Individual Defensive Principles Part 2
Thursday, 21 February 2008
When Field Position May Influence Positioning
As noted in Part 1of Understanding Individual Defensive Principles , the defender wants to try to force the attacker into an area of the field which will help his team. Much of his decision-making depends on which part of the field the attacker is in.
If the attacker is in his own defensive third of the field, the defender usually should try to force the attacker towards the middle. Why? Because, if the defender gains the ball right in front of the attacker's goal, the chances of scoring go up dramatically. Even in 1v1 situations, the defender may want to apply heavy pressure in front of the opponent's net, because of the potential rewards involved.
If the attacker has the ball in the middle third of the field towards one touchline, the defender would do well to force the attacker towards the touch, thereby restricting his options. Note that some upper-level teams tend to try to force attackers inside, into the path of their own defenders and midfielders, because the space is more congested and they believe that this reduces the chances that any attack will be successful. This strategy is probably too risky to use with beginners.
In the defensive third, most teams will try to take the attacker as wide as possible, or keep him as wide as possible (because it is harder to score a goal from narrow angles than if looking right into the mouth of the goal from the center). If a defender is deep in the defender's territory with an attacker close to the touchlines, the defender should not over-commit and allow the attacker to beat him along the goal line because the attacker is almost guaranteed to get to the goal before he can recover.
If the attacker is in the central area in front of the goal, the defender should try to stay between the attacker and the goal, and try to keep the attacker moving laterally. If possible, the defender should take the attacker towards his weaker side (if he has one), but not give up a shooting angle by getting to one side of the attacker to force him in a direction. However, once it becomes clear that the attacker is going to get off a shot, the defender may be forced to take the risk of a tackle. This is often the case in 1v1 games (and is one of the reasons to give players plenty of work in such games). As the defenders will learn from 1v1 exercises (where no support will ever be forthcoming), they often have better luck when they choose the time to close down the attacker instead of letting the attacker select the moment for the shot. As will be learned below, when they decide to go in for the ball, they must go in with everything which they have - and leave no stone unturned (short of committing a major foul) in their push to get the ball.
Learning When & How to Steal the Ball
In soccer, any type of ball-stealing is usually called "tackling". This can be confusing to Americans because tackling in American-style football involves an attempt to knock the opponent down (which is a major foul in soccer). The mechanics of basic standing soccer tackles are covered in the Practice Plans, and will not be repeated here. We will focus here on when to use those skills - and, more importantly, when not to use them. The first thing to teach defenders is the importance of PATIENCE in the timing of any tackle. The defender will want to try to steer the attacker into the safest space, with the greatest support available, before considering a tackle (unless the attacker makes a major mistake which allows the defender to take the ball back with little risk). Usually, if the defender can delay things long enough, the attacker almost always will make a mistake and allow an opening to an alert defender to steal the ball - or support will arrive which will allow a double team.
It usually is not the time to attempt a tackle when:
o the defender is not in a good balanced position
o the attacker is skilled, and is in a balanced position
o a missed tackle could result in an immediate shot attempt
o a successful tackle or tackle attempt will not result in gaining possession (i.e., knocking the ball out of play or to another attacker)
o a successful tackle attempt will not result in an advantage to the team
o if teammates have not yet moved into position to provide support.
Good opportunities to make a tackle attempt are when:
o there is a very good chance of gaining possession
o due to field position and available support, a missed tackle attempt will not put the team in harm
o the attacker is off-balance or unaware, and the chances of success are good
o attacker is moving into such a dangerous situation that a failed tackle attempt would be the same as no attempt (tough decision)
o a teammate is available for a double-team.
When any tackle attempt is made, the defender should commit totally to the ball. If the defender is able to get his support foot beside the ball on the tackle, then the defender in is an great position for making the tackle. If the defender must reach for the ball, then the chances of success are less, and the best the defender often can do is to knock the ball away. This does not necessarily mean that this is a bad choice. There are many times when a defender may wish to knock a ball over the touchline for a throw-in, as this will give time to other teammates to get back to help. And, even in 1v1 games, this may allow the defender some extra time to catch his breath. So, while the coach will want to teach ball-winning skills, players also need to be taught when it can be useful to simply knock the ball out. Often, coaches will cover these ideas in basic sessions in defense, with the general rule to get the ball if you can do it safely and to knock it out if you cannot.
Once the defender is in control of the attacker, forcing him in the defender's direction of preference, it is important that the defender continue to maintain a high level of pressure on the attacker. The defender often does not need to confront the attacker with a tackle attempt, until the defensive support is in place and the defender is ready. When in doubt, the best course is usually to delay; use patience; and wait for support and/or an opportunity to arise.
The feint tackle is one way to keep the attacker off-balanced. The defender feints a reach for the ball, yet maintains excellent balance and position. The defender should not actually get caught with the body weight going forward, only the feinting foot.
The attacker will have to react (if there is a reaction) in one of two ways. First, he may protect the ball by pulling it back or stepping in with a shielding motion. Or secondly, he may attempt to push the ball past the defender, assuming that the defender has dived in and is off balance. As a result, in the first case, the defender is forcing the attacker to focus totally on the ball, which cuts down on the attacker's ability to give the ball to a teammate and increases the chances that he can win the ball with heavy pressure. In the second case, the defender has tricked the attacker, and should be in good position to cut-off the attempted pass and may even be able to step between the attacker and the ball.
Learning What to Do if Beaten
In the course of any game, there will be times when the defender "bites" on a feint by the attacker, and dives in toward the direction in which he expected the ball to be, while the attacker merrily goes around him and heads towards goal. This is always upsetting to the defender, but is going to happen from time to time.
So, what does the defender do next? Usually, if there is a teammate available, the teammate will have slipped into a support position behind him. In such a situation, he simply swaps places with his teammate, and drops into a position as the supporting defender (this is called "recovering into a supporting position"). But, what if he was the only or last defender?
While the situation is not good, all is not lost. If the defender is faster than the attacker, he may be able to pursue the attacker and use his shoulder to push/steer the attacker away from the goal. This is entirely legal, and is called a "shoulder charge".
Even if the attacker is much faster, or has a head start, the defender must never give up - and should set an immediate course for the inside of the near goalpost. This action is called a "recovery run" - and what the defender is doing is called "recovering". Often, because of the angle originally set by the defender, the attacker must make a looping run to get into an area of the field where the angles are right for a shot on goal. As a result, the defender often has less distance to cover than the attacker, and can get into a position where he can cut off the easy angles for a shot - even if he cannot entirely block the shot.
Furthermore, many attackers are not very good at shooting at a dead run, so they will tend to slow up in order to set up their shots. As a result, a defender often will be able to catch up to them - and knock the ball away just as they were getting ready to take a shot. This is particularly true when the attacker allows the ball to get too far ahead of him.
In addition, new attackers often will get nervous when they hear the pounding of feet right beside or behind them, and will rush their shots. Likewise, they may take their eyes off the ball, and mis-hit the shot. Finally, of course, strange things can happen. The ball may hit a clod of dirt, or the attacker may trip, or the attacker may even run over the ball. Therefore, defenders must be taught always to recover towards goal at top speed, and never to give up until a goal has actually been scored.
Learning the full range of individual defensive skills takes time, and lots of actual experience with all different sizes/shapes and skill levels of opponents. While new defenders often will be taught initially by pairing them with another player of similar size and skill, the coach must be careful to expand the horizons of the defender as quickly as his confidence level will permit. Even a very small player, or one who may be chunky/slow, can learn to do a good job against an opponent who is considerably faster if exposed to these situations regularly. Likewise, even if a player has such outstanding dribbling skills that he seems destined to become a striker in later years, the coach is well-advised to force this player to spend considerable time in learning basic defense. After all, this player may have the luck to get on a team which already has Ronaldo and Baggio (or their twins). If so, the player can end up in the midfield with solid defensive skills. Otherwise, this promising player may well end up on the bench.
(From: http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~dgraham/manual/)
As noted in Part 1of Understanding Individual Defensive Principles , the defender wants to try to force the attacker into an area of the field which will help his team. Much of his decision-making depends on which part of the field the attacker is in.
If the attacker is in his own defensive third of the field, the defender usually should try to force the attacker towards the middle. Why? Because, if the defender gains the ball right in front of the attacker's goal, the chances of scoring go up dramatically. Even in 1v1 situations, the defender may want to apply heavy pressure in front of the opponent's net, because of the potential rewards involved.
If the attacker has the ball in the middle third of the field towards one touchline, the defender would do well to force the attacker towards the touch, thereby restricting his options. Note that some upper-level teams tend to try to force attackers inside, into the path of their own defenders and midfielders, because the space is more congested and they believe that this reduces the chances that any attack will be successful. This strategy is probably too risky to use with beginners.
In the defensive third, most teams will try to take the attacker as wide as possible, or keep him as wide as possible (because it is harder to score a goal from narrow angles than if looking right into the mouth of the goal from the center). If a defender is deep in the defender's territory with an attacker close to the touchlines, the defender should not over-commit and allow the attacker to beat him along the goal line because the attacker is almost guaranteed to get to the goal before he can recover.
If the attacker is in the central area in front of the goal, the defender should try to stay between the attacker and the goal, and try to keep the attacker moving laterally. If possible, the defender should take the attacker towards his weaker side (if he has one), but not give up a shooting angle by getting to one side of the attacker to force him in a direction. However, once it becomes clear that the attacker is going to get off a shot, the defender may be forced to take the risk of a tackle. This is often the case in 1v1 games (and is one of the reasons to give players plenty of work in such games). As the defenders will learn from 1v1 exercises (where no support will ever be forthcoming), they often have better luck when they choose the time to close down the attacker instead of letting the attacker select the moment for the shot. As will be learned below, when they decide to go in for the ball, they must go in with everything which they have - and leave no stone unturned (short of committing a major foul) in their push to get the ball.
Learning When & How to Steal the Ball
In soccer, any type of ball-stealing is usually called "tackling". This can be confusing to Americans because tackling in American-style football involves an attempt to knock the opponent down (which is a major foul in soccer). The mechanics of basic standing soccer tackles are covered in the Practice Plans, and will not be repeated here. We will focus here on when to use those skills - and, more importantly, when not to use them. The first thing to teach defenders is the importance of PATIENCE in the timing of any tackle. The defender will want to try to steer the attacker into the safest space, with the greatest support available, before considering a tackle (unless the attacker makes a major mistake which allows the defender to take the ball back with little risk). Usually, if the defender can delay things long enough, the attacker almost always will make a mistake and allow an opening to an alert defender to steal the ball - or support will arrive which will allow a double team.
It usually is not the time to attempt a tackle when:
o the defender is not in a good balanced position
o the attacker is skilled, and is in a balanced position
o a missed tackle could result in an immediate shot attempt
o a successful tackle or tackle attempt will not result in gaining possession (i.e., knocking the ball out of play or to another attacker)
o a successful tackle attempt will not result in an advantage to the team
o if teammates have not yet moved into position to provide support.
Good opportunities to make a tackle attempt are when:
o there is a very good chance of gaining possession
o due to field position and available support, a missed tackle attempt will not put the team in harm
o the attacker is off-balance or unaware, and the chances of success are good
o attacker is moving into such a dangerous situation that a failed tackle attempt would be the same as no attempt (tough decision)
o a teammate is available for a double-team.
When any tackle attempt is made, the defender should commit totally to the ball. If the defender is able to get his support foot beside the ball on the tackle, then the defender in is an great position for making the tackle. If the defender must reach for the ball, then the chances of success are less, and the best the defender often can do is to knock the ball away. This does not necessarily mean that this is a bad choice. There are many times when a defender may wish to knock a ball over the touchline for a throw-in, as this will give time to other teammates to get back to help. And, even in 1v1 games, this may allow the defender some extra time to catch his breath. So, while the coach will want to teach ball-winning skills, players also need to be taught when it can be useful to simply knock the ball out. Often, coaches will cover these ideas in basic sessions in defense, with the general rule to get the ball if you can do it safely and to knock it out if you cannot.
