Playing behind pressing lines

This session focuses on creating the opportunity to have the ball at our disposal to move or drag the opponent and find the proper spaces to attack. 

It helps us to dominate the game and to have possession of the ball for as long as possible. Creating this routine and building exercises around this sentiment will make the team more consistent when having the ball. 

We start with a passing drill where the players will develop their passing skills in the zone of their natural positions, optimising short movements and quickly responding to the position and situation, something that is not static but will depend on the game situation.

We progress onto a positional game and finish with an activity to create real competition between the players.

I like this session because it creates a mindset of having the ball at our disposal. If we lose it, we must hunt for it and get it back quickly. It is also important that the players understand the “why” and the “how” when they run these exercises.

The session gets progressively more challenging for the players. When the team representing the opposition is set up with a passive organisation it is much easier but when we have an opponent that is pressing all over the pitch, decision making time is reduced and players have to think and pass the ball quicker. Basically, when under pressure it seems like everything goes much faster because there’s no time.

This session is normally used on a match day -4 or match day -3, depending on the needs of the team and also the fatigue level of the players.

“I like this session because it creates a mindset of having the ball at our disposal. If we lose it, we must get it back quickly”

ZONE TO ZONE

The players begin the session with a warm-up with the physical coach [not shown]. They are then fully focused and prepared for the opening practice and ready for every situation.

We set up for the first practice on a full pitch with 11 circular zones marked out. Each zone has a pole in it. Three channels are marked on the pitch – a central channel the width of the penalty area and a wide channel on either side of it.

We’re using 20 outfield players and two goalkeepers split into two teams of 11. One player from each team starts locked in a 1v1 in each of the circular zones, with the two goalkeepers in the top and bottom circular zones. To begin with two balls are in play at the same time. 

The red team starts with both balls and they attempt to pass them between the circular zones, while the blue team applies passive pressure in each zone without actually challenging or tackling. The red team has possession for two minutes, as shown [1a], and then the blue team takes on the possession role for the next two minutes.

[1a]

1. A player from each team starts locked in a 1v1 in each of the circular zones
2. To begin with two balls are in play. The red team starts with both balls and they attempt to pass them between the circular zones
3. The blues apply passive pressure in each zone without actually challenging 
   or tackling
4. The teams take it turns to be in possession for two minutes

“The reds start with the ball and work it from a circular zone on one side of the pitch to the a circular zone on the other side”

After each team has had a two-minute turn in the possession role, play restarts with just one ball. The objective for the next six minutes is to score points by passing through all three channels. The reds start with the ball and work it from a circular zone on one side of the pitch to the a circular zone on the other side, passing through the three channels to score a point, as shown [1b].

[1b]

1. After each team has had a two-minute turn in the possession role, play restarts with just one ball 
2. The reds start with the ball and work it from one side of the pitch to the other side through all three channels to score a point
3. The blues press and look to win the ball back. If they gain possession they try to pass from one side of the pitch to the other to score a point

The blues press and look to win the ball back and if they gain possession they try to pass from one side of the pitch to the other in the same manner. To perform this successfully, it’s important that the possession player always reads their surroundings and scans for the next team mate in a better position to pass to. We play like this for an additional six minutes. 

7v7+3

This exercise focuses on creating overloads to maintain possession. It’s effectively a 10v7 because the team on the ball always has three neutral yellow jokers to help them maintain their possession for as long as possible. 

We set up a rectangular playing area of 50x25 yards. Poles are set up around the area to act as a visual reference for the players’ positions so they stay between them. We’re using 17 outfield players split into a red team of seven and a blue team of seven, plus three neutral yellow jokers. Five reds and two yellows are positioned around the outside of the area, as shown, and all the remaining players are inside the playing area. 

The reds start with the ball and look to pass and keep possession, while the blues press and try to win the ball back, as shown [2a]. 

[2a]

1. The reds start with the ball and look to pass and keep possession
2. The blues look to press the reds and win the ball back
3. The three yellows play for the team in possession

The three yellows work with the team in possession, so when the blues win the ball back the yellows join with the blues and they work together to keep possession, while the reds transition quickly into defenders and try to win the ball back, as shown [2b].

[2b]

1. When the blues win the ball back the yellows join with the blue team and they now work to keep possession together 
2. On losing the ball, the reds transition into defenders and try to regain possession

In transition, five of the blues switch roles with the red outside players.

It is a positional game so it is important for the defending team to close down inside spaces and press as a block all the time, whereas we want to see possession players creating triangles with the yellow neutrals in order to keep the ball.

The game is played for four sets of six minutes. In the first set, it is unlimited touches for all players. In the second set, it is two touches for all players. In the third and fourth sets, we limit the neutrals to just one touch.

7v7+3+GK

This is a progression from the previous practice, adopting many of the same principles of play. We set up a playing area of 50 yards in width, running from the halfway line to the edge of the penalty box and funnelling towards the goal, as shown. There is a goalkeeper in the goal.

We’re using 17 outfield players split into a red attacking team of seven and a blue defending team of seven, plus three yellow neutrals who play for the team in possession.

The reds start with the ball and look to keep possession with the help of the yellows, while the blues press to win the ball back, as shown [3a]. 

[3a]

1. The reds start with the ball and look to keep possession 
2. The three yellows play for the team in possession, giving it a 10v7 overload
3. The blues press and try to win the ball back 

When the coach blows the whistle, the red possession team has just ten seconds to try to score a goal. The reds can attack the penalty area with up to four players plus one yellow neutral, while the blues can defend it with up to five players plus the goalkeeper, as shown [3b].

[3a]

1. When the coach blows the whistle, the red possession team attacks and has just ten seconds to score a goal 
2. The reds can attack the penalty area with up to four players plus one yellow neutral
3. The blues can defend the goal with up to five players plus the goalkeeper. If they succeed in winning possession they transition to become the new attacking team

The possession team always has a 10v7 overload thanks to the support the yellow. We want to see play replicating the attacking organisation of a team in possession in the middle and final third.

When the possession team loses the ball, it’s players automatically transition to defend, while the team that won the ball becomes the new attacking team.

The game is played in four sets of six minutes. In the first and second sets, all players are limited to two touches, whereas in the third and fourth set we limit the reds and blues to two touches and the yellows to just one touch.

GK+7v7+GK+2

We set up a playing area of 50x40 yards with a goal and a goalkeeper at each end. We’re using 16 outfield players split into a red team of seven and a blue team of seven, plus two yellow neutrals who play in midfield for the team in possession.

Play starts and restarts from the keepers and the red and blue teams compete to score at the end they are attacking, with the two yellow neutrals giving the possession team a 9v7 overload, as shown [4]. 

[4]

1. Play starts and restarts from the keepers 
2. Here the red team build play and try to create a scoring opportunity
3. The two yellow neutrals give the possession team a 9v7 overload
4. The defending team presses and tries to win the ball back, but the attacking team uses quick passing and movement to create a shooting chance

The defending team looks to win the ball back and transitions to counter attack. The offside rule applies.

We want to see the attacking team creating maximum width and depth to unbalance the defending block and they should always try to look for the third man and spaces behind the pressing players. Individually it is crucial for the players to scan the surrounding areas so they are able to quickly play the ball and find gaps to attack the goal. On losing the ball we want to see good reactions with quick movements. 

Regarding the out-of-possession team, we want to see a compact defending block with good coordination from the defensive line. The defenders should try to play as high as possible to create offsides. When the defending team recovers ball possession, they should try to test the opposition goalkeeper with a shot as soon as possible, or they should pass to a team mate in an advanced position on the pitch who can shoot quickly.