Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: blackpool, cardiff, defending, defensive wall, final, free-kick, Play-offs, set piece, wall, Wembley
By David Clarke
One of the most lucrative matches in world soccer is just around the corner… the play-off match between the English Championship teams hoping to get the last promotion place into the English Premier League.
Last season saw Blackpool beat Cardiff to win promotion and an estimated £90m in revenue this season. It is a huge boost to any team so they have to make the most of it when they get there.
In that game star player Charlie Adam for Blackpool scored a great free-kick that highlights the importance of player positions in the defensive wall – had the wall and the goalkeeper been more coordinated maybe that £90m would have been heading for Cardiff rather than the seaside.
Watch it below and leave me a comment about the organisation of the free kick.
5 Comments so far
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Surely anyone can see that the wall is way too far to the left? There was no left footer there to put it round the other side!
That free kick is asking to be curled into that corner!
Comment by Phil April 19, 2011 @ 1:42 pmThat wasn’t a poorly built wall, it was a heaven of a shot!!!
Comment by zip April 19, 2011 @ 3:35 pmNice free kick,
the ball went over the defenders head.
Had nothing to do with a poorly built wall,
Comment by Arne April 20, 2011 @ 8:46 amdefenders could hav jumped and headed the ball away though…
Hi Dave, your newsletter email on building a perfect wall was interesting. You basically provided a suggestion to “cheat” by instructing the nearest defender to stand in front of the ball to avoid the attacking team to take a quick free kick. Law 12 has specific guidelines on this action and it’s a cautionable offense. Delaying the restart of play and delaying the taking goal/corner/free kicks are unsporting behavior. I’m surprised to see you suggest it to us in your newsletter. To me, it’s different than the Uruguay player that used his hand in the World Cup to stop Ghana’s stoppage time shot and look who ended up winning. Not Ghana. Uruguay cheated and got rewarded in the end. Commiting a foul in a dangerous area is bad. But then encouraging the defending team to further gain an “advantage” from their offense by delaying the restart of play is even worse. Don’t commit the foul in the first place.
Comment by Lance from California, USA April 22, 2011 @ 9:34 pmTo me, it’s no different than the…..
Comment by Lance from California, USA April 22, 2011 @ 9:35 pm