Coaching Advanced Players

There is no question that the world’s best teams play regularly in the Champions League.  And one of the great thing about the Champions League is the diverse tactics employed by the various teams.  Barcelona have their style, Man U play with a 4-4-2 or the variant 4-5-1, Bayern Munich play with their familiar German style, Chelsea with a 4-3-3 and so on.

All the styles obviously have some merit because the teams are all successful in their own leagues and to a certain extent, in the Champions League.  But as a coach, what style is the most effective?  What style should you adopt for your own team?  No one can answer these questions for you, but most experts will say that whatever style of play you prefer, it will have to be flexible enough to fit the kind of players you have in your team.

Our book, Champions League Tactics, gives you an in-depth look at the methods, tactics and systems of play from the best known coaches and clubs in the world. The book begins with a overview of the characteristics and tendencies of

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Believe it or not, most coaches spend little time coaching defending compared to coaching possession and attacking.  Yet not conceding goals is just as important as scoring them if you want to win games.  There are reasons coaches spend more time coaching possession and attacking…first and foremost, it’s more fun to coach and players prefer the fun of scoring goals in practice more than they do working at stopping them.  Another reason is that some coaches find it difficult to coach defending…they just don’t have enough defending drills and exercises in their library.

The good news is we have a great book on defending.  Zonal Defending the Italian Way.  This book will give you the tools you need to create some great defending sessions.  And who better to learn from than the Italians.  The Brazilians are known for their trickery and technical skill. The Germans for their organization and discipline. But when it comes to defense, then the Italians are the best around. So if you’re struggling for ideas on how to tighten your back line, how to concede fewer goals and how to win more games, then the tactics used by the best Italian coaches of the last two decades are the perfect ones to study.

Zonal Defending the Italian Way provides an in-depth look at the Italian back four and their

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By Waleed Zaghloul.

Watching the latest Classico, I was wondering how much change will be seen from both teams based on the analysis of some vulnerabilities in a previous meeting this year (discussed in previous blogs). Some of the points analyzed back then showed two vulnerabilities for Barca, defending the counter attack specially against speedy opposition and the other was their left back. Real Madrid were overly aggressive in closing down Messi that they left other Barca player wide open at the back. Madrid were also notably losing their heads and committed very hard fouls when whatever they tried tactically did not work. Let us have a look at some instances of the latest Classico and decide for yourselves.

Asleep at the Wheel

This first image shows, in addition to the fact that this goal should very well have been called off for offside, a lack of interest from the Barcelona players. Four of the five players are

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One of our best selling books over the past few years has been the 4-4-2 v 4-3-3.  This book takes an in-depth look at two of the greatest managers/coaches in today’s game…Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourhino.  Both have incredible records, yet both have their teams play with a different style and formation.  Ferguson opts for the 4-4-2 and Mourhinho with the 4-3-3. 

The argument as to who is better or what formation is better is too contentious for any book to answer. But what this special book, 4-4-2 vs 4-3-3, does do is to analysis in-depth the differing formations, strategies and tactics used by the two managers.

Through assessing the key players, the way in which the team adapted to new signings and how both managers adjusted their team’s play to get the results they needed, 4-4-2 vs 4-3-3 enables you to get inside the mind of these two great Premier League managers. In addition, you’ll discover valuable insights

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By Stevie Greive

As the ball is returned to Pique, Iniesta checks his run for the 4th time! This time, as Alonso is too far away, he wont be able to press effectively and stop Iniesta receiving with ease. Iniesta dribbles back then passes back to Pique, then circles round the back of Alonso. Xavi is ready to make his circle run, and when he does, Messi will fill in his space (positional rotation).

Note the Real Madrid players circled and who they are supposed to be marking – Diarra (Xavi) Pepe (Messi) Alonso (Iniesta) and Di Maria (Alves). Only Pepe is within

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We are really excited about our new book, A Coach’s Guide to the 4-3-3.  Check out the introduction and a sample excerpt below.

INTRODUCTION

The Brazilian National Team under Aymoré Moreira in 1962 was one of the first top tier teams to use the 4-3-3 formation.   It was a variation from the 4-2-4 previously employed by the Brazilians.  Subsequently other great teams have made

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