Finding free space

This session is about finding the free space to progress attacks, working on attracting the opponent, finding the free player, and being able to accelerate into an attack. It is about being patient on the ball, attracting the press, short distances between players around the ball, and when you find the chance to switch the side or find the free space, travelling together as a team into the attacking phase with speed.

Players love the rondo, and this is a session that has many rondos incorporated into it, creating rondos around the field before finding the space to attack the open area with speed.  

Depending on the next opponent, I like to vary the set-up, taking into account how they press and setting that up in the rondo with the number of opponents used, and thinking about the part of the field where we want to attract the opponent, and the upcoming opponent’s weakest side. I would run this particular session once a week or every two weeks when we have a build-up attacking session, although of course the rondo part is almost daily.

5v2 RONDO

We set up in an area of 7m x 7m with a 5v2 rondo. Each player is restricted to one touch, and if the players on the outside put together 20 passes, the players inside stay in there for double the amount of time [1a]. A nutmeg is worth ten passes. 

[1a]

1. Red team in possession
2. Blue team look to get possession
3. Red team each have one touch
4. Red team looking to complete 20 passes

If a player on the inside touches the ball, the player who made the pass goes inside [1b]. 

[1b]

1. If the blue player in the centre touches the ball, they switch places with the player who made the pass

We run this for four sets of two minutes. 

FOUR MINI GOALS

We set up in an area of 7m x 14m, doubling the square space we were working in before, and adding four mini goals. We set up in 9v4. This time touches are unrestricted, so as not to limit players’ creativity, but they should be encouraged to play with one or two touches. The red team can move anywhere, meaning they can create 5v3 or 6v3 or 7v3 in each box; the coach should decide whether the blue team is pressing with two or three (in this example, they are pressing with three) [2a]. 

[2a]

1. Red team look to keep possession with one touch
2. Blue team close them down
3. Red team seek to switch play into the other box

When the red team is able to change boxes to find the other side, the blue team must always press with three inside the box [2b]. 

[2b]

1. When red team switch play into other box, blues must press with three

The emphasis for attackers is on maintaining possession, creating angles, the weight of passes, and communication, replicating how our opposition might approach switching play. For the defenders, we look at variations on regaining (eg tackling types), making play predictable, and defending the forward pass. If we regain the ball, we then seek to play out of the melee and either restore order or create.

If the blue team wins the ball they need to try to score in the mini goals [2c].

[2c]

1. If blue team get possession, they look to score in a mini goal

Key points here are to attract the press, look to play forward, support movements when switching squares, find the other side, think about rest defence if losing the ball, and counter-press if losing the ball.

We run this for four sets of one minute for the blue team to stay inside.

FOUR-ZONE RONDO

We set up in an area of 14m x 14m – four 7m x 7m squares as per the 5v2 rondo. The rules are the same as in the previous activity, but here there are now two open boxes with no defenders. The goal is for the red team to find those open boxes and keep possession [3a].  

[3a]

1. Red team look to keep possession
2. Red team aim to move ball into free box

We run this for three or four sets of one minute for the defending team to stay inside.

We can progress this by making the activity 10v10; with the teams now even and more players on the pitch, it is harder for the red team to find the free box [3b]. 

[3b]

1. Increase teams to 10v10
2. Red team look to keep possession
3. Red team aim to move ball into free box

If the blue team win the ball back, they can keep it, and it will be the red team’s turn to defend. 

10v10 GAME

We can progress this into a small-sided game, in an area of 40m x 40m – this time four 20m x 20m squares. We play 10v10 plus goalkeepers. At first, we limit the defending team to a maximum of three players in each box [4a]. 

[4a]

1. Blue team are limited to a maximum of three players in each square to begin with

Then we open it up to free play and see if the attacking players can attract and find the free area to attack [4b]. 

[4b]

1. No restrictions; red team seek to find space

We run this for four sets of four minutes.  

COACHING POINTS

What are the key things to look out for technically and tactically?

First touch; when to take one touch and when to take two touches (one touch to play fast and two touches to attract); body orientation always in an open position to be able to play forward and finding the open area; movement off the ball to create space for team-mates; resting defence, always ready to counter-press; support movement, preparing to switch the play, and considering whether there are enough players to advance to the open area; bounce pass if being defended, and finding a third person to accelerate the game into open play.

What are the typical mistakes that players might make, and how do I avoid them?

Being too rushed to switch areas when it is not open to do so; they need to prepare the switch of play, so if there is not enough support or the space is not open we need to keep calm and keep possession. When switching to open space we need to progress in there fast as a team, and we need to travel together. Players may also play back after breaking the press when there are chances to find open space. Movement off the ball is also important to create space for others to move into; a common mistake can be to stay too static in a rondo.