To accelerate or to delay the game, to dominate the change of pace of the game.
To control the game pace we need the players to dominate the offensive tactical principals of delaying, change of pace etc.
Dropping Back and Counterattack Vs Offensive Vigilance
The unhooked players are very important players in the offensive and defensive transitions, but, they are even more important in the vigilances previous to those transitions. We should practice how to use them to attack and how to defend them.
Rondo 4v2 “Pairs”
A tactical rondo in which you are not only going to work on offensive aspects but also on coverages, closing passing lines, interior passing defense, defensive delay and the right choice of the moment for activating the pressing.
Offensive Vigilance and Free Man
A dynamic and safe way for attacking is either to find the third man or to be aware of where the defenders are (offensive vigilances). At the same time, you will have to find the appropriate distances so your team not always pass the ball to the closest players but also finds the mid-distance players, with the objective of braking the lines. In this drill, the defensive players practice the moment of activating the pressing in a coordinated way.
Direct Attack: Final Minutes
Maybe your team just uses the direct style of play occasionally (e.g when losing in the last minutes of a game), but it is more than likely that your team will face teams that use it during most of the minutes. To practice it in the same proportion as it is played in your competition is both correct and necessary.
Give and Go, Coverages, 1v1 on distance
A partial structure which will require a lot of defensive and offensive tactical concepts, such as support, one-two’s, coverages, defensive exchange, press, body shape, defensive orientation, defensive and offensive timing etc.
Small Sided Game Progression
Small sided tactical game in which we will fix the right press distances, the coverages, the defensive exchanges or the defensive support and we will create, for the attacking players, a situation in which they will practice to check to the ball and check away, one-two’s, feints and offensive timings. It will be an easy but very tactical drill, an excellent drill to strengthen the interaction between the players who are close to each other.
Blocking the Receiver and Defensive Transition
To get quickly to the player with the ball will help us winning the ball back easier. To do this, we will need to be good at defensive vigilances. We will practice them constantly in this drill.
Support on the corners
A partial structure in which the player faces the ball when receiving is one of the best options to advance safely in the game representing a danger to the rivals.
Movable Rondo
Regular tactical rondos have plenty of small and quick decisions but do not have any movement. If, to a regular tactical rondo we include the possibility/need for deciding whether the player has to or does not have to move, it will make our players achieve a higher level at decision making, since they will be considering teammates, rivals, the ball and the free spaces.