Principles of Play

The game of soccer is best understood and played when strategy

and tactics are based upon certain principles.

Principles and Roles of Defense

• Immediate Chase• Delay• Depth• Balance• Concentration• Control and Restraint

• Pressure• Cover• Balance• Compactness

Connection between Principles and Roles

• Soccer is best understood and played when strategy and tactics are based on certain principles. There are principles that apply to both defending and attacking. They guide us as we teach attacking and defending

• Roles are what individual players do in order to apply the principles.

Principles of Defense

• Immediate Chase

• Delay

• Depth

• Balance

• Concentration

• Control and Restraint

Immediate Chase

• Player(s) nearest the ball try to regain possession or apply pressure

• Player(s) chasing can also help delay the attack through the angle of recovery runs

Delay

• Pressuring defenders force attacking team to slow down so that defending team can organize

• Avoid over-committing

Depth

• Immediate organization of players behind the pressuring defender

• Recovery runs into defensive positions

• Position is to support pressuring defender in case they are beaten

• Player is called covering defender

• Refer to diagram for positioning

Balance

• Defense concentrates defense in the area around the ball

• Players away from the ball work to cover vital spaces (central areas)

• Preventing penetrating runs• Diagram on p. 37 – demonstrates how

players recover toward their goal behind pressuring defender

Concentration

• Players recover towards their own goal and organize defensively

• Objective is to reduce time and space for attacking team

• Recovery is central to your goal • Diagram p. 37 – shows players pressuring the ball

and the rest of the team working to concentrate in the vital central area in front of their goal

Control and Restraint

• Players must be disciplined and play “under control”

• Restraint from wanting to commit too early to winning the ball rather than following the principles

Defensive Roles

Players take on roles in order to play by the principles. A defending team can expect all players to assume the responsibility to provide pressure,

cover, balance or depth

Defensive Roles

• Pressure

• Cover

• Balance

• Compactness

Pressure

• Is applied most often by the player closest to the ball

• Apply pressure to the ball to regain possession if possible (control and restraint)

• Deny penetration of any kind

• Proper angle

• Proper speed

Cover

• Provide cover for pressuring defender• Proper angle of cover• Distance allows for tackling or immediate pressure

of an attacker who has beaten pressuring defender • Distance will vary based on 1/3 of the field and

amount of pressure• Responsible for tracking supporting attackers who

make forward runs

Balance

• Track players away from the area of the ball who are making forward runs

• Squeeze space towards center of the field to “lock up” vital areas

• Preserve balance/shape

• Refer to page 37 – top illustration – players 3 and 4 would be considered balancing

Compactness

• Collective play of all players• Pressure, cover, balance together provide

depth in defense• Organization of defending between the

various lines (midfield and defensive)• Proper positioning, spacing and number of

defenders in area of the ball vital to maintain depth in defense.

Things and Notes to Remember

• Principles help to make decisions for us in order to organize a solid defense.

• Roles are what the players are doing. Roles are not limited to position but apply to all players.

• The transition of players between roles is vital to the success of team defending.