Possessing the ball.

Possession of the soccer ball is valued for two simple reasons.  Discounting own goals, 1) possession is necessary to score the ball and 2) possession denies the opponent the opportunity to score the ball.

The reality of possession runs much deeper.  Through today's writing I am going to challenge you to think of possession in terms you may not have previously considered.  Let's throw some questions out to get your mind primed for what is to come.

How many possessions a match does your team average?

What do you consider to be the optimum number of possessions for your team in a match?

How and where is your system of play designed to gain your team possession of the ball?

How long does an average possession last?

Does your team typically win the time of possession battle?

Soccer Opposites

Was Sir Isaac Newton a football enthusiast?

Newton's Third Law for Motion is that, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
This law states that in every interaction, there exists a pair of forces. These forces always come in equal and opposite action-reaction pairs.

Kind of sounds like two teams playing soccer, eh?

Counter Attack                      Defending the Counter Attack

Safe pass                                Pressing Defense

Establishing Rhythm             Disrupting Rhythm

Transitioning to Attack          6 seconds to regain shape behind ball

Building from the Back         Defending at Line of Confrontation

Building in Attacking Half    Bunkering in

Attacking Restarts                 Defending Restarts

Only in soccer, while there are draws, more often than not there is a winner and a loser.  The outcome of the match does lie in the battle of opposites. Above we have identified 7 basic opposites in the game of soccer. Perhaps you can identify others?  It seems fair to say the team who wins the majority of the battles of opposites has the best chance at winning the match, yes?