Over the years I have been largely disappointed with the quality of play in Major League Soccer. My main complaint was the preponderance of direct attacking play that was pervasive throughout the early years of the league. It was much like watching a typical high school game on steroids. No imagination. No creativity. Brute force single mindedness, U-G-L-Y soccer. Then along came the 2015 edition of the Columbus Crew Soccer Club.
I have no problem admitting my excitement over the Crew's play is based in large part in the fact Gregg Berhalter has them playing "my" system. Of course, I do not actually claim ownership of the system of play the Crew are utilizing. I am merely acknowledging the fact I have been using the same system of play for the last five years. From a 1-4-2-3-1 alignment the Crew SC are combining disciplined defending with a free flowing varied attack.
At the heart of the system is a conscious commitment to purposefully manipulate the opponents defense through both player movement and ball movement. Side to side. Forward and backward. A defense that must move with varied player and ball movement will lose its shape eventually. This is when the Crew pounce on the seams created in the opponents defense. Then, just as they lull you into defending their patient probing style the Crew changes pace of play and hits with a blitzkrieg direct attack. I hate to constantly refer to Sun Tzu, but what the Crew SC is doing on the attack is utilizing fundamental principles from The Art of War.
Gregg Berhalter has a deep understanding that the ball can and should be used to shape the game. In this system the ball is often used as bait to manipulate the defense before the defense is actually attacked. Possession is valued and viewed as a tool to be used to prepare the way to a goal scoring opportunity. The system being employed is a thinking players system and this is what sets it apart from the standard fare of direct play that has dominated soccer in the United States.
It is no secret a steady diet of direct play is easily defended with organized defense. Denying the negative space between backs and the goalkeeper is a relatively easy thing to do when that is all a defense is required to do. The typical response to being denying direct play is to play in the outside channels and cross the ball to the face of the goal. Is it any wonder that scoring from crosses and corner kicks has been in steady decline?
Let's look at this from another angle. The lack of creativity has long been lamented in this country's soccer play. Is there really anything creative about playing direct soccer? There simply are not many opportunities when play is direct and at a pace of as fast as you can go to goal. This is what happens when reliance on big, fast, strong persists. A king consideration to stimulating creativity is to provide opportunities to be creative. This is what Berhalter and "our" system is bringing to the crew.
I have taken to calling the system Space and Pace.
When we think of direct soccer we visualize a ball being played through or chipped over the backs and into (negative) space. This is the space the attack seeks to utilize. On those rare occasions when a breakaway to goal occurs everyone gets excited. Worse, everyone becomes convinced that if it worked once, it will surely work again. And so a steady diet of through balls is the staple for the attack.
Consider this; one of the designs of a good zonal defense is to bait the opponents into attempting to play through balls. This is a primary reason the zonal defense came into being in soccer - to combat direct play via through balls. Why attack the strength of the defense? The answer is in part because with the growing prevalence of zonal defenses many of them are not played properly. I see this on the local high school and club scene all the time. A minimum of instruction is giving to the backs and usually early in the seasonal process. For the rest of the season, the backs are expected to know how to play in the defense. The teams that play zonal defense well work on it every day. Not many high school or club teams devote the necessary time to honing their zonal defense.
Space and Pace is about using what the defense gives the attack. Zonal defenses are designed to keep the ball in front of the defenders. What's given to the attack is ... possession. Watch the Crew move the ball side to side back and forth across the pitch before seemingly exploding towards goal. They use target play to engage the backs and drop passes to create space behind the opponents backs. Once again, the ball is the bait to draw attention away from the space that will be used and the player movement taking place to both open and utilize that space. Their is an intentional engaging of defenders and the defense as a whole followed by intentional disengaging and switching of the point of attack. This places a zonal defense whose strength is in numbers supporting pressure on the ball under far more stress than a steady diet of direct play, It forces the entire defense to move as a collective. When the breakdown of a single defender within the team system occurs, this is where the attackers pounce. It might well be a different defender each possession hence the varied and unpredictable attack generated by Space and Pace.
My apologies for rambling on a bit in today's writing. As you can tell, I am both excited and passionate about what I have seen from the Crew SC thus far in the 2015 season. I have seen first hand the effectiveness of Space and Pace from the high school and club teams I have coached. I knew it would work on the professional level and am ecstatic to see it happening with the Columbus Crew SC. This is what our Pace of Play team camps are all about. Interested in learning more? Contact us at tbrown@wcoil.com or by calling 567-204-6083 to set up a camp for your team.
