is very simple the practice is setup
Footballs 6 with 2 20x20 spaces with a goal at each end,
the two middle goals are back to back. The red
attacks the blue in a 1v1 situation. Once this
Space 40x40 Yards
nishes the red races out to defend against the
green player. Creating a 1v1 here, where the red
Goals 4 has transitioned from attack to defense. At this
point the blue makes his/her way to the red
Time 26 Mins queue before, once the green has nished his/
her 1v1, they break out and defend against the
red, where this session continues to move
forward in a carousel like practice, with the blue line disappearing once it
has performed the rst action.
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 BACK TO BACK ATTACK
As we can see here in the rst part of the session the red is engaging
from an angle, looking to go 1v1 against the blue. In this moment can the
red look to isolate the blue in the most central zone possible. By attacking
centrally both sides of the goal are opened up to create a more central
goalkeeping position and a defender that has to open his/her hips up
meaning they can now be exposed on both sides.

When nishing the attacker can use the defenders body to prevent the
goalkeeper keeping eye contact with the ball. As the goalkeeper crouches
down to see through the defender, the goalkeeper naturally loses power
and they opportunity for the attacking team increases.
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 BACK TO BACK ATTACK
As the second part of this session shows, once the ball has gone in to
the back of the net (or naturally ended) the blue walks of where recovery
begins, the red makes a quick run out to the next zone where he/she
defend against the green, the green will again look to attack with pace and
look to dominate the red who maybe exposed if they are not e ective in
the transition.

The red should look to travel as quickly as possible towards the green,
this does not just mean speed of feet, but speed of mind, how quickly can
our players react to the transition. Once engaging the payer the red needs
to force the attacker away from goal, forcing the 1v1 to occur in the widest
area before slowing the attack and nullifying the threat

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 BACK TO BACK ATTACK
As the session reaches its third and nal moment, the green will now
attack for the second straight go, with the red dropping of below. Can we
now ensure the green continues to attack with an emphasis on attacking
centrally can we as attacking players look to square up the red defender by
turning them back towards their own goal.

For the defenders it is very much the opposite. Can you look
to run out to the opponent quickly to keep them away from goal, before
adjusting your body to show them towards the touchline before engaging
with them and ensuring they are locked in to the wide area. Keeping
attacking players in the wide area is key in this practice. Exposing defenders
in central areas is key for the attacking players.

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 BACK TO BACK ATTACK
Session Coaching Points:

- Encourage and Reward Hard Work

- Players Must be as quick mentally as possible
- Look to force players away from goal with good positioning of hips
and shoulders
- In possession look to run centrally, try and create a poor body
position from the opponent, can you force them to cross their feet and
lose their balance
- Can we look to use the defender as a Shield between the goalkeeper
and the ball.

COACHES INFLUENCE

This session can be used to help deliver the physical principles of high
intensity running as previously mentioned.
But coaches also need to ensure that the group culture is one that
rewards hard work, If it is the coach who is constantly reminding players
of the transition, then the practices aren’t working! As we won’t be able to
remind the players of the transitions in the game moments. We must
ensure that the behaviors becoming intrinsic and that our players are
capable of recognizing the transition based on their own mural pathways
and not ours.
How we do this maybe with brave coaching, willing to sit quiet and
spot the errors, learn from the errors, and keep moving forward

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QUICK
FIRE
TRANSITIONAL
FINISHING

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 QUICK FIRE TRANSITIONAL FINISHING

Session Requirements
Players 5
The session requirements are very simple they
Footballs 6 require a central attacking gure who will shoot
from a central position, before reacting to
receive a cutback from a team mate and then
Space 20x20 Yards
looking to nish rst time within a close
proximity to the goal. From here we will then
Goals 2 see the blue break out towards the goal on the
right hand side, can our player who has just
Time 20 Mins scored react quickly to try and defend 1v1
against the blue, looking to prevent the blue
getting out of the wide channel and attempting
to force the blue to stay in the wide area, this will then complete the cycle
of the session.
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 QUICK FIRE TRANSITIONAL FINISHING
The rst part of this practice provides the most simple task for the
attacking player, the player simply needs to move forward with the ball and
nish, there is no pressure in this moment from an opponent other than the
GK, and the rst moment is complete. Although through out this book we
may look to move the attacker in to more realistic situations it is important
the attacking player starts here so they are able to receive a cut back and
able to have an in uence in the defensive moment.
Z

The detail is however very important in these moments, can our attacking
player look to stay central within the goal, this will force the goalkeeper to
show both sides of the goal, keep eye contact with the GK, make a late
decision based on the movement of the GK, e.g. If the goalkeeper goes
down early can you take advantage of this.
Further to this can the attacking player focus on making the task simple,
taking great reward from hitting the back of the net on a consistent basis.

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 QUICK FIRE TRANSITIONAL FINISHING
Session Overview

As the second part of this session develops the player on the outside
now looks to perform a cut back from near the touchline back to the
attacking player to the position they are in, this will usually be around 10
yards from goal. The important coaching detail here is that the cutback
should be rm to prevent the opponent stepping out and dealing with it,
but also forcing the goalkeeper to stay on his/her line giving the attacking
player a greater chance to be e ective.

Once the cutback has been performed and this should be in front of the
attacker so they have chance to step on to the ball instead of waiting for
the ball to arrive at their feet, giving the attacker more chance to keep the
ball down. The attack should look to strike the ball back across goal in the
direction the ball has come from, as this technically will be easier as the
weight of the pass can be used to simplify the technique. Keeping a
strongly locked ankle will also ensure contact is strong increasing the
chance of the attacking player being successful in this moment.

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 QUICK FIRE TRANSITIONAL FINISHING
Session Overview

The nal part of this session will see the red attacker need to react
quickly in the transitional moments of the game in order to try and
support his/her team defensively. The Blue should look to transition out
as soon at the previous moment has concluded either as a save/miss/goal.
Instantly we are looking for the attacking player to try and make a recovery
run that is outside of the goal post, this way the attacker is forced away,
and prevents the attacker making a run between the posts and in to the
most dangerous area of the pitch.

Once the red has got in to a position to in uence the blue, the body
position should look to be side on, this will allow the red to now travel
laterally with the defender. At this point can the red delay the blue and
nullify the speed of the blue, whilst denying the blue of the central space.
Once the red is able to do this can the red get tight to the blue, keeping
them away from the central area and making contact with the opponent if
needed to ensure they are able to either force the opponent to make a poor
decision from a wide area. Or we are able to step in and win possession.
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 QUICK FIRE TRANSITIONAL FINISHING
Session Coaching Points:

- Encourage placement and power in 1v1 situations

- Encourage late decisions to allow goalkeeper to sell their decision
- Technically ensure the ankle is rmly locked when striking the ball
- On cutbacks going back across the goalkeeper provides a more
simple technique
- When defending the transition - can we delay the opponent, keep
them out of the penalty area and de ect them in to the wide area to
nullify the attacking threat
- Making contact with the opponent is often a trait left out of modern
day defending but this can be important when looking to prevent the
opponent exposing us 1v1.

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session can be worked e ectively by coaches in order to o er a
recovery to some players due to the low physical demands and opportunity
for high recovery when performed with a larger group. This can also be
used to o er some high speed running opportunities to players if the wide
goal is extended in distance to ensure players can reach maximal speeds in
this action.
However for coaches it does o er an opportunity to work more
intensely with speci c players, looking to challenge techniques in the
nishing moments as well as decision making and thought processes in
front of goal, during these types of practices coaches can have a greater
level of in uence on the individual during these moments.

