Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: dribble, drills, exercises, messi, pass, passing, Ronaldo, shoot
By David Clarke
When players feel pressure in matches, it can often affect their ability to make decisions. You will undoubtedly have players who dribble brilliantly in training, yet “panic pass” in matches. Other players will hesitate when on the ball and a great opportunity to pass to a team mate is often lost.
Knowing when to surge into space with a dribble or when to switch play with a good pass comes from lots of practice – and you can’t expect players to learn this on their own.
Therefore, it’s a great idea to set up situations where they have the choice, because making that call can be vital to their development.
This session shows players where options present themselves, then develops into a small-sided game, in which the right decision will give their team the advantage.
How to set it up
- Create a playing area measuring 30×25 yards.
- For this session you’ll need bibs, cones and balls.
- There are two teams of four players.
- Set up three small goals – spaced equally apart – along the longest sides.
- Each team must defend its goals while trying to score in the other three.
Getting started
- Players score by dribbling or passing the ball through the poles.
- Players must react quickly to situations around them, looking for areas on the pitch where there is space to exploit. They should look to mix dribbling with passes to team mates, but every decision is made with the aim of retaining team possession.
- Play for 15 minutes.
Developing the session:
- Develop the session by making the area 50×30 yards with two five-yard end zones.
- The players must get the ball into the end zone by passing to a player who has run to meet the pass, or by dribbling into the end zone themselves.
- Players are not allowed to stand in the end zone waiting for a pass – they must always be on the move.
- You can award an extra “goal” if the attacking team makes five consecutive passes before scoring.
- If players find the session easy, reduce the size of the scoring zone at each end by a yard. For younger players, increase the size.
Why this works:
This practice rehearses players in the logic that clever dribbling can move the ball into areas where there is space to be exploited. A final pass to a team mate should make the creation of goalscoring chances that much easier.
Players are also encouraged to score with a pass which represents a quicker route to goal than a dribble. The decisions depend on the player’s ability to read the space and that will come as they practise this session.
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Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: atletico madrid, Barcelona, bilbao, falcao, messi, Real Madrid, Ronaldo, simeone, youtube
It’s been a remarkable season for 26-year-old Radamel Falcao Atletico Madrid’s Colombian attacker.
Spain is indeed blessed with some great players in La Liga – Barcelona’s Argentinian Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Portuguese attacker Ronaldo, but the man making the headlines in the Europa League final was Falcao. He also finished as the tournament’s top scorer for the second year running, hitting the back of the net on 12 occasions.
Atletico beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 with two first half goals from Falcao.
The two goals were both of wonderful quality after receiving a pass from Diego down the right flank, he cut inside and curled a delightful effort into the top left-hand corner of the Bilbao net. proved it was no fluke 28 minutes later, collecting a low cross, skilfully dragging the ball back to rid himself of his marker and smashing it past Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz from close range
But even more amazing both goals were score with what he regards as his weaker foot: Falcao explained: “I don’t know what to say; I hit both with my left foot. My right was just there to support my weight.”
Europe is indeed watching.
See the goals below:
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: angled goals, Arsenal, Barcelona, batistuta, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Hasselbaink, Holland, LA Galaxy, Manchester United, Ramires, Real Madrid, Ronaldo, russia, tight angled goals, van basten, van persie, youtube
By David Clarke
Champions League Semi-Final 2012: Barcelona v Chelsea
Ramires is the king of technique. His goal for Chelsea against Barcelona when his team was 2-0 down with John Terry sent off was as good as you will see. An impossible situation, but the through ball to him from Frank Lampard just before half time putting him into the penalty area at an angle to the goal was perfect. His finish was sheer class.