Timothy J Brown
Founder and Director
Conceive Believe Achieve Soccer
Welcome to the web home of Conceive Believe Achieve Soccer. We specialize in conducting high school team camps. This website began as a means to promote our camps and keep campers informed of upcoming opportunities. There are now over 650 articles archived here. Use the search function in the right hand column below to find ones on topic for you. You may contact us at coachtjbrown@gmail.com or 567-204-6083 Thanks for visiting!
Showing posts with label manipulating the defense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manipulating the defense. Show all posts
Tuesday
Wednesday
Monday
Go to Goal!
Play the ball in behind the opponents backs and watch your teammate run onto it and go to goal!
This is direct play at its most extreme and often its worst.
Lionel Messi is considered one of if not the top player in today's game. He's a terrific "dribbler." That is, he runs with the ball extremely well. This ability to run with the ball can pressure defenses to the breaking point. When Messi is on the run with the ball everyone rises to their feet in anticipation of something great about to happen.
A great ball carrier who can break down the defense is an extremely valuable commodity to have on your team, but only if he knows how to use his ability for the greater good.
At my last stop as a high school head coach I had a young lady who was a state qualifier in track and could run as fast with the ball as she did without the ball. She was stunningly gifted in this regard. Unfortunately she never did learn to use her gift to the full benefit of her team. Kelly was content to break behind the defenders and go to goal. Taking a shot was the only thing on her mind. I have never witnessed more blown break-away opportunities than I did during her career.
Why?
The reason is found in how Messi plays.
Messi carries the ball with the intent to engage defenders. It's great if the only defender he must engage is the opponents goalkeeper, but more often than not it will be an opposing field player that must be engaged before a shot on goal opportunity arises. Messi knows when to pass. More precisely, Messi uses his run with the ball to set up the pass. He pulls players out of position to create numbers up situations with teammates and then utilizes a cross or combination passing to generate the shot on goal opportunity either for himself or a teammate.
There is a player on one of my son's teams who is good at getting played in behind the defenders. Jonathon has had several opportunities running with the ball at goal. Many of these occur with his path being from the corner, corner, post wedge. In a sense, by going to goal, Jonathon is engaging defenders and drawing them to him. Invariably he ends these sequences with taking a shot from a nearly impossible angle... while one or more teammates are open in front of the face of the goal. I would like to see Jonathon more fully explore all options available to him. This will necessitate a change from being a ball watcher to being a game watcher.
Kelly was never willing to make the transition from going to goal to intelligently and purposefully engaging opponents and incorporating teammates into attacking the goal. There's still time for Jonathon. To develop game intelligence, one must become a game watcher.
And that is what makes Messi so great, his game intelligence. When he carries the ball, Messi sees multiple options and chooses the one that best benefits his team more often than not. There is an understanding of engaging defenders to set them up to be defeated with the help of one or more teammates. Messi sees the broader game instead of just himself, the ball and the goal. When Messi goes to goal he purposefully takes a mate or two long with the intent to increase the chances someone will score the ball!
This is direct play at its most extreme and often its worst.
Lionel Messi is considered one of if not the top player in today's game. He's a terrific "dribbler." That is, he runs with the ball extremely well. This ability to run with the ball can pressure defenses to the breaking point. When Messi is on the run with the ball everyone rises to their feet in anticipation of something great about to happen.
A great ball carrier who can break down the defense is an extremely valuable commodity to have on your team, but only if he knows how to use his ability for the greater good.
At my last stop as a high school head coach I had a young lady who was a state qualifier in track and could run as fast with the ball as she did without the ball. She was stunningly gifted in this regard. Unfortunately she never did learn to use her gift to the full benefit of her team. Kelly was content to break behind the defenders and go to goal. Taking a shot was the only thing on her mind. I have never witnessed more blown break-away opportunities than I did during her career.
Why?
The reason is found in how Messi plays.
Messi carries the ball with the intent to engage defenders. It's great if the only defender he must engage is the opponents goalkeeper, but more often than not it will be an opposing field player that must be engaged before a shot on goal opportunity arises. Messi knows when to pass. More precisely, Messi uses his run with the ball to set up the pass. He pulls players out of position to create numbers up situations with teammates and then utilizes a cross or combination passing to generate the shot on goal opportunity either for himself or a teammate.
There is a player on one of my son's teams who is good at getting played in behind the defenders. Jonathon has had several opportunities running with the ball at goal. Many of these occur with his path being from the corner, corner, post wedge. In a sense, by going to goal, Jonathon is engaging defenders and drawing them to him. Invariably he ends these sequences with taking a shot from a nearly impossible angle... while one or more teammates are open in front of the face of the goal. I would like to see Jonathon more fully explore all options available to him. This will necessitate a change from being a ball watcher to being a game watcher.