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BOXED
TRANSITIONS

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 BOXED TRANSITIONS

Session Requirements

Players 8 The requirements for this session are very

simple a large 40x25 yard space with 2 relevant
goals. You’ll need a minimus of 8 players but
Footballs 6
ideally more than 12 players to o er some
recovery to working players, and you’ll need at
Space 40x25 Yards least 6 footballs to keep the uidity of the
session. As mentioned in the overview, the rst
Goals 2 blue players will attack the opposite coloured
player before going in to a 1v1 against the player
opposite them. In this practice can we focus on
Time 24 Mins
being 1v1 dominant , attacking the centre of the
pitch to isolate the defender and goalkeeper and
performing these actions at high speed to
encounter realistic counter-attacking moments.
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 BOXED TRANSITIONS
Session Overview

As the diagram shows, the rst part of the session is very simple, the
blue from the bottom of the practice looks to drive towards the opposite
goal and score, the player will have to defend 1v1 against the red applying
pressure from the side. In these moments can we look to try and
encourage the Attacker to be positive and quick, this will allow

Them to stay in a central area, the more central the area the more
isolated we can make the opponents Goalkeeper, it will also prevent the
defender forcing us in to the wide area, and will stop the delay tactic that
the defending team will look to apply. Once we are in front of goal look to
force the keeper in to selling an early decision before making strong
contact and placing the ball in to one of the corners.
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 BOXED TRANSITIONS
Session Overview

Once the rst attack has occurred, the red’s role is done within this and
the blue who has just attacked will now defend instantly against the
opponent in blue from the top, this time can the new attacking player look
to drive past the defender quickly before they are able to react to the
defensive transition, this is our greatest opportunity to attack.

For the attacking player who is now transitioning in to the defensive

role, they have an opportunity to defend high up the pitch and prevent the
attacker getting close to the goal, but can also prevent the attacker
building up speed by defending high and looking to engage early with the
attacker. However this does pose a risk, as being beaten 1v1 this far away
from goal will make the attackers job very easy. This means it is important
the defender uses body positioning well to defend 1v1

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 BOXED TRANSITIONS
Session Overview

During the nal phase of this practice the red from the bottom of the
practice will break out and attack the top goal, this will now be the same
rotation as in the previous diagram, but from the opposite side of the
shape, with Red and attacking blue, before red attacks red going back
towards the bottom goal.

One thing to keep in mind during this practice is the role the central
player plays in making this a realistic challenge, the central player must be
quick to attack, quick to adjust his or her body angle to make sure they
aren’t beat on the inside and their body positioning shows the attacker
away from goal and in to the wide channel where the attacker is likely to
have the smallest in uence on the attacking moments.
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 BOXED TRANSITIONS
Session Coaching Points:

- Encourage attackers to travel with pace to attack the central lane of

the pitch
- Encourage attackers to travel quickly to allow them to get their body
between the ball and the defender
- Demand intensity from the middle players who act as defenders to
create realistic and demanding environment
- Encourage players to make late decisions based on the movement of
the goalkeepers to make simple nishing decisions
- Focus on engaging the opponent high up the pitch when defending
following the transition
- Focus on delaying the opponent and de ecting them in to the wide
area where they are able to have the smallest in uence in the attack
moments.

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session provides coaches with an opportunity to expose players to
a large increase in cognitive demand, the session can be manipulated by
asking players to return to the station to their right after completing their
task to increase the cognitive demand also.
Physically players against will reach near maximal speed if the space is
correct for the players you have, allowing them to attack and defend at
speeds they are likely to experience in game situations. Coaches should
look to drive a minikin work ethic from players but should try and allow
players themselves to drive the decision making process.

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MANNEQUIN
TRANSITION
GAME

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 MANNEQUIN TRANSITION GAME

Session Requirements
Players 4

The requirements of this session are very simple

Footballs 6 meaning it can be delivered with a very limited
space, as the session occurs within just the
Space Penalty Box penalty area. The sessions also only requires
around 4 players, so this session can be
delivered on recovery days or with select players
Goals 2 away from the main group to allow for the
development of nishing skills or physical
Time 30 Mins development.
The session also works within a tactical frame of
using the half space to receive possession and
turn so this can interwoven in to tactical delivery, to help players replicate
the positions they’re likely to nd themselves in.
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 MANNEQUIN TRANSITIONAL GAME
Session Overview

This session starts with the coach playing a pass on an angle from
behind the attacker this will replicate a diagonal pass from the half space
in to the feet of the striker who has made a straight pass. It is important at
this point it is important that this pass is a diagonal pass in to a straight
run.
Once the attacking player receives the ball, we are looking to challenge
the attacker to receive in di erent ways.

- Can the attacker receive with his back to goal, swivel and nish
across the goalkeeper.
- Can the attack receive on the back foot, go the opposite way around
the mannequin and nish
- Can the attacker move in to the ball take the touch around the
mannequin and nish rst time

Creating the uidity that allows the attacking player make a decisions
based on how they see the situation, this is a moment where the
individuals creativity should shine and the coach should look to guide the
player but allow creativity occur within these moments as its the player,
who will be forced to make these decisions in game moments, based on
the situations round them.

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 MANNEQUIN TRANSITIONAL GAME
Session Overview

As the attacker nishes, the coach will play a cutback to the outside of
the area to the blue player, the coach should look to play it close to the
mannequin so that the blue is force to take a touch either between the
mannequins or around the mannequins. As this happens the red must
look to transition across the box and look to prevent the opponent from
taking a shot, it is important that the coach times it to make sure that if
e cient the blue has the chance to score, but it a poor decision Is made
then the red has the opportunity to step in and win possession.
The red needs to make a quick recovery line, taking an angle that allows
him/her to get inline and block a shot if required or step in and win

possession. The challenge for the defending player is to be as quick as

possible, but slow as you reach the attacker to make sure you are able to
match the movement of the attacker. If the player approaches with too
much pace, the attacker will be able to turn, and with too much pace the
defender won’t be able to change direction with the attacker. The priority
must always be to prevent a goal, at all costs can the transitioning player
get his/her body in the way of the shot.

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 MANNEQUIN TRANSITIONAL GAME
Session Coaching Points:

- Encourage the outside player to play a diagonal pass in to a straight

movement from the striker (diagonal/Straight).
- Can the attacker develop the ability to receive on both feet, both
inside and outside.
- Once the attacker has received can the attacker keep the ball within a
touch of their feet, this will allow them to nish with their next touch
(This is important in tight spaces)
- When the player makes the run across to defend against the blue, can
the now defending player ensure they take in to account the line of the
ball in order to in uence the line of their recovery run
- Can the defender look to delay the attacker to prevent a goal scoring
opportunity.

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session gives every coach a great opportunity to have a large
in uence on their players. The session is perfect in size and numbers to
have realistic in uences on individuals, as well as meaningful
conversations.
When delivering this session it is important to handpick the players to
ensure that you’re able to have the greatest in uence on those around you,
sharing the information with players and working speci cally and small
technical and tactical details will be important. This will give you
opportunity to work through the decision making process when receiving
the pass, as well as the decision making process of how to press the ball as
it travels across the box. Hopefully providing us as coaches with better
prepared defenders in the emergency defending phase of the game.
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TRANSITION
THROUGH THE
HALF SPACE

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 TRANSITION THROUGH THE HALF SPACE

Session Requirements
Players 8
The requirements for this session are fairly
Footballs 6
simple, the only challenge for coaches maybe
the acquisition of mannequins, but these can be
24 Yards +
very easily replaced by cones, or even
Space recovering players to add an extra challenge.
PB Width
Other than this the session takes place is a
Goals 2 penalty box wide pitch with 24 yards of length.

