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.
Small Sided Game Passing Lanes
Small sided tactical game to practice the concept of “passing lines”, both the creation of them and to defend them, including a bit of pressing work in order to improve the precision when finishing.
Supports: Superiority/inferiority
Ball retention, body orientation (One of Guardiola’s biggest obsession) to receive the ball from the exterior neutral player who has advantage through the guided discovery learning method. The defensive anticipations will make the attackers be on the right body shape to retain the ball and switch the play.
Different Spaces
We will use this tactical drill in order to identify empty spaces and to play not only with the closest players but also with the intermediate and the players farther away. This drill will make your player give the right importance to play easy passes in reduced spaces. In the drill you will practice the decision making when it comes to play quick, to move, to stay and to delay the game.
Offensive and Defensive Transition 3 Teams with orientation
A tactical drill of polarized transitions in order to make your players identify the risks depending on the zone they are playing. At the same time, we will train the ball retention trying to do it in the most high part of the field possible.
Double Box: Tactical Balance
If your team, while it is attacking, keeps a balanced structure, it will be ready to defend rapidly in an appropriate way when losing the ball. It will make your players be better at finishing, at pressing after losing the ball, in the counter attack, in the previous moves to the ball loss 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.
Defensive positioning
To defend in a coordinate way is key for the defensive success. With only a few simple references you will achieve right habits in your players such as defensive balance, a right distance between lines or the coordination to move forward or backwards.
Double Box: Fast Transitions
To be fast but not rushing! This is a provocation rule which will improve the decision making in order to adapt the pace and the game speed.
Four squares possession
To achieve an appropriate players’ distribution in the free spaces, to switch the game successfully, to choose either checking to the ball or checking away… this drill will make you players think and take decisions.