Pressing has become the core terminology of most teams defending. They talk about pressing as a trigger. Teams from a defending point of view need to make sure that the aspects of pressing are part of their overall strategy. Questions that need to asked are:

• When do we press?
• Where do we press?
• How do we press?
• Why are we pressing?

As usual with this blog if you can’t answer those questions as a coach how are you going to teach your players your pressing wishes. You need to be clear in your thoughts and then work to teach your players how to press.

Many teams think pressing is about racing in and putting the player on the ball under pressure but if you don’t get the angles and support right then the press can be easily broken by teams happy to retain the ball with angled passes and movements against the grain of the press. The press is a “live” movement and all players within the press have to work together in an almost choreographed sequence. This is a part of the game that I really enjoy coaching.

Pressing Game:

Aim: To create numerous changes for the team to press the ball and build pressing momentum with mistakes easily punished by the team in possession. This game will provide you with a lot of coaching opportunities as its fluid and creates scenarios that your players will face continually.

Key Terminology and phrase you can use: (3 P’s)

1. Pressure — looking for bad pass, bad touch, or player isolated. Get in fast, slow down get low and work to get the opposition player with their head down.
2. Predictability — force the player on the ball to play the way you turn them.
3. Patience — Don’t foul or give away free kicks. Keep the pressure on but not so tight the player on the ball can spin away if you press the ball too hard.

Coaching Points:

1. Approach to the ball — speed, approach angle, body angle and make the player predictable
2. Make it predictable with your body shape and stay in contact to force a bad pass
3. Patience — players off the ball be patient to close and close as the ball is passed so the pass can’t go through the space you leave.
4. Pressure the ball and turn the ball back to where it came from to keep the pressure on.
5. Don’t look to win the first ball but the the second or third pass.
6. Be patient if you don’t win the ball and they get out of the press reset looking for a bad touch or bad pass and trigger it again.

Session Set-up:

The area will depend on the skill and talent of your players. For players with lower technical skill make the area bigger but for players with high technical level make the area smaller. For this scenario the area is a 24m x 24m grid that is split into 4 grids.

There 6 players in red bibs and 4 players in blue bibs. Obviously this can change due to the numbers at your training.

Rules:

The red players must have at least 1 player in each of the 4 grids at all times and are allowed to have 3 players in the grid with the ball. As the ball travels into a new grid any 2 of the red players can come into the grid.

The blue players are only allowed to have 3 players in the grid with the ball and the fourth players must stay out of the grid with the ball but can be in any of the other 3 grids depending on where the ball is being shown.

Scoring:

• The red team receives a point every-time they can escape a 3 person press and get 2 passes in another grid
• The blue team receives a point every time they win the ball whether that’s in the 3v3 or with the single player starting the next press.

First to 5 wins and then change the teams. The work load is high on the pressing team so 5 points will be enough to keep the intensity high.

Testing the learning:

To test the players learning play a game for 5 minutes removing all the restrictions and allow it to be played as a 6v4. Bring the players in and swap the teams and talk through all the scenarios that you coached previously.