Developing Pressing Behaviours Complete 2

TheFootballCoach
DEVELOPING
PRESSING
BEHAVIOURS
- Over 100 Pages Of Pressing Content

- Professional Pressing Sessions
- Tactical Case Studies
- How to Develop a Pressing system
DEVELOPING
PRESSING
BEHAVIOURS
www.TheFootballCoach.net
Designed and Published by TheFootballCoach 2019 ©
CONTENTS
5- Welcome Page 30- Coaching a Pressing Team
7 - Book Expectations 33- The History of Pressing
8- Types Of Pressing 43- Rinus Michels
10- Counter Pressing 48- Arrigo Sacchi
16- High Pressing Game 51- Pep Guardiola
21- Pressing Triggers 56- Jurgen Klopp
27- Dead-Ball Pressing 68- Coaching Sessions
Developing The Pressing Behaviours
WELCOME
#TheFootballCoach
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Developing The Pressing Behaviours
WELCOME
#TheFootballCoach
"Developing The Pressing Behaviours"
Since 2012 The Football Coach has quickly become the leading developer and designer of coachign resources
ranging from entry level grassroot coaching books, all the way through to elite tactical case study books,
providing an analytical insight in to the methods and opposition tactics used within some of Europes most
popular leagues. We have also ensured that we are able to provide a fantastic community for coaches to share
information, ideas and create a learning environment.
When reading this ebook please try to enjoy the chapters that lead in to the sessions, coaching sessions in
isolation are ineffective and can actually be detrimental to your coaching. The greater the theoretical
understanding, the more confident and in depth the delivery can become and ofcourse, with every session that
we find on the internet or in the back of a coaching book, we must ensure that we deliver it with out own unique
coaching style. No style is correct, No style is incorrect, it is our relationship with our players and our
relationship with the game that dictates the effectiveness of us as coaches.
When reading through this ebook please also pay respects to the coaches who’se tactical evolutions have
allowed us to stay involved in an ever developing game, and provided us with the opportunity to create books
like this that can critique and develop the methods provided. We’d also like to thank Juan and Darren for their
constant sharing of information from their roles within top flight English football clubs, and allowing us to use
this information to design and share some of the most valuable content available on the internet today. Finally, if
you ever have any questions about the content inside these books, the delivery, your coaching or any questions
in general please feel free to direct them to us via Live chat from http://Thefootballcoach.net or by emailing us at
[email protected].
"Developing The Press

reaction and counter-
pressing beliefs are key to
any type of session, no
matter if its in or out of
possession, always train it! "
Introduction
#TheFootballCoach
As we all know football is an ever developing game and within this game we see evolution take place as
the game slips from trend to trend. Over the last 10 to 15 years we have seen an increase in the physical
performance of players, with players now able to run further than ever, run faster than ever and work at
high intensity levels for longer than ever before.
Because of this increased physical capability from players, we've seen coaches look to take advantage of
this by increasing the demands of players out of possession. The requirements out of possession have
become extremely demanding with players having clear tactical roles out of possession, not only the
defensive players but also ( In some cases more often) attacking players who are challenged to force the
opponents in to specific areas, and try and win the ball high in the opponents half.
Although pressing is nothing new, it is a tactic that has been used by teams through out the footballing
decades, it has really come under extensive exposure in the last 10 years as coaches such as Marcelo
Bielsa and Jurgen Klopp have created highly athletic philosophies where pressing and counter-pressing
have become the staple point of their philosophy.
"IF YOU LOSE THE BALL, THE COUNTER

PRESSING IS VERY IMPORTANT, IT IS NOT A
PROPOSAL, IT IS A LAW"
JURGEN KLOPP
Through out this book we will look to achieve a few things. First we will look to understand how
pressing has developed over the last 30 years, who has played a key role in this and what can we learn
from these coaches, before making our way through to this generation of players and coaches.
We will also look to critique and analyze the current coaches within the game and how their work may
influence our coaching and what we can learn as coaches from these individuals
lastly we will look to provide some context to what the coaches are delivering in games, and look at the
coaching methods and examples of sessions that allow these coaches to be successful
EXPECTATIONS Sacchi
"In Order To Become A
Jockey You Doesn’t Have
To Have Been Born A
What Should I Horse First"
Expect ?
#TheFootballCoach
Book Expectations?
This book should lead you on journey that starts with a brief description of what pressing looks like in the modern game, why do
teams press, what types of presses are there and what coaches use each pressing system? This will be followed by a history lesson on
pressing, where has the game we see Guardiola, Bielsa, Klopp, and many others deliver today come from, is there any lessons that
history can teach us?
Then we look at some case-studies of some of the most influential coaches, what did they do when they pressed? Why did they press?
and how did this look within their system? This is then followed by a real in depth booklet of sessions including some taken fresh from
Premier League training grounds and well celebrated coaches around the world.
What Should I Expect when I've Finished This Book?
When you've finished this book you should have a clear understanding of why you want to press, what is it within your philosophy
that pressing can support?
How you're going to press the opponent was is the offensive and defensive structure?
How are you going to deliver this within your personality, what does it require from you?
How you deliver this within your coaching principles
And what your sessions will look like to help develop this.
"I want the ball for 90 minutes. When I don't

have the ball, I go high pressing because I want
the ball."
Pep Guardiola | Manchester City
TheFootballCoach
TYPES
OF PRESSING
EXPLAINED
Who has Influenced The Pressing

Game We See Today?
TYPES OF PRESSING
Counter Pressing
Pressing is a term commonly used when pressure is applied to the
opponent when in possession of the ball, we commonly here this term
used when teams look to play out from the back or when the tv
Sacchi / Guardiola / Klopp
pundit claimed their is some sort of pressure being applied to the ball.
A tactic commonly used by teams
Pressing and pressure are often referred to as the same thing, this is to try and win possession back
very different. Pressure can be caused in any moments of the game when the ball is given away
where a player from each team come close together in any area of the
pitch. Pressing involves 'Intent' it is a team or a player looking to apply
pressure with intent looking to have some influence either on the ball or
the player depending on their tactical objective.
Tactical objectives are things that vary massively within pressing and
teams will use different pressing systems, for example some teams may High Press
use a high press to destroy the opponents build up play and try to win
the ball as high as they can, other teams like Napoli may look to drop in
to a shape and press from their shape. This is why pressing is particularly Michels / Guardiola
difficult to explain by one set of principles, but can be broken down in to
several different categories to try and give a better understanding of
A tactic to press high against the
what is required to perform what type of pressing.
opponent in all moments to force
build up play
Through out our experiences in the professional game we have
been privileged to work under many different managers across La Liga
and The Premier League, and have seen so many unique pressing
systems.
Within this next chapter we are going to attempt to categories these to

Trigger Press
give an understanding of what each system requires and how they
might differ. Now ultimately every system is unique, and every system
will overlap within the pressing area, but it is important to recognize Mourinho / Beneitez
that this categories are to help increase the understanding of coaches
who may not have been fortunate enough to be exposed to these
A more specific tactical idea
systems.
where a coach looks to defend
specific moments of the game.
For this book we have created four categories of pressing, within these
categories you'll see explanations, tactical examples and understanding
of how to deliver this kind of pressing system to your players. Counter-
pressing is the first category, something simple and well known. High-
pressing is the second another popular coaching term. The third is
'Trigger Pressing' something more unusual but a category explained
later in the book, and last but not least 'Pre-Planned Pressing' a 'Pre Determined Press'
category we used with Newcastle to try and separate the pressing
moments that were pre controlled and not based around player Boas / Silva
decisions.
For example pressing the

