Coaching and Tactical Trends

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Bonzos4Lagers
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Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Bonzos4Lagers »

Hey there,
I've been in the USA 20 years and now I'm the coach of a prestigious prep school with many of my players aspiring to play in college and professionally -- and many have done so.

I'm really interested if any of you have spotted any tactical trends, formations, coaching points that you think will be adopted by coaches worldwide.

For example, I know it's pretty obvious but the contrast between pressing and not pressing is fascinating to see. For younger players, the temptation to hustle to get the ball back is a tough instinct to overcome. With the pending death of tiki-taka, I'm also wondering if any of you have spotted a ratio of negative or lateral passes before moving the ball forward -- that's the kind of thing I'm interested in.

Today, the Germans were truly admirable for their shape and counter-attacking. The Brazilians were like a ship without a rudder.

I'm just interested in genuine coaching observations with the teenage football player in mind.

Looking forward to intelligent responses, and hopefully some meaningful correspondence.

In Ron Greenwood I trust,

Cheers!
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by fjthegrey »

I believe in two pieces of attacking tactical play above all others. Firstly, the counter attack with pace and direction. Every top team in the world is capable of turning defence into attack in an instant. This is also related to my belief that how quickly a team can reset itself into a good defensive shape after losing the ball is also a huge part of being successful, or not.

Secondly I believe in switching the play quickly and driving forward into the available space. Luring players in with possession on one side of the pitch, switching the play suddenly and then going on a direct drive forward is a tried and true tactic that I think most top teams place a lot of faith in. I also believe that's why full back is the most undervalued position on the pitch. If you have a good defensive full back who can handle that exposure you will do well. Similarly if you have a good attacking full back who regularly exposes that space created by this approach, you will cause opponents huge problems.
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Bonzos4Lagers »

Thanks for a great reply. Handling transition is crucial for young players - I think Zabaleta is a fantastic full back for his ability to get forward; Lahm too to a lesser extent.

The patience to wait for a mistake (instead of pressing) is something I want to work on with my players, but it requires a very mature mindset. Do you coach?
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Morocco Mole »

One of the most interesting things about this relatively ordinary German side is that even with zero pace at the back they still tend to hold an extremely high line - something you rarely see in club football these days.

Algeria exposed them time and time again and they got away with it. Can they do the same against Messi/Robben....?
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Bonzos4Lagers »

Right, but I think that's because Neuer is so good. I think he's the world's #1 by a long way based on this WC. I wonder how many "sweeper keepers" we'll see in the Premier League in the next year or two.

Neuer is a proper footballer as well as a great GK. Think of West Ham keepers over the past few years who could be described as footballers -- I'm struggling . . . .
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by bobcar »

Bonzos4Lagers wrote:Thanks for a great reply. Handling transition is crucial for young players - I think Zabaleta is a fantastic full back for his ability to get forward; Lahm too to a lesser extent.

The patience to wait for a mistake (instead of pressing) is something I want to work on with my players, but it requires a very mature mindset. Do you coach?
How old is prep school? If it is young kids then far more important to allow them to enjoy themselves, express themselves and learn all the basic skills rather than teach them formations and the like.
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Bonzos4Lagers »

My boys are 15 to 19. Totally agree with philosophy of enjoying and expressing yourself, but you have to be organized to allow this to happen. Their expectations are high, so are those of the college coaches who are offering scholarships of around $250,000 over 4 years. In that sense, the stakes are pretty high as far as families are concerned.
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by bobcar »

Bonzos4Lagers wrote:My boys are 15 to 19. Totally agree with philosophy of enjoying and expressing yourself, but you have to be organized to allow this to happen. Their expectations are high, so are those of the college coaches who are offering scholarships of around $250,000 over 4 years. In that sense, the stakes are pretty high as far as families are concerned.
That's older than a prep school in the UK which is typically 8-11/13 year olds (I thought it might be which is why I asked).