Kelly was never willing to make the transition from going to goal to intelligently and purposefully engaging opponents and incorporating teammates into attacking the goal. There's still time for Jonathon. To develop game intelligence, one must become a game watcher.
And that is what makes Messi so great, his game intelligence. When he carries the ball, Messi sees multiple options and chooses the one that best benefits his team more often than not. There is an understanding of engaging defenders to set them up to be defeated with the help of one or more teammates. Messi sees the broader game instead of just himself, the ball and the goal. When Messi goes to goal he purposefully takes a mate or two long with the intent to increase the chances someone will score the ball!
Target Play
When teaching target play I try to keep things as simple as possible. I provide limited guidelines and allow the player to problem solve in-game. We then use a handful of training exercises that accentuate specific aspects of target play. In today's writing I am going to provide the guidelines and a more in-depth explanation of target play than I usually provide a player to help the reader gain the understanding playing and training for the position would otherwise provide.
My guidelines to target players are short, sweet and directly to the point:
1) Play back to goal.
2) Play the way you face.
3) Make a safe pass.
That's it.
I am a firm believer in providing limited guidelines then allowing the player to explore a position to the fullest extent his imagination will allow for.
To provide a written (or oral) explanation of positional responsibilities for a target player I think it best to do it by phase of play beginning with when his team is defending. More specifically we will begin with looking at the target's play when his team is in it's defending third of the field.
Defending Third
The target player must be available to receive the ball from a teammate. This involves facing his teammates with his back to the goal they will be attempting to score in. We see many the player who stand near the center line watching their teammates compete for and hopefully win the ball. Then they look to be played through. This is not target play. This is lazy, unimaginative and predictable play.
We want the target player to be constantly adjusting his position. Every time the ball moves on the pitch, the target player must also be in motion. The key consideration for the target player is to be in a clear line of sight of the teammate closest to the ball so that when that teammate secures possession the target is in his vision early. This will entail a lot of laterally movement on the pitch mixed in with limited vertical movement in establishing the clear line of sight.
Identify the type of defense you are going against. Zonal defenses and man marking defenses each provide slightly different problems to solve. For example, if man-marked the target player will need not only work to provide a clear line of sight to the teammate closest to the ball, but he will also need to gain separation from his mark in order to receive the ball cleanly. This will involve a lot of misdirection play on the target's part. Check away before checking to in the form of "V" cuts as an example. Against a zonal system defenders may not closely man-mark the defender preferring to stay in their zonal channel. The target will set up between lines - in front of the backs and behind the midfielders. This may change the defenders path to the ball from being in line with that of the target. If this is the case, the target will have to account for this in his movements so he can shield the defender from the ball as he would if tightly man-marked.
A secondary yet very important consideration is to keep the defender responsible for you from being in the clear line of sight to your teammate closest to the ball. Make the defender choose between watching you and watching the ball. You may choose to play off to the side of the clear line of sight before bending off a check back run to the clear line of sight. You might decide to play behind the defender, even in an offside position, before checking into and back through the clear line of sight to your teammate closest to the ball,
Upon receiving the ball, and especially so when under defensive pressure, it is critically important for the target to play the way he faces. The drop pass is the currency of value in target play. Picture in your mind the target player checking back in the line of sight of his teammate closest to the ball. A (pressure) defender is in close pursuit. A good defensive team will have cover (and balance) being provided behind the pressure defender. In effect 2 to 3 defenders will be stepping in the same direction the target is checking back in.
This is the manipulation of the defense target play is designed to exploit. When a drop pass is executed defenders will have 3 options for play and most will choose one of two that are advantageous to the attacking team. First, they let up and stop their forward movement. Secondly they may choose to continue pursuing the ball! The third option would be to immediately give ground towards their own goal in anticipation of the through ball that is about to come off the drop pass action.
The third option is obviously the choice of a good defense. How many high school teams do you know who are coached well enough to execute this tactic effectively? Most zonal teams cannot even execute an early retreat effectively. A sweeper may lie in deep and provide a more effective defense against the drop and through tactic, but only if options for the through ball are limited. If a runner is available on each flank the sweeper will need to choose correctly and win the through ball or be open to being beaten by an early cross back against his movement to the through ball.
Of course, this is all predicated on the target player executing a safe pass while playing the way he faces. Dropping the ball to his partner forward (in a 2 forward system), to a midfielder or even an on-coming back who will then play the ball forward. It is this forward movement of the ball in conjunction with playing back to goal and playing the way he faces that preserves the negative space behind the opponents back line to be played in by teammates moving forward at pace. This is what we call Playing Space with Pace or Space and Pace for short.
