Soccer Awareness Session: Quick Break Counter Attack

Key Points we worked on:

  1. Possession play
  2. Patience in building; changing tempos of the game
  3. Opening up as a team in possession
  4. Condensing play out of possession
  5. Recovery runs when losing the ball
  6. Fast break when the time is right so fast tempo
  7. Different ways to counter attack
  8. High pressing when on to do so
  9. Developing transition and rotations of players from the back to the middle to the front third.
  10. Filling in and covering for each other to allow this
  11. Ultimately awareness of all situations but rapid observation AWAY from the ball at ALL times possible.

Constant Transitions From Attack To Defense

Directional Session

The team in possession has to make three passes then they can pass into the lone striker. Two
midfield players break quickly to support (making a 4 v 2 overloads in favor of the attacking team) and / or one defensive midfielder can recover. Start with a big overload then introduce the recovering midfielder later when the session is working well to offer a bigger challenge. This leaves a 4 v 1 situation in the middle zone in favor of the other team who are currently defending, if no recovering midfielder is used to begin. If the defenders win the ball or the keeper receives it, the ball is played quickly into the middle zone (to a 4 v 1 overload again) where they make three passes then get the ball into the striker to attack in the other direction.

Players in the previous attack from the other team must recover as quickly as possible to try to win the ball back before they get it into the striker.