So yes at that age it is a mix of skills, tactics and training.
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by 'Appy 'Ammer »

Football is played on the grass, not in the sky
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Billy_Boy »

“A football team is like a piano. You need eight men to carry it and three who can play the damn thing.” – Bill Shankly

B4L: I read "scholarships of around $250,000 over 4 years" opened mouthed, particularly having seen the 'US don't really get soccer' thread on these hallowed pages.

How on earth does that work? Who provides the dough and what do they gain from it?
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Billydinho »

Football is all about the counter attack nowadays.

In league football it's just a case of park the bus and hit the opposition on the counter.

Yawn.
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by WCpete »

Keep your kids away from this Holland v Argie spectacle. We don't need this match to set any tactical trends.
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Clucking Bell »

Billy_Boy wrote: B4L: I read "scholarships of around $250,000 over 4 years" opened mouthed, particularly having seen the 'US don't really get soccer' thread on these hallowed pages.

How on earth does that work? Who provides the dough and what do they gain from it?
The tuition fees for any university are about $30,000 a year if you live in the same State. Add 10-15k if you go to college out of State and double it if it's a private college like Harvard or Yale. Sports scholarships pretty much pay for that and give you beer money too.
If you really must go to college in the US (and I'd highly recommend going almost anywhere else) you need.
1. Rich parents or,
2. The desire to owe at least $100,000 or,
3. To be really good at sport.

Fortunately, I have a short arse Division I swimmer and two runners both of whom are 5'10" who are being tapped up for rowing. Hopefully, I'll only be on the hook for their beer money.
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Billy_Boy »

I was always given to understand that many kids in the US went into tertiary education as 'Sports Scholars'. However, I had thought that this mainly was for gridiron, athletics and tennis.

What I simply can't fathom is why an American institute of education would be willing to throw not inconseqential sums of money purely to have a decent football (soccer) team.

The sums involved - over many sports at many different colleges/universities - must be vast. Is it funded by the US government?
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Bonzos4Lagers »

Scholarships are usually funded by the institutions. Universities and colleges want the prestige and the success -- it's that simple. Success brings in more applications, so they can be choosier as to who they admit. The culture here also drives fund-raising and endowment levels. Unashamedly asking for and giving money to your school/university is simply a fact of life over here.

Quote from UConn: "The success of UConn Athletics has helped propel UConn into the top tier of public universities, translating into increased recognition, dramatic new levels of admissions and interest in the institution, and a national sense of pride in the University and its achievements.

To ensure we maintain this level of excellence we have come to know, there are three great ways to invest in the future of UConn Athletics." it goes on to say the three ways you can give money.

For soccer, it's not profit driven. In US Football, basketball, hockey and to a lesser degree, baseball things are different.

University of Connecticut is ONE of the state universities near me. For example

Football is played at Rentschler field, capacity 40,000 all-seater-- tickets from $30. This field is also used for full internationals for the US Men and Women.
Basketball (Men and Women)at Gampel pavilion, 10,000 seats INDOORS.
Soccer (Men and Women) 4,500 capacity.

The highest paid state employee was, until recently, the men's basketball coach.

Not saying it's better or worse - just totally different. When I played at University, we had one man and his dog watching us at home.
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Johnny Byrne's Boots »

There's a bit about tactics and formations in this BBC Football piece
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by Philosophical Dan »

I reckon the next big move will be back to the 1920s - 8 strikers, 2 defenders and a rush keeper.
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Re: Coaching and Tactical Trends

Post by _fortunes_ »

Maybe I imagined this, but during this World Cup I've noticed that a fair few of the better teams use this short passing game (almost like a training drill), where there are numbers around the ball with maybe one opposition player trying to win possession.

Then another one or two opposition players will come forth and press too but then the ball is passed into a position of space where those opposition players were.

It's all done I guess to pull the opposition out of shape, happens fairly quickly and invariably in the midfield regions. Interesting tactic I thought, if it was in fact a conscious one.
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