As we put a close to 2018, I'd like to re-share all of the articles from this year.
I am very proud of them all and they all have helped me to learn a little bit more about this sport and everything it entails.
Cheers to 2018 and bring on 2019 🥂
IJAS's 2018 Thread Here! 👇
Guardiola's Class
🗣 "Since that 2007 coaching clinic, Pep Guardiola has singlehandedly changed how football is played. Luckily for us, someone filmed this once in a lifetime clinic and the following findings are those ideas preached on that cloudy day." itsjustasport.com/home/2018/11/5…
Child Psychology 101 for Every Youth Coach
🗣 "I know what you might be thinking, ‘I’m just a football coach. I don’t have the time or energy to study psychology in my free time.' Well, this article is for you." ...
🗣 "If you are constantly questioning the intentions of your actions and words, you begin to have a greater understanding of yourself and why you do things." ...
🗣 "The footballer is immersed in a chaotic situation full of visual and auditory cues which he or she must decipher and begin to recognize patterns to gradually become fluent in the language of football." ...
🗣 "My question is at what point in our need to control every aspect of the sport and how we teach young people to play it did we take the ball away?" ...
🗣 "If you were to ask any player in the world what the most important thing in football is, they would all say the ball. So what better bait than the one thing every player wants. " ...
🗣 "What if I told you it’s not the ball that pulls defenders out of position and creates space, but instead the possibility of the ball, the possibility of danger?" ...
🗣 "Have you ever seen that optical illusion what looks like a rabbit to some and a duck to others? Sergio Ramos causes a similar reaction in people." ...
Counterattacking: The Result of Indivisible Football
🗣 "One of the most important concepts of positional play is the idea that football is composed of fluid, continuous actions which cannot be separated." ...
I’ve written about this space on countless occasions but I'll keep banging on like a broken record for the simple reason that it’s the basis of all football strategy.
Let’s dive into why this space is so important and how teams attack it...🧵👇
Because teams heavily defend the space behind their back line, the space in front of the defending back line is the objective for build ups
The catalyst for goal scoring chances is an attacking player in possession facing the defending back line
🎥 from Positional Play Course
Teams have found so many ways of the defending this ever-important space.
👥 Some defending teams will flood this space with 2 or sometimes 3 central midfielders
⏩ Some will task center backs to step up and defend that space
🪓 Some will task a specialist player to defend it
How do teams beat high presses? It’s one of the most exciting moments of the game that make or break a team’s performance.
Like walking a tight rope, play it right and you’re on the other side unscathed.
Get it wrong and it’s in the back of your goal…
Let’s break it down👇🧵
As with all football this starts with space.
- Is there space to play in?
- Which space do we want to play in?
- How much space do we need to play effectively in?
- How can we create that space in said place?
These are unconsciously and collectively decided upon during a match.
Against a high press, teams differ and situations differ about how all of these questions are answered.
However, there is one common factor; the ball attracts opponents, drawing them out of other spaces.
I am lucky enough to be able to have coached the 9v9 game format for many years now. In that time I have grown to really love this particular stage of football.
Here are FIVE REASONS WHY I LOVE COACHING 9v9 FOOTBALL 🧵👇
THE COMPLEXITY BALANCE.
I love football, you do too. And the reason we love it is because there is so much depth to it.
However, in my opinion, the 9v9 game format has the perfect balance of complexity and simplicity.
There are tactics but not too many. It’s perfect.
THE POTENTIAL OF DEVELOPMENT.
I have coached many ages and levels from senior teams to 4 year olds.
They all have their pros and cons, but what I love most is seeing football development occur right in front of my eyes.
Guardiola's defensive struggles have taught me something about football that could be applied to all teams.
Discover how Manchester City's recent defensive struggles have exposed a fundamental tactical challenge in modern football.
Let’s dive in 🧵👇
The theme that I want you to keep in mind throughout this entire thread is DEPTH.
Depth: The distance from the top to the bottom of something. We are talking about the depth of a defensive block - from the highest player to the lowest player.
Within the DEPTH, we are specifically going to be talking about the DENSITY.
Density: The amount of something per area, volume, or length. In football it’s the number of players in a given area.