opponent during the goal kick
TheFootballCoach.Net moments with set patterns.
TYPES OF PRESSING
Counter
Pressing
TYPES OF PRESSING 1934
Who Was Thomas Patrick
Gorman, And What Was His Link
Counter-Pressing
To Football, More Importantly
What Was His Link To Pressing?
#TheFootballCoach
Counter-pressing is a very simple to understand concept, it layman's terms it is the pressing of the
ball immediately after the opponent had gained possession. It is used as a method of defending
during the transitional moment of the game, instead of dropping in to a mid or low block when
possession has been lost, counter pressing is the immediate application of pressure to the ball and
defending on the front foot.
Gegenpressing is another common term used to describe a form of counter-pressing common with
Jurgen Klopp's BVB, it is again the idea of pressing the opponent right after losing possession,
pressing an organized unit the moment you transition from the attacking element of the game to
the defensive element of the game. This counter press is usually performed by the
players immediate around the ball, but influences every player on the pitch as the distances
between units must be small when counter pressing to ensure the opposition is forced to play
within a compact area and can be counter-pressed when a transition occurs.
Commonly this is done for two reasons, one as an attacking reason, the desire to win the ball back
when the opponent is trying to move from the defensive side to the attacking side and might
be vulnerable with space open, meaning the counter-press is an attacking weapon acting as the
teams playmaker. The second is to dislodge the opponents counter attack and prevent the
opponent breaking against what might be an unorganized defensive unit because of the quick
transition.
As you can see in the below image the counter press is occurring as the red gives possession away to
the blue in the central area, the action next applied by the ball passer is not a dwelling on a
misplaced pass but an instant application of pressure on the ball. As the ball travels to the opponent
the supporting players are also looking to apply pressure, block passing lanes and make contact
with the player who has gained possession
As you can see one of the tactical challenges of counter-pressing is how to create a shape that fixes
so many players in such tight space, when traditionally players are told to get high and wide and
create space. Tactically the best counter-pressing teams are able to keep their midfield in compact
spaces with out being cramped. Some coaches in Germany have done this by the use of grids,
encouraging players to stay in possession using the fewest grids but optimizing the most space
within the grid, this starts to create players who are able to create different passing lines with a flat
formation.
The best counter-pressing teams are often playing within compact midfields where the principles in
possession are either to make short combined passes such as the Barcelona or Pep Guardiola
philosophy where pass length is minimal and combinations in central areas are key. Or within a
more physically robust formation where the midfield is challenged more to destroy the opponents
attack rather than to create, in this situation the counter-press becomes the playmaker
As the below image of Manchester City shows, three players in a tight compact space are able to
instantly provide a counter-pressing option because of the distances between them when the team
was in possession. What is key when counter-pressing is how long should we counter press for? The
golden 6 second rule was commonly applied in Spain, whilst in Germany it was said you hunt for the
ball for 5 seconds if you can not win the ball you can not affect the game, at this point drop back in
to your shape and defend.
Other coaches with more aggressive counter-pressing beliefs will look to continue the counter
press until there is no opportunity to apply pressure to the ball, once the opponent has broken the
pressure with either a vertical pass or a horizontal pass that has destroyed the pressure and
ensured the ball carrier is no longer under pressure, then at this point the team must drop and
protect the goal because the team has been left vulnerable by the failure of the counter press.
This decision on when to stop counter-pressing can only really be decided by the philosophy of the
coach and his or her beliefs, it is more common to stop counter pressing when the player feels they
are no longer in a position to influence the ball or the player.
In order to counter-press your players must possess a mental and physical skillset that will allow
them to compete. The reaction and anticipation required to counter-press is the most important
aspect, the quickest counter-pressing players in world football, such as Firmino are not the quickest
in a straight line but their motor response is much quicker than others, they are able to anticipate,
read the play and move quickly effecting the ball much earlier.
Secondly in order to compete with a counter-pressing philosophy your players must be physically
able to repeatedly sprint covering ground at a high intensity from the first minute through to the
last. This physical fitness is an important component for the mental fitness as tired players make
poor decisions on a motor response level due to the fatigues influence on a tired mind. In order to
deliver this philosophy effectively your players will required an ability to perform both mentally and
physically at their highest possible levels through out the game, covering much more high intensity
distance than the average side
Tactically it is important to setup a team correctly to allow Gegenpressing or Counter-pressing to
take shape. The most important area to protect and to block is the central zone shown on the
second counter-pressing diagram. In the centre area the opponent is more dangerous as it is a
direct line to the goal, there is also more attacking rotations and the opportunity for greater
amounts of attacking overloads.
Forcing the opponent away from the central areas is a key element of counter-pressing,
manipulating the player with the ball with arched runs forcing the player to play in one third of the
pitch refusing to allow the pass to travel inside, as the inside then opens up the far side and provides
us with a spacial weakness on both sides. Enforcing the opponent plays in that channel also
increases the possibility of the opponent surrounding possession and providing us with a better
opportunity in possession. It also means if an attack is built the counter attack is slower and starts
on an angle to goal, which is further away allowing better recovery runs.
Whatever location the counter-press is applied in the type of pressure it vital. Some teams will look
to put immense pressure on the ball carrier, look to force the ball from his or hers possession and
really focus on that player applying limited pressure to the players around the ball and hoping for a
tackle to win possession of the ball, this is an extremely aggressive way to counter-press an
opponent but can be very successful if the intention is to create attacking opportunities using the
counter-press as the play-maker.
Other sides will look to apply passive pressure to the ball carrier but really focus on ensuring that
nobody around the ball carrier is free forcing a mistake or a misplaced pass and from here the team
are able to transition and hit the opponent in the space around the player who was in possession.
This is more popular with teams who look to use the counter-press as a method of preventing the
opponents build up play and delay the damage to ensure they can provide a shape behind the ball.
A very rare method is to allow the first player to run past the ball and find themselves in the 'Cold
Pocket' behind the player in possession, the next players look to step in and win possession whilst
the third and forth defenders block passing lanes, if they are successful the team are then able to
play a quick vertical pass through the opponents lines and play straight through the heart of the
team.
This provides a higher level of risk due to the passive role of the first defender giving the opponent
opportunity and time on the ball if the second defender is not close enough to the first defender. In
addition to this it is usually a more effective technique when pressing from a central zone, looking to
find the space between the two centre backs, when performing this in wide areas it is often not
possible to run beyond the press in to an area of much advantage because of the narrow nature of
the wide area.
As a coach delivering the high intensity counter-pressing style of play it often requires an energetic
and enthusiastic personality that is willing to encourage and praise effort over outcome, someone
who appreciates the effort and the behavior over the outcome. In modern times the best counter-
pressing managers have had a charismatic and energetic approach to their delivery, but this doesn't
mean you can't deliver it without one.
In conclusion the Counter-pressing style of play is one that is currently very popular amongst some
of footballs most successful and popular managers In this current footballing generation. We've
seen large changes and focuses applied to the game out of possession over the last 10 to 15 years
and counter-pressing is one of the areas that has received the most focus.
TYPES OF PRESSING
The High
Pressing
Game
TYPES OF PRESSING 60%
60% Of All Goals Scored In A
Transitional Phase Of The Game
High Pressing
#TheFootballCoach
A High press is a very simple tactical approach used by teams to defend, the high press is sometimes
confused with the counter-press, but although coaches may use both styles the counter and high
press differ in some fundamental areas. The high press is the concept of pressing high and forcing
the opponent to stay high, not allowing them the space to build up past the defensive third. The high
press is involves playing with a high defensive line and small distances between units and looking to
apply pressure to the ball high up the field on play, thus limiting the opponents opportunity to build
up play in the defensive third.
The high press is commonly used to try and

prevent opponent attacks, used as a
defending mechanism to lock the ball in to
the opponents half, although this might also
be seen as an attacking tactic, the high press
is fundamentally performed to prevent the
opponent being able to build up from the
back. The attacking players are challenged
to apply pressure early, and consistently
apply pressure even when the ball is played
towards the opponents goal, the pressure is
consistent.
Some coaches will look to create graphs

such as the one to the right to demonstrate
the most important areas of pressure e.g.
winning the ball in the red zone possess a
greater defensive and attacking benefit.
The orange zone is still opportunity for

pressure, whilst zone three and four will
require bodies behind the ball as the
pressure has been broken and now it is
important to drop in to a shape and accept
that the pressure has been broken.
The use of zones creates awareness in

players as to what the tactical requirements
are for each separate zone
If the team look to win the ball in the red zone they must create a structure where the opponent
finds it difficult to play between the lines, both on a vertical and horizontal level, by limiting the
space between the lines both vertically and horizontally the shape remains tight and the opponents
opportunity to run with the ball or pass the ball becomes limited,
forcing the opponent to their make a
mistake and give up possession or go
long and find the sweeper keeper who is
high taking up a position that will allow
for him stay connected with the game.
As you can see in the image to the right

hand side the team performing the high
press are comfortable leaving the wide
lanes free to ensure that their shape can
remain compact, this then makes the
angle of the players pressing action key,
if the wide player is going to apply
pressure to the player receiving they
must anticipate early to ensure that they
are able force the defensive player to close their body and play their pass back inside, inside where
the supporting pressure it. By performing this high press you are not only limiting the shape of your
team and making life difficult for the opponent, you are naturally limiting the space for the other
team to play in, increasing your opportunity to win possession!
When performing a high press the central area of the pitch plays a pivotal role in ensuring it's
success, similar to that of the counter-press, when pressing the vulnerable space is the central zone,
if this is exploited by the opponent it can lead to attacking overloads from the opponent. As the
below diagram shows the initial press is made on an angel, forcing the ball away from goal, the
advantage to this is it disrupted the build up play, forces the play away from the most dangerous
area of the pitch and allows are midfield to remain closely attached, with only one side to defend, as
the furthest midfield player will not be at risk from a line breaking pass, however when forcing the
ball away from goal, we must have full engagement from out wide player to ensure that when the
initial press is applied the pressure is also coming from the outside channel to lock the opponent in
to that space and really suffocate the ball giving us the best opportunity to turn possession over.
As you can see here the defensive line is

also vital to being able to perform a high
press, in Spain it is relayed to players that
the defensive action is a press not a pull,
and because its a press its the
goalkeeper pressing the centre backs
that press everyone else forward, if it
started from the attacker it would be
called a pull, as he would be pulling the
team forward.
The role of the goalkeeper can also not