The session is very simple as explained above,

Time 28 Mins
can we as coaches challenge the quality of the
cross, can players look to nd the channel left
between the defender and the goalkeeper with
pace, the pace will be the deciding factor that force the goalkeeper to stay
back in between the posts and not travel out to in uence the ball.

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 TRANSITION THROUGH THE HALF SPACE
Session Overview

As the rst diagram here shows the rst pass is a diagonal pass across
the pitch, can we develop a driving technique where the player punches
across the ball, to keep the ball low with a spin that moves the ball away
from the central players and between the two mannequins for the outside
player to receive, lets really focus on the player keeping the ball below the
mannequin, but driven with pace to prevent the pass being cut out. Once
the ball has gone wide the expectation should be high on the wide players
ability to receive the ball across the body, but with the rst touch looking
to be able to leave the ball in a position that allows any decision with the

second touch. e.g. if the rst touch is correct and the ball is taken out of
the feet and no longer bouncing, the player can decide to either cross with
the second touch or run with the ball dependent on the situation. When it
comes to the cross can we encourage a low driven cross with the inside of
the laces, that creates a whip like technique and spin, ensuring the ball
swings away from the goalkeeper and towards are attacking player, this
should also cut out the defender who will have to defend the ball by
attacking his/her own goal that risks causing an own goal.
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 TRANSITION THROUGH THE HALF SPACE
Session Overview

Once the rst part has taken place the rst challenge is for the outside
player to receive a pass across the pitch from the player beside the goal.
This pass needs to nd its way over the crowded box, most likely before
the mannequin ( to ensure its realistic) or play a driven pass in to the
space behind the mannequins if there is space in the central area. However
it is now key as to how the wide player travels with the ball to give the
attacking player time and space to travel in to the opposite half and
provide a threat close enough to the goal.

The challenge he for the attacking player is to recognise the transition

early, the blue needs to make an attacking run as quickly as possible in
order to make a distance between the defender at his or herself. However
the wide player must be awake to the situation, in control of the ball and
travel ahead, so that the crosser is ahead of the attacker to prevent the
o side becoming relevant. If the attacker does manage to create space in
behind the defender, then the challenge for the wide player is to drive a
ball across the oor for the attack to try and nish. To make it easier can
the attacker run from the back post to the front post to allow them to run
on to the ball and strike across goal.
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 TRANSITION THROUGH THE HALF SPACE
Session Coaching Points:

- Encourage players to focus on challenging their ball striking

technique, can they drive passes across the practice (This requires a
coach who is acceptant that balls will go astray)
- Encourage crosses with pace that is above the normal amount,
focusing again on challenging the players technique, strong technique
allows increases in power (Challenge this notion)
- When the attacker is making movements can we ensure its not a
straight run, back post to front post? Etc
- When the attacker is striking cutbacks, if the technique is hard
encourage a locked ankle and driving the ball back towards the front
post, an easier technique than opening the ankle up to aim at the
furthest post (Back post)

COACHES INFLUENCE
The Coach can adapt this session to the requirement of the players, for
example the two central players can work in isolation to work on the
strength element of performance as it is high in change of direction. The
session can provide coaches with a chance to really work on technique
with individual players, looking at the technique of crossing, the technique
of receiving as well as nishing. Working closely with position speci c
players in these moments can be key in developing the skills to be
successful. This session can also be used as a substitute to the main
session and overseen by goalkeeping sta as a means to keep players
engaged with low physical output, something that can have signi cant
importance within the professional game
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DEFEND
THE
COUNTERED
CROSS

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 DEFEND THE COUNTERED CROSS

Players 8 Session Requirements

This session can be be performed in a space just

Footballs 3 larger than a full size penalty area. With a goal
at each end and mannequins set as if they were
Space 35x35 Yards part of a mid eld screen.
As explained above we are looking to recreate a
common moment performed by counter-
Goals 2
attacking teams, a moment that poses optimal
threat to our defensive shape, this is the
Time 26 Mins moment where the opponent will look to break
centrally from a corner, can our two attacking
players transition quickly and look to delay the
counter-attack or at worst push the counter attack in to the wide area to
prevent it occurring in a central area that has the highest threat.

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 DEFEND THE COUNTERED CROSS
Session Overview

The rst part of the session Is a very simple piece of combination play,
that should resemble our playing style, where the striker receives ball to
nish rst or second time inside the box on a realistic angle, on a pass that
has been played between the two centre backs.
Once the ball has been threaded can the centre forward look to isolate
the goalkeeper and nish, with precision and power making the
Goalkeepers role di cult.

Can the second striker make sure they follow the ball in at the back post
to make sure that if the ball is hit across the goalkeeper and the goalkeeper
makes a save, we are able to score via the rebound that may occur because
of the goalkeeper save.
For a coach this does o er some opportunity to adapt this session to
make it more speci c to your playing style. If you want to focus on scoring
from cut backs, then the rst part can involve a combination, that sees the
ball moved wide before a cross is delivered and nished.

Or if shots from around the area are more common within the game
model than the coach might adapt this to involve a shot from in from of the
opponents defensive unit not beyond it.

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 DEFEND THE COUNTERED CROSS
Session Overview

The second part of the session possess a challenge to both the wide
players and the attackers looking to penetrate the box. The crosser should
look to play a low whipped ball across the space, looking to use the upper
part of the inside of the foot, to wrap the foot around the ball with the body
weight forward to cause the ball to take a low but rm trajectory towards the
space between the goalkeeper and the centre forward. The ball should
reach the attacker whilst they are still moving at pace below the knee to
ensure the nishing technique is made easier.

This technique for the striker will be di cult at start, when working with
younger players, it will bene t the player to play some sort of uid crossing
game, where repetition is high and the striker can experiment with di erent
types of nishing. Using the inside of the foot will be key when the ball is
crossed in to the body. When the ball is in front to the body, the sole of the
foot can be used to push the ball towards goal, using the pace of the ball to
beat the goalkeeper. Although this might not be traditional technique when
nishing, it’s useful when attacking crosses as it controls the direction of the
ball whilst forcing the ball to stay low. Naturally the pace on the ball will
come from the cross and the goalkeeper will have little chance to make the
save.

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 DEFEND THE COUNTERED CROSS
Session Overview

The nal part of this session involves the attackers transitioning to a

defensive role instantly after the attacking moment breaks down, at this time
it maybe due to a goalkeeper making a save and countering or a turn over
directly from the cross.
Once the ball has broken the most important detail is the speed of
thought, how quickly can the attackers change their focus from in
possession to out of possession. The quicker this occurs intrinsically in the
mind of the player the better opportunity the player will have to engage the
ball carrier and look to delay the opponent to prevent the counter-attack.
This has less risks if a foul is made, as well as less risks in terms of
conceding goals.
Now dependent on the philosophy of the coach, this counter-pressing
function can be used for two di erent methods. It is either a challenge to the
players to win possession to act as the catalyst to win the ball back and
attack. Or this can be used to prevent the opponent creating a counter-
attack or entering their build up play.
However the role of the the second defender will be key here, dropping
deeper than the rst defender, to ensure that if the rst defender loses the
1v1, there is not space in behind the defender, this will prevent the attacker
from breaking in to space and creating a deadly counter attack.