Here’s my top six goals scored from tight angles:
Ramires, Barcelona v CHELSEA (2012)
Marco van Basten, HOLLAND v Russia (1988)
Gabriel Batistuta, FIORENTINA V Arsenal (1999)
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, CHELSEA v Manchester United (2001)
Ronaldo, REAL MADRID v LA Galaxy (2011)
Robin van Persie, ARSENAL v Barcelona (2011)
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: ball skills, keepy uppy, manipulate, Real Madrid, Ronaldo, youtube
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: Barcelona, England, learn to lose, learn to win, losing, messi, mourinho, Real Madrid, Ronaldo, winning
David Clarke
It’s okay to show some emotion…
Many psychologists believe you shouldn’t deny children the opportunity to show their emotions when they lose. It’s okay to feel upset but they need to know where the boundaries are in terms of displaying emotion. Set standards of behaviour for your players and have sanctions if they don’t follow them. For example, showing dissent towards a team-mate or the referee means they start on the bench for the next game. They will soon learn to control their emotions better. Always acknowledge your players’ disappointment and show sympathy but emphasise the positive elements of the performance. It is important that players go home after a game with a positive mindset.
They should know that, despite the result, they have achieved and learned something.
Win as a team, lose as a team…
Football is the ultimate team sport and no one individual is ever responsible for a win or a loss. Create a team sprit where players encourage their team-mates rather than point blame at individuals. Good teams have been ripped apart over the course of a season by one or two ‘blamers’. If you have any of these types identify them quickly and speak to them about their attitude and the effect it is having on the team. Try giving them responsibility within the team as ‘motivators’ instead. It is then their job to go straight over to a player who has made a mistake and get them back in the game.
Remember you’re the role model… You cannot expect your players to accept losing if you don’t. You need to keep your emotions under wraps especially in front of the players. It is often easy after a game to look for excuses, but is a lot harder to look at yourself and your players and ask, ‘What could we have done better?’. Despite what many armchair critics think, referees are very rarely responsible for the results of matches. Develop a ‘never blame the referee’ culture in your squad and lead by example. Encourage players to shake the referee’s hand after games and thank him for doing his job.
Focus on performance… If you are going through a bad patch of results, one way of keeping players motivated and focused is to de-emphasise winning and focus on improving skills. Set realistic goals within the game – for example, “This week I want us to make eight out of 10 first-time tackles”. This means if the team achieves its goal the players win, regardless of the result.
Watch players show their emotions after losing:
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: coaching, drag back, messi, Ronaldo, skills, youtube, zidane
David Clarke
But the skill is to do it at speed.
If youth players can perfect just one skill they can do at speed they will become much better players.
That takes practice and repetition.
And I reckon if a young player can make one skill work they’ll want to learn another…
Here’s how young players can do it:
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training, Uncategorized | Tags: clarke, Drogba, headers, Klose, Ronaldo, shearer
Alan Shearer – Newcastle Utd and England
Alan Clarke – Leeds Utd and England
Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid and Portugal
Didier Drogba – Chelsea and Ivory Coast
Miroslav Klose – Bayern Munich and Germany
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Fitness, Soccer News, Soccer Refereeing, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: beckham, brazil, England, free-kicks, japan, nakamura, Pernambucano, portugal, Ronaldo, scotland, snodgrass, top five
By David Clarke
There is nothing better than seeing a free kick go rocketing into the top corner of the net.
It’s an important part of the game like the penalty takers or corner takers – technique is vital for direction and power, whether it is a whipping cross with the left foot floating into the far corner or a thunderbolt shot, with the laces.
Check out my top five below:
Here are my top five takers:
1. Juninho Pernambucano (Brazil, Leon)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid)
3. Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan, Celtic)
4. Robert Snodgrass (Scotland, Leeds United)
5. David Beckham (England, LA Galaxy)
Filed under: Dave Clarke, Soccer Coaching, Soccer Skills, Soccer Team Management, Soccer Training | Tags: attacking headers, Champions League, Champions League final 2008, Chelsea, Manchester United, Ronaldo
Space is vital to an attacker, they need to get into it and keep the defender out of it. This is especially true of an attacking header where the attacker has to get into the space either by wrong footing the defender or to get across and into the space in front of the defender.
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:
