Team Defending Principles

The goal of any team when defending is to limit the amount of space the attacking team can use and win the ball as a group. A team can accomplish this by:

Concentration

Defenders should always be alert and focused so that they can be ready for whatever the attacking team is trying to do.

Pressuring

The objective of pressuring is to close down the space the attacking has to play in and force the them to play quicker then they want to. This will lead to bad passes and missed traps which the team can win.

Marking

Each player has a responsibility of marking a player or a zone. Knowing which to mark in each situation is very important to team defending.

Cover

If one player gets beat it is important that there is another player there that is ready to challenge the attacker. As long as everyone knows their responsibilities, working as a group to win the ball is much more effective then working individually.

Recovery

If a player is beaten or out of position the best way to help the team is to recover back behind the ball to a position where you can help the team defend again.

Deny

Reading the play and being able to intercept passes will make it easier on the team to defend. Every player should look for opportunities to deny passes to their attackers.

Delay

This involves slowly down the attacker when a defender does not have adequate support from their team. This allows other defenders to recover into a position where they can help defend.

Dispossess

This involves winning the ball after your opponent has received it. Their are many ways to accomplish this but most players use a slide, poke, block, or body tackle.

Clearance

When the ball is played into dangerous areas in or around the box sometimes the safe play is to just clear the ball and regroup defensively. This is especially true with crosses into the box where it is not always safe for a defense to control the ball.