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 DEFEND THE COUNTERED CROSS NAME
Session Coaching Points:

- Quick Combination Play, ball must move quickly

- Ball striking - Using the inside of the laces to provide power and
accuracy
- Short backswing can help delay the goalkeepers reaction time from a
tight angle in 1v1 moments
- When attacking from crosses can you run across the defenders eye
line to go from out of view to in view with no opportunity to defend
against it
- When making contact and nishing, using the sole of the foot to
push the ball towards goal
- When nishing with the ball close to the feet, can the inside of the
foot be used to encourage the body weight to sit over the ball and keep
the ball low

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session has been very popular within counter-attacking styles of
play and coaches who demand a high intensity style out of possession. The
template of the session will allow you as a coach to work on the ner
detail, the combination play is a moment that can negatively or positively
in uence the session if the players do not apply enough intensity to these
moments.
Even though there is no opposition to the combination play the players
must play quickly on limited touches to ensure the session links to the
research we’ve previously spoken about. Sharing with players the facts and
gures that guide our practice design will help include the players and
provide them with a greater level of autonomy, that in the long run can be
conducive to learning
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KNOW
YOUR
ENEMY

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 KNOW YOUR ENEMY

Players 7 Session Requirements

This session is a very competitive player lead

Footballs 3 activity. The natural competitive 2v2 nature will
make this highly physical and highly combative
Space 20x20 Yards for players to cope with. Managing the physical
and emotional workload for players here will be
key. Players who mentally struggle with the
Goals 3
competitive and physical nature may need a
sca olded approach during this to ensure they
Time 28 Mins are able to discover their own coping
mechanisms through out. One thing a coach
may adjust during this session is the location of
the wide goals, changing the angle will change the outcome, with he
current location this practice requires dribblers. If the goals are put on an
angle, the practice will become a nishing one.

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 KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Session Overview

The rst part of the session just sees a coach play a pass in to the zone
for players to attack, now this can be done in a few di erent ways.

1.) Coach plays to either play and alternates teams each time
2.) Coach plays in to the middle and lets players ght it out
3.) A Third team (yellows) play the pass in and act as a recovery team
so every team has a recovery period

Which ever method is used, the outcomes won’t change within the
session. Once the ball has been played through the players to need to
show a competitive and physical approach to attacking and defending, the
practice needs to be uid, once a player has possession they need to travel
forward and attack the opponent not turn back and look fo time, if this
occurs then the coach should end that part of the practice.
The idea is for direct and ruthless attacking looking to dominate the
1v1 both as a defender and as an attacker.
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 KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Session Overview

It is important not to forge the reason we are performing this session,

the idea is nishing! So when coaching this element of the game lets
encourage a ruthless nature in front of the goal, once the opponent has
been beat and you have space to shoot, take the shot, try to avoid the
training ground 1v1 where players look to cut back and constantly beat a
friend, this has to be a ruthless and competitive game where the centre
forward uses a 1v1 as a means to beat the defender and score as a means
to win the game!

When attacking within the 1v1 lets encourage players to drive centrally
through the practice using pace and power to get in front of the opponent
creating a 1v1 with the goalkeeper and forcing the defender out of the
practice.
Once in front of goal lets continue to encourage the use of the upper
inside of the foot to strike the ball with pace and power that part of the
foot also opens up both sides of the goal as it can be both dragged across
the goalkeeper or smashed the other way with pace and power and can
o er varied height to the nish
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 KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Session Overview

The nal part of the session sees the two players who originally fought
within the 1v1 to score, now instantly transition in to become defenders to
the wide goals, the red will naturally travel across and defend against the
blue, and the blue vice versa.
Because of the angle of the goals, the same defending principles still
exist, forcing the opponent wide will make the angle nearly impossible to

score, so when defending 1v1 we can still encourage our defenders to look
to force the opponent, wide and using the touchline as an additional
defender, this is a key principles to get across to players when defending,
the touchline is the only defender that is always in the right position.
For the attacking player they need to react quickly to the transition, the
quicker they are able to react the best opportunity to get closest to the
goal. Attacking centrally will isolate the defender and allow them to be
beaten either on the inside or the outside, in addition it also creates a
better angle for nishing, compared to the touchline that provides such as
a narrow angle and limited opportunity to nish.
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 KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Session Coaching Points:

- Encourage a physical environment where players are combative and

willing to ght for the opportunity to win the ball and score
- Can we challenge the attacking skill sets of our players when forced to
face up the defender 1v1
- Technically how strong our are ball carriers? Are they able to use their
arms and hips to shut the opponent away from the ball
- Out of possession are our players able to de ect the opponent in to the
wide area
- Do not forget the emphasis of delay, we must be able to slow the
attacking player down in order to give ourselves a chance to defend in the
1v1 moments
- Role of the GK signi cantly important

COACHES INFLUENCE
As a coach this session does provide less opportunity for us to have an active
presence, there is a time and a place to allow player lead activities where the
players are responsible for driving the overall standard and ensuring there is
quality both in and out of possession. This session is one of those, the players
must buy in to the practice and this will will test the player coach relationship.
In order to modify this session coaches must be exible in the size of the
practice dependent on the required physical returns. If the coach wants a more
physical and higher intensity session, the practice can be extended to ensure
players have a greater opportunity to reach top speeds making the attacking and
defending moments much more realistic. We all know as coaches it is much
easier to defend against a player who can’t reach top speed because of the space
compared to a realistic situation with optimal speeds included.

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DUAL
BOX
DEFENDING

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 DUAL BOX DEFENDING

Players 5 Session Requirements

This session sets up a very easy micro session

Footballs 3 for players to compete in whilst a larger session
takes place, the micro session format does
Space 20x20 Yards provide a good opportunity to work with
individual players, this can be a technical or
tactical focus but the relationship between
Goals 2
coaches and players will be important here.
Especially as these players are likely players
Time 20 Mins who have been left out of match day squads and
the psychological element of performance must
be managed as much as the technical and
tactical side of performance. This de nitely provides one of the biggest
challenges a coach will encounter.

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 DUAL BOX DEFENDING
Session Overview

The rst part of the session is very simple, the red drives
in to a 1v1 against the blue, in these moments can the red
attack with pace, looking to attack centrally looking to force the defender
to become at footed and force the defender to become exposed in this
1v1 moment. The speed will be a key element in making the task di cult
for the defender as the actions will occur at a much quicker pace, meaning
much less times to make decisions.
Once the attacker has created half a yard to have a nishing opportunity
the attacker must look to take it, this set of practices look to create.
This session is manipulated greatly by the type of goal and the choice to
use goalkeepers or not, a smaller goal will force the attacker to take more
information on from the surrounding area and con gure the cognitive
ability to nish in a changed goal. The use of a standard goal and
goalkeeper may o er attackers the opportunity to nish using the motor
pathways that have been refrained over their careers to date with the levels
of repetition that have occurred.

