Playing Soccer is very Simple

Playing soccer is very simple, 
but playing simple soccer is the hardest thing there is.

Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff is one of my favorite soccer people of all-time.  Today's youth players may well know "the Cruyff" but not many will know anything about him as a player or even as a manager.  And that is a shame for the man was a brilliant soccer player and possesses one of the truly brilliant minds ever in the game.

The quote at the top of this article has long been a favorite of mine. Soccer truly is a simple game complicated by ...  And this is something I have pondered for countless hours over the years.  How do we manage to so complicate such a simple game? Maybe more importantly, why do we insist on complicating such a simple game?

I have spent the last few years defining a vision for playing soccer in its simplest form.  To be honest, I have borrowed and stolen from others as I have formulated these ideas based around certain truths of the game.

For example, we know there are four phases of play:

1) attacking

2) transitioning from attacking to defending

3) defending

4) transitioning from defending to attacking

Each of these four phases of play must be acted upon in as simple a manner as possible.  The actions required to act within each phase of play are the techniques we will employ. The decisions of how to employ these techniques are our tactics. Technique and Tactics can be influenced through physical and psychological aspects of play.  There, we just defined the four pillars of play in soccer: Technical, Tactical, Physical and Psychological.

The game itself has four elements necessary for simple play. These are Penetration, Depth, Width and Mobility.  When any of these are not present or exist in unnecessary duplication clutter and chaos exist. Or we might say we have complicated the game.

Within each of these concepts for the game of soccer are opportunities to complicate the processes involved. And boy do we take full advantage of those opportunities!  

Attacking play is all about establishing rhythm.  

Allow that to sink in for a minute.

Utilization of proper technique helps to establish attacking rhythm.  

Toes up / heel down / strike with the ankle bone is a mantra soccer coaches repeat ad nauseam and one that many likely cry out in their sleep in-season. Why?  Because when improper technique unnecessarily self-inflicts pressure and breaks the teams attacking rhythm possession is commonly lost. 

A defender dives in or stabs instead of adhering to channel first, close down second, use of a bounce step and the cues for when to attempt a tackle unnecessarily complicating the process by self-inflicting pressure.  Why?

The truly good teams have common characteristics beginning with why they have come together to play the game.  The "why" in the case of good teams manifests in a desire and willingness to play for one another.  It is important to the members of such teams not to let teammates down through inattention to details of the process - things like having their toes up / heels down and striking through the ball with their ankle bone or not diving in on defense.  The good teammates hold themselves and their teammates accountable allowing for the collective team to develop, establish and maintain a simplicity to their play that weaker teams cannot begin to ascend to due to self-inflicted pressure.  

What Coaching is all about

 

Coaching is not all about the X's and O's.

 

It's not even all about technique and tactics.

Coaching is all about

 

teaching the mind to think.

 

Coaching is about providing players

 

with the decision making skills that

 

allow them to become proficient

 

when playing the game.

Decision making and it's impact on the game

I have been mulling over how to approach writing an article about decision making in soccer. I firmly believe the difference between being an average player and a good or even great player is found in the player's brain, his decision-making ability. Beyond that, the team that makes the most good decisions (limits mistakes) exponentially increases it chances of winning. Decision making is such a broad topic though; on-the-ball, off-the-ball, defending and attitude are just a few areas of decision making that can impact the game. Put all these areas together and we come up with something called Soccer IQ.

Another way to look at decision-making is to think of it in terms of choices. We can decide between having a good attitude or a poor attitude, for example. We can decide to dive in or play patient defense waiting for the correct time to tackle the ball away. For the purpose of today's writing, I am going to concentrate on decision making when an individual is in possession of the ball. This may well turn into a series of posts and I will quite likely digress onto other decision making tangents before completing today's writing. Be patient with me.

From the individual in possession of the ball perspective the process might look something like this:

When do I shoot?
When do I dribble?
When do I pass?
When do I cross?
When do I play a drop pass?
When do I play the ball out of bounds.

I think there are some basic cues or guidelines that can be applied in a general sense. For instance, if a player is in position to take a shot on goal, he should shoot the ball. If he is not in possession to take a shot, can he make a pass to a teammate who is in a goal scoring position? Or if a player is facing his own goal and under pressure does he utilize a drop pass to preserve possession or does he kick the ball out of bounds to allow his team the opportunity to regain shape and defend back to their own goal?  And so on as we check down the list of options or choices listed above.

However disagreements can also arise about the proper course of action based on systems of play or even philosophy of play. Should I take a quality shooting opportunity when a teammate is one short pass from a better opportunity? Or with today's zonal defenses executing early retreats as a strategic ploy should I really dribble the ball through the open space in front of the backs when passing the ball advances it so much faster?