It is important to realize that the more successful you are as a target player the more attention you will draw from opponents. When this occurs your teammates may find it easier to play very direct once in a while to keep the defense honest. It is extremely important the target player continues and finishes his basic checking back in the clear line of sight of his teammate closest to the ball. Just as the long direct through ball is meant to keep the defense honest so to is the continued and now somewhat predictable movement of the target. Make the defense choose which option they will defend. They cannot defend both and any indecisiveness on the defenses part may find them defending neither. Than the fun really begins!
Middle Third
In the counter attack it is likely a second player will be required to assume target responsibilities. If the through ball does not result in playing an attacker in behind the defense with a clear path to goal it will be necessary to re-establish target play.
One of my pet peeves is to see an attacker carrying the ball at a defense with teammates running in the same direction and at the same pace as the ball is being advanced. This is STUPID soccer.
What needs to happen is one teammate pushing forward at a faster pace than the ball is being advanced, then turning and sitting as a target for the ball to hold those retreating backs and preserve the negative space behind them. It might be necessary for the ball carrier to not advance at full pace to allow target play in front of him to redevelop. If there are simultaneous forward runs ahead of the ball this poses multiple problems for the defense to deal with. Whereas all attackers moving at the same pace in the same direction of the ball is terribly predictable and easily defended, having varying tactical scenarios and paces of play to contend with is a defending nightmare.
The target in the middle third of the field has the same duties as the target in the defending third of the field. Establish a clear line of sight between himself and the ball carrier.
The target is the focal point in establishing a numbers up situation for his team to exploit.
In this regard the target must discern which defender will step to meet the threat of the ball carrier and then adjust his positioning to create a situation where that defender must choose between the movement of the ball and the movement of the target player. If the ball is passed to the target players feet, where will the defender choose to place his focus? This is the foundational premise the cues for combination passing are based upon.
While back to goal play is still the basis of target play in the middle third of the field there will be opportunities to play sideways on and receiving the ball across the body. This is part of the sequences of cues for combination passes referenced above. It might be the target can turn towards goal and advance the ball himself. This is perfectly acceptable if the target is not receiving the ball under heavy pressure. This provides another dimension of unpredictability for a defense to contend with... as long as it does not become consistent and thereby predictable in and of itself.
Final or Attacking Third
If we are to continue with target playing in the final third of the pitch, I prefer the target sets up along the top of the penalty area and outside the width of the goal area or 6 yard "box". We wish to keep the space in front of the face of goal free to play in and should only move into this area when we are ready to strike on goal. Quick one touch passing and flicks are the order of the day to play teammates in for a shot on goal. Assorted turns utilizing the pace and path of passes to the targets feet can be used to generate shots on goal for the target. Again, vary which options you select to keep defenders off balance and guessing instead of allowing them to sit on your predictability.
If you have the luxury of having a tall target player he may continue being the main focal point for crosses, corner kicks and free kicks. Balls played to be headed can be redirected down to a teammates feet for a shot or redirected as a secondary cross to a teammate.
The Target Player as a Defender
When the ball is lost in the attacking or final third of the pitch immediate and intense pressure should be applied by the target player whenever possible.
In the middle third of the field the target players responsibility is to cut the field in half vertically to cut off any crosses to switch the field. Make the attack as predictable as possible for your teammates to defend against.
In the defending third of the field, well, now we are back to where be began this article.
My guidelines to target players are short, sweet and directly to the point:
1) Play back to goal.
2) Play the way you face.
3) Make a safe pass.
That's it.
I am a firm believer in providing limited guidelines then allowing the player to explore a position to the fullest extent his imagination will allow for.
To provide a written (or oral) explanation of positional responsibilities for a target player I think it best to do it by phase of play beginning with when his team is defending. More specifically we will begin with looking at the target's play when his team is in it's defending third of the field.
Defending Third
The target player must be available to receive the ball from a teammate. This involves facing his teammates with his back to the goal they will be attempting to score in. We see many the player who stand near the center line watching their teammates compete for and hopefully win the ball. Then they look to be played through. This is not target play. This is lazy, unimaginative and predictable play.
We want the target player to be constantly adjusting his position. Every time the ball moves on the pitch, the target player must also be in motion. The key consideration for the target player is to be in a clear line of sight of the teammate closest to the ball so that when that teammate secures possession the target is in his vision early. This will entail a lot of laterally movement on the pitch mixed in with limited vertical movement in establishing the clear line of sight.