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 DUAL BOX DEFENDING
Session Overview

Once the rst part of the session has broken down, the attacker would
have either scored or lost possession of the ball, as soon as this occurs the
coach will allow the yellow to break out of the central area and attack the
second goal.
The attacker must be quick and must be direct, don’t allow the red back
in to the practice, ensure they travel across the zone as quickly as possible,
the recovery run should take an angle that takes the quickest route across
to where the opponent is traveling not where the opponent is. This will

prevent the opponent ending up behind the attacker and will allow them
to get between the player and the goal.
Once the defender gets across the simple principles of defending will be
the same. Can the opponent delay the opponents attack towards the goal,
once they are able to do that, can they de ect them away from the central
area.
Denying the central space is key to defending in all areas of the the
pitch regardless if it is the attacking third, middle third or even the
defensive third.
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 DUAL BOX DEFENDING
Session Coaching Points:

- Recovery runs will be tested here, can the transitioning defender

make the run on an angle between the goal and player, engaging the
attacker as high as possible, where he or she is able to get between the
ball and the goal.
- Finishing in a half step. When a player shifts the ball to the left or
right can they nish with limited back lift during the shift, not after this
shift, this is di cult to put in to words, but can you nish when the ball
is half a way through the shift.
- During the transition can we ensure the player reaches maximal
speed and decelerated e ectively.
- The second attacker has to be ruthless in these attacking moments,
can they be direct and nish with a strike across the goalkeeper when
possible

COACHES INFLUENCE
Can the coach ensure the intensity and recovery is managed, this
session will only take 1 minute to complete but must be meaningful a 1:1
work to rest ratio will allow for adequate recovery. The 1:1 will mean the
the recovery allows for enough time to ensure the intensity remains high
through out the activity.
Coaches can look to be vocal and drive the standard of the practice, the
long recovery periods will also allow for the opportunity to work with
individuals. Working with individuals with their individual development is
key here, so selecting the right players in to the practice is important as
these smaller session should link to their individual learning plans and
own personal development.
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FOLLOW
WITH
PRESSURE
2V2

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 FOLLOW WITH PRESSURE 2V2

Players 4 Session Requirements

This session is very di erent to most attacking

Footballs 3 practices. In here the attacker rst attacks the
central goal with pressure from behind, how
Space 30x20 Yards does the attacker look to nish when the
pressure is coming from behind, the attacker
needs to travel at pace and make decision in
Goals 1
limited time and this will provide challenges.
Once this attacking phase has ended, the
Time 20 Mins attacker naturally then defends against the
yellow, this will occur at pace because the
practice doesn’t end with a goal but a yellow
needing to travel with pace and penetrate the central area behind the red.
This poses a di erent challenge.

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 FOLLOW WITH PRESSURE 2V2
Session Overview

As this rst diagram shows here (turned 90 Degrees) shows the coach
feeding the ball in to the red who must look to drive centrally, now has to
defend pressure of his or her shoulder from the blue and nish under
realistic pressure from the opponent, this might be physical pressure on

the shoulder of the attacker. The attacker must have a real awareness of
the situation around them, where is the goalkeeper, what is the location of
the goalkeeper, what type of nish is requires etc. These decisions will be
very important in the nishing phase.
The attacker needs to try and ensure that the nish is from the most
central area as possible this way the goalkeeper is forced to stay central
o ering both sides to the attacker to nish in.

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 FOLLOW WITH PRESSURE 2V2
Session Overview

Now the red has nished his/her attacker moment, the defending starts
instantly, the use of gates instead of goals actually makes the practice more
realistic as this breakaway situation will not see the opponent slow down
as they approach a goal 30yrds away, but they will see the attacker drive

out of the practice. This means the transitioning attacker will need to
make the perfect recovery run because the distance between the yellow
and the goal will narrow quickly because of the naturally quicker tempo to
the practice.
Once the yellow has broken the coaches should drive the player to make
a deliberate and sel sh run through the central gate. Whilst the
expectation is that the red looks to make contact body to body with the
attacker before trying to win the ball back, if they cant win the ball back
can they look to force the opponent through the wider space denying the
opponent the central space, the most dangerous space on the pitch.

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 FOLLOW WITH PRESSURE 2V2
Session Coaching Points:

- Attacking with pace is signi cantly important, can the attacker look
to move the ball out of his/her feet early to ensure that the pace is still
maintainable, however if the touches are too big the player can lose
control of the ball
- When in 1v1 moments against the goalkeeper can the player
maintain pace with the head still raised to see the goalkeepers
positioning and decision making to allow him/her to make a nishing
decision based on their movement
- On the recovery run, how quickly can both players reach maximal
speed, maximal speed will be very important when recovering in behind
the attacker.

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session won’t provide much opportunity for coaches to perform
traditional stop and start coaching methods, this is going to be an intense,
short and sharp session where players are being constantly challenged to
work at near maximal bursts for sport periods of time.
Stopping the session will naturally destroy that intensity that is created
but the recovery time does give the coach opportunity to speak to players
whilst they’re recovering. However as coaches we must also be mindful
that these players are also recovering and taking on board information is
naturally di cult because of the level of fatigue they’re feeling.

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TRANSITIONAL
FINISHING
GAME

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 TRANSITIONAL FINISHING GAME

Session Requirements

Players 12 This session is a simple crossing and nishing

practice with a transitional element to attack
Footballs 3 and defend. The reds look to play wide where
they then look to send two players forward to
attack the box and then the cross comes from
Space 40x40 Yards
the wide area.
Then once the attack breaks down and the
Goals 2 blues play the ball wide before the practice
switches ends, the reds recover quickly to
Time 20 Mins defend the box whilst two blues ood forward
to try and attack at the far end. With the
opposite wide player coming in from the
opposite side to make it a 3 player attack in the box.
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 TRANSITIONAL FINSIHING GAME
Session Overview

As the rst diagram shows the ball starts in the red half and is switched
wide to the wide player ( Once the ball goes wide the expectation is on the
blue wide player in that same zone to recover and apply pressure to the wide
player). Whilst this occurs the two attackers travel across the half way line and
penetrate the box, where the wide players looks to deliver a cross.
When the cross is delivered the expectation is on the three defenders to
work as a triangle to defend the box with a man in the front zone, the back
zone and one in the central zone slightly ahead to ensure more than one
defensive line is being defended.
The session also includes a lot of high speed running, with the distance
between the two goals being 40yards and the practice being end to end, the
physical excursion will be very high within this session.

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 TRANSITIONAL FINSIHING GAME
Session Overview

As you can see in the second diagram there are some moments now that
will need to be speci c to the coaches game model. Within this we are
going to use our own tactical model, the challenge for the opposite winger
all be to make the run across the opposite full back as late as possible and
arrive late to nish when the ball leaks across the box and to the back post,
the run will be late and across the opponent to ensure the run is not tracked

and to ensure there Is still space between the opponents defensive shape.
The central players are now challenged to avoid making straight runs, the
player who starts attacking the near post should avoid continuing in a
straight line, this is to avoid being easily defended against as a defender can
keep tracks on straight runs much easier than runs that go across multiple
defenders and require a defender to pass players on, this is where problems
and created when defending against strikers when defending crosses.

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 TRANSITIONAL FINSIHING GAME
Session Overview

The nal diagram shows the nal part of the practice. Here the blues
have broken down the right side and the blue wide player has held o the
red opponent to deliver in to the box.
At this point the reds need to recover in to a shape that defends the key
areas front back and middle. The communication element here is key for
coaches to install in players, they must be able to self organize in the
moments of chaos, only by proving them with chaos is the only way in
which players will be able to learn how to perform in these moments.
For the attackers they must be able to hurt the opponent in their
moments of chaos. Chaos is an opportunity for a team to expose the
opponent and by making aggressive dynamic runs through the defensive
shape the attackers can hurt the opponent.

