By the time I had sorted him out half time was over and we were back on the pitch. I had done nothing with my team. This resulted in an early goal for the opposition and me trying to reorganise and get messages to my players – essentially the half-time team talk.

The half-time period in a match is not just about refuelling and physical therapy. It’s a crucial time for the coach and team to gather their thoughts and prepare mentally for the challenges of the second half.

Looking back to half-time in the 2005 European Champions League final, with Liverpool 3-0 down to AC Milan, according to his Liverpool colleagues, captain Steven Gerrard was distraught and was ready to concede defeat. Afterwards, all he could remember of half-time was the manager getting his pen out, writing down the changes he wanted on the board and telling the team to try and get an early goal, as that could make the opposition nervous. But Gerrard said he just couldn’t concentrate – but that one thought stuck in his mind.

And they got that early goal and Liverpool went on to draw the game and win on penalties.

Because you only get a very short amount of time tell your players one or two things that can help influence the second half – just like Gerrard and the early goal, and is the only direct opportunity the coach will have to speak to all the players and to influence the second-half performance and result.

What you tell them will, of course, depend on the score and the coach’s perspective of the match. You must also take in other factors, such as the context of the game – eg is it a cup match in which the loser gets knocked out? Is it a league game and what are the league positions of the teams contesting the game? Is one team an overwhelming favourite to win the game? Is the team winning but not performing well?

These will help you decide what to say to your team, just make sure it’s positive. A coach I know once said: “Don’t get too carried away, this lot you’re playing aren’t very good.” His team were winning 4-0 at half time and went on to lose!

Here’s the hightlights from the 2005 European final

Toure’s outstanding pass presented Carlos Tevez with a goal as wide as the mouth of the river Tyne. Tevez scooped it over.

Okay so every week we all see players miss, even those as good as Tevez. The amazing thing about it, though, was the time and space Tevez gave himself.

In youth games we have all witnessed the miscued shot that goes out for a throw in or an airkick as the player takes their eye off with the defender bearing down on them. But Tevez had all the time in the world to score and it was probably that miss which put the team off and left them 1-0 down at the end.

So next time your young striker is in tears at missing a chance tell him the tale of Carlos Tevez and the amazing miss at Sunderland.

A lot of youth teams keep their centre-backs covering on the half way line, rather than see them get up into the penalty area for a corner in case the defending team wins the ball and makes a quick break. But you don’t have to be so cautious, other players can cover, it doesn’t always have to be your centre-back.

When you are coaching attacking situations make sure you use your centre-backs to attack the ball as well as your strikers. They can learn a lot from positional play when they are attacking so they can understand how to defend the same situation.

My five top centre-backs to use as an example to your players are:

• Gerard Piquet, Barcelona
• Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United
• Carles Puyol, Barcelona
• Lucio, Inter Milan
• Fabio Cannavaro, Al-Ahli Dubai

Watch the clip below of Gerard Piquet scoring for Barcelona:

A long pass is different to a long ball and if the opposition defence opens up and the attacker sees the chance to run into space in view of their team mates then they should do it.

Playing long passes doesn’t mean you’ve sold out and are playing the long ball game, they mean just that they are playing a passing game over a greater distance.

Long passes can be counter attacks that catch out the opposition especially when they are getting tired towards half-time or full-time. It does require good skills from the passer and the the player receiving the ball, and may require the receiver to adapt to the bounce of the ball or choice of left and right foot.

It is worth practicing with your players because they can use the long pass as an option in attack when they are finding it difficult to pass the ball up the pitch.

On my blog I have posted a diagram and drill to practice the long pass.

Try this exercise
Use 6 players for this drill to get accurate long passes.

How to set it up
In an area approx 10×40 yards, all the players stand in two lines at opposite ends and take it in turns to hit lofted passes. Switch to weaker foot.

Advance it by putting one player in each of the middle two zones. The player at the end side foots a pass along the ground to the centre of the playing area, where the nearest player returns it on their second touch. The player at the end controls it, then hits a lofted pass to the far side over the heads of both players in the middle. The sequence is repeated at the opposite end.

Watch this long pass from Tottenham’s Tom Huddlestone:

Reports suggest he is going to copy the formation used by Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea which helped them win the Premier League last season. And what a diamond formation it could be.

This is how I would play the diamond formation at City…

World Cup winner David Silva will be the tip of the diamond, the outstanding Yaya Toure at the base, with Gareth Barry and latest recruit James Milner left and right.

Now that looks a strong set up to me and a great use of the diamond midfield.

Although Silva made his name at Valencia on the left, I’ve seen enough of him to know he can operate just behind an attacking pair – with lots to choose from lets say Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor.