Identify the type of defense you are going against. Zonal defenses and man marking defenses each provide slightly different problems to solve. For example, if man-marked the target player will need not only work to provide a clear line of sight to the teammate closest to the ball, but he will also need to gain separation from his mark in order to receive the ball cleanly. This will involve a lot of misdirection play on the target's part. Check away before checking to in the form of "V" cuts as an example. Against a zonal system defenders may not closely man-mark the defender preferring to stay in their zonal channel. The target will set up between lines - in front of the backs and behind the midfielders. This may change the defenders path to the ball from being in line with that of the target. If this is the case, the target will have to account for this in his movements so he can shield the defender from the ball as he would if tightly man-marked.
A secondary yet very important consideration is to keep the defender responsible for you from being in the clear line of sight to your teammate closest to the ball. Make the defender choose between watching you and watching the ball. You may choose to play off to the side of the clear line of sight before bending off a check back run to the clear line of sight. You might decide to play behind the defender, even in an offside position, before checking into and back through the clear line of sight to your teammate closest to the ball,
Upon receiving the ball, and especially so when under defensive pressure, it is critically important for the target to play the way he faces. The drop pass is the currency of value in target play. Picture in your mind the target player checking back in the line of sight of his teammate closest to the ball. A (pressure) defender is in close pursuit. A good defensive team will have cover (and balance) being provided behind the pressure defender. In effect 2 to 3 defenders will be stepping in the same direction the target is checking back in.
This is the manipulation of the defense target play is designed to exploit. When a drop pass is executed defenders will have 3 options for play and most will choose one of two that are advantageous to the attacking team. First, they let up and stop their forward movement. Secondly they may choose to continue pursuing the ball! The third option would be to immediately give ground towards their own goal in anticipation of the through ball that is about to come off the drop pass action.
The third option is obviously the choice of a good defense. How many high school teams do you know who are coached well enough to execute this tactic effectively? Most zonal teams cannot even execute an early retreat effectively. A sweeper may lie in deep and provide a more effective defense against the drop and through tactic, but only if options for the through ball are limited. If a runner is available on each flank the sweeper will need to choose correctly and win the through ball or be open to being beaten by an early cross back against his movement to the through ball.
Of course, this is all predicated on the target player executing a safe pass while playing the way he faces. Dropping the ball to his partner forward (in a 2 forward system), to a midfielder or even an on-coming back who will then play the ball forward. It is this forward movement of the ball in conjunction with playing back to goal and playing the way he faces that preserves the negative space behind the opponents back line to be played in by teammates moving forward at pace. This is what we call Playing Space with Pace or Space and Pace for short.
It is important to realize that the more successful you are as a target player the more attention you will draw from opponents. When this occurs your teammates may find it easier to play very direct once in a while to keep the defense honest. It is extremely important the target player continues and finishes his basic checking back in the clear line of sight of his teammate closest to the ball. Just as the long direct through ball is meant to keep the defense honest so to is the continued and now somewhat predictable movement of the target. Make the defense choose which option they will defend. They cannot defend both and any indecisiveness on the defenses part may find them defending neither. Than the fun really begins!
Middle Third
In the counter attack it is likely a second player will be required to assume target responsibilities. If the through ball does not result in playing an attacker in behind the defense with a clear path to goal it will be necessary to re-establish target play.
One of my pet peeves is to see an attacker carrying the ball at a defense with teammates running in the same direction and at the same pace as the ball is being advanced. This is STUPID soccer.
What needs to happen is one teammate pushing forward at a faster pace than the ball is being advanced, then turning and sitting as a target for the ball to hold those retreating backs and preserve the negative space behind them. It might be necessary for the ball carrier to not advance at full pace to allow target play in front of him to redevelop. If there are simultaneous forward runs ahead of the ball this poses multiple problems for the defense to deal with. Whereas all attackers moving at the same pace in the same direction of the ball is terribly predictable and easily defended, having varying tactical scenarios and paces of play to contend with is a defending nightmare.
The target in the middle third of the field has the same duties as the target in the defending third of the field. Establish a clear line of sight between himself and the ball carrier.
The target is the focal point in establishing a numbers up situation for his team to exploit.
In this regard the target must discern which defender will step to meet the threat of the ball carrier and then adjust his positioning to create a situation where that defender must choose between the movement of the ball and the movement of the target player. If the ball is passed to the target players feet, where will the defender choose to place his focus? This is the foundational premise the cues for combination passing are based upon.