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 TRANSITIONAL FINISHING GAME
Session Coaching Points:

- The key information here for attackers is in the type of delivery of

their run, can they make a run across defenders who’ve adjusted their
body line. This way when defenders scan they see the attacker at one
point, then when they make a second scan, the attacker has gone, this is
how attacking players nd space.
- The second is on the type of cross, can the crosser not just hit ‘Good’
areas, but actually take in information based on the runs, the players,
the space and the situation.
- When the ball comes across the box can attackers use a change of
pace to create space of the back of the defenders, that tiny bit of space is
key to making contact with the ball behind the defensive unit.

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session is probably the most physical session that players will
encounter in this ebook, the session has repeated high intensity runs at a
near sub maximal e ort. The challenge for coaches is to encourage the
physical work within the group and make sure that players are not only
working to reach fatigued levels but to actually learn to make decisions
and perform technical actions when they’re fatigued.
Fatigue provides a completely di erent challenge to playing, playing
with fatigue in the mind and the legs makes simple decisions more
complex decisions.
Coaches need to manage the technical detail during the recovery time
between sessions, not during the practice.
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FINISHING
AND
RECOVERING
CAROUSEL

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 FINISHING AND RECOVERING CAROUSEL

Session Requirements

Players 7 This session will really challenge the players on

a cognitive level. The session is naturally
Footballs 3 complex, so players need to focus on more than
just a directional practice. It provides constant
decision making moments for the players. The
Space 1 Half
session very simply requires one half of a pitch
and 1 goal. The ball starts on the left where
Goals 1 they combine to a cross, the keeper then
transitions out wide, where the centre forward
Time 40 Mins presses up until the doted line, before the ball
is switched centrally where the next centre
forward applies pressure. Before the ball is
played wide and the practice begins again.
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 FINISHING AND RECOVERING CAROUSEL
Session Overview

The rst section of the session is very simple as you can see the
practice begins in the wide area with a simple bounce pass before the
wide player is slipped in behind what would be the opponents full
back. Once this has happened the two red centre forwards come to
life looking to attack the penalty area, getting beyond the penalty spot

for what ideally should be a low driven cross as there is no reason to

deliver a high cross in these situations.
Ideally the cross will be an out swinging cross away from the
goalkeeper and towards our attacking player so a side foot technique
will be adequate to put the ball past the goalkeeper that will be xed
within the goal.
It is important that the combination play is as realistic as possible,
with the wide player showing a real change of pace and direction to
penetrate the space in behind.
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 FINISHING AND RECOVERING CAROUSEL
Session Overview

When this session is broken down in to minute details the practice

becomes very simple. The second part of the session is no di erent in its
simplicity. If the goalkeeper catches the ball he or she throws the ball to
the full back and the full back drives as quickly as possible across the black
line. Whilst this happens the closest red looks to recover as quickly as

possible and try to prevent the blue crossing the line ( if the goalkeeper
doesn’t catch it the ball is grabbed from next to the goal and the same
journey occurs.
The red must transition as quickly as possible, the most important
element will be the red engagement, how quickly can the striker recognise
the change in possession of the ball and in uence the transition.
The blue has one job and that is to travel as quickly with the ball as
possible across the black line, if the blue can’t get across the blue line the
practice must start again.
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 FINISHING AND RECOVERING CAROUSEL
Session Overview

The nal part of the practice is as simple the other two parts of the
carousel. Once the blue has crossed the black line he or she has one
simple role, and this is to play the ball in to the square just outside the
half way line, once this has happened the blue who receives possession
must switch possession back to its starting point. However the second
striker will now be recovering back in to mid eld to apply pressure to the

blue, the reds challenge is to travel across as quickly as possible and look
to prevent the blue from switching play, which tiled destroy the practice,
which is the key objective for the red team.
The blue must look to keep the body position open allowing the ball to
travel across his or her body, this will make the technique quicker and
more e ective increasing the speed of the ball.

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 FINISHING AND RECOVERING CAROUSEL
Session Coaching Points:

- Combination play in the wide area is still important, how do the

players combine with what combination, how important is the weight
of pass when playing in behind the opponent.
- Cross has to be low and hard across the box for an easy nish, the
higher the cross the more chance of the goalkeeper in uencing the
action
- Once the recovery run needs to be performed can it be in a quick
straight line to cut out the space.
- Receiving the ball across the body will allow the switch of play to
happen more e ciently
- Longer passes must still be driven, encourage a brave technique with
the instep of the book

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session is not as physical as other sessions and could be performed
on a recovery day or match day -1 with no concerns about overloading
players before a game
The coach can support players with ball striking techniques and support
the adapting technique in these situations, the carousel does ensure that
the practice is uid, and the uidity should be allowed to continue to
ensure the practice isn’t continuously stop start.
The coach should also look to work on the angle of the recovery run as
a matter of urgency as this is one of the key areas players struggle with
when tasked with recovery runs. When making a recovery run you need to
run in a straight line inside the opponent, this is very di erent to chasing
the opponent.
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1V1
FINISHING
DUALS

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 1V1 FINISHING DUALS

Session Requirements
Players 8
The session is really simple for players to
understand and simple for coaches to be able to
Footballs 3
implement and perform with players.
It is quite simply a 1v1 constantly involving the
Space 20x30 Yards ball carrier becoming the defender. The session
starts with the blue player having an
Goals 2
unopposed shot on goal against the red GK,
which is followed immediately by the red
breaking out to perform a 1v1 against the blue
Time 30 Mins and this cycle continues until all players have
been used. This can be manipulated to 2v1’s etc
if required.

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 1V1 FINISHING DUALS
Session Overview

The rst part of the session sees an unopposed shot on goal from the
blue. This part of the practice is vey simple, the blue touches the ball out
of his or her feet and strikes the ball towards goal.
The second part of the session sees the red break out to encounter a

1v1 again the blue. At this point the blue looks to de ect the red away
from goal and in to the wide area. Whilst the red focuses on being direct
and isolating the blue in a central 1v1 position. This way the blue will
struggle to defend side on with a good body position and will likely be
exposed.
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 1V1 FINISHING DUALS
Session Overview

The nal part of the session is where the real transition now occurs, the
red now leaves the pitch having defended and attacked, the red now
rejoins the back of the blue queue. Whilst the blue now defends against a
fellow blue.
This is how the session will now continue with the attacking players
continuing his or her role before instantly transitioning to become a
defender and then joining the opposite end to the practice they joined.
The key principles for players are to attack in a central position where
they can expose the opponent, look to travel with pace to in uence the
decision making of the opponent and be ruthless when getting half an
opportunity in front of goal.

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 1V1 FINISHING DUALS
Session Coaching Points:

- Isolate the opponent look to run centrally, look to force the defender
on to the back foot
- Use pace in the 1v1 moment, pace can scare the opponent don’t be
afraid to travel with pace and expose their at and still body position.
- When transitioning look to engage the attacker as high up the eld of
play as possible this will prevent the player reaching high speeds
- Creativity is key, when you are in the 1v1 moment ensure you are
creative and really try to beat the opponent with something unique.

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session might not be highly complexed but it is a game that
players will enjoy playing, sometimes the more autonomous practices
provide the greatest opportunity for learning. Players will naturally enjoy
this because of its high intensity and 1v1 opportunities, but as coaches it
is still our job to ensure that the players are aware of the key details and
how these can be delivered to help improve their attacking ability and the
teams e ectiveness.

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OVERLOADING
DUALS
GAME

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 OVERLOADING DUALS GAME

Session Requirements
Players 10

The session is a simple practice for players to

Footballs 3
experience both defending underloaded and
attacking with overloads. The transitional
Space 20x30 Yards moments mean players are always engaged in
all moments fo the game.
Goals 2
The setup is very simple, the session occurs
within a 20x30 yard space with the goals at
either end, the practice starts with the blue
Time 30 Mins nishing unopposed before two reds break out
to create a 2v1, which is then followed by two
reds to create and 2v3. This continues until all
the available players are used up, or the space becomes too compact.