Once the defender is in control of the attacker, forcing him in the defender's direction of preference, it is important that the defender continue to maintain a high level of pressure on the attacker. The defender often does not need to confront the attacker with a tackle attempt, until the defensive support is in place and the defender is ready. When in doubt, the best course is usually to delay; use patience; and wait for support and/or an opportunity to arise.
The feint tackle is one way to keep the attacker off-balanced. The defender feints a reach for the ball, yet maintains excellent balance and position. The defender should not actually get caught with the body weight going forward, only the feinting foot.
The attacker will have to react (if there is a reaction) in one of two ways. First, he may protect the ball by pulling it back or stepping in with a shielding motion. Or secondly, he may attempt to push the ball past the defender, assuming that the defender has dived in and is off balance. As a result, in the first case, the defender is forcing the attacker to focus totally on the ball, which cuts down on the attacker's ability to give the ball to a teammate and increases the chances that he can win the ball with heavy pressure. In the second case, the defender has tricked the attacker, and should be in good position to cut-off the attempted pass and may even be able to step between the attacker and the ball.
Learning What to Do if Beaten
In the course of any game, there will be times when the defender "bites" on a feint by the attacker, and dives in toward the direction in which he expected the ball to be, while the attacker merrily goes around him and heads towards goal. This is always upsetting to the defender, but is going to happen from time to time.
So, what does the defender do next? Usually, if there is a teammate available, the teammate will have slipped into a support position behind him. In such a situation, he simply swaps places with his teammate, and drops into a position as the supporting defender (this is called "recovering into a supporting position"). But, what if he was the only or last defender?
While the situation is not good, all is not lost. If the defender is faster than the attacker, he may be able to pursue the attacker and use his shoulder to push/steer the attacker away from the goal. This is entirely legal, and is called a "shoulder charge".
Even if the attacker is much faster, or has a head start, the defender must never give up - and should set an immediate course for the inside of the near goalpost. This action is called a "recovery run" - and what the defender is doing is called "recovering". Often, because of the angle originally set by the defender, the attacker must make a looping run to get into an area of the field where the angles are right for a shot on goal. As a result, the defender often has less distance to cover than the attacker, and can get into a position where he can cut off the easy angles for a shot - even if he cannot entirely block the shot.
Furthermore, many attackers are not very good at shooting at a dead run, so they will tend to slow up in order to set up their shots. As a result, a defender often will be able to catch up to them - and knock the ball away just as they were getting ready to take a shot. This is particularly true when the attacker allows the ball to get too far ahead of him.
In addition, new attackers often will get nervous when they hear the pounding of feet right beside or behind them, and will rush their shots. Likewise, they may take their eyes off the ball, and mis-hit the shot. Finally, of course, strange things can happen. The ball may hit a clod of dirt, or the attacker may trip, or the attacker may even run over the ball. Therefore, defenders must be taught always to recover towards goal at top speed, and never to give up until a goal has actually been scored.
Learning the full range of individual defensive skills takes time, and lots of actual experience with all different sizes/shapes and skill levels of opponents. While new defenders often will be taught initially by pairing them with another player of similar size and skill, the coach must be careful to expand the horizons of the defender as quickly as his confidence level will permit. Even a very small player, or one who may be chunky/slow, can learn to do a good job against an opponent who is considerably faster if exposed to these situations regularly. Likewise, even if a player has such outstanding dribbling skills that he seems destined to become a striker in later years, the coach is well-advised to force this player to spend considerable time in learning basic defense. After all, this player may have the luck to get on a team which already has Ronaldo and Baggio (or their twins). If so, the player can end up in the midfield with solid defensive skills. Otherwise, this promising player may well end up on the bench.
(From: http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~dgraham/manual/)
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