Coach / Tactics
Tactics
The big ideas of team play, each one drawn on a full-size pitch and played out step by step. Press play, or go through it a step at a time.
In possession
When your team has the ball: make the pitch big, and find ways past the other team.
Width and depth
When your team has the ball, spread out. Wide players stretch the pitch across, a striker and a deep midfielder stretch it from front to back.
Switch the play
When the other team crowds one side, move the ball quickly to the other side, where there is space.
The third-man run
A passes to B, and B passes first time to C, who was already running. The defenders watch the first pass and miss the runner.
The overlap
The winger takes the ball inside; the full-back runs round the outside into the space the winger left.
Out of possession
When they have it: make the pitch small, and win it back together.
Press on a trigger
Wait, stay compact, and press all together when something tells you to: a pass to the touchline, a bad touch, a pass backwards.
Delay, cover, balance
Three jobs when defending: the nearest player slows the attacker down, the next one covers behind, and the far one balances across.
Move as a block
Without the ball, the team keeps its shape and slides across the pitch together, like one unit, staying close to the ball.
Transition
The seconds after the ball changes hands, when both teams are out of shape.