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 OVERLOADING DUALS GAME
Session Overview

The rst two parts of the session pose very simple tasks for the players
to complete. The rst is for the blue, who is unopposed to take a touch out
of his or her feet, and then strike the ball against the red goalkeeper. Once
this moment has nished, the two reds beside the goal instantly break out
to create a 2v1 again the blue.

The blue is now challenged to defend overloaded, the transition will

involve a decision that will be key to the players learning, when defending
overloaded, can you press the ball (if this is the decision the player must
win the ball) if not (Most Common 90% of the time) The player will need
to learn and protect the goal defending the central space.
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 OVERLOADING DUALS GAME
Session Overview

As we can see in the second part of the session the reds how now lost
possession of the ball and are now being overloaded by the opponent in what
is now a 2v3 situation for the reds. Can the blue attacking three look to
stretch the two reds so they’re unable to defend all three channels, then
travel with pace and power to force the defenders forcing back towards their
own goal with space between their defensive lines.
The blues should look to dominate 2v1 situations when attacking with

overloads, and look to expose the opponent with passes in to the space
behind them when the opposition stay high and try to prevent the space
behind being exposed.
For the defensive side the strategy must be to protect the central space
and leave the furthest player, taking an angled body position that forces the
attacker to travel in to the channel, when the channel is occupied the two can
slide over and block the channel and leave the widest player, destroying the
overload that was created by the attacking team.

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 OVERLOADING DUALS GAME
Session Coaching Points:

- Attacking with overloads, can we ensure that our players are looking
to stretch the opponent defensive shape by occupying di erent lanes
and forcing the defensive shape to have increased spaces between them.
- When attacking can our players focus on the decision making
element, when do our players look to dominate 1v1’s and 2v1 moments,
and when do they look to play passes in behind the opponents space
- When defending how can our players force the opponent in to the
wide area
- Once play is in the wide area, can the defensive unit lock the
opponent in to the wide area using the touchline as an additional
defender.

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session is simple in structure, it allows players to play and
experiment in a constantly changing environment, players are playing
overloaded, then underloaded and the change and variety.
The coach can’t be overly involved during the practice as this will be
very lead by players. However the coach can take time and analyze the
situation and support the players.

One of the key elements for a coach here will be to drive

- Body position and how players adjust their feet (Ensuring they don’t
cross)
- Ensure the distances between players don’t become to large
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ZONED
FINISHING
PRACTICE

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 ZONED FINISHING PRACTICE

Players 10 Session Requirements

The Zoned Finishing Practice poses one of the

Footballs 3 more complex decision making sessions, the
session will challenge players cognitively and
Space 20x35 Yards the at time chaos can be o putting for coaches,
but the chaos is where the learning occurs for
players.
Goals 2
Quite simply, the reds and the blues play 2v2 in
the furthest of the 3 zones, once they reach an
Time 30 Mins amount of passes, the play goes central where
the team in possession look to score in the
goals next to the zone the ball has come from.
Once this breaks down both zones shift to the zone to the right and the
practice starts again, this time with the left and central zone occupied.

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 ZONED FINISHING PRACTICE
Session Overview

As the rst image shows the coach plays in to one of the teams, in this
image the ball is played in to the blues who look to combine and make a
combination of at least three passes before moving in to the next zone.
This rule is exible and can be adapted dependent on the skill level of
the players, the space the coach has used for the practice and the desired
outcome of the coach.
The combination play can be the di cult moment within this practice
because the 2v2 challenge can be very di cult for players to nd a way
out. However this can be adapted in a few di erent way
1.) Creating an overload by allowing a neutral play to join in the
practice to create a 3v2 in possession.
2.) Allow the coach on the outside of the practice to act as a bounce
pass and create a static 3v2 in possession.

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 ZONED FINISHING PRACTICE
Session Overview

As the second image shows, the ball has now been moved in to the
middle zone, at this point now the idea is for the blues to score as quickly
as possible and in as few passes as possible.
This should be a quick practice that moves quickly from side to side
with an urgency on looking to exploit the opponents shape and being
quick in the transition, the practice will naturally break down often.
This session can be adapted to make the central area easier for players
to have success if the practice has too much failure.

1.) The central zone can have 4 goals instead of two split to make it
more di cult for the central players to defend the space
2.) The overload can be created by keeping an additional central player
in the middle zone so whenever possession is played inside, the practice
becomes 3v2
3.) The central players in possession can nish in either goal so the
central zone is end to end.

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 OVERLOADING DUALS GAME
Session Coaching Points:

- Quick nishing is required within the practice due to limited time,

can we encourage players to nish rst time
- Quick movements when receiving in the middle zone, can our players
make double movements that are explosive to create space and allow
the attacker to nish rst time.
- Within the combination play can we encourage our players to play
rst and second time to move the ball quickly and control the space
- When passes aren’t on can we encourage are players to dominate
1v1’s and drive in to space.
-

COACHES INFLUENCE
This session can be very complex at times, the coach needs to remain a
calm and relaxed gure during the complexity of this.
Can we ensure that players are motivated to communicate and
encourage best practice within the session, happy to encourage team
mates in to space and ensure the practice is successful and that others
have the opportunity to learn within it
It is also important that within a complex session the coach has
exibility to adapt if the session isn’t working

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3
GOAL
TRANSITION
GAME

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 3 GOAL TRANSITION GAME

Session Requirements
Players 6
The three goal transition game involves two
Footballs 3 di erent transitional moments and three goal
scoring opportunities for three di erent
players. The rst player uses the bounce board
Space 20x30 Yards
(if you have one available, if you haven’t use a
player to perform a 1-2) then the player takes a
Goals 3 touch trying to stay fairly central before
nishing, the players then defends 1v1 against
Time 30 Mins a blue who breaks out and attack the goal to
the right.
Once this breaks down the blue becomes a
defender in a 1v1 moment against the red who breaks out and attacks the
left goal.

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 3 GOAL TRANSITION GAME

Session Overview

The rst part is very simple the red bounces the ball in to the
bounce board and then takes a touch towards goal.
Once this happens the blue instantly becomes a defender and looks
to apply pressure so the red nishes in a realistic situation. The
pressure blue applies will be realistic like in the cast study previously
mentioned.
The Player under pressure looks to stay central whilst maintaining
the ball between the red and the goal, keeping the blue out of touch
before nishing.

- Can the attacker nish with precision using the inside foot.
- Can the attacker disguise the nish so the goalkeeper can’t pick
up on the body language of the opponent.
- Can the player still nd power within the technique, placement is
important but our players should be comfortable striking the ball
routinely with signi cant force within the technique.

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 3 GOAL TRANSITION GAME
Session Overview

During the second part of the session, the second blue breaks out from
the side of the practice, and drives against the red, but the blue from the
rst part stays involved to create a 2v1 again the blue. The red must look
to delay the opponent and protect the central space, excepting that he or
she won’t be able to in uence both players and needs to defend the central
space and try and isolate one of the player with the ball in the wide area.

This part of the session can be quick and the players must react very
quickly to the transition to ensure that they’re e ective in creating space
in possession or defending out of possession. Ensure that the
communication is strong between the defensive players and the goalkeeper
in these moments.

