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Edition 5
Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's issue will be dealing with attacking
out of the back. This subject can be dealt with from a theoretical standpoint like most
coaches or from a realistic one. I hear a lot of coaches talk about "Total
Soccer" but then I watch most of these teams attack using more of the foosball
mentality (this is the idea of forwards attack, midfielders link and fullbacks defend and
they rarely change). Until we can get everyone defending as a unit and everyone attacking
as a unit then teams will continue to be unimaginative and lacking in the ability to
entertain both the players as well as the fans.
When I speak to teams about the importance of attacking out of the back as well as
attacking as a group, I use the example of a prior group I coached where the leading goal
scorer on the team was out stopper and the second leading scorer was out sweeper. I
explain this to them to make sure they understand just how serious I am about having the
backs come forward and getting involved in the attack. Once a group realizes the
importance of going forward the next step is for them to understands the advantages and
disadvantages and to learn how to capitalize upon the advantages and negate some of the
disadvantages of each.
The advantages of attacking out of the back include getting more numbers into the
attacking zone then the opponents have defending (also called flooding a zone). An example
of this would be when marking back on the right side plays the ball up to the outside mid
on the same side, putting the outside mid into a 1v1 situation. While these are good
numbers for the offense, they can increase their chances of success by having the outside
mid take a hard touch the player marking her which should open up space on the outside for
the marking back to overlap. As she makes this overlapping run, the opponent is forced to
make a decision of whether to go with the runner or stay with her original mark. By
changing this attack from a 1v1situation into a 2v1 situation, the marking back has
significantly increased the teams probability of success. Of course this assumes the
opposing forwards don't track back. This is a pretty safe assumption especially if the
backs have followed the advice from the last newsletter about switching the ball around
the back to relieve pressure. Assuming there are two forwards on the opposing team (or
even three) and four backs
there will always be an opportunity for a player to go forward without a player being able
to track back with her. Another advantage of sending players forward is to make an
opponent guess where the attack will be coming. Defending against a "foosball
type" team us actually quite simple because the opponent knows where and when the
attack will be coming every time. The more thinking (and guessing) that an opponent has to
do, the more likely they are to make a mistake.
The main disadvantage of coming forward out of the back is their is a risk of too many
players getting caught up field making the team susceptible to a counter attack. If two or
even three players get caught forward, that could leave only one player back to defend.
Done properly, this doesn't happen because as one player goes forward, another player will
be conscious of the space that has been abandoned and will cover for her. To use the
example mentioned earlier, as the ball gets played forward to the outside midfielder and
the marking back overlaps around, the midfielder must be aware of what is happening and be
prepared to cover back. This is the difference of being group of 11 soccer players as
opposed to being a real team who looks out for each other and helps each other out
whenever necessary It is not unusual to see a real good player switch from the right side
to the left side and from the front to back. There were times during the Women's World Cup
when players like Mia Hamm were never in the same position two attacks in a row. Some
people might see this as being undisciplined while a more knowledgeable person would
realize that the team was showing a tremendous amount of discipline by making runs and
covering for each other for extended periods of time.
As a coach, it is my responsibility to get my players thinking in an attacking way at all
times. This doesn't mean they should be attacking at all times but rather that they should
have the thought in their mind. One way to accomplish this is to put in the condition
during scrimmages (and even games) that on every pass forward, their must be a run forward
(they will either learn to cover for each other real quickly or get scored on a lot. Note
that this requirement is not that the passer must go forward but simply that someone must
go forward. This will work on attacking as well as communicating. Another condition that
is effective in scrimmages is to require an overlap on every pass forward and back square
support on every pass backward. This is a form of making the players follow their passes
but it allows them to go forward without running right at the intended recipient of the
pass.
Even more important then putting in these type of restrictions is to convince the players
that it is O.K. to attack and if they make a mistake or someone is not covered for, then
the players will not be yelled at for this error. All of the drills and restrictions in
the world can be negated by being yelled at just once for making a mistake. Just like in
any investment, a coach must determine the risks vs rewards in attacking out of the back.
It is my opinion that the rewards far exceed the risk. Not only is this an effective way
to win, it's also an extremely enjoyable way to play and also makes for entertaining
soccer for the spectators. Basically a win/win/win situation.
In conclusion, I think that attacking out of the back is more a result of a positive
attitude by the team and coach and can be accomplished by anyone who wants to do it. Be
positive and be successful.
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Have a great day.
Lawrence