While back to goal play is still the basis of target play in the middle third of the field there will be opportunities to play sideways on and receiving the ball across the body. This is part of the sequences of cues for combination passes referenced above. It might be the target can turn towards goal and advance the ball himself. This is perfectly acceptable if the target is not receiving the ball under heavy pressure. This provides another dimension of unpredictability for a defense to contend with... as long as it does not become consistent and thereby predictable in and of itself.
Final or Attacking Third
If we are to continue with target playing in the final third of the pitch, I prefer the target sets up along the top of the penalty area and outside the width of the goal area or 6 yard "box". We wish to keep the space in front of the face of goal free to play in and should only move into this area when we are ready to strike on goal. Quick one touch passing and flicks are the order of the day to play teammates in for a shot on goal. Assorted turns utilizing the pace and path of passes to the targets feet can be used to generate shots on goal for the target. Again, vary which options you select to keep defenders off balance and guessing instead of allowing them to sit on your predictability.
If you have the luxury of having a tall target player he may continue being the main focal point for crosses, corner kicks and free kicks. Balls played to be headed can be redirected down to a teammates feet for a shot or redirected as a secondary cross to a teammate.
The Target Player as a Defender
When the ball is lost in the attacking or final third of the pitch immediate and intense pressure should be applied by the target player whenever possible.
In the middle third of the field the target players responsibility is to cut the field in half vertically to cut off any crosses to switch the field. Make the attack as predictable as possible for your teammates to defend against.
In the defending third of the field, well, now we are back to where be began this article.
Crossing the Soccer Ball.
What I am about to write will seem sacrilegious to soccer purists, but if you bear with me I think you will eventually understand the point being made. The traditional crossing of the soccer ball is the most inefficient tactic for scoring the soccer ball in the game today.
For years I have taught my teams to deny the opponents cross. The foundation of any good defensive scheme is to take away what the offense wants to do. In soccer finishing off crosses has long been a staple of training around the globe. So, I have for years instructed my outside defenders to turn the ball inside toward their center backs thus denying the opponents the traditional cross. This simply makes sense and I have noticed ever increasing numbers of teams adapting this strategy.
My own teams rarely practice crossing the ball in a traditional sense - driving the ball down the flank to the 18 extended and crossing into the space directly in front of the face of the goal. We do practice taking the ball to the end line and engaging the goalkeeper then slotting it back between the penalty mark and the top of the 18 - the bangoo.
I always try to stay ahead of developments in the game. My teams played zonal long before it became popular to do so. As I just stated, my teams rarely cross the ball in a traditional sense. We are different yet highly successful. Perhaps we are successful because we are different?
The traditional cross was viewed as a fundamental strategy when playing against a diamond man-marking stopper / sweeper system. It was intelligent play to shift the diamond towards one side of the field and play back against its grain to generate scoring opportunities. With zonal defenses being the staple of todays defending schemes that strategy is not nearly as effective unless a team over shifts its entire back line to ball side. If the backs remain in their channels it renders crossing the ball far less effective.
Changes to combat zonal defending schemes are driving todays game like never before. This is something I noticed 4-5 years ago and resulted in a different approach for our offense being developed. As I said, my teams have never been ones to spend much time in training on finishing off crosses. I have always considered this to be an inefficient means of generating quality scoring chances. We have always looked for different means to advance the ball into scoring position.
The head high school coach I worked as an assistant under was the first to utilize a zonal defense in our area. Our school was way ahead of the game in that regard and it was ultra effective. He was also a possession style coach for attacking the opponents goal. Those teams were great defensively and struggled to score. A typical score would be a 1 - 0 victory and we were the dominant team in the area. I remember countless discussions with that coaching staff on how to generate more goals.
Possession in those days and on those teams saw a primary focus on the number of passes a team could string together. Training games were built around this and those teams became pretty impressive in building up the number of consecutive passes they could make in playing keep-away. That was also the rub - playing keep-away doesn't do much for you if the intent is to score goals.
As a head coach in both the scholastic and club ranks I have stuck with zonal defending and a possession style attack, but it would be unrecognizable to those old teams. The foundation for our attacking philosophies are rooted in my love for basketball. I remember legendary coach Bob Knight instructing at one of his camps that you had to move the ball from side to side to open seams in a moving defense through which to attack. Attacking zonal defenses in soccer works the same way. The beauty of this is it also works extremely well against man marking systems of defending.
So while traditional crossing of the soccer ball has been increasingly looked at as an outdated low percentage means of generating quality scoring opportunities the value of intelligent crossing of the ball has actually risen.