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 3 GOAL TRANSITION GAME
Session Overview

The nal part sees a second red break out of the right hand side and
attack down the right hand side, this now creates a 2v2 in the practice
where the reds can now look to exploit the space left by the blues because
of the disorganization and chaos that occurs within the transitional
moments. The red will need to be direct and ruthless to exploit this. In order
to do this the reds must be quick in possession of the ball and make direct
runs towards the opponent goal.

Out of possession the blues have a challenge to become organized and

compact behind the ball, after being stretched in possession. The recovery
runs will need to be direct in order to protect the space in front of the goal.

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 3 GOAL TRANSITION GAME
Session Coaching Points:

- React quickly within the o ensive transitions in order to be e ective

at playing through the opponent
- React quickly in the defensive transition, get organized behind the
ball and protect the goal
- Communicate with goalkeeper to be organized and aware of the run
of the opponent behind
- Timing of passes, when to play in to the space behind for the strike
partner to run on to,
- Ball striking, the attacker needs to focus on striking the ball across
the goalkeeper so there’s an opportunity for the strike partner to follow
in.

COACHES INFLUENCE
The transitional nishing game will provide a lot of opportunity for
players to nish in high pressure situations, and we as coaches need to
ensure these high pressure situations occur within our practices.
It is also important that the situations are realistic e.g. they resemble
the pressure and the environment that will challenge our players to better.
If the practice becomes too easy or too di cult the challenge should be
adapted to suit the players.

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2
GOAL
TRANSITION
GAME
(ADAPTED)

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 2 GOAL TRANSITION GAME

Players 6 Session Requirements

This is an adapted version of the 3 Goal

Footballs 3 transition game.

Space 20x30 Yards The coaching information is identical in that

this session involves the same two parts, but
not the third section. In this the red bounces a
Goals 2
1-2 of the bounce board before taking a shot
under pressure from the blue, before this blue
Time 30 Mins counter attacks with the support of the blue on
the outside to create a 2v1, where they look to
attack the right hand side goal.

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 2 GOAL TRANSITION GAME
Session Overview

The session is shown below with the red receiving the wall pass to
create an opportunity on goal, whilst the blue looks to press from the
outside on the reds left shoulder. Once this has nished the second blue
breaks out from behind the central goal to attack to the right hand side.
The overload occurs here and the red looks to defend the central goal, can
we encourage the same principles of delay and de ect. Protecting the
central space.

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 2 GOAL TRANSITION GAME
Session Coaching Points:

- React quickly within the o ensive transitions in order to be e ective

at playing through the opponent
- React quickly in the defensive transition, get organized behind the
ball and protect the goal
- Communicate with goalkeeper to be organized and aware of the run
of the opponent behind
- Timing of passes, when to play in to the space behind for the strike
partner to run on to,
- Ball striking, the attacker needs to focus on striking the ball across
the goalkeeper so there’s an opportunity for the strike partner to follow
in.

COACHES INFLUENCE
The transitional nishing game will provide a lot of opportunity for
players to nish in high pressure situations, and we as coaches need to
ensure these high pressure situations occur within our practices.
It is also important that the situations are realistic e.g. they resemble
the pressure and the environment that will challenge our players to better.
If the practice becomes too easy or too di cult the challenge should be
adapted to suit the players.

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MULTI
FINISH
GAME

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 MULTI FINISH GAME

Session Requirements
Players 6
This is another adapted version of the previous
session with the only di erence being the start
Footballs 3
of the session that now involves an unopposed
nishing opportunity before the game switches
Space 20x30 Yards out to the right hand side of the practice in a
1v1 situation.
Goals 2
The coaching information should remain the
same as the other sessions and can be as simple
Time 30 Mins
to coach as the other two practices.

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 MULTI FINISH GAME
Session Overview

The session is shown below with the red receiving the wall pass to
create an opportunity on goal, whilst the blue looks to press from the
outside on the reds left shoulder. Once this has nished the second blue
breaks out from behind the central goal to attack to the right hand side.
The overload occurs here and the red looks to defend the central space
goal, can we encourage the same principles of delay and de ect. Protecting
the central space.

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 MULTI FINISH GAME
Session Coaching Points:

- React quickly within the o ensive transitions in order to be e ective

at playing through the opponent
- React quickly in the defensive transition, get organized behind the
ball and protect the goal
- Communicate with goalkeeper to be organized and aware of the run
of the opponent behind
- Timing of passes, when to play in to the space behind for the strike
partner to run on to,
- Ball striking, the attacker needs to focus on striking the ball across
the goalkeeper so there’s an opportunity for the strike partner to follow
in.

COACHES INFLUENCE
The transitional nishing game will provide a lot of opportunity for
players to nish in high pressure situations, and we as coaches need to
ensure these high pressure situations occur within our practices.
It is also important that the situations are realistic e.g. they resemble
the pressure and the environment that will challenge our players to better.
If the practice becomes too easy or too di cult the challenge should be
adapted to suit the players.

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BREAK
AWAY
IN TO
SPACE

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 BREAK AWAY IN TO SPACE

Session Requirements
Players 6

This session is a very simple practice that can

Footballs 3
provide a lot of exposure to 1v1 and 2v1 moments
in the game. The practice starts very simply with a
Space 20x30 Yards 1v1 where players run towards the ball to create a
state of chaos where both players start in an
element of chaos.
Goals 4
Which player is able to organize themselves in these
moments will likely be the most successful. Once
Time 30 Mins the attacking 1v1 has occurred, the blue from the
top will break out and create a 2v1 where the red
will defend the right goal

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 BREAK AWAY IN TO SPACE
Session Overview

The rst part of the session here, shows the blue and the red move across the
session towards the centre of the practice. The coach roles a fairly central ball
where the players have to organize themselves this moment will provide chaos in
which players will be challenged to organize themselves. The side who are
quickest to organize in the transition are the team who will have the most
success in these moments.

- Can we assure that players react quickly and take up a central space in the

-
rst part
When defending can the central player get side on and look to force the
opponent in to one area of the pitch, if a player is central they can go both way
and cause more damage, forcing them in to a wider area limits their attacking

-
opportunity.
When attacking can we ensure our players attack centrally looking to make
the defender, create a at body position and limit the defensive capabilities.

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 BREAK AWAY IN TO SPACE
Session Overview

During the second part of the session the blue breaks out from the right
hand side of the practice. The red now needs to start to drop and protect the
space behind.
The danger for the defender now is there is space behind that can be exposed
behind the last line. The defenders body position is so key in defending these
overloaded moments.

-
-
Side on body position

-
Drop slowly and be aware of the space behind
In Possession be dynamic and quick, look to attack the space behind the

-
opponents defensive shape
When to nish? Early - take the opportunity as soon as half a yard is
created

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 BREAK AWAY IN TO SPACE
Session Coaching Points:

- Be dynamic when receiving possession, take the rst touch out of your feet
and look to take your touches towards the space, preferably the central space
- 1v1 skillset will be tested within players, can we encourage players to face
up opponents and look to beat them using the skillset and creativity our
environments should encourage.
- Finish with pace, again trying to use the upper instep to nd placement
and power
- Limit backlit to add disguise to the nish.

COACHES INFLUENCE
The transitional nishing game will provide a lot of opportunity for players to
nish in high pressure situations, and we as coaches need to ensure these high
pressure situations occur within our practices.
It is also important that the situations are realistic e.g. they resemble the
pressure and the environment that will challenge our players to better.
If the practice becomes too easy or too di cult the challenge should be
adapted to suit the players.

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 THANK YOU
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