be over emphasized as the out ball for
the opponent is often the long ball over
the defensive shape and in to the space
behind, and if the goalkeeper is not in a sweeping position (similar to that of the Dutch 1974 Side)
the opponent may be able to exploit the space with attacking runs in behind. With a goalkeeper that
sweeps and covers the area, it limits the opportunity of the attacking side and encourages the
opponent to force passes inside that offer the greatest transitional opportunity, providing us in tern
with the largest attacking opportunity.
There are however some risks attached to the high pressing philosophy, it is commonly discussed as
to when the high press should end and a defensive shape should be created, how long do you press
without success before dropping off? as if the opponent is able to penetrate the press they will
probably be a able to attack with an attacking overload.
This also leads to the second biggest risk when looking to apply a high press, the press requires a
well structured pressing structure where every player is aware of the tactical instructions and their
individual role, when individual players fail to carry out their individual role it leaves the team weak
and can provide the opponent space to attack, as we can see in the below imagine when every
player carries out their individual role it is possible to suffocate and restrain the opponent as
as a player misses his role, it leaves an opponent open between the lines, which in turn allows the
opposition to break the press, damage the pressing structure we have built and this in turn can be
very dangerous to our defensive organization.
This means that any high pressing unit must have a high level of tactical discipline to ensure they are
able to work as an effective pressing unit, covering and blocking the passing lanes and applying
pressure effectively. This makes the coaching important relaying information and ensuring there is
clarity in the tactical objectives.
The other difficulty when employing a high pressing game is the opponent you face. When pressing
high you are challenging the opponent technically, applying pressure to their technique, decision
making and their mental strength really forcing them to prove their quality as a player. If the
opponent is weak you maybe successful, but when playing good quality players they may find
success when playing through the press making life difficult for your team as the game is controlled
by the team in possession of the ball
In conclusion the high press is an effective strategy when trying to defend high up the pitch, it is a
good way to protect a defensive unit that struggles to defend, forcing the opponent to perform
their build up play further up the pitch than usual. We know it has some major flaws as the
consistency needed is very high, the demand on the player is very high and the opponent is given
space in behind if they can use it well,
But overall this is a great tactic for teams who want to control the game, want to control the
opponent and want to be on the front foot both with and with out the ball. As a coach this requires a
highly motivated, engaged and intelligent group of footballers if you are going to be successful
playing this way.
TYPES OF PRESSING
Pressing
Off
Triggers
TYPES OF PRESSING 51%
51% Of Goals In The UCL Came
From Transitions In The
Pressing Triggers
Opponents Half During The
2018/2019 Season
#TheFootballCoach
Pressing Triggers is a more uncommon category created to try and provide a category to the more
specific and more tactically structured pressing systems we see deployed by coaches. A Trigger can
be simply described simply as cues to perform a task based on a set of circumstances. These triggers
can vary massively depending on the coach, the club, the philosophy, the opponent and the moment
in the game.
Some coaches will instruct far more tactical and lengthy pressing triggers, with Pochettino once
claiming to have 15 triggers to press the ball, other coaches such as Johnson have spoke about 20+
triggers to press the ball. Bielsa once suggested it maybe as many as 30 triggers when pressing the
opponent but more commonly coaches speak of 3 or 4 pressing triggers to create a clear and
repeatable behaviors in your players .
When talking about pressing triggers we can usually put them in to four loose categories.
1.)Opponent organizational triggers

2.) Opponents lack of control
3.) Pattern based triggers
4.) Action/Location Triggers
All four categories provide something slightly different in terms of behaviors and some coaches will
use triggers across all 4 categories some coaches will only use triggers from specific categories.
Action /Location
PressingAction/Reaction pressing is a very common tactic used to press the opponent in specific
moments of the game, where the opponent performs a specific action or reaction. Commonly
coaches like Marcelo Bielsa have used these systems to destabilise the opponents system by
pressing specific actions that the opponent performs. Coaches have commonly found ‘Triggers’ in
such actions as bad first touches, and the pressing side will sit patiently in a defensive shape waiting
for a bad touch, to act as the trigger or catalyst to spring into a pressing shape.
Other triggers are bad passes, commonly when a team is playing passes around an opponent sat in
their defensive shape, they will wait patiently for a poor pass such as a pass that lacks the correct
weight, allows the pressing team to put pressure on the ball and provides an opportunity to either
force play backwards or have a genuine opportunity to win the ball. Other things such as a poor
pass that is played behind the opponent will allow the defensive unit opportunity to push up higher
and force the opponent towards their own goal.
These however are not the only types of triggers that will occur within the game, some coaches will
look to press the ball when a specific player has the ball, for example Swansea City faced this trigger
occasionally in the championship during 2018 when centre half Ven der Hoorn received possession,
opponents such as Leeds United and Bristol City, pressed Van der Hoorn on to this left foot,
applying pressure to him challenging his technical ability, but forcing him to play technical actions
with his less dominant foot. This forced Van der Hoorn in to make technical mistakes and giving the
ball away when playing against Leeds, the clear plan isolated him in possession making life very
difficult for him and encouraging a transition in the opponents defensive third.
Bristol City applied a very different looking approach to an action/location press, deciding to isolate
Van der Hoorn, leaving him possession, with time and space and pressing the players around him.
This was because they didn’t believe he could hurt them in possession but may give possession away
or drive in to the space left in front, as you can see in the picture the space around him shows 1v1’s
in every other position and as Van der Hoorn passed the ball the press was reapplied.
Other coaches have famously used location presses to turn over possession or to defend the goal.
Italian manager Sacchi commonly used the halfway line as a trigger to press the opponent, this is a
perfect example of a location press. Predetermining a specific area on the pitch that will act as an
engagement point as deciding to press when the ball enters that area look to engage instantly.
Other coaches have successfully performed this in specific areas of the pitch to match tactical
strategies, for example looking to exploit the wing back within a 3-5-2, some coaches will not
engage the centre back but wait for the ball to move in to the outside channel before performing a
specific press in that wide area to press the opponent and win possession of the ball. What is key
here is the team will often choose to not apply any pressure and sit within a defensive shape until
the ball travels into the desired location, it is then at that point the press will activate. Sometimes
the idea behind pressing specific wide press’s is to either dislodge the shape of the opponent, or to
exploit the space left behind the opponent when the transitions occurs.
Opponent Organizational
Opposition organizational triggers can be very simple, these triggers will be specific to the
opponent but be based around their offensive organization or defensive organization, these are
extremely common in elite football, commonly teams will apply organizational trigger presses to try
and prevent key players receiving possession during the build-up phase of play.
This was a common tactic used against Barcelona in the early 2010’s looking to force Barcelona to
build up from the wide areas pressing Xavi and Iniesta out of the central areas where they could
receive the ball and find passes in behind. The problem with this, is if the opponent are intelligent
(Like Barcelona) they can find tactical answers to the problems, Barcelona’s use of false 9 allowed
more players to receive through the lines higher up the field of play and the midfield could be
reintroduced with the set back from the false 9. This then provides a challenge to the team in
possession as to how they adapt to this.
Other coaches have used organizational strategies to try and disrupt the opponents build up play,
Sheffield United used a back 5 with pressing full-backs to try and engage the Liverpool full-backs
higher up the field of play in an attempt to break the supply chain within the most dangerous areas
on the pitch, this tactical ploy came very close to becoming successful but again the tactical
flexibility of great sides means that coaches at times have to be adaptable, and as we all know
adaptability is commonly the key
Opponents lack of Control
These pressing triggers are situational and usually occur within the more elite end of the game, they
are very simple and not as complexed as some of the other triggers. When the opponent loses
control of their game plan, or shape it leaves opportunities to press and dismantle the defensive
organization of the opponent, this is a tactic that exploits chaos.
The triggers for this are fairly easy to spot but they can vary in look, sometimes the signs and
opportunity can be visible in the opponents communication and body language, dropped shoulders,
arguing, communication with the dugout and moaning can be a sign of a lack of control of the game
situation and a high press to try and exploit the chaos can force the opponent to feel the increased
pressure and make mistakes that can provide attacking opportunities to the pressing team.
Pattern Based Triggers
Pattern based triggers are very similar to organisational triggers but have one key difference, whilst
organisational ones look to disrupt the opponents general organisation, these triggers look to make
play predictable by forcing individual players to press in specific zones, this is where a coach will
look to allow the opponent to play but limit their opportunity in specific areas, this does not mean
they look to always press to win possession but press to force the opponent in to areas where the
pressing side are either dominant or the opponent are weak.
In the below you can see Manchester City's pattern based press where they look to keep Trent
Alexander-Arnold out of the build up play by forcing Liverpool to build through Robertson. this will
be devised through the critique of their build up play understanding the Liverpool score more goals
than anyone else through the full back wide player combination of Alexander-Arndold and Mane.
TYPES OF PRESSING
Dead-Ball
Pressing
TYPES OF PRESSING 12 Secs
Most Goals Are Now Scored
Dead-Ball Pressing Within 12 Seconds Of Regaining

Possession Of The Ball
Worldwide
#TheFootballCoach
Predetermined pressing here as been put in to a unique category in order to allow us to further
understand and analyze what type of press this is and how coaches deploy it within professional
football. A dead-ball press is a tactical decision to press the opponent in the most controllable
moments in the game, these are where the ball is dead and the opponent is restarting the game
from a controllable position, it is the coach out of possession trying to control the only moments of
the game the opponent can fully control.
These types of pressing patterns were very common during the peak of Tiki-Taka football, used
both by the coaches demonstrating the Tiki-Taka behaviors and the opponents playing against it.
The idea is very simple to provide defensive and offensive organization to fixed moments in the
game, because these moments are more fixed than the average moment within the game, coaches
believe there is more predictability, so in essence more opportunity to keep the opponent
predictable and steal possession.
The moments coaches will look to control and press are generally opponent goal-kicks, opponent
throw-inns and kick-off, although defensive strategies will apply to situations such as corners, these
aren't pressing moments but more general defensive organization. The most common strategy seen
within the game is the attempt to press the opponents goal-kick looking to make play predictable,
coaches such as Marco Silva used strategies to lock down one side of the field of play, dictating the
opponents build up play from its earliest phase.
As we can see in the previous image the press within this dead-ball moment really reverses the
control within the moment (a key element of pressing) once play is forced in a predictable position
by the movement and positioning of the centre forward, the centre forwards position has not
allowed the rest of the pressing unit to be able to gain an advantage in understanding where the ball
we played before the opponent allowing us to create that 'Jumping' fashion where the opponent is
under pressure instantly from the restart.
This combined with organizational pressing will allow the pressing side to analyze the structure of
the opponent and expose them during their standard passing patterns from dead ball situations,
this is a really common strategy used against sides who build up from the back, looking to exploit
them and win possession high up the field of play where there is a greater opportunity as we know
how 51% of champions league goals come from transitioning in the opponents half and are scored
within 4 passes on average.
Another situation that teams look to apply pressure to is opponents throw-inns, Liverpool have
been commonly in the media for their exploitation of attacking throw-inns but little credit is give to
their defensive organization at opponent throw-inns. This is a team that really focus on
transition within the throw-inn treating it more like a rugby line out where both teams should have
a degree of opportunity to win possession.
As we can see Manchester City following good pressing organization with a false sense of security
allowing the thrower time in possession but ensuring they create a 4v4 with space to press, as the
thrower throws to the player receiving short, all 4 bluer shirts apply pressure, the first ensures the
opponent can't turn and enter the central area, whilst the other three players look to suffocate the
ball as it travels back to the thrower really offering a transitional opportunity to regain possession
of the ball.
As this happens the attacking player looks to make his in run behind the opponent really creating a
counter-attacking opportunity for Manchester City in possession, this attacking press can really
transform the game from defense to attack for the team willing to apply detail to the dead-ball
moments of the game.
Coaching
Teams To
Press
What Does It Take To Coach

