Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): UEFA C - General Practice - Creating & Defending The Overload

Creating & Defending The Overload (20 mins)

Set up:

1 Team are goalkeepers and outside players in channels.

Other teams play in central area, 2 of each colour in each half, giving 2 defenders and 2 attackers in each half. 

Instructions:

Ball starts with keeper. The attacking team will create the overload by passing the ball to a wide channel. The wide player will then enter the other half, creating the 3v2. The wide player is locked in their zone. The objective of the attacking team is to score a goal.

Game starts with blues in possession following pass from keeper. Once the blue receives the first pass, the nearest green player will look to apply pressure immediately. Focus for this green player is to cut off passing channels, preventing the pass out wide. 

If the blue team scores, greens will then become the attackers, and the blue's transition into defence, same principles as above.

In Possession:

- Create width and depth.

- Receive back foot with an open body shape - can they see all corners of the pitch. 

- Pass and move to create passing lanes, movements away from the ball to create space to turn, coaching players on their movements (+1)

- Movements of the support players to create an angle to pass. 

- Technical - Looking at control, passing.

Out of possession: 

- Stay compact in defence. 

- Re-enforce as the the defending team, you defend both halves. 

- Body positioning, adopt defensive stance. 

- The aim for the defending team is to recover possession of the ball, and transition into attack.

- The nearest defender to the ball will close down the wide player.

- Supporting defender to cover the central area.

- Encourage defenders to be calm, protect the middle, be patient the make a decision on when to win the ball / prevent the shot.

Adaptations (Progressions & Regressions):

- Once a wide player enters the defending teams half creating the 3v2, we can introduce a recovery run from one the defending teams attackers to create a 3v3.

- A further progression would then be to allow both wide players into the half at the same time, then creating a 4 v 3 with the recovery run still in play.

Challenges, Conditions or Targets:

- If defending team wins possession, give them 5 seconds to get the ball forward quickly and score. This encourages a quick counter attack. 

Interventions:

- Group - during rest breaks and changing of teams. Individual - If anything is identified during the session around mechanics of defending, control, passing.

- Freeze game - defending players positioning. Demonstrations will be focused around body shape when defending. A simpler way of breaking down the mechanics of defending is Fast, Slow, Skateboard, Low. Possible further demonstration may be to show how to show the attacker wide or inside.