The following posts have been tagged with "soccer depth"...
Soccer Depth
Depth on defense means having several defenders (ideally, multiple layers of defenders) spaced between the ball & the goal who are in a soccer position to “recover” in time to stop an attack on their goal. This and First Defender/Second Defender are the most important defensive concepts. Depth is the opposite of a “flat” defense. Depth in attack means having support to the rear so the ball can be passed back or “dropped”. (See “Soccer Support“, “Soccer Through Balls“, “Soccer Defending Deep“, “Soccer Zone Defense“, “Soccer Flat Defense” & “Soccer Cover“).
Soccer Defense
See “Soccer Shift & Sag”, “Soccer Support”, “Soccer Zone Defense”, “Soccer Formations“, “Soccer Depth“, “Soccer Cover“, “Soccer Mark“, “Soccer Pressure”, “Soccer Defending Deep“, “Width In Defense”, “Shape”, “Support Distance & Relative Position”, “Defending Third“, “Win The Ball”, “Ball Watching“, “Breakaway“, “Clear“, “Danger Zone“, “Soccer Dangerous Attackers“, “Soccer Goalkeeper“, “Verbal Soccer Signals“, “Where…From” and Soccer Defensive Tips at SoccerHelp Premium.
Soccer Cover
“Cover”, “Support”, & “Depth” are related but different soccer concepts. Whereas “support” means there should be several soccer teammates within the immediate area of the ball (i.e., within the distance of a long pass on offense and a short pass on defense) and applies to soccer offense (i.e., receivers supporting the passer) and soccer defense (e.g., the Second Defender should back up the First Defender), “cover” is a defensive soccer concept that has 3 meanings. One meaning refers to areas of the soccer field that your “defense” should cover. For example, when the soccer ball is on your end of the field, your soccer defense must “cover” your Danger Zone & if the ball is in your Danger Zone your defenders must especially cover the area in front of your soccer goal. The area your soccer defense must cover depends on how far away from your goal the ball is, which side of the soccer field it is on & who is faster, your soccer fullbacks or the other team’s forwards (e.g., if your fullbacks are faster then you can “push up” more because you have the speed to “recover”). A second meaning refers to a soccer defender guarding an opponent (e.g., “His job is to cover the Right Forward”). The term cover is also used as a synonym for defensive soccer support (e.g., “The Sweeper is responsible for providing cover for his fullbacks”. This is similar to the concept of a free safety providing cover for his cornerbacks and linebackers in American football). (See “Support“, “Shift & Sag“, “Depth“, “Width In Defense” & “Recover“).
Soccer Breakaway
A soccer fast break where one or more attackers get behind the defenders so that only the other team’s goalkeeper is between them & the goal. Soccer Breakaway’s often happen because a defense is “pushed up” & “flat” (i.e., has no “depth”), which makes it vulnerable to “through balls”. The “Sweepers” job (if you use a Sweeper) is to stop breakaways by kicking the ball out of bounds. In recreational soccer, a good strategy for stopping the other soccer team’s fast break is to teach your FB’s to kick the ball out of bounds. This will give your FB’s & MF’s time to “sag” back to defend their goal. A “sagging” defense with “depth” prevents breakaways by having multiple layers of defenders in position to slow down the attack. On 1 vs. 1 breakaways, the defending goalkeeper should come out of the goal toward the ball in order to reduce the shooting angle. He should do this when the soccer shooter gets within shooting range & once he starts he must run quickly toward the shooter & cannot stop or turn back; if he does, the shooter will probably score. (See ““, “Formations” (3-2-2-3), “Push Up“, “Styles of Play – Soccer“, “Through Soccer Ball“, “Sweeper“, “Last Soccer Defender“, “Soccer Zone Defense” & “Soccer Goalkeeper“).