Football/Soccer Session (Moderate): Creating and exploiting oveloads into SSG

Screen Creating overloads (10 mins)

Welsh Principles Creating overloads Understand when and how to exploit a numerical advantage against the opposition. Find Spare man, 2v1's 3v2's & Central 4 Vs 3's  

Organisation:

14 Players

14 bibs, (5 for each team, Maroon and blue, goalkeepers/target man in separate colours)

Cones and flats to mark playing area and create zones which to play through. 

2 goals (one goal used during the specific, then 2 in the small-sided game

Balls next to both team’s goals.

Maroon attacking in a 1-4-2-3-1, blues defending in a 1-4-4-2. Why this formation 

According to (Abraham et al, 2014) 'Tactics are so much more than simple ideas of formations or strategies. They are the structures that guide the decisions players take to achieve the goal of the sport'.

Looking into the UEFA Technical Reports (2019) the 1-4-2-3-1 formation was the most used formation in the men's Champions League with 8 teams using the formation in including the team that won the competition (Bayern Munich) and the second most popular formation was 1-4-4-2 with 5 teams playing that formation. 

When Liverpool played the 1-4-2-3-1 that had 67% possession and Bayern Munich having 64% and had an average possession time of 29 seconds each time. Juventus who play the 1-4-4-2 had on average 59% possession. 

Looking into the women Champions league UEFA Technical Report (2019) that there was on 5 teams that play the 1-4-4-2 formation being the most popular but the 1-4-2-3-1 formation only had 3 teams the 3 teams that played the 1-4-2-3-1 formation PSG, Barcelona, Lyon these 3 teams had the most possession in the middle third.       

Area:

65m x44m Fradua etal., (2013) Either by manipulating field dimensions or player numbers, changes in relative spaces per player demand continuous adaptations in co-positioning and co-orientation between attackers and defenders 

How:

Balls to start at Maroon team’s goalkeeper as to play out, the field is divided into 3 zones, 3v1 in the first one, 2v2 in the middle zone and 1v3 in the final zone, same set up for both teams. Neither team can leave their zone while defending, Maroon team attempts to play through the zones by creating overloads, starting in zone 1 by having one player dribble the ball forward to go into the next zone and create a 3v2 in the middle area. The Maroon then use that numerical advantage to move into the final zone with the ball under control to create a 2v2 and attempt to play the ball into the feet of the target. The dead-ball starts over at Maroon teams’ goalie.

If the blue team wins the ball, they attempt to score a goal by playing to goalies’ feet from anywhere. Can dribble or pass the ball through zones. 

Bangsbo and Pietersen (2000) different phases of play happen in different parts of the pitch and the midfield area. 

Progressions, Targets, Challenges & Conditions

Condition 6 seconds to score if the blue team hold the ball for too long,

Progression: Blue striker can follow and make recovery run.

Target: Maroon get 1 point if finding the target,

Challenge if very successful: 3 points if getting thought the middle zone in 5 touches or less.

Blues: 1 point per goal scored.

Progression: Combination play with midfielders in zone 2 and CB’s in zone 1, if the ball is played in midfielders have 1 touch to switch the point of attack and create an overload with a CB moving into zone 2.

Progression: Both midfielders can join the attack in zone 3 and create 3v2.

 Progressions, Targets, Challenges & Conditions

Condition 6 seconds to score if the blue team hold the ball for too long,

Progression: Blue striker can follow and make recovery run.

Target: Maroon get 1 point if finding the target,

Challenge