Study this clip of a goal by David Silva for Spain against Poland. Watch how the support is in front and at the sides of the player on the ball and watch how Silva at the tip of the move continues his run and scores the goal.

When I think about players following up to put away rebounds I think of Pippo Inzaghi when he was in his pomp at AC Milan. He was always in the right place at the right time to pop the ball into the back of the net when it had been parried by a goalkeeper.

I like my strikers to follow any shots however feeble they are because young goalkeepers often push the ball away rather than risk catching it giving predatory strikers a second chance to score a goal.

So when you are coaching strikers make sure they keep on their toes once the shot has been sent goalwards and are ready for any rebounds coming their way.

Watch this clip of Inzaghi and see how he is always in the right place at the right time.

This needs accuracy, good weight and timing of passes and runs. Supporting runs make life easier for your player on the ball, which means your team will have more chance of scoring goals.

Watch this goal from Landon Donovan and see how passing and support creates the chance to score then try the exercise below it to help you coach support play:

How to set up the soccer drill

Mark out an area around 10 metres x 20 metres and start with three players in this soccer drill.

In the first part of the diagram, attacker A is in possession of the ball.

Defender B holds his position and allows A to pass.

Player C makes the overlap, creating the opportunity to pass past the defender.

Note: If you are playing offsides make sure player A has timed the pass so that C is not beyond B, and in an offside position, when the ball arrives.

Get your players to read the defender

B can set off towards C once A has passed the ball. One of the skills to pick up is the timing of the pass and the accuracy.
A has to has to be decisive with a crisp pass for C. Note that in the second diagram B is much more active.

Advance the soccer (football drill)

In the second soccer drill, player C plays the ball into A, who has to control, and pass back into the path of player C who has run on to support his pass. Player B meanwhile has come out of the corner and must try and win the ball, so C’s pass must be sharp, A must control, turn quickly and get his pass away to player C’s run. Player C must then hold off player B’s challenge
and get past the end line.

Soccer drill’s third phase

The third phase makes a much more demanding run from player C – the overlapping player. The move takes place like an attacking corner. Player A takes a short corner to player B, who controls the ball and shields it from defender D. Player A moves away into the field, while player C overlaps around the outside of B who lays the ball off to C in a dangerous attacking position, running into the penalty area.

He’s been kept out of the Barcelona side a few times as Sergio Busquets has come into the reckoning. But apart from being a very strong midfielder who wins the ball and closes all the midfield gaps, when he does get the ball he can surge into space and beat players on his way to goal.

He’s an exciting prospect for Manchester City fans and I for one am looking forward to seeing him in the English Premiership. How Barcelona will cope without his surging pace will also be interesting to see.

To me he’s the real deal, let me know what you think. Check out the video below and tell me he’s not going to bring an added dimension to Manchester City’s game…

The modern defensive midfielder first came to light through Claude Makélele. Jose Mourinho used him in the position and his role in Chelsea’s success can be seen as the jumping point from where other managers took up the idea.
In terms of tactics Makélelé’s role was to break up attacks through timely tackles or interceptions in the gap between midfield and attack. However he would also be required to effectively cover the full-backs when they pressed higher up the pitch to support the forwards. It it is very effective against modern teams that use quick counter attacks.

However, it has been condemned by pundits for promoting players with a big physical presence over skilful ones.

This is something that is very evident in youth teams – players that are big and physical they are more likely to play. It is these teams that spark the debate over the role of defensive midfielders in the modern game and cause worries over the development of young players.

There are exceptions – look at Jack Rodwell in the Everton team, a player with the physical capacity to play at the heart of a Premiership midfield or defence he also has sublime technical skill and has the talent to develop into a true box-to-box midfielder in the mould of Roy Keane or Patrick Vieira in their prime.

In a world where teams like Spain, Germany, Barcelona or Arsenal have the ability to turn defense into swift attack the deep defensive midfielder is a must. In youth teams they will not face that kind of swift attack the “reducer” is less effective, especially if they are keeping a more skilful player out of the team.

Remember the way De Jong stopped Xabi Alonso in the World Cup Final in South Africa? Watch it below…

It is that movement away from, then back into, the space that wrong foots the defender.

In the Champions League Final of 2008 between Manchester United and Chelsea Cristiano Ronaldo had been giving Chelsea’s Michael Essien a hard time, but his movement to score the goal was a great example of the art of attacking.

Ronaldo fed Essien a dummy then stepped back and soared in the air to head the ball into the net. Essien had carried on running and lost Ronaldo – he didn’t even jump for the ball he was so far off it.

Simple movements at the right time can create lots of space to create goal scoring chances, it works with young players too.

Watch how he does it in the highlights from the game below: