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The following posts have been tagged with "soccer pressure"...

Soccer Shift & Sag

A convenient term for describing what you want your soccer players to do on defense. It has 2 meanings:

First, as attackers move the soccer ball around the field, defenders should be constantly shifting to maintain good defensive coverage and the soccer players farthest from the ball should “sag” back so they are in position to stop an attack on goal (this provides additional “depth” & concentration of defenders between the soccer ball & the goal). This creates “multiple layers” of defenders in a position to stop an attack on goal. For example, if the soccer ball is on the left side & the LF is the First Defender, then the LMF should be a Second Defender, the CF should also be a Second Defender, & the LFB should be the Third Defender. The CF should shift so he is within 5 – 7 steps of the soccer ball & “sag” back a little so if the onball attacker tries to go to the left of the LF the CF is there to stop the penetration. The CMF should also “shift & sag” so he is between the CF & the goal (i.e., 10 – 15 steps behind the CF), & the CFB should do the same behind the CMF. On the right side, the RF should sag behind the CF, but not go past the center of the field (i.e., the imaginary line between the goals), etc. These relationships are shown in the diagram below. If the soccer ball were on the right side, it would be reversed. Note that all defenders don’t try to stay precisely between the soccer ball & the goal (if they did you would have no “width” & your field “coverage” would be poor); however, they are in position to “recover” in time to stop an attack on goal.

Second, when a team loses the soccer ball, the players nearest the soccer ball should stay & try to be “First or Second Defenders” & slow down the attack. But all others should quickly “sag” back toward their goal (i.e., “Recover”) to create multiple layers of defenders. This doesn’t mean that everyone runs back in front of the goal; if they do it just makes it easy for the attackers to reach your Danger Zone. A rule of thumb is that the Fullbacks should drop back far enough that a long chip pass won’t go over their heads. Also, keep in mind that even when the FB’s have sagged back near their goal, you must leave some MF’s & F’s outside the Penalty Box in a position to win cleared balls & to receive passes so you can counterattack. If all your players are in the Penalty Box you won’t be able to get the ball off your end of the field.
(See “Defense“, “Depth“, “Support“, “Support Distance & Relative Position” “Formations“, “Zone Defense“, “First Defender“, “Recover“, “Funnel” “Mark” & “Pressure“).

Tags: soccer coverage, soccer defense, soccer depth, soccer first defender, soccer first or second defenders, soccer formations, soccer funnel, soccer key concept, soccer mark, soccer multiple layers, soccer pressure, soccer recover, soccer sag, soccer shift & sag, soccer support, soccer support distance & relative position, soccer width, soccer zone defense

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Soccer Pressure

There must be pressure on the soccer ball any time it is in scoring range or close enough to your goal that it could be centered (or crossed) to the front of the goal. Over 50% of goals scored occur when there is a lack of pressure on the soccer ball. Pressure slows down the attack & makes it much more difficult to get a clear shot on goal or to deliver a good pass into the center. You should also teach your forwards & MF’s to pressure the soccer ball to try to win it back any time it is near the other soccer team’s goal. For example, they should aggressively double-team the ballhandler to try to win the soccer ball back after a turnover near the other soccer team’s goal. This can be a great scoring opportunity if you can win the ball &, if you accidentally foul, a free kick is too far away from your goal to score. (See “Zone Defense“, “Mark The Ball” & “First Defender“).

Tags: soccer first defender, soccer mark the ball, soccer pressure, soccer zone defense

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Soccer Mark The Ball

(aka Spatial Defense or “Zone Defense”). To play the soccer ball & defend space (i.e., Zone Defense) as opposed to marking a man. This is done by creating “multiple layers of defenders” between the soccer ball & the goal (”depth”) and the closest defender to the soccer ball becomes the “First Defender”, the next closest are “Second Defenders” & other defenders “shift & sag” as the soccer ball moves. This is a more accurate term for “defending space” than the term “Zone Defense” because what you are really doing is defending the space between the soccer ball & your goal. (See “Pressure“, “Zone Defense“, “Flat Defense” & “First Defender“).

Tags: soccer defending space, soccer depth, soccer first defender, soccer flat defense, soccer mark the ball, soccer multiple layers of defenders, soccer pressure, soccer second defenders, soccer shift & sag, soccer zone defense

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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.

Tags: soccer ball watching, soccer breakaway, soccer clear, soccer cover, soccer danger zone, soccer dangerous attackers, soccer defending deep, soccer defending third, soccer defense, soccer depth, soccer formations, soccer goalkeeper, soccer mark, soccer pressure, soccer shape, soccer shift & sag, soccer support, soccer support distance & relative position, soccer verbal signals, soccer where...from?, soccer width in defense, soccer win the ball, soccer zone defense

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