Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): WPSI Tournament - March 21st, 2021. Sunday game plan

Game 2 Start

Game 2 - 16 min

Byron - Quino

Will - David

Manny - Chris

Tim - Austin

Ismail - Barbad

DEFENSIVE PHASE

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

OVERALL TECHNICAL THEME: DISCIPLINED INDIVIDUAL DEFENDING 

OVERALL TACTICAL THEME: CUTTING OFF PASSING LANES FROM OPPOSITION HALF INTO OUR OWN HALF. FORCE MISTAKES TO WIN THE BALL IN GOOD POSITIONS

BE PATIENT AND DISCIPLINED WHEN DEFENDING AND BE STRONG WHEN NEEDED!! 

**OUR SHAPE WHEN WE DON'T HAVE THE BALL IS BASICALLY A 1-4-3-3 (IF THEY PLAY OUT FROM THE BACK)

TOP PRIORITIES:

1) INDIVIDUAL DEFENDING - PATIENCE AND TECHNIQUE

2) SMALL GROUP DEFENDING - DISCIPLINE AND PATIENCE. KNOW WHEN TO RUN AND APPLY HIGH PRESSURE

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DEFENDERS

**-Be SUPER PATIENT when defending in wide areas in 1v1 battles. Goal is to DELAY as long as possible

- Recovery and delay - we defend centrally towards the goal FIRST then out to the ball!

*- Back line staying connected and applying basic PCB principles

*- Defend centrally first. Defend narrow and compact and if we must yield any ground, yield the ground in the wide areas.

*- Recognizing the moments when to switch to the pressure defender vs the covering defender.

* DO NOT allow any balls through the back line centrally....make everything go wide! (Zone 14 - REMEMBER)

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 MIDFIELDERS

**When we lose the ball, how quickly do we mentally and physically transition into a defensive mindset and position? CLICK MOMENTS!

 - Critical that we apply pressure but recover centrally (DO NOT CHASE THE BALL HORIZONTALLY ACROSS THE PITCH!)

- Get the right team shape across the middle of the pitch and maintain the shape as we transition from side to side and front to back (4-3-3). FORCE THEM TO GO LONG WITH THE BALL

*-#6 & #8 stay central as much as possible and in playing distance of each other WHEN WE DON'T HAVE THE BALL IN REGULAR POSITIONS

#7, #9 & #11 - Look for passing lanes to cut off into the center midfield areas. STAY CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER. DEFEND EARLIER!! ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE PLAYING OUT FROM THE BACK

When we win the ball back, can we find open players (even if that means going backwards for the purpose of recycling the ball and starting the attack again).

DEFEND WELL, THEN PLAY IN THE DIRECTION WE ARE FACING AND FIND OPENINGS!! 

THIS IS SUPER CRITICAL - DON'T TRY TO BE TOO FANCY WHEN WE WIN THE BALL BACK

OUR FIRST 2-3 PASSES AFTER WINNING POSSESSION ARE CRITICAL AND DETERMINE IF WE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE GAME! 

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ATTACKERS

#7 & #11 starting position when out of position is very narrow to make the center of the field congested.

#7, #11 & #9 - NEW RESPONSIBILITY TO CONNECT TO PREVENT OPPONENT HAVING TIME ON THE BALL AND EASY PATHS INTO MIDFIELD

If the #9 makes a decision to press hard from the front, all the attackers and midfielders must match the intensity to take away passing lanes and try to win the ball high up the field.

#9 IS THE TRIGGER/VISUAL CUE THAT DICTATES WHETHER WE PRESS AS A TEAM.

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TRIGGERS FOR THE PRESS: ball goes negative, player dribbling back towards their goal, bad sideways pass,