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.
Conditioned Game: Pressure in middle block
We will use an easy condition that will make our players close the interior spaces in a better way, to not allow the passing lines and to do not let the defenders get right in shape to defend deep balls.
Offensive transition with the free man.
When we win the ball back when defending a team which presses us after losing the ball, we will need to connect with the free man playing behind the rivals’ back.
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.
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.
Third man and free man rondo
We adapt a rondo in order to practice the use of the third man and the free man as a microstructure to advance in the game.
Rondo: draw in rivals
In this drill, the offensive players will win two points if they repeat the same pass in order to attract the defenders first so they can pass it then to the free farther players. The defenders will have to be coordinated to do the pressing choosing the right moment to do it. These tactical momentums are key and they will appear many times in the real game.
Double Box: Counterattack and pressure after losing possession
Either to advance in the game after winning the ball back or to avoid it are the objectives of a lot of styles of play. We will practice it in this intense drill in which we will make our players improve the transitions. The dimensions will be the double of the box.
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.