Defensive Principles

If you defend well, you have a chance to win every game.

Some teams sacrifice attack, play with two holding midfielders, and don't allow the fullbacks to get forward or the midfielders to overlap. They play long balls out of the back at every opportunity. They 'park the bus,' to use the common phrase. Not many people enjoy playing this way, even when it works.

The shame is that a team needn't do any of those things to defend well. We are not going to, no matter who we play. We're going to follow these six basic principles at all times.

1) Press and cover. The player closest to the ball presses, closing space, and tackles if (and only if) the opportunity presents (bad touch, etc). The next-nearest player covers by tucking into a space anywhere from 6 to 10 yards behind him.

If you press and cover every time, all over the pitch, you'll be ahead of 75% of the teams you ever play, in your entire life. I am absolutely astounded by how infrequently teams and players are taught this.

2) Individual defending. Stay in good 1v1 body shape, side on, with your feet constantly moving and adjusting. Do not dive or lunge into tackles. Show the attacker the direction you want him/her to go (away from goal, into already crowded space, etc).

3) Track runners. Don't chase the ball, and don't chase the runner. Track the runner. Chasing is not tracking. If you're chasing, that means you didn't track when it mattered, and are now desperately trying to make up for it. Good teams won't let you.

4) Spacing. The concept of keeping good defensive shape really comes down to the space between you and your teammates. Basically - further apart when we have the ball, closer together when we don't, especially in central areas.

5) When in doubt, retreat centrally. Do not point at just any player and say "I got my man." Find the most dangerous unmarked player and mark them.

The next one is the most important:

6) Win the ball back as soon as we lose it.

Do not foul; remain in control of yourself. But be absolutely possessed by the need to win the ball back immediately. Let's look at two facts:

1) Our team cannot score a goal if we don't have the ball.
2) You cannot have any real fun if we don't have the ball.

We only win the ball back if we understand the first five principles. We also have to be fit - it takes bursts of high and sometimes sustained energy to win the ball. That's why we have subs. If you allow a team to pass the ball because "they're not in a dangerous area" or "it's just possession for the sake of possession," you are allowing them to dictate the game and play it on their terms. Teams who dictate the game usually win. Not always, but usually. You may someday play a team so good that you just can't get the ball off them, but it can't be for a lack of trying.

There are other defensive principles - stay goal side, fullbacks don't be last, etc - that you should already know and will hear from me regularly. Let's make these six the core of how we play when we don't have the ball.