Attacking tactics: width, depth and quick passing

1Why this matters

Eleven defenders can cover a football pitch only if the attackers let them stand close together. Good attacking tactics do the opposite: they spread the defence out and then attack the gaps that open up. The ideas in this lesson are used by every team from the Rwanda Premier League to a Sunday kick-about, and each one can be practised with a ball, four cones and a few friends.

2The principles of attack

• Width: players stay wide, near the touchlines, to stretch the defence sideways and open gaps between defenders.
• Depth: players are spread at different distances up the pitch, for example a striker high up and a midfielder behind the ball. The ball carrier then always has a forward option and a safe backward option.
• Support: teammates move to create passing angles near the ball carrier, never standing directly behind a defender.
• Penetration: getting the ball behind the defence with a forward pass, a run or a dribble.
• Mobility: attackers keep moving and swapping positions so that defenders cannot simply mark them.

3Quick passing and penetrating passes

• Quick passing: one or two touches, so the ball moves faster than the defenders can. Pass along the ground, firmly, to the teammate's stronger foot.
• One-two (wall pass, or give-and-go): A passes to B and sprints past the defender; B returns the ball first time into A's path.
• Third-man run: while A passes to B, a third player C is already running. B lays the ball into C's path, so the pass reaches the player the defence was not watching.
• Overlap: a teammate runs round the outside of the ball carrier. The defender must choose whom to follow, and one of the two attackers is left free.
• Penetrating pass (through ball): a pass between or behind defenders into space for a runner.

4Switching play

When the defence crowds one side of the pitch, as in the diagram, the quickest route to space is a switch of play: move the ball to the far side, with one long diagonal pass or two or three quick passes through the middle.

Worked example: why switching works

The red defenders are packed on one side. To reach player B on the far touchline they must shuffle about 40 m across the pitch at about 5 m/s. A driven pass travels at about 20 m/s. How much time does B gain?

B has about 8 − 2 = 6 seconds before the defence arrives: time to control, look up and attack one-against-one.

The same sum explains quick passing. Every extra touch gives defenders time to slide across and close the gap.

5Drill: 4 v 2 rondo

Mark a 10 m square with four cones. Four attackers stand on the sides and two defenders go in the middle. Attackers keep the ball with at most two touches each. Ten passes in a row score a point. When a defender wins the ball, the attacker who lost it swaps in. The drill trains width (using the whole square), support angles and quick passing.

Practice

Solution. Width. The defence can stay narrow and compact, so there are no gaps to pass or run through.

Solution. A passes to B; A sprints past the defender; B passes first time into the space ahead of A.

Solution. 30 ÷ 15 = 2 s. In 2 s the defenders move 5 × 2 = 10 m, so they are still about 20 m short of the receiver.

Solution. In an overlap a second player runs round the outside of the ball carrier, who may or may not pass. In a one-two the ball is passed and immediately returned to the player who made it.