Soccer Awareness Training Center members can download this full 20 page session below.

This Rondo is perfect for a starting point on rotation and movement in front of opponents defense. Teams may work out that we are good at playing penetrating passes and making great runs in behind them so the way to try to stop this is to defend deep.

If they defend deep we need a tactical solution to counter this. This presentation gives you ideas on how to do this and play initially IN-FRONT of the opponents back four.

Bayern Munich and Barcelona are very good at this, both motivated and taught by Pep Guardiola.

We can do it at our age level just as effectively. We can practice this in a tight area, with the relevant players in their usual positions in the attacking third and just play possession as a warm up.

Lots of repetition in training to embed the ideas in the players minds.

Setting Conditions To Make It Work

We overload zone 14 as shown. Condition the back four to not be able to go past the blue cones to keep them defending deep. Condition the attacking players to stay inside the Zone 14 orange coned off area so they MUST condense and get tight and get close to each other.

Getting Shots In On Goal

Again short and sharp build up, good positions in tight spaces between opponents and movements OFF the ball to get free to get into a shooting position. Other players follow in for rebounds but time it so they are not offside. Typical Messi run.

Overloading Players In Front Of The Opponents Two Center Backs

We want to overload Zone 14 in the center of the field by maintaining two wide players so there is an option to play wide. The idea is to get up in numbers in front of the two center backs. If the fullbacks tuck in to help as they have here and equal the numbers up then we can go wide to (2) and (11). Here a 3 v 2 centrally. (A) and / or (D) may tuck in but this frees up (11) and (2) wide.

This can be one full session practicing playing short and tight and with quick 1 and 2 touch play. Players must move subtly to get into open very tight passing lanes between opponents.

Play quickly.

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