Article focusing on soccer training drill to work deffensive and ofensive organization, while developing specific endurance

2. n this session, Vitor Gouveia focuses on
getting his players to work with the ball,
pass it around and maintain possession,
under pressure.
The idea of this session is to develop
endurance pertaining to the game itself
and to work on overall defensive
positioning.
This game is perfect for players of the age
of 15-years or older, until the professional
levels. It is designed to train players to
attack down the wings when playing in a 4-
3-3 formation.
This game is perfect for those searching for
a game that focuses on basic tactical
movement in a 4-3-3 situation while
focussing on aerobic and anaerobic
exercises.
There are 10-players on each side, along
with a goalkeeper for each team, and the
entire pitch is used for the game.
On each side of the pitch, evenly divided
across the centre-line, are two boxes
(shown in red) where each box is 30 x 30
yards.
The game is designed to work with a 4-3-3
formation wherein all the players are within
the central third of the pitch.
There are two red boxes in the central third
and at any point of time, only four-players
from the attacking team can enter those
red boxes – the left back (LB), the left
winger (LW) and two central midfielders
(CM).
For the defending team as well, only four
players may enter the box, including – the
right back (RB), the right winger (RW) and
two central midfielders (CM).
The central defender (CD) needs to offer
defensive cover by providing a back-pass
option, while the defensive midfielder (DM)
offers lateral support for a pass to the side,
as well as defensive cover.
The central midfielders from both sides
need to get into the box to offer support as
quickly as possible while the centre forward
(CF) needs to find a position to offer an
attacking-pass option.
The key element to remember here is that
before the ball reaches the final stage of
creating a scoring opportunity, it needs to
go from one third of the field to the next,
while being passed through the boxes.
There are many things to remember here,
for the attacking side.
The first is that the attacking side must be
able to get the ball to the CF successfully.
Once the CF has the ball, then s/he has the
option of trying to go all the way on her/his
own or try to bring a team-mate into the
game.
The team-mate can be a RB or LB making
an overlapping run, a RW or LW moving up
in support or even a CM moving up through
the middle.
This creates greater numbers in the final
third of the pitch, creating more options for
the attacking team.
In Figure One, the defending side’s CDs, RB
and LB can stay back to defend in their
defensive third of the pitch.
In case their team-mates win possession in
the box, the ball can be played back to
them and they can maintain possession at
the back. However, when moving the ball
up the pitch, they need to go through one
of the two boxes again.
In Figure Two, the various passing (solid
arrows) and movement (dotted arrows)
options are displayed to help you see
exactly how the CF can bring the other
players into the game.
There are no corner kicks in this game and
whenever a team scores or when the ball
goes out of play, behind the goal-line, the
goalkeeper immediately re-starts the
game.

4. On each instance, the ball has to be played
out of the back and can never be hit up the
pitch.
An extremely strenuous bit of movement
and play, this game should be played out
about 3 to 5 times a session, and for 3 to 6
minutes each time.
Try and introduce a bit of recovery walking
between each playing period along with
some stretching.
The recovery walking and stretching should
be carried out for the same duration as the
game was played out.
Feel free to change the rules of the game
according the way it is being played out.
You can make it harder for the attacking
side by limiting touches on the ball inside
the red boxes.
Alternately, you can put a rule that
prevents players from raising the ball above
the waist-level when passing.
Basically, once you have the general idea of
the concept, feel free to explore your
options and manipulate the conditions to
suit your team, your opposition or your
playing philosophies.
Vitor Alexandre Marreco de Gouveia
Vitor Gouveia is a PhD student in Sports
Training, from the University of Coimbra,
and is a UEFA B-Licensed coach.
Vitor is involved in research on Sports
Sciences and has worked with a number of
teams in Futsal, physical fitness being his key
area of expertise.
You can get in touch with Vitor directly by
emailing him at vmarreco@hotmail.com or
visit his Linked In profile.