A 2010 study of the UEFA Champions League saw that while 16% of goals scored came from traditional crosses only 1 in 92 crosses resulted in a goal being scored. An efficiency rating of .01%. Yikes! Here's another interesting statistic from that study, possession was lost 73% of the time a traditional cross was made. In fact, the study suggests the cross is so inefficient teams would score .57 of a goal more per game if they abandoned the cross entirely.
Comparisons between qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup and qualifying for this summers World Cup also bolster the idea traditional crossing is becoming less prevalent in the game. There were over 3 fewer crosses per match in this last round of qualifying than there had been in the previous.
Tiki-Taka or touch-touch is surely responsible for some of this as possessions became longer and by extension fewer over the course of a match. Yet, tiki-taka was exposed in this summers World Cup for being nearly as ineffective as the traditional crossing style has become. So, what's going on?
To begin with, tiki-taka is basically what those high school teams I referenced earlier played in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Those teams won games with typical scores of 1-0 or 2-1. They possessed the ball. They made opponents chase the ball. That is tiki-taka soccer. The underlying premise being the opponent cannot score if you possess the ball. However, the priority in tiki-taka is not about possessing to attack.
Over the last half dozen years I have directed and urged my teams to find the path of least resistance to goal. We do not work on traditional crosses at all. We do still work on the bangoo cross. And we work on early crosses as if it were a religion. I provide two simple templates or patterns for advancing the ball up the field with both relying heavily on having at least two complete changes of field. If we can change the point of attack with one huge cross, I love it. If it must be done by 2 or 3 shorter passes, I still like it. But then the ball must immediately begin it's journey back across the pitch as we enter the final third. This can be done by another cross or by a player carrying the ball across. The entire premise is to force a defense to move to one flank then catch them moving in recovery to the other flank. Flat or square passes are near useless as they do not force a defense to change its vertical positioning on the pitch. The key is for diagonal crosses. This is heretical to traditionalists who have long viewed the flat or square cross from the 18 extended to be the option of choice in attacking the oppositions goal.
Today's crosses must be diagonal, early and repetitive to be effective in moving zonal defenses not only channel to channel but also vertically up and down the pitch. Moving zonal defenses vertically is the key to opening seams to attack through. And you know what? It works against man-marking systems as well! I do not have a formal name like "tiki-taka" for what we do. I call it possessing to attack although possessing to score might be a better description.
Now that the game seems to be catching up with our defensive philosophy I am strongly considering inviting the opponents to cross the ball in a traditional sense. We have the results and the stats to prove we can win convincingly by possessing to score through intentionally manipulating a defense. From what I am seeing the game is moving in this direction on the world stage right on down to the club and now high school ranks. This is the driving force behind the ever more popular 4-2-3-1 formation we are seeing - opening flank play for the purpose of early crosses with an emphasis on intentionally orchestrated versatility in the attacking third of the pitch.
Traditions are great but like everything else in life they must also change with the times The new traditional cross is the early and repeated cross before reaching the attacking third. The 4-2-3-1 formation opens the space on the flanks for this to occur. Whereas early penetration followed by successful use of width was once the accepted formula for attacking, the modern game sees utilization of width to open seams through which to penetrate as the emerging norm for attacking play.
For years I have taught my teams to deny the opponents cross. The foundation of any good defensive scheme is to take away what the offense wants to do. In soccer finishing off crosses has long been a staple of training around the globe. So, I have for years instructed my outside defenders to turn the ball inside toward their center backs thus denying the opponents the traditional cross. This simply makes sense and I have noticed ever increasing numbers of teams adapting this strategy.
My own teams rarely practice crossing the ball in a traditional sense - driving the ball down the flank to the 18 extended and crossing into the space directly in front of the face of the goal. We do practice taking the ball to the end line and engaging the goalkeeper then slotting it back between the penalty mark and the top of the 18 - the bangoo.
I always try to stay ahead of developments in the game. My teams played zonal long before it became popular to do so. As I just stated, my teams rarely cross the ball in a traditional sense. We are different yet highly successful. Perhaps we are successful because we are different?
The traditional cross was viewed as a fundamental strategy when playing against a diamond man-marking stopper / sweeper system. It was intelligent play to shift the diamond towards one side of the field and play back against its grain to generate scoring opportunities. With zonal defenses being the staple of todays defending schemes that strategy is not nearly as effective unless a team over shifts its entire back line to ball side. If the backs remain in their channels it renders crossing the ball far less effective.
Changes to combat zonal defending schemes are driving todays game like never before. This is something I noticed 4-5 years ago and resulted in a different approach for our offense being developed. As I said, my teams have never been ones to spend much time in training on finishing off crosses. I have always considered this to be an inefficient means of generating quality scoring chances. We have always looked for different means to advance the ball into scoring position.
