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I have a question thats been eating at me and wanted some input. Beware possession just for possessions sake- meaning- we teach possession, but is there a plan in place on how to finish? Are there times when one needs to abandon tici- taca possession and play a fast counter attacking style if thats what the other team is giving you?
My team has improved so much in the implementation of this course and we will continue to build upon the layers of the onion. Is the long ball to the flags ever an OK strategy? This weekend we played an outstanding academy team that really pushed high and pressed us in our end with well coordinated pressure. We did well defending but had difficulty stringing passes together as they were well verse in proper pressure techniques and stepped into passing lanes very well. The committed and extra defender out from the back to get a numbers up advantage in our end. In the past we would have been able to thin this pressure out by having the outside back play over the top to he flags as they were leaving us 2 v 2. Our score was solid as we did string enough touches to get a 2-2 tie ( this was a victory for us as they dismantled us in our previous game 3-0- and they added a few outstanding players- so the training is paying off), but I felt like we struggled with the possession side of things.
I think you answered your own question. Your team’s improvement based on the training has lead to some improved success. Have they mastered building from the back, etc? Most likely not and I think with more work on it, they will be able to sort through the passing deficiencies as they improve their technique and tactical positioning and play. Primarily, what was it that the team not doing that lead to the passing lanes being closed down? Was it the speed of play relative to the opponent being too slow, (more work on the STT’s will help). Under pressure, was the team’s quality of receiving and passing dimenishing which slows down play?
On the other end of things, can you play direct when you need to if it is a must win situation? My answer to that is yes. The thing is, a team that knows how to play possession style soccer can play direct as they will have the capability to. However, a direct team will struggle trying to play a possession game as it requires more skill, more tactical understanding, positioning, reading of play. Personally, I have coached in must win games and saw that because of the high pressure of the opponent, the condition of the field (overgrown, slow and narrown), that we had to go direct as building up from the back wasn’t allowing us to stretch the opponent wide because simply put, the field was too narrow and the stretching had to occur with the longer direct pass. When that was done a few times, it allows us to back the opponent up, gave us the space we needed to build up and got the opponent thinking about the long ball more than us havnig the ball and that allowed ball movement from us to wear on the opponent.
If its not a must win situation, and your intent is to develop the team, then I think sticking with the STT’s and curriculum of 3four3 will be highly recommended as you know there will be improvement with that.
I think Paul nailed it on the head. Possession soccer is about making and executing decisions that keep possession of the ball with the objective of scoring goals. If a team has committed 8 players to high pressure and left my team with 2v2 at the half way line then playing the ball to the forward or into a good space for him to run onto is a good choice, maybe even the best choice at the moment to maintain possession and move the team into a position to score a goal. This type of tactical recognition is a sign you are starting to make real strides in the tactical development of a player and team. Isn’t the goal to develop teams and players that are smart enough to recognize and execute the option that has low risk and high return with a level of precision and purpose. What I would be watching for is a purposeful and well placed pass either on the ground or in the air to the forward or into space for the forward easily run onto. This is much different than jungle ball or boot ball where the defenders are instructed to boot it forward. I would not make this part of my normal tactical.
My philosophy ranks as follows:
1. Always play with purpose. Never just kick the ball.
2. Penetrate their lines when the opportunity presents itself.
3. Keep possession until that opportunity presents itself.
Against teams who play high pressure against us, my outside backs and holding mids have license to thread a through ball to my CF of CAM, who have been instructed to start diagonal runs early into the space created by my wingers checking deep. If they are leaving space behind their outside backs, we have a green light to find a player making a run into that space. To me, it doesn’t matter what part of the field the penetrating pass comes from, so long as it was intentional and had a reasonable chance of success.
Thanks for the responses. Just got back from training and I’m so fired up with the way my kids are developing and then I read responses that really back up what was going through my mind.
Just throwing this out there based on what I heard in the Caleb Porter interview from last fall. In every session, they work on possession themes and pressing themes. To him, this has to be trained upon every session as those minute details lead to a split second difference in improving the speed of play, speed of transition and keeping the ball. Possession and pressing are two elements that minimize the time the opponent has the ball. If your team loses it, there is a cohesive team response to get it back within the 6 second rule. Once you have it, then your team has its “go to” play of building from the back. This is the “base” of the play of your team from which all the other elements are built from. It is this play that allows your team to organize, regain shape and stretch out the opponent. As your team becomes more automatic with these two areas of training, you’ve already impacted the game significantly in terms of which team controls the match and likely outcome.
I’ve seen in quite a few of the Youtube videos, Xuxuh for instance play a long ball or directed pass up the field. Even the greatest teams in the world play the through ball. I’ve seen Pique play lofted long balls even.
Ha! I have this same debate in my head every season. Stay the course and keep working toward mastery! Remember that Guardiola said the whole point of possession was to move the other team to exploit the space. If they space is in behind then that’s where the ball should go. Breaking the lines with a weighted through ball is different then hoofing it up the field.
I think I’m with everyone’s responses here.
An exaggerated example:
If you’re up against a vastly superior opponent who can effectively press you, then it’s retarded to continue instructing your back line to “play out of the back” for the whole game.Of course it will be up to the coach to judge in real time what the conditions are, and if it necessitates a deviation from the core identity.
But for just that one match, or phases of that match.It’s important, however, to not be so quick to hit the ejection seat.
We must also be brave and give the players/team appropriate opportunity to execute under difficult circumstances. The art comes with identifying when that bravery turns into stupidity (pardon the expression).
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