a Pressing Team?
Coaching The Pressing Game
What Does It Require?
#TheFootballCoach
Being a coach within any standard, age or gender requires a unique set of skills that will slightly
different for every group you ever coach. Purely because the game is about the people not the
players and being able to engage and interest the players you are working with is the tell-tell sign of
an effective person, coach and facilitator. However when coaching a team to press the opponent
you will require an even more unique set of skills in order to be effective.
One of the most important things a coach must have when delivering this pressing based philosophy
is to have clarity in what they want to achieve, if you lack clarity your players will lack clarity and
this will not provide a successful foundation to press the opponent. Clarity means that we clearly
understand what we want to achieve, why are we pressing? why are we performing this press, what
are its advantages and what will it allow us to achieve?
If we can provide clarity, then the information we pass on to the players will be very specific, this
will make their roles very understandable and make the task for the player more achievable.
Ultimately when pressing the clarity will mean that each unit is aware of its role as a unit, and each
individual will understand his/her responsibility within that unit. This in turn should make your
team more effective.
Understanding is another key attribute to a coach when delivering this philosophy. Understanding
is however a broad area, this includes the understanding of what the opponent is doing, an
understanding of how your going to develop the methods in training and understanding how to
recognize when the plan is working and when the plan needs to be adapted.
Ensuring you fully understand what you are doing and why you are doing is something that can't
involve shortcuts, this learning process personally will take time ensuring that you are comfortable
with the requirements from each individual making sure that any question that come your way are
answerable because of the time you've put in to understanding the job you are asking your players
to complete.
When pressing the opponent in specific pressing moments, you'll also be required to understand
the opponents system, this is a thankless task that takes hours upon hours looking to see trends in
their tactical and behavioral patterns, in order to structure a plan against an opponent you must be
comfortable that way once seen is a trend, a pattern that is repeatable over a longer time period
and not something that has just occurred because of a consequence of the environment. This is why
analysts and understanding takes time, takes attention and requires a real focus. But once you have
this information it allows you to create a far more structured and full-proof pressing plan that is far
more likely to work than one that has been thrown together off the back of 30 minutes of focus.
Coaching The Pressing Game
The coaching detail that is passed on to players will play a huge role in ensuring that the players
cross the line with as much information as they can possibly take in. In order to do this coaches
much plan and prepare the sessions they deliver, the interventions they make and the footage and
clips they share with players.
Analysis sessions are a really good way to show players the problem or the solution they are going
to see in the next game, this then gives them a greater understanding when they perform sessions.
Effective coaches are then able to link their sessions to the analysis providing a depth of knowledge
to the players so they understand what is needed and why it is needed.
At this moment in time the coaches have to have a great understanding of what they are gonna be
asking as this is the moment where coaches will field questions that can at times catch coaches out
if they have not considered the 'What if?' moments as players will naturally have questions about
the situations they will face and how they can prepare themselves.
Within elite football in the last 5 years, not only have we seen an increase in the pressing patterns
deployed by coaches but we've also seen a shift in the charismatic personalities that are delivering
them. Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are two great examples of coaches whose personality and
emotions are replicated in their coaching style. Now this is not the only way that it can be delivered
but coaching is easier when the style you play matches the person you are.
Both coaches play with an intense and aggressive playing style and their personalities support that
both in training and games, with animated and passionate displays that feed the players more
energy, as the style is likely asking them to exert every last drop of energy they have, so the coaches
support in this just adds to the players belief that the coach is the 12th ,man/woman and it there to
take on the journey with them.
Whenever coaching a pressing style of play it is important to reward the intent of pressing in
training regardless of the outcome, really rewarding those who anticipate and defend on the front
foot ensuring those behaviors are unilaterally appreciated. When the ball is won back or the
defensive achievement is achieved it is important to reward this like we would an outcome such as a
goal, although this might seem a strange approach if we want these moments to be valued by
players we as coaches must apply an importance to them.
The consistency with this approach is vital as environments and cultures can only be built through
the consistent deployment of principles, failure to keep to those principles will leave our
environment vulnerable to poor behaviors and behaviors we do not want to encourage. Maintaining
the environment is probably the most important thing to a coach, as a poor environment can have a
catastrophic result on players
Finally the adaptability of a coach will ultimately decide on his or her success. When pressing we
will not always be able to win possession of the ball and at times the patterns we employ with fail
horribly because the opponent has made better decisions, when these moments occur (and they
will) the adaptability of us as coaches is vital as we need to adapt to the situation and adapt our
plans to ensure that we are still able to compete and deliver are principles both with and with out
the ball
THE
HISTORY
OF
PRESSING
Who has Influenced The Pressing

Game We See Today?
The History Of Pressing
Where Has The Game

Been?
#TheFootballCoach
Gormans revolution in his sport did not take long to spread to other sports, partly because of his
success winning multiple Stanley Cups, but also due to his cross sport representation delivering his
skills in different sports and positions. The attacking shift in the out of possession moments quickly
transferred across other US Sports with basketball also seeing a cultural change in its behavior out
of possession and can even be linked to a change in the way teams defended in Association football.
Although it is highly disputed which coach ‘invented’ pressing, and it is easily accepted that the true
answer may never be known, it is commonly linked back to a Russian coach by the name of ‘Maslov’
his influence within the 1960’s is often described as a game changing moment that revolutionized
the game. Maslov was like most coaches, playing the famous 4-2-4 formation that dominated the
mid 19th century with its attacking dominance and its underrepresented midfield. The formation
that had been so successful from the early 1950’s.
The adaptation of the 4-2-4 formation is so significant in the development of the pressing game. The
4-2-4 which was developed by Brazil and Hungary, specifically Palmerias and Santos who receive
much credit for the development of this system, which lead brazil to a world cup victory in 1970.
However the system really looked to create a ‘risk’ and ‘reward’ system where four men looked to
stay ahead of the ball whilst the rest of the team looked to defend. What today would be known as
‘Cheating’ in the English game. The players who were left were expected to defend the goal, whilst
the attacking players would then look to counter-attack when the defensive players were able to
win possession back.
The History of Pressing
Fundamentally the front 4 had little to no tactical information out of possession, this front four
were predominantly paid and played to deliver goals. However, the 4-2-4 has rarely been played
over the last 25 years with Antonio Conte being the only manager to really have tried it in the elite
game. So, what link does this have to the development of pressing? And what link does this have to
Russian coach Viktor Maslov. Well when a single system becomes dominant in football, it is the
opponent who must look to find a solution to the problem, and it is often claimed that Victor Maslov
was the coach who managed to adapt the famous 4-2-4 to create a more structured 4-4-2 by
dropping the wingers back in to midfield to provide a more defensive block and cover the spaces left
by the 2 wide players.
Maslov was now changing the dynamic of defending, going from leaving 4 attacking players with
little defensive responsibility, to challenging 9 players to take up defensive roles to help support the
team, this development stopped the table tennis like affair that football had become with Maslov’s
midfield players now challenged with winning possession from the opponent higher up the field.
Maslov was now challenging the technical ability of the opponent, the same challenge Gorman had
put down to his players in Hockey over 20 Years ago.
Maslov was now asking individual players to defend
individual positions on the pitch, creating almost ‘Zonal’ like
defending systems where players now owned responsibility
for the defensive actions in the area they took up. It is often
claimed though that this development first started with the
legendary English manager Sir Alf Ramsey, who also looked
upon it to challenge the use of the ever so successful 4-2-4
formation and try and develop a tactical adaptation that
could destroy the formation. Sir Alf was once quoted as
saying “To have two players stuck out wide on the flanks is a
luxury which can virtually leave a side with nine men when
the game is going against them.”
Ramsey created a system that did not use pressing as much

