Language In Coaching: How To Create And Use Terminology
This article will try to give some insight into creating a helpful terminology for coaching, mostly relating to the coach’s game model, utilizing basic insight about the game itself.
Sassuolo’s Positional Play System
Roberto de Zerbi’s team show us one of the most interesting positional play approaches recently. The concept of positional play became very popular these days, still a lot of coaches and teams misinterpret it and just throwing the concept around without a deeper understanding. Although, Sassuolo is a good example for the opposite.
Using defensive throw ins as offensive opportunities
Throw in situations in matches are often just taken for granted and involve little meaningful thought or decision making around them, other than to mark the opposition and prevent ball progression. But these situations can dictate not only who controls possession, but also how and where this possession takes place.
Player Profile: Marcus Thuram
Marcus Thuram is writing his own story in this year’s Bundesliga season. His transfer to Borussia Monchengladbach in summer 2019 for €12m was arguably a signing for the long-term, a promise for the future.
Barcelona’s High-Pressing Strategy vs Napoli
During Barcelona’s Champions League last-16 first-leg tie vs Napoli, their high-pressing strategy yielded mixed results.
Pressing traps available in a 3-4-3
Pressing systems involving a back three formation offer the opportunity to commit more players to press in higher areas. With seven players within the first and second lines of the press, there are opportunities for numerical advantages in specific moments within the opposition’s build-up.
How (not) to constrain your principles.
The game of football is a game with a specified purpose, laws and means. Two teams are facing off against each other with the objective of scoring a goal utilizing the ball. These rules are the same all around the globe. Similarly, the principles following these laws of the game will be the same – as will be the purpose of training. Football is a game that is trained and therefore coached, with most coaches focusing on doing so within their specific interpretation of these principles, for attacking, defending and the transition in both directions between these two.
Player Analysis: Sergio Ramos – attacking set-pieces
When it comes to attacking set-pieces, Sergio Ramos is probably the best player in the world right now -along with Cristiano Ronaldo. Over the years he saved Real Madrid a lot of times with his goals from set-pieces – his most famously is definitely the 95th minute goal against Atletico Madrid back in the 2014 Champions League Final. So, we decided to take a deeper look into it in a video analysis (video link at the end of the article).
The Evolution of Counterattacking
As we move forward through the years football continues to evolve. The developments are not often massive evolutions such as Sacchi’s zonal congestion from the 80s or Michels’ and Cruyff’s total football from the 70s, but most frequently minor positional or role adjustments within the different phases of the game. Every goal scored for your team and every goal conceded that is prevented for your team has high value – and as analytics continue to grow within our sport, we are seeing its impact on football’s phases little by little.
Player Profile: Gio Reyna
Gio Reyna has recently entered the stage of professional football at German side Borussia Dortmund. What makes him special?