Playing Out of the Back

Today, I will be focusing on building play out of the back.

As we have all experienced, there are often those times, particularly in indoor games, when the goalkeeper is frozen on a goal kick. They're essentially stuck without a player to distribute the ball to. In the 2-1-2 formation, we'll be working on creating those options and they all include the keeper playing a field role. Therefore, it is extremely important that modern keepers develop technical skill with the ball. 

Key Concepts:

• Height & Width- we want our players high up the pitch and wide near the touch line (side line). This creates space on the field that players can run into and passing lanes where we can distribute the ball.
• Wall Pass- Essentially a give-and-go pass that creates an open pass through movement off the ball.
• Flank- the sides of the field

The High Press

The high press is when the defensive team is playing tight on our backs any time the keeper needs to distribute the ball. This can be during a goal kick or any time the keeper picks up the ball. In the diagram below, the keeper plays an important role in distributing a secondary ball. 

In OPTION A  (left side of diagram), the keeper passes the ball to the left back who has moved toward him. The left back passes back to the keeper and immediately make a move toward the midfield. This is a WALL PASS or GIVE-AND-GO.

In OPTION B (right side of the diagram), the keeper plays the ball to the central midfielder who tracks back to receive the ball. If the midfielder can turn with the ball, it's a good option. However, if they have a defender on their back, they play the ball back to the keeper who then plays to on of the wide players.

The Low Press


The low press is when the defensive team is playing off our backs and providing them space to play the ball.

In OPTION A, the keeper plays the ball wide to a back who then plays the ball to either the midfield player and creating a wall pass, or by playing the ball up the flank to the forward.

In OPTION B, the keeper passes the ball to the back who "takes space" by dribbling the ball up field. This creates an advantage by drawing defenders toward the ball and, therefore, creating opportunities off the ball.

Examples:

FC Barcelona Soccer Analysis - Playing out from Goal Kicks

Excellent example of Playing Out From The Back

Barcelona vs Man City (Playing Out From The Back)