as Maslov’s 4-4-2 but looked to use the wide players more in
and out of possession, he even looked to use a 4-3-3 system
at times both system looks to change the way the game was
played, the trend was to know put bodies behind the ball that
can influence possession higher up the field. Although it is
disputed who made this fundamental tactical change to the
game, often disputed due to the Western/Soviet dispute and
the constant discrediting of each other. However when reflecting on this it is clear Maslov had
limited success winning 2 cups in the early 1960 whilst Sir Alf Ramsey was able to deliver the
pinnacle of football winning the FIFA World Cup in 1966.
The Success of Maslov did however lead him to a job in Kyiv in 1964, here his work would inspire
Ukraninan coach Lobanovskyi who would go on to have an astonishing influence on the modern
game. Lobanovsyki used a similar 4-4-2 system that Maslov used at Kiev but his managerial style
could not be compared to Maslov, Lobanovsyki was a scientist by trade and believed the game was
simply two subsystems of 22 elements and the stronger sub-system would win. His scientific
background created some of the first soviet backed research in to football, looking at how player
recovery could be improved as well as athletic performance.
This development in recovery can be heavily linked to the development in pressing, players who are
asked to work harder for longer will naturally create more fatigue and inevitably need longer to
recover, Lobanovsyki’s development in player recovery started to pave the way for improved
athletic lifestyles and allow players to work harder in training, which transferred in to games and
recover quicker from games which in turn increased the opportunity to train. Lobanovsyki’s
scientific background continued to aid his coaching methods as his training methods continued to
push the game further and further. He opened a new training ground for Kiev where he installed a
swimming pool for recovery, a winter garden, an advanced medical center for operating at the
training ground as well as a pressure chamber to allow players to run at altitude and improve their
useage of oxygen all improving their physical performance
Lobanovsyki didn’t just use his scientific background to improve the aesthetics of players or the
stats they would leave, the physical attributes players developed were very much required to play
in Lobanovsyki system, his team’s were disciplined in and out of possession, he believed that in
order to dominate the game you must be able to dominate the space both in and out of possession,
this involved limiting the opponents space. This mixed with an unbelievable athletic ability allowed
his teams to apply pressure to the ball all over the field. Lobanovsyki pressing was not just a
relentless sum of effort, it was well structured, Lobanovsyki would look to understand the strength
of the opponent, the passing patterns that provided success and then destabilise them by limiting
the opportunity they had to achieve this.
His flexibility out of possession was clear against some teams e.g. Holland his teams were able to
create a man to man marking system that limited the opponents time on the ball. Really working to
limit passing opportunities and stealing possession as high as possible. In other moments against
Greece his teams were able to drop off, not press and look to let the opponent dominate the ball
before breaking out in a counter-attacking motion. The gegenpress also owes some of its success to
this behavior, Lobanovsyki teams were able to counter-press England with explosive and structured
pressing on the defensive and offensive transition. This flexibility and physical performance paved
the changes in the game out of possession.
Although Lobanovsyki is not spoken about in the same light as Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson or the
great Dutch coaches, his influence on the game is probably greater, but his success was limited,
playing in an area against some of the great Holland sides as well as some of the great Liverpool
sides. Despite this he was still able to lead Dynamo Kiev to Two European Cup Winners Cup,
Europena Super Cup and win 12 League titles.
The type of pressing that occurred within football changed quite quickly after this, a very
structured and measured approach turned quite dramatically in to an all hell broken approach of
‘Total Football’, Legendary Dutch coach Rinus Michels decided to pave a significant change in the
landscape of pressing, which first come to light during the 1974 FIFA world cup. Michels was so
fixed on the belief that you should press the opponent, deny the opponent space to play and destroy
build up play, he once told reporters that the term ‘Total Football’ did not represent him, and that his
philosophy was ‘Total Pressing’.
Rinus Michels had a core belief, that you should always look to go forward, in possession we look to
play forward and run forward and out of possession all 10 attacking players look to run forward,
these players are charged with destroying build up play of the opponent at all times, hunting in
packs to win possession back anywhere defending the half way line like it is the goal line, refusing to
give the opponent the ball inside their own half. However the tactical detail did exist within the
Dutch philosophy with one player pressing the player in possession, aggressively attacking them as
if they had a stolen valuable whilst other orange shirts blocked passing lanes, defended key spaces
but always traveled forwards or towards the ball to create a compact defensive shape.
Michels and Lobanovsyki were both successful domestically with a philosophy that ingrained the
belief that we should want to win the ball back, however different the tactical approach may have
been. Their coaching styles held similar traits. Both uber organized in their coaching detail, adamant
of what they needed from players and how it should be delivered, intolerable of players who refuse
to work hard, religious in their delivery of physically draining training sessions and the ultimate
disciplinarian.
Which does make you think? Does a high intensity pressing style of football require a disciplined
coach? Can a relaxed coach who is comfortable sharing the control between players and staff really
still deliver a disciplined and intense playing philosophy? Michels philosophy often described the
intensity and discipline involved he often spoke of football being like war, requiring the fittest men,
requiring men who were willing to follow orders but had the ability to think both as an individual
and as a collective. You needed to be in the words of Michels ‘Fit, Smart, Tough and Versatile”.
Michels success with ‘Total Football’ landed him The Spanish league title, four Dutch league titles
and The European Cup.
The pressing revolution within football continued, but the Dutch influence of pressing had not
finished after Michel’s had a brief yet fairly unsuccessful stint with FC Barcelona, he departed in
May 1978 for the second time, leaving behind him the Dutch winger Johan Cruyff, who 10 years to
the month later, would become the 53rd Manager of FC Barcelona. Cruyff continued the
development of Total football. Cruyff allowed the flexibility of players in possession with
interchangeable positions but had a slightly less gung-ho approach to pressing, still an aggressive
pressing style but a slightly less all out press that Michels possession.
The trend had begun why defend in the final third when we can defend in the middle third? This
might not be the pressing we see in todays game but it is the building blocks of the game we see
today.
Another coach with significant influence took hold of one of europes ‘elite’ coaches in 1987, Arrigo
Sacchi a relatively unknown figure walked in to the Milan giants with little known about his ability
to be successful at the elite level. He had previously spent two years in charge of Parma in Serie C1,
he was able to lead them to promotion in their first season, a achievement that even today sits
towards the top of Sacchi career. However, more importantly for the career of Sacchi his Parma
team were able to come within three points of promotion to Serie A, and beat Milan twice in the
Copa Italia, once in the home leg and once in the way leg. This kind of success from a lower division
club sparked outcry, who was this manager? What was he doing differently to the average Italian
team? and what had happened to stagnate Millan?
Controversial owner Silvio Berlusconi was
so impressed by Saachi’s Parma team he
decided to give him an opportunity in Italy’s
Serie A, Milan may have been a giant of
Italian football but had failed to win more
than one title in the previous twenty year
period, something that was not going down
well with owner Mr Berlusconi. With Sacchi
taking over at Milan the media showed fury
towards the appointment with Saachi having
not played professional football, when
questioned by the media he provided a now
iconic answer “I did not know a good jocket
had to have been a great Horse” this analogy
and groundbreaking moment later paved the
way for coaches such as Brendan Rogers and
Jose Mourinho who themselves did not have
lavish playing careers.
Sacchi despite the critics was able to have an

incredible start able to guide Milan to their
first Serie A Title in nine years in his debut
season, taking the league by storm, in
addition to this win, he was also able to
guide Milan to a Suppercoppa Italiana. In
unequivocal fashion Sacchi was able to guide
Milan to success on a much larger scale in
1989, when the great Real Madrid were
dispatched of in a 6-1 thrashing, before
beating Steaua Bucuresti 4-0 in a convincing
European Cup Win. The following season
Milan were able to retain the European Cup
an achievement that has only been possible by very, very limited teams including Zidanne’s Real
Madrid.
With such a successful period at Milan, it was surprising to many that Sacchi was not able to continue
his accomplishments on larger scale, with a unsuccessful period in charge of the Italian national team in
1991, and a seemingly unsuccessful period at Atletico Madrid. Following this and other periods of
limited success Sacchi returned to Parma in 2001 but again found repeating his achievement’s
extremely difficult and ended up leaving the game as a coach with a stress related illness.
Sacchi’s influence of the football world has been celebrated by coaches worldwide, nicknamed “The
Prophet of Fusignano” Sacchi favoured an attacking and entertaining brand of football, he belielved
that football was not just about winning but about entertaining the people! His playing style was fluid,
he believed you should be attacking even when you don’t have the ball and took great influence from
the Real Madrid teams of the 1940’s. However his greatest influence was the ‘Total Football’ era of
Dutch football that mesmerized him, frustrated by the limited pictures available on old school TV sets,
Sacchi believed you had to see the entire picture to truly understand the intensity and effectiveness of
the rich tactical detail that the Dutch side possessed.
Sacchi’s high pressing team usually played within a 4-4-2 formation, in a very organized fashion, this
attacking and front defensive approach was something that Italian football payed little respect too,
with coaches and fans favoring a deep defensive block known as ‘Catenaccio’ that celebrated the
skill of defending ones goal. However Sacchi had different beliefs, he defended with a very high line,
sitting within a 4-4-2 shape before pressing from the deepest line, with the defensive line squeezing
up creating an offside trap and applying pressure to the ball, this kept the distances between the
lines very compact and made it much easier for Sacchi teams to catch the opponent offside and win
possession of the ball. This was however, very high risk and is why Sacchi’s philosophy was branded
“High Risk, High Reward”, it was a truly remarkable overhaul of Italian football.
Sacchi’s possession based attacking football provides the foundation today to some of Europe’s
finest coaches including Unai Emery who has also defended with a high attacking line. Sacchi’s team
differed from some of the philosophies seen today with the intention of never creating a ‘block’
always looking to press by keeping eyes on the ball, when forced into a deep shape, Sacchi’s teams
would counter this by breaking out in a aggressive pressing format.
Now the current Era of football has provided us with two of the most successful and iconic coaches
in recent times. Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have revolutionized the game both in and out of
possession with incredibly attacking and forward-thinking philosophies. These philosophies are
both unique but share the cultural influences of the previously mentioned coaches. Unlike some of
the previous coaches who have had cultural influence but limited success Guardiola and Klopp have
had consistent and undeniable success with loyalty to their attacking philosophies. Both Klopp and
Guardiola have been associated with the tactic of ‘Counter-Pressing’ but both have used it for
different reasons and in different tactical ways
With differing philosophies

