I was asked this week “how do I coach the false 9?”. The false 9 is very much back in fashion as we can see lots of teams have gone back to playing 4-3-3 where the attacking players can switch positions in the attacking third of the pitch.
If you take Manchester City for instance they often play without a recognised striker yet still score lots of goals.
The number 9 needs to link up constantly with the attacking midfielders so that he/she can create as well as get on the end of through balls.
The way I coach it is to use positional games like you can see in the video Six player positional games for seven players. If you look at games 2,3 and 4 in the video you can see the central player who links with the outside players in different scenarios. This would be my number 9.
The session works well and gives all the attacking players a good link up work out which they will need to do in the attacking areas as they have no single striker to target. The realism comes from the pressing players who need to constantly press and close the door on any passes into the false 9 making him/her move constantly to be in a position to receive the ball.
You can also see that in the video Rondo 4+2×2. Here again the players are moving around and looking to keep the ball away from pressing defenders creating space for one player to play the killer pass between the defenders, mimicking the way one player becomes the striker.
Filipe Ragel the Under 19 head coach of Marcet Academy in Barcelona shares a video of his team doing a 4+2 x 2 Rondo which shows the technical and tactical practice MORE
Defending against overloads can happen whether your team is in an organised or disorganised state. You can plan defending when organised much easier than when you are defending disorganised. MORE
I was talking to a coach this week about how to control balls in the air, especially when heading the ball in training is off the menu for most clubs. I imagine that there will be much more of a contest to win the ball with a volley once it has dropped from head height. So how do you coach controlling balls in the air? MORE
This week I have been reunited with parents and players from my teams because the club I coach at has used the Easter school holidays to give back to the players what they have been missing for the last four months. So this week I have been coaching full days – around 7 hours – in three sessions. I've coached U9s, U10s and U13s boys and U11 girls. I really enjoy it but it does come with some very obvious problems. MORE
Now we are back playing matches and training after nearly four months of lockdown I can certainly notice the difference in my players. It isn't like when they come back from summer holidays because that is usually just down to a bit of fitness and rusty match play. So how can you relight their fire? MORE
A high pressing game gives teams a huge advantage when they win the ball back because you are close to your opponents goal. Lose the ball, win it back in 6 seconds is a rule that I use in training sessions. But how does that work? MORE
Player trials are likely to be one of the most stressful events facing young players after they have been missing games due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Even the most confident players will get stressed out when they have to put their talents on show to a new group of coaches and players. And now without the help of a full season behind them they will feel a lot more exposed than normal. MORE