And what of game situations?  Do the same set of decision making guidelines apply when your team is up 5 - 0 as when the score is 1 - 2 with 10 minutes left?  Should the rhythm or flow of play impact the decision making process? If your team is under duress from the opponents attack should you attempt a difficult pass or perhaps whack the ball out of bounds to give time to reorganize?

I believe the correct decision when in possession of the ball will result either in a goal being scored or possession of the ball being maintained.

Even as I write this I am considering the message being sent for it sounds as if I am advocating a low risk, possess the ball strategy that we can easily recognize as being limited in its chances for success if success is defined as scoring goals and winning games. So, there is a risk / reward factor involved in the decision-making process. Yes, we love to utilize low risk possession oriented decision-making to lead to goals and this sometimes does occur. However, many times risks must be taken and possession put in the balance as we seek goal scoring opportunities. A proper balance must be struck and  the position of the ball on the field is of vital importance in determining this.

When in your own defensive third, low risk decisions are the norm.
When in the middle third of the field moderate risk decisions are appropriate.
When in the final or attacking third of the field high risk / high reward decision making can be utilized.

And then we have the decision for when to change the pace of possession.

When in the defensive third quick passing and or clearances are the mandate.
When in the middle third of the field where possession is secured and established a rhythm develops for the attack.  Slow, moderate or fast - it should differ from possession to possession
When in the final third the dramatic change of pace occurs as teams seek energy and explosiveness to goal.

I'm drawn, as I often am, to the wisdom of Johan Cruyff  who captures the essence of proper decision making with these two quotes:

"Soccer is a game played with the brain"

"Playing simply is the hardest thing to do"

I will leave you to ponder today's thoughts on decision making before delving further into the topic tomorrow.

Many of our problems are because we act without thinking.

"I play very simply. That's what it's all about. Playing simple football is the hardest thing".

- Johan Cruyff -

 

I coach / watch a lot of soccer. Keeping track of how many matches I have seen this calendar year alone I am already at 273 matches - More than one a day at this point in time. Of course, the World Cup padded that total this year.  I watch different age groups and varying levels of play. I am a student of the game. There is always something more to learn.

 

While watching a high school match last night I had a lot of thoughts bouncing around. The teams were of average ability and it was an entertaining match. The opportunity to contrast and compare to other recent matches I have seen couldn't be wasted and an idea slowly began to coalesce in my mind. Certainly not a new or revolutionary idea. More an old idea revisited and eventually expressed in a new way.

 

"Soccer is a game you play with your brain."

- Johan Cruyff - 

 

The game of soccer presents a myriad of problems to be solved on both the individual and collective levels. High quality decision making ability is the single greatest skill for any player to possess. What came together in my mind last night was the merging of the two John Cruyff quotes referenced above.

 

In order to play simply a soccer player must be a good decision maker... and... limit the decisions he must make during competition. Players can create more problems for themselves to solve when they act (or react) without thinking. Perhaps a better way to phrase that idea is to say, players create additional problems when they do not play with a thoughtful purpose.

 

My soccer sermon in camps and clinics this summer was to "know your next play with the ball before your first touch on the ball."  For a majority of young soccer players this is a radical way of thinking as they tend to gain possession of the ball and then attempt to figure out what to do with it  - this usually involves going up the field toward goal defensive pressure be damned. Often a poor decision that self-inflicts pressure... or creates more problems to be solved than is necessary.

 

"Many of our problems are because we act without thinking."

- Coach Brown -

 

This is not entirely accurate, but it is a great attention getter at this point in the article. A more truthful statement might be to say, "Many of our problems stem from not thinking far enough ahead." In American youth and high school soccer there is a great premium placed on being first to the ball, but this is of little value if possession of the ball is not won and maintained. 

 

Years ago I kept defensive statistics for a high school team. We tracked Interceptions and Takeovers (50 / 50 balls won). The team had to maintain possession before either an interception or takeover could be counted.  This meant a lot of deflections went uncounted. One year a particular player was very adept at deflecting the ball but really poor in gaining possession of the ball. When the statistics were shared he was upset because he had so few. His parents were furious because they thought the lack of statistics would hurt their sons chances for post season awards. Lost in their thinking was the number of those deflections that resulted in lost possessions and 50 / 50 balls that had to be contested  to secure possession. Being first to the ball simply isn't good enough if your play on the ball is not meant to gain and maintain possession.