between the two great coaches
it is important to understand
that Guardiola’s philosophy is
effectively a philosophy built
on the concept of ‘Space’
looking to dominate the space
both in and out of possession.
Guardiola’s pitch of 20 zones is
commonly shared on social
media, within these 20 zones
he sets rules such as a no more
than three players in a
horizontal zone and no more
than two in a vertical zone, this
just echoes the importance of
dominating space within the
Guardiola Philosophy. Formation wise Guardiola has commonly played a 4-3-3 throughout his time
as a coach but still believes in the 3-4-3 formation the Cruyff so fondly spoke of during his coaching
time, but Guardiola has shown his adaptability as a coach changing tactical adaptation within his 4-
3-3 formation with changes such as the use of a false 9, inverted full-backs and more commonly the
use of wide players playing inside his well document ‘Half-Spaces’.
Guardiola’s ‘Juegp de Posicion’ philosophy with at times rigid playing positions for players, playing in
specific zones, leads to the success of his counter-pressing tactic, as Guardiola’s team naturally find
themselves well positioned to force a collective counter press during the transitional moments of
the game. When pressing Guardiola’s team use this as a defensive measure looking to force the
opponent in to long balls, or passes through lines that the counter-press covers and this way
Guardiola is able to destroy the build up play of the opponent. This is a key tactic of the counter-
press, can we prevent the counter attack of the opponent but also prevent our own offensive shape
from being destroyed, as an opponent break away attack would force the attacking players to leave
their positions within the offensive shape and take up defensive positions.
However this is where the philosophies between Klopp and Guardiola differ, whilst Guardiola’s is
almost a method of ‘Protection’ against the counter-attacking moments of the opponent Klopp uses
the tactic in a different vein, Klopp sees the transitional moments as the greatest playmaker, he
believes the opponent is most vulnerable under the counter-press and the best attacking
opportunities come from this counter-pressing. Klopp believes that when the opponent wins
possession back they surrender their defensive structure in order to create attacking options, whilst
his team are still in their offensive shape, if his team are able to win possession back it can force the
opponent to surrender the ball under pressure in a moment where his team have the greatest
opportunity to score.
We will look to go in to more detail in both philosophies further in to the book, but it is clear to see
that both Guardiola and Klopp have been able to carry the torch for the pressing game in modern
day football. Their philosophies are personal influenced by their history and the coaches who have
stood before them as well as their personalities and upbringing. It also has been key to see the rule
changes and advances in the game that had led to the change such as the introduction of the offside
rule that has made the space behind the back four difficult to expose. Advances in recovery and
physical performance have allowed players to be more intense in their pressing behaviors. Through
out the next chapter we will look to critique and understand the philosophies of some of the most
prevalent individuals to influence the pressing game in more tactical detail
TACTICAL
ANALYSIS:
RINUS
MICHELS
What Was The Pressing

Philosophy of Michels?
Tactical Analysis
Rinus Michels
#TheFootballCoach
Michels philosophy of total football or ‘Total Pressing’ as he once insisted was the correct
representation, is built around a Team philosophy where the team should be greater than the sum
of its parts, although other tactical points are more common with Michels philosophy the core of his
philosophy was based around the Team being the most important factor, and the team must be
greater than the sum of players within it.
In possession Michels 1974 Holland team are most famous for their interchangeable formation.
Every player capable of playing in every position and every player comfortable changing position as
the game requires. This is extremely different to Guardiola’s ‘Juego De Posición’ where players
positions are fixed to an extent. The fluidity of the Dutch philosophy allowed the Dutch to feel
comfortable in moments of chaos both in and out of possession. During this analysis we will
concentrate more on understanding the moments out of possession.
Hunting for possession is a term commonly associated with this great Dutch team looking to focus
their eyes on the ball and apply pressure to the player in possession. The pressure is constant though
and this ensures the defensive line is always high ensuring there is no space between the units so if a
pass is made between the units Hollard are able to press instantly and create a high defensive line
that can work as an offside trap.
As we can see in the second image once the opponent had been forced in to playing backward, this
becomes a trigger to move forward not a trigger to drop backwards, the Dutch side continue to
press even with the ball moving backwards, but not only do we see the front 5 press we see the other
defensive players shift their position higher to create a compact shape.
This is not the only tactical idea that the Dutch had, the backwards pass was a trigger to force the
opponent away from their goal and look to win possession back. But in addition to this the Dutch
played a very risky-reward offside trap, where the press would start with the defensive players and
the defensive line would push out, charging out at a relentless speed forcing the opponent into an
offside position. This offside trap proved successful as attackers movements were to make runs in
behind the defensive line meaning their momentum and movements were going one way, whilst the
defensive lines momentum was heading the other way, this forced the attacking team to play deeper
in an attempt to stay on side.
Tactical this was unique and genius because teams could not play under Michels pressure in the
defensive half, the players were exposed technically and couldn’t maintain possession under the
pressure, so teams found two tactical responses to this. The first was to kick the ball back to the
goalkeeper, who in 1974 was able to collect the ball in his hands and regain calm and measured
possession of the ball, killing the Dutch Press.
The second and more popular was to force longer passes into the space behind the Dutch back four,
breaking the Dutch pressure and forcing the Dutch to defend in their own box. Hollands response to
this was to play the Kamikaze offside trap that forced the opponent to play in an offside position and
Give the Dutch back the ball. With this incredibly high line we saw the first use of a ‘Sweeper Keeper’
a goal keeper who also played with a high line willing to press up and win possession back from the
opponent when the ball fell in to the space between the goalkeeper and the defensive line.
The pressure applied by Holland was commonly applied by 5 forward players, this involved support
for the player who pressed with ‘Eyes on the ball’ as this player pressed a ‘Wolf Pack’ of 4 other
players would focus on blocking passing lines, and forcing the opponent away from the goal. The
pack continued to hunt until they successful won possession or fouled the opponent. This philosophy
occurred in a far more ‘Physical’ era of the game where fouls were more common and the severity of
tackling was much greater, a scissor tackle to stop the counterattack was just seen as a good tackle.
So, it was very common in this philosophy to see Dutch players kick away at the opponent
deliberately if the opponent was able to break the press.
Tactically the one challenge presented to the Dutch side was how to press the ball inside the
opponents half, this was a challenge for many reasons. Firstly build up play tended to start higher up
the pitch for opponents who would look to get the ball forward from the goalkeeper and play from
there meaning pressing was impossible in the first phase. Secondly the challenge was how to press
the ball deep in the opponents half with 20 yards between the defensive line and the attacking line
as the opponent would have space to play behind the Dutch because they’d be onside in their own
half. Being compact is a key principle of the ‘Total Pressing’ philosophy. This was countered by
‘Guarding’ The halfway line commonly looking to press the opponent as they approach the half way
line defending the line as if it was the goal line was an effective way of ensuring the opponent could
not expose the space left behind Holland.
In conclusion it is easy to see why Michels philosophy has become a core part of some of today top
coaches, it also clear to see why the philosophy needed to adapt as players have become more
technically competent in possession of the ball under pressure and how teams tactically adapted to
play around the pressure of the ‘Total Pressing’ philosophy. Michels influence on pressing in
undoubtable and his work that was continued by Cruyff is still clear to see today in coaches such as
Pep Guardiola
TACTICAL
ANALYSIS:
Arrigo
Sacchi

Philosophy of Sacchi?
Arrigo Sacchi
Arrigo Sacchi a coach who many general football supports may not even know, is responsible for
revolutionizing the way in which Italian football was and is played, his influence as previously
mentioned is still felt today in coaches such an Emery, Klopp and Guardiola. Tactically you can see
that Sacchi was a ‘disciple’ like many to the legendary Dutch philosophy of Total Football but unlike
many Sacchi was able to transform and adapt the principles before in to his own unique and effective
playing philosophy. His approach was so different to the ‘Catenaccio’ that stood before him, and his
success was unrivaled.
Sacchi was able to create a philosophy built around attacking football, his idea evolved around
possession and the idea of always being in an attacking mindset, attack with the ball, attack without
the ball. Sacchi’s coaching philosophy usually evolved around a simple 4-4-2 formation, the team
would look to stay compact both in and out of possession with a maximum of 20m between the
defensive unit and the attacking unit both in and out of possession, at times this gap would be much
smaller around 15m. This would create a very compact offensive and defensive shape, the shape
Sacchi created was very comfortable moving laterally across the pitch making the space between
players on a lateral line very small. This compact shape is similar to that of Sarri or Emery.
Arrigo Sacchi
This is where the ‘High risk, High reward’ statement arose from with it being extremely effective, but
when one player was not able to complete the task they were asked to perform, the philosophy fell
down catastrophically. Defensive organisation is clearly a staple point of this philosophy. This was
not the only type of pressing Sacchi was famous for, Sacchi started in the opinion of some the trends
we see today in counter pressing. Sacchi’s teams valued possession so highly, that regaining the ball
quickly in the attacking third was important to them. This was important not because of the
opportunity to counterattack but the opportunity to regain possession, possession was key to
everything Sacchi wanted to achieve. As we can see can see in the images as soon as the opponent
regained possession the players around the ball look to close the space and win possession, unlike
the Dutch sides before them, Sacchi was more comfortable seeing possession go backwards and
would not foul to deny the opponent time in possession but continue to press the ball.
This regaining of the ball also allowed Sacchi’s teams to counter-attack aggressively against sides in
their most unbalanced moments really providing huge offensive opportunity to Sacchi and his
players. Sacchi’s players also commonly played vertical one touches passes through the opponent
lines creating several players in one vertical zone, this meant that when possession was lost pressure
could occur from the front and the back.
TACTICAL
ANALYSIS:
Pep
Guardiola

