1. Defensive
Organization
Vitor Pereira

2. Macro Principle
•
The team must defend in a pressuring zone
defense (“pressing zone”)

3. Macro Principle
Characteristics
•
The team seeks to create a “pressing zone" with
acceleration on to the opponent, causing her to
go to where we are organizing pressure. It is a
zonal organization that becomes high pressure
in defined moments (“pressure references")

4. Macro Principle
Characteristics
•
This “pressing zone” can be applied further
forward or further back (high or low pressure),
depending on the defined strategy for the game
according to the characteristics of the opponent.

5. Macro Principle
Characteristics
•
In the "pressing zone" the team should be
concerned primarily with the spaces. The
players should clearly understand how to defend
both spaces and opponents in these areas.

6. Macro Principle
Characteristics
•
The team must show an active role in recovering
possession of the ball, trying to make the
opponent make a mistake & for this to happen,
the team must be well organized in its defensive
lines.

9. Sub-Principle #1
•
The team must interpret collectively the
“pressure triggers ” (collective references of
pressure which the team must identify clearly
and from there take the most appropriate
action).

10. Sub-Principle #1
Characteristics
•
The team must perceive & identify the “pressure
triggers”, namely, the team must identify when to
accelerate on to the opponent, pressure her
aggressively, or on the other hand, when they
must retreat to take away offensive depth from
the opposing team.

11. Sub-Principle #1
“Pressure Triggers”
1. Opponent receives ball back to goal, pressing on the
“blind side”
2. Badly executed pass which makes receiving the ball
more difficult for the opponent, i.e. gives time to
organize the block & pressure the opponent.
3. Long & high pass, for example, from the center to the
opposite side (the time that the ball is in the air, plus the
time of reception is a sign to pressure the opponent).

12. Sub-Principle #1
Triggers to Retreat
•
Conditions are not always available to press the
opponent, in these situations, we must take
away the wide & deep spaces. For example,
when the opponent is facing us, with good
conditions to give offensive depth to their game.
All the players must see when we must take
away offensive depth from the opponent & when
not to.

14. Sub-Principle #2
•
Pressure the opponent on the “blind
side” (moment when the opponent receives the
ball with their back to our defensive block).

15. Sub-Principle #2
Characteristics
•
Take advantage of opponent’s poor positioning
& from poor adjustment of support on receiving
the ball which normally “closes” the field.

16. Sub-Principle #2
Example
•
Full back with the ball next to the side-line, with
the inside midfielder (or defensive MF) receiving
inside pass with support facing the corridor,
focused on that sideline (this gives us the “blind
side”).

17. Sub-Principle #2
Characteristics
•
However, it is not enough to pressure the
opponent on the “blind side”, it is necessary to
“invite the opponent to enter the “pressing zone”
which we are organizing, & then to accelerate on
to the opponent & recover the ball”.

19. Sub-Principle #3
•
The team must know how to defend in lines, i.e.
close & reduce spaces between the lines &
within the lines (“make field small”).

20. Sub-Principle #4
•
The team as a whole should swivel depending
on the position of the ball, for example, if the ball
is on the left side, the right back should not be
open on the right, but close off the inside space.

21. Sub-Principle #5
•
The team must learn to differentiate between
the different rhythms of defending as a
function of “pressure triggers”, i.e. the team
has to realize from a collective point of view
when to retreat or when to accelerate on to the
opponent according to the different triggers.

22. Sub-Principle #6
•
The team must be capable of knowing when it
must gain or win back spaces out wide or in
depth (if the opponent is facing us with good
possibilities of playing the ball deep, the team
must at this moment retreat, close down the
spaces & reduce the depth of the opponent. If
on the other hand the opponent’s back is
turned to the game, it is the moment to press
& win the wide & deep spaces).

23. Sub-Principle #7
•
The players should be concerned about the
ball, the space and the opponent, with
marking space the reference point (and not
marking individuals).

24. Sub-Principle #8
•
The Defensive Principles (Containment,
Defensive Covering, & Balance) are very
important in all sectors, & all players must
master these defensive aspects.

25. Sub-Sub-Principles
•
Open up the Field (it’s important that the
players don’t close down the field to defend,
so they are not systematically surprised).

26. Sub-Sub-Principles
•
Example
•
The outside back on the opposite side from
the ball, shifts towards the ball-side, but if your
support is facing the side of the ball, she is
“closed” to the field, & there is a huge part of
the field that she cannot see.
•
Turn shoulders to open body to field.

27. Sub-Sub-Principles
•
Characteristics
•
The players must “open up” the field in
defensive organization, because only with a
correct positioning of the supporting players is
it possible that the players visually control the
spaces, the opponents & the ball.