Imagine yourself on the pitch playing for the national team
After training session, we have talked with Andrei Agius about the philosophy of defending. He told us everything about the art of defending but we’re not gonna tell you everything. We are in the making of the special video section with Andrei so you can always return to this beautiful subject and remember all the great tips we made in collaboration with a national team player.
In a team sport like football, many times during the games players relay on each other. They complement each other in all actions with the same aim – wining the ball and create counter attack. During a team defending, main actions are:
PRESSING
COVERING
MARKING
BALANCE
ANTICIPATION
AIMS OF DEFENDING
- Not conceding a goal
- Denying opponents to shoot at goal
- Denying opponents to arrive in goal scoring position
- Not letting the opponent to progress in buildup phase
- Winning the ball back
MAIN DEFENDING ACTIONS
- Stop opponents
- Win the ball
- Delay and force the opponent to make mistake
- Force him to play back, not passing and shooting forward
- Make a foul as the last option
- Never let the opponent to pass you with the ball
FOLLOW AND APPLY
- Keep the opponent in front of you.
- See the player and the ball at all times. Focus on the ball when defending.
- Bend your knees and be on your toes.
- Stay sideways to be in advantage when attacker moves.
- Be prepared to move quickly backwards or to the side.
- Have patience and don’t rush tackle.
- Force the attacker into pressure.
- Defender must close distance while ball is traveling.
- Play hard with intensity and don’t give up even if you get beaten, track back towardsthe goal.
One more week to go. We are happy and not so happy at the same time. You know the feeling.