The head high school coach I worked as an assistant under was the first to utilize a zonal defense in our area. Our school was way ahead of the game in that regard and it was ultra effective. He was also a possession style coach for attacking the opponents goal. Those teams were great defensively and struggled to score. A typical score would be a 1 - 0 victory and we were the dominant team in the area. I remember countless discussions with that coaching staff on how to generate more goals.
Possession in those days and on those teams saw a primary focus on the number of passes a team could string together. Training games were built around this and those teams became pretty impressive in building up the number of consecutive passes they could make in playing keep-away. That was also the rub - playing keep-away doesn't do much for you if the intent is to score goals.
As a head coach in both the scholastic and club ranks I have stuck with zonal defending and a possession style attack, but it would be unrecognizable to those old teams. The foundation for our attacking philosophies are rooted in my love for basketball. I remember legendary coach Bob Knight instructing at one of his camps that you had to move the ball from side to side to open seams in a moving defense through which to attack. Attacking zonal defenses in soccer works the same way. The beauty of this is it also works extremely well against man marking systems of defending.
So while traditional crossing of the soccer ball has been increasingly looked at as an outdated low percentage means of generating quality scoring opportunities the value of intelligent crossing of the ball has actually risen.
A 2010 study of the UEFA Champions League saw that while 16% of goals scored came from traditional crosses only 1 in 92 crosses resulted in a goal being scored. An efficiency rating of .01%. Yikes! Here's another interesting statistic from that study, possession was lost 73% of the time a traditional cross was made. In fact, the study suggests the cross is so inefficient teams would score .57 of a goal more per game if they abandoned the cross entirely.
Comparisons between qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup and qualifying for this summers World Cup also bolster the idea traditional crossing is becoming less prevalent in the game. There were over 3 fewer crosses per match in this last round of qualifying than there had been in the previous.
Tiki-Taka or touch-touch is surely responsible for some of this as possessions became longer and by extension fewer over the course of a match. Yet, tiki-taka was exposed in this summers World Cup for being nearly as ineffective as the traditional crossing style has become. So, what's going on?
To begin with, tiki-taka is basically what those high school teams I referenced earlier played in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Those teams won games with typical scores of 1-0 or 2-1. They possessed the ball. They made opponents chase the ball. That is tiki-taka soccer. The underlying premise being the opponent cannot score if you possess the ball. However, the priority in tiki-taka is not about possessing to attack.
Over the last half dozen years I have directed and urged my teams to find the path of least resistance to goal. We do not work on traditional crosses at all. We do still work on the bangoo cross. And we work on early crosses as if it were a religion. I provide two simple templates or patterns for advancing the ball up the field with both relying heavily on having at least two complete changes of field. If we can change the point of attack with one huge cross, I love it. If it must be done by 2 or 3 shorter passes, I still like it. But then the ball must immediately begin it's journey back across the pitch as we enter the final third. This can be done by another cross or by a player carrying the ball across. The entire premise is to force a defense to move to one flank then catch them moving in recovery to the other flank. Flat or square passes are near useless as they do not force a defense to change its vertical positioning on the pitch. The key is for diagonal crosses. This is heretical to traditionalists who have long viewed the flat or square cross from the 18 extended to be the option of choice in attacking the oppositions goal.
Today's crosses must be diagonal, early and repetitive to be effective in moving zonal defenses not only channel to channel but also vertically up and down the pitch. Moving zonal defenses vertically is the key to opening seams to attack through. And you know what? It works against man-marking systems as well! I do not have a formal name like "tiki-taka" for what we do. I call it possessing to attack although possessing to score might be a better description.
Now that the game seems to be catching up with our defensive philosophy I am strongly considering inviting the opponents to cross the ball in a traditional sense. We have the results and the stats to prove we can win convincingly by possessing to score through intentionally manipulating a defense. From what I am seeing the game is moving in this direction on the world stage right on down to the club and now high school ranks. This is the driving force behind the ever more popular 4-2-3-1 formation we are seeing - opening flank play for the purpose of early crosses with an emphasis on intentionally orchestrated versatility in the attacking third of the pitch.
Traditions are great but like everything else in life they must also change with the times The new traditional cross is the early and repeated cross before reaching the attacking third. The 4-2-3-1 formation opens the space on the flanks for this to occur. Whereas early penetration followed by successful use of width was once the accepted formula for attacking, the modern game sees utilization of width to open seams through which to penetrate as the emerging norm for attacking play.
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