In Possession
Attacking shape -
Building out from the back
In the In Possession article, we covered the basics principles of being in possession:
make the pitch as big as possible
ensure the whole team is supporting the attack
try to create uncertainty and confusion within the opposition defence
In this article, we’ll expand on these principles and apply them to practical situations which we’ll build into the concept of an Attacking shape - specifically focusing on how to build out from the back. When we are defending we have a specific shape in mind, we should do the same when we are attacking. The aim isn’t to imagine every single scenario and map out what to do - football isn’t chess after all. Instead we’re aiming to identify certain scenarios or patterns that we can then recognise within a match and build on top of. Arrigo Sacchi liked to quote the playwright Bertolt Brecht: 'Without script there is only improvisation and carelessness'.
Playing out via the fullbacks
The pass played most often from the goalkeeper is to one of the fullbacks. Our starting position is two wide fullbacks either side of the goalkeeper’s area and our two forwards stretching the size of the pitch by going long. Remember we’re aiming to make the pitch as big as possible when we are in possession.
Intuitively we may want to come short in order to help our team-mate on the ball, but this can make it more difficult for them as it also brings over another defender and closes the space. Instead we should have a few coordinated principles of movement for certain scenarios. If the goalkeeper passes the ball to our right full back, the forward on the right hand side should stay high up the pitch and the forward on the left hand side should move into the middle of the pitch to be a short passing option. (If the ball is passed to the left full back the forwards should do the inverse).
Red number 10 stays high up the pitch, which means the red team can get the ball further up the pitch and play in the oppositions half. If Red number 10 were to come short they’d be giving the blue team an opportunity to box them into that corner of the pitch, with little room and multiple blue players surrounding the ball. Red number 10 and red number 7 can now combine to create a scoring opportunity or keep possession by playing back.
Of course the opposition may set up in a different way and try to cut out the pass down the line. If they do this, it will open up space and options in different areas. For example, if the blue number 10 cuts out the pass down the line, this will free up space in the middle and then red number 2 could pass the ball to red number 7.
Having an initial attacking shape (or script) doesn’t mean that everything is planned out and will be predictable. The aim of this attacking shape is to have a setup so that everyone on the team knows their role and then you can play out in different ways depending on how the opposition reacts - this is where the improvisation comes in. However, for the improvisation to be successful we need a foundation to build on and to follow our basic in possession principles so we can apply them to different contexts and scenarios.
Going long to come short
The goalkeeper could roll the ball straight into one of our forwards feet. As they’ve gone long, they’ve dragged the opposition defenders away and created space in the middle of the pitch. The key here is that they’ve gone long enough before coming short again. If the forward only goes to the halfway line before coming short they are restricting the space. They should look to go deep into the opposition half and then come short to show for a pass into feet, ideally receiving the ball around the halfway line.
With any off the ball movement, we should think about making two movements - Eg if you want to receive the ball long, then you should come short first and vice versa. This will help to create more space and time for when you do receive the ball.
Both red 7 and red 10 have gone long, to create the space in the middle of the pitch. This means that red 7 can then drop short into that space to receive the ball directly from the goalkeeper. They’ve now got a good amount of space to operate in - whether trying to combine with red 10, attempting to take on the opposition defender or keeping possession of the ball by passing back to one of the fullbacks.
Player rotations
If the opposition team has restricted the space for our fullbacks to receive the ball, we can use player rotations to create confusion within the opposition team and to create space for ourselves or our team-mates to receive the ball.
We still move into our initial attacking shape, with two players dropping into the fullback positions and two players making a movement into the opposition half. However, one of the forward drops into one of the fullback positions and that fullback makes a run forward into the opposition half. This will cause confusion between the opposition players on whether they should pass players on or continue to track their player. Due to this, the player that is dropping into the fullback position (red 10 in the below image) should be able to find some space to receive the ball.
It’s also possible in the confusion that the red number 2 (the player that makes the forward run) is now left free as the blue team isn’t sure who should track which player. Whenever your team is trying to progress the ball you need to create space for yourself or your team - a key idea to keep in mind is to force the opposition to make as many decisions as possible. By rotating positions two opposition players need to make decisions that compliment each other. They could do that 9 times out of 10 (and in these cases your team can still build out from the fullback position), but if in one case they both press red number 10 and leave red number 2 free your team now has a great opportunity with two opposition players effectively out of the game.
Summary
When we are looking to build our attacks from the back, we should keep in mind the basic In Possession principles:
make the pitch as big as possible
ensure the whole team is supporting the attack
try to create uncertainty and confusion within the opposition defence
Our attacking shape will be influenced by these principles, to give each player as much time and space on the ball as possible. It can be counter-intuitive as we often think coming short to support the player on the ball is being helpful, however this often brings over another defender and closes down all the of the space.
Football is a chaotic game, so we need to set up some order wherever possible. We can then let the chaos flow, but from a starting point that is to our benefit and will aid us in being successful.
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