Philosophy of Guardiola?
Tactical Analysis
Pep Guardiola
#TheFootballCoach
Guardiola has become renowned for his teams pressing ability with Barcelona, Bayern and
Manchester City following almost identical principles to their play with out the ball. When
analyzing the system used by Pep Guardiola, it is important to understand what he is trying achieve
with out the ball. Guardiola's team are pressing to try and restart the attacking phase of the game,
they are not looking to instantly counter-attack, but prevent the opponent from being able to build-
up play and forcing either a transition that will allow the attack to restart, or looking to force the
opponent long, surrendering the ball and allowing his team to restart their attack.
Understanding the reasons for the press will help us understand how to deliver the press, Guardiola
uses this principle to press the opponent to prevent the opponent being able to play on the counter-
attack, when his teams maybe exposed during the transitional moments of the game. His use of
'Juego De Posición’ always means his teams are in consistent positions that may allow the opponent
to break with pace if the counter attack is not prevented early.
PEP GUARDIOLA
As we can see in the below images when Guardiola presses the opponent his defensive
organization is strong, with a defensive shape that allows his teams to deal comfortably with direct
play and long balls, offering as a method to rebuild attacks. As we can see in the image below with
the Barcelona side of the 2010's, the offensive shape is too large for the wide player to have an
influence on the press so it is important the the midfield, including the withdrawn striker (false 9) are
comfortable playing more compact to allow a quick counter press to stop the opponents build up
play. This image also shows how the defensive shape behind the ball would remain compact and
focus on dealing with the opponents direct ball forced from the counter press.
Guardiola has often spoke about the need for his team to win possession back within 6 seconds of
the transition, this is because his team are most vulnerable in these moments and the opponent can
cause the most damage with their offensive shape during these moments.
Pep's ball orientated press requires a man marking coverage around the ball, this is to prevent
forward passing options and force the opponent to surrender possession or go long. Both options
should allow Pep to regain possession of the ball, they structure in his tactical make up. Blocking the
passing lanes is a very important component if you are trying to devise a ball orientated press as the
main aim of the press is to regain possession of the ball, in order to do this you must first prevent the
opponent from finding passes.
This above example shows one open passing lane but the forward thinking midfield player has
stepper cross his marker to win possession back for his team, in this situation the positioning of the
full-back is also key as this position allows for the receiving midfield player to be able to receive with
pressure from behind, preventing a further counter-attack, his positioning also ensures the wide
player is suitably covered so the opponent cant't look to break through the weaker wide areas.
This shows the importance of the collective identity and the need for the group to work together to
achieve the outcome required which is win the ball back to destroy the opponents build up and
restart the attacking phase of the game. This press is easier to conduct for Guaridola's team as the
distance between the attacking and defensive unit is much more compact, as we will see in the next
few images, it becomes much more difficult to defend when the gaps between the attacking line and
the next lines is much larger due to the location of the transition,
PEP GUARDIOLA
As the below image shows Guardiola's Manchester City have given away possession much higher in
the attacking half, this provides a slightly bigger challenge, due to the space between the united both
laterally and horizontally, the constant use of the 5 attacking lanes for Manchester City will ensure
that if the transition occurs in the central zone, they aren't able to have a huge influence on the
winning back of possession. What is key here is that the 3 midfield players (Who aren't usually great
athletes, but great technicians) are able to transition quickly in to applying pressure on the ball
carrier, whilst this occurs it is fundamental that the passing lanes are blocked.
In the image, you can clearly see that the midfield 3 have managed to perform the 'Man-Marking'
element of their role fixing to their opponent and forcing the play to be played back in to the Chelsea
defensive line, where the striker is able to apply pressure. This is forcing the opponent to go long,
Manchester City then look to cover the passes between the lines, which can be seen in the diagram
to the right hand side, which really shows
As the ball travels backward as the
opponent 10 looks to receive it,
Manchester City's solid defensive shape
prevents that being possible. They take
up either a defensive shape of a 2 and a 2
where they can box in the opponent and
win possession back or a 3 and a 1 where
the 10 is matched in a 1v1 and Kyle
Walker drops in to the centre backs line
to act as the pace in behind to prevent
the opponent being able to expose the
space that is left for the opponent to try
and hit with a long hopeful ball over the
units.
PEP GUARDIOLA
However effective Pep Guardiola may make the tactic look it does come with a large risks, one of the
risks is like most pressing systems its reliance of team and unit organization, when individual don't
preform their tactical role as required, space opens up for the opponent to penetrate. This provides
a substantial risk to the shape and the collective objective.
In the below image we can see the quick counter-attacking success Real Madrid are able to have in
this moment because of the failed counter-press, another of its risk's is the opponent themself
maybe technically comfortable playing under pressure, and so in turn are able to work the ball out
under pressure and take players out of the game making the counter-attack a more viable option.
In summary Pep Guardiola's counter-pressing strategy is perfect FOR HIM, it protects the collective
objective of the team and increases his teams time in possession which in turn creates more
opportunity for his philosophy to have an influence in possession of the ball.
TACTICAL
ANALYSIS:
Jurgen
Klopp