 

Another coaching phrase used often in our camps and clinics is, "We want game watchers, not ball watchers."  As I watched last night's match I was struck by how "active play" consisted of 2 or 3 players from each team in the area of the ball. The other 16 - 18 players were largely spectating. This is no way to play simple soccer!  In fact, being a ball watcher increases the problems on both the individual and collective basis - it creates more, and more difficult, problems to solve than does being an actively involved game watcher.

 

Ball movement is predicated on player movement.

- Coach Brown -

 

Players who camp with us know this expression well. There are often light hearted chuckles from former players / campers when they hear me inform others of this truth of the game. It is a knowing and appreciative chuckle. They have been there, done that and now understand its significance.  The appreciation is for the fact that when ball watching or spectating on the field the process can be described as thinking without acting.

 

Acting without thinking

 

and

 

Thinking without acting

 

produce the same results

 

In either case the athlete is self-inflicting pressure or creating more and unnecessary problems to be solved by himself and his teammates. Neither is an acceptable behavior or pattern of play if we want to play this simple game in a simple manner.

 

Failing to prepare properly is preparing to fail.

 

We think of this in terms of how we practice, how we train, how we warm up before a training session or a match.  It also applies to every gained possession, every touch, every pass or shot. The player and his team must have a plan for play.  Soccer is a beautiful game when played simply. Playing simply is all bout your approach to solving the problems presented to you in the game. If you are well prepared, have studied the game instead of focusing mainly on the ball, your chances for successfully solving those problems increases exponentially. 

Where to play someone

During a recent question and answer period concluding a coaching clinic I had mentioned the need for center midfielders to be 360 degree players.  This sparked further questions concerning where to play someone based on how they approach the game.

This is actually something I have studied quite a bit over the years. I don't have it down to an exact science, but I do feel there are certain indicators that can help point the way dependent somewhat on the training circumstances available to the player and his team.

A 360 degree player is one who is comfortable playing in any direction on the pitch. This ability obviously comes in handy for central midfielders.  However, in the ever increasing single forward / target forward systems of today this type of player is highly prized as a target forward as well.

My answer to questions about filling positions was to designate players by their strengths in play to a position that requires those strengths be accentuated to fulfill the expectations for the position

We had just spent a half hour or so discussing the need for players to play the way they face being a requirement for possession play. A specific question posed was "where to play the player who wants to turn and go to goal?" Well, obviously this player would not fare well as a central midfielder or as a target forward.  All too often he would be self-inflicting pressure by turning into defenders.  This is the type of player who will need to play facing the goal.  So, my response to the question was in the form of another question, where should a player who wants to face goal play?

The obvious answers are 1) as a defender and 2) possibly on the flank as a wing player. 

A rather animated discussion followed as one of the coaches spoke of a player who likes to turn and go to goal being his best goal scoring option.  It was as if the only place he could be played was as a forward or as an attacking mid. I replied with yet another question, why can't a defender score goals?

I went on to explain how on our spring teams defenders were regular contributors to the attack both as assisters and goal scorers.  You need an aggressive defender who is offensive minded to man the outside back positions in many of todays zonal systems.  The coach, after some reflection, commented that I had just described his "forward" who struggled to play the way he faced.

If you do not have the time to work with such a player to teach him how to and the benefits of playing back to goal and playing the way he faces, why not save everyone a lot of stress and allow the player to play as his instincts tell him to - facing the goal and with your approval to "get forward into the attack?"

The next question to surface was, "who do I play at forward, then?"  Again I countered with a question, what do you want in a target player?

Typically we want a target player to be big and strong. Capable of receiving under pressure, shielding the ball and playing the way he faces.  It's great to have speed, but not absolutely necessary.  Remember, a primary purpose of playing to a target player who then drops the ball back is to allow teammates to join the attack.  Do we really want a target player who always turns and attempts to go 1 v 3 or 1 v 4 against the opponents defense?  Of course not! 

The target player who can receive, shield and drop the ball back allows for teammates to join him in the attack creating more favorable conditions and increasing the chances for success in the attack. All we are talking about is two passes before turning and attacking goal at pace.  1) Play to the feet of the target player who 2) plays back to the feet of a midfielder.  The precious few seconds that sequence takes allows teammates, who are running at goal, to come forward enough to be active participants in the attack instead of being trailers in the attack.

We were shooed from the building at about this time. I would have liked to continued the discussion. Perhaps another day? For now, the proverbial light bulb seemed to go off in the coaches mind during the course of this discussion. I could see the wheels churning as he pondered changing the positional assignments of some players on his team.  I'm anxious to get back out to see the team to see what he has implemented.

"I play very simply.

That's what it's all about.

Playing simple football is the hardest thing."

Johan Cruyff