Rondo Squares

Based on the Barcelona possession game Rondo, this game will help your players to keep the ball off the opposition giving themselves more chance of scoring goals.

Why use it

It really is an easy game when you think about it – score more goals than the opposition and you’ve won… but that means keeping the ball to yourselves

Set up

You need balls, bibs and cones. Create a 40×40 yard square with a 30×30 yard square inside it. We used 12 players in the session.

How to do it

Split your squad into three teams – four players in each team. Two teams, both with a ball, go in the inner square, with the other team in the outer square. Each team must make a minimum of three passes before playing to the team in the outer square. There, two passes must be made before the ball is returned back inside. If a pass is successfully made back to the starting team, a point is scored. Players must concentrate on passing and moving into space, always attempting to make the task easier for team mates, particularly given that two teams are trying to achieve the same task. After 10 minutes, remove one of the balls so that inner square teams now run this as an opposed task. And after a further 10 minutes, introduce the condition that outer circle players must attempt to pass to an opposition player when the ball is sent back into the central area. Now, the team that passed out must intercept the ball coming back in if they are to score a point.

Technique

This is a match-realistic session that requires a good first touch, excellent positional awareness and good passing. Look for players to adjust the way they play as the challenge gets more difficult with each progression.

1. The session starts with two teams of four in the inner zone and one team of four in the outer zone

2. Both teams have a ball and must build a passing sequence of three pass before passing outer players avoiding the other team in the middle

3. Now only one ball is in the middle and teams must try to win the ball and make three passes under pressure from the other team

4.After three passes they must get the ball to the outer zone to score a point and be available for a pass back to keep the sequence going

5. In the final part the outer zone players must pass the ball back to the opposite team to the one that passed it out of the inner square