Philosophy of Klopp?
Tactical Analysis
Jurgen Klopp
#TheFootballCoach
Jurgen Klopp is commonly seen as the king of modern day pressing as previously mentioned his
'Gegenpressing' approach has been a undoubtable success across Mainz, Dortmund and now
Liverpool, his approach is very different to that of Guardiola, for one reason and one reason only, it
has a different intent! Jurgen Klopp counter-presses or 'Gegenpresses; for offensive reasons not
defensive reasons. His press is built around the belief that the best chance a team have to score is
when the opponent has only just gained possession of the ball.
Klopp once said that "No playmaker in the world can be as good as a goo counter-pressing
situation" this just shows how important the press is to Klopp, it's the heart of his attacking strategy.
Once we understand the reason for Klopp's counter-press we can start to critique the way in which
he delivers his press and the strengths and weaknesses to the pressing behaviors he performs.
In order to gain a real understand of the press, we must first understand the setup Klopp uses to be
able to perform his famous counter-press.
JURGEN KLOPP
As we can see in the below images when Guardiola presses the opponent his defensive
organization is strong, with a defensive shape that allows his teams to deal comfortably with direct
play and long balls, offering as a method to rebuild attacks. As we can see in the image below with
the Barcelona side of the 2010's, the offensive shape is too large for the wide player to have an
influence on the press so it is important the the midfield, including the withdrawn striker (false 9) are
comfortable playing more compact to allow a quick counter press to stop the opponents build up
play. This image also shows how the defensive shape behind the ball would remain compact and
focus on dealing with the opponents direct ball forced from the counter press.
Guardiola has often spoke about the need for his team to win possession back within 6 seconds of
the transition, this is because his team are most vulnerable in these moments and the opponent can
cause the most damage with their offensive shape during these moments.
Pep's ball orientated press requires a man marking coverage around the ball, this is to prevent
forward passing options and force the opponent to surrender possession or go long. Both options
should allow Pep to regain possession of the ball, they structure in his tactical make up. Blocking the
passing lanes is a very important component if you are trying to devise a ball orientated press as the
main aim of the press is to regain possession of the ball, in order to do this you must first prevent the
opponent from finding passes.
This above example shows one open passing lane but the forward thinking midfield player has
stepper cross his marker to win possession back for his team, in this situation the positioning of the
full-back is also key as this position allows for the receiving midfield player to be able to receive with
pressure from behind, preventing a further counter-attack, his positioning also ensures the wide
player is suitably covered so the opponent cant't look to break through the weaker wide areas.
This shows the importance of the collective identity and the need for the group to work together to
achieve the outcome required which is win the ball back to destroy the opponents build up and
restart the attacking phase of the game. This press is easier to conduct for Guaridola's team as the
distance between the attacking and defensive unit is much more compact, as we will see in the next
few images, it becomes much more difficult to defend when the gaps between the attacking line and
the next lines is much larger due to the location of the transition,
JURGEN KLOPP
Liverpool tend to play 4-3-3 formation with a narrow midfield, a narrow attacking 3 and 2 very
attacking full back's who look to play a key role within Liverpool's build up play. As you can see in the
image to the right, the really narrow shape allows Liverpool to really dominate the central area of
the pitch as this allows for bodies to be close together so when possession is lost a press can
instantly occur and force a transition back to Liverpool. Klopp is effectively always trying to counter
the counter.
Liverpool perform two major types of pressing, the first is the previously mentioned Gegenpress
and the second is a pressing trap. The pressing trap is a common strategy used by Liverpool and
Klopp to force the opponent to play in areas of Liverpool's strength. Liverpool generally have the
greatest overload in the central area off the pitch, so in turn Liverpool look to force the opponent
in to that central area. Some teams would consider this risky due to the centre of the goal being
the area where naturally their is the greatest opportunity to break towards goal, but Klopp's
mindset sees the press as an opportunity, and this is a greater opportunity for Liverpool to
transition out against the opponent in a really dangerous area of the pitch
JURGEN KLOPP
As we can see in the image below, Liverpool have allowed Manchester Cities midfield to receive
possession from their centre back in a central area on the half turn, this is Liverpool's trap now the
midfield and the front 3 will work as an attacking 5 to work relentlessly to squeeze possession from
the opponent and transition quickly to score past Manchester City
The ploy has many layers of tactical detail with Firmino intentionally marking one centre back and
once centre midfield player out of the game. Whilst the two wide players cover the switch of play
ensuring the opponent is not able to play any passes except the pass between the opponent lines in
to midfield. At this point all 5 of the attacking players will hunt, not in a man to man scenario but in a
ball orientated fashion looking to hunt for the ball and win possession. Liverpool do not press for
defensive stability but attacking reward
This is not the only type of press you will see from Liverpool but every time they press, they press
with the same level of intensity, the pressure applied by Klopp's press is intense it requires a huge
physical output from every player, as they will be required to work for longer than a '6 Second
phase' but work until the opportunity to counter-attack the opponent has ended and the
opponent has built up their play from the back.
Liverpool's midfield suits the philosophy with each player being physically able to compete with
the demands put on them by Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool do not require the 'Playmaker' type player
in the midfield, and infact Klopp's midfields often look of 'lesser' quality when compared to other
great teams. But in this case it is the Gegenpress or the counterpress that is the playmaker so
Klopp is comfortable playing with players who fit that model, big, athletic midfield players with
attacking players who are explosive and hard working who can support the philosophy of the
team both in and out of possession. More can be seen on Liverpool's press in the coming pages
JURGEN KLOPP
Once Liverpool are in this shape, there are a few situations that can occur, the most common is the opponent
decides to play back to the goa keeper, and then the goalkeeper looks to play long in to the opponents attacking
line. Liverpool will look to apply pressure to the Goalkeeper and force the opponent to make a decision. whilst the
other two sit either side to challenge the goalkeeper to play long and not to try and play out.
Once the ball goes back to the goalkeeper Liverpool's midfield makes a decision based upon the opponents
midfield, if the opponents midfield does not squeeze up and stays close to the ball, then Liverpools midfield will sta
high and prepare for the Goalkeeper looking to find a pass. If the opponents midfield squeezes high and looks to
prepare for the opponent to play long. This is where Liverpool's midfield prepare to deal with Second Balls, Second
Balls are a key component within Jurgen Klopp's Philosophy.
Once play has been forced long Liverpool are very comfortable dealing with second balls, as you can see here
Van Dijk is extremely dominant and will sit zonally and look to make first contact with any ball hit directly, whilst
this happens Liverpool's back four will be be a back three behind him. As Van Dijk goes forward to make contact
you can see the compactness in the Liverpool shape, with the midfield
JURGEN KLOPP
screen will come ball side to ensure the the opponents midfield is not able to receive possession from Van
Dijk's contact, whilst the attacking three will drop deep to ensure than if Van Dijk's contact goes over the
midfield unit the attacking unit can compete and win possession. Liverpool clearly value second balls and from
the images and their consistent success in these moments, can you see how these moments are trained and are
valued within Klopp's coaching process, winning second balls will be a key element in their training process.
However as previously mentioned Liverpool are extremely flexible, if the opponents GK decides not to go long
and looks to play out from the back, Liverpool are comfortable pressing higher and can instantly provided a
structured response using Liverpool's unbelievably organized front three. As the goalkeeper decides to play to
the dropped centre back Liverpool's front three apply pressure to the ball carrier, whilst the nine looks to cut
the goalkeeper out of the picture and try to dictate the way the opponent can attack, by cutting the goalkeeper,
the opponent is now locked in one half of the pitch, and this becomes more simple to defend against.
JURGEN KLOPP
once this pressure has been applied. The ball will become the focus for the pressing player who here is Firmino,
as he applies pressure the FB (Robinson) will come and work to cover the opponents full back, whilst the other
full back will stay half and half so he is able to influence the attack if there is a transition, but can also defend if
the opponent breaks out. Liverpools midfield is very adaptable dependent on the midfield challenge for the
game.
If the opponent does not look to drop a midfield player deep to support, Liverpool are comfortable leaving the
midfield deep to protect against a long pass, however if the opponent does look to come deep and overload
Liverpool to try and get out Liverpool are comfortable with the Midfield three breaking in to a one and a two (
So one player is more attacking) or a two and a one (Two players in higher positions) if required, but they will
keep the intensity and not allow the opponent to turn. Once The opponent play in to a midfield player behind
the initial press, Liverpool will press from the front and the back with the front three working backwards to
support
JURGEN KLOPP
As the above image shows, if the opponent are successful In breaking through the initial pressing three, a
midfield player who applies pressure so quickly that the opponent is not able to play forward on the second
phase, and because they can not go forward this gives time to the front three to recover and start to press from
the front, this almost creates a ring of fire around the player in possession whose decision making has now
become blurred because of the pressure, this player is now likely to lose possession and give possession to
Liverpool in an extremely dangerous area, or they may have to play backwards if they can find a pass.
Even if pressure is broke and the opponent plays out of this compact area, Liverpool are still structurally secure
and are able to defend with six players behind the ball giving them defensive stability. Overall Liverpool's
midfield player a huge role in Liverpool's pressing structure out of possession, they are tactically aware as
previously mentioned, and capable to dropping or pressing dependent on the structure, personal and intention
of the opponent. Liverpool's midfield is also capable of dealing with sides who take a third option when playing
out from the back, teams who look to try and play through them and in to the forward areas quickly (Grounded
passes) also find it difficult due to the unique compactness of Liverpool's midfield and the high defensive line
played by Liverpool, this means that the space between the lines is minimal and passes are difficult to play
through.
JURGEN KLOPP
Counter-pressing or Gegenpressing (as it's known in Germany) is Klopp's most known tactical belief, this belief
that possession should be one back quickly, when possession lost. It sounds very simple, but more impressively,
Liverpool make it look very simple.
Liverpool look to play (by intent) in the opponents half, by playing in the opponents half they are able to play a
space orientated game instead of a possession orientated game, this means even with out possession of the ball
they are looking to control the space. They control the space so that they are able to counter the opponent as
soon as possible. Liverpool's narrow front three and narrow midfield three perfectly set the trap to counter-
press by keeping high numbers around the ball, as the above image shows when Mané gives away possession of
the ball in the attacking half, Liverpool do not look to fall in to a block and protect the ball, they look to apply
pressure to the opponent instantly, First Mané the closest player applies pressure to the ball forcing the
opponent to play backwards, as this happens the supporting players around him apply pressure to the ball also,
Klopp at Liverpool does tend not to block passing lanes but to apply pressure around the ball and let the
midfield deal with the situations where the press is broken.
The Gegenpressing behaviors do effect everyone on the pitch, as you can see in the image here the midfield
players behind the press focus on the blocking of key passing lanes, so players here such as wijnaldum move up
to block the more dangerous passing lane, this movement is as important as the high pressing behaviors, as if
the player in possession is able to find a quick passing lane through the centre of the pitch then the press is
broken, the opponent can create a central attack and the overload becomes in favor of the opponent.
Liverpool's structure behind the ball also sets itself behind the Gegenpress, so if Liverpool are counter-
pressing, they know the opponent may resort to going long and direct, so the players not involved in the press.
This maybe the midfield player and back three or four, become compact to make sure they can not be broken in
their shape, and can react to the second ball if needed.
JURGEN KLOPP
Because of Liverpool's willingness to play high full-backs and their desire to attack through these spaces,
it is key for them to have a defensive structure to ensure they can defend if they lose possession in these
wide area.
Liverpool's full-backs Trent' and Robertson consistently look to play forward early down the channel for
the attacking three, but commonly this can be an area where Liverpool lose possession because the pass
can become cut out or the opponent can win a dual.
Once the transition occurs Liverpool instantly look to apply pressure to the ball carrier in possession to
force them in to the widest area and keep them wide, the full back doesn't sell himself and go completely
wide but narrows the passing option whilst the other centre back slides across, at this point the back
four still stays high to make sure that there is no space in-front, this unwillingness to drop is a trait and a
consistent message within the Liverpool philosophy and more specifically Klopp philosophy.
The midfield stay narrow even in possession, this allows both full backs to play within space, but also
means that when there is a transition in the wider area all three midfield players are able to slide over
and create an overload in the wide area. This narrow tendency in midfield actually supports play both in
and out of possession allowing Klopp's team to counter-press in the wide areas.
JURGEN KLOPP
Liverpool's midfield is not only able to support the attacking unit or the defensive unit in their work, but is also
responsible for being disruptive to the opponents midfield, destroying attacking moments is more valuable
than creating in this midfield. Here shows the tenacious behaviors of the midfield unit when sat in their
common shape of 4-3-3, one midfield player (wijnaldum) looks to give defensive balance, whilst the other two
midfield players get close to their opponent and look to hassle the opponent and destroy the attack.
This hard working midfield can get a mixed tactical support from the front three when in a defensive shape. At
times Klopp is happy to allow the front three players to offer limited support within the defensive shape
'Cheating' with the front three, so that Liverpool are capable of breaking quickly through a direct pass in a
transitional moment. However this does also mean at times that teams will leave four players back to deal with
Liverpool's front three, creating an overload further forward.
However other times (As shown in the image) Liverpool's front three will work backward to apply pressure
pressure from behind the opponent to ensure there are greater opportunities to win possession back, this is
more common in games where teams have highly creative midfields such as (Barcelona at Home, Man City at
Home).
PRESSING
SESSIONS:
DEVELOPING
PRESSING
BEHAVIOURS
How Can Your Players Learn To

Play Against The Press?
ISOLATING THE FUL BACK
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________
Age Group Group Size

_________________ _________________
Size Players Work Rest Blocks
Planned
Delivered
Reflected
Session Detail Session Information

Look to isolate the full back, put pressure on the ball and counter press when
Description
This pressing session is setup within a 14 player rondo with 6 outside players and a 2v2 in each half, each
half should be 14x14, giving a 28x28 yard space but remember this size must be realistic to the age and
ability of players. Each team has 7 pleasers each, one in the full back area, one in the centre back area
and one higher, with 4 central players. This should provide opportunities to play vertical passes through
the opponents lines, and lateral passes across the lines, the midfield players are then challenged to
create diagonal liens to receive.
The idea for the pressing team is simple can you isolate the wide player, cut the passing lanes and
suffocate the ball before stealing possession from the opposition. The press should be structured to tru
and isolate the individual who does not have the support of a player on the same offensive line (No
vertical)
18
TIMINGS EQUIPMENT INDIVIDUAL DETAIL
Individuals must be constantly

0 Goals
Total Time aware of the consistent transition
20 Minutes 8 Footballs that occurs within this practice,
Active. Recovery 14 Players physically testing their ability to be
240 Seconds 60 Seconds able to counter-press in these
7x2 Bibs
Blocks moments
4 Cones for area
Look to isolate the full back, put pressure on the ball and counter press when
CONTINUED
As you can see in the second image the reds look to move the ball quickly taking advantage of the switch
that is naturally available because of the session setup, however the blues must react quickly to prevent
the switch of play as this is the most dangerous pass to the pressing shape as it can break the pressure
and allow the opponent to expose us on the opposite side.
PROGRESSION
18
The simple progression within this session is to restrict the teams from being locked in each half as a 2v2,
where there is more individual responsibility to allowing the central area to become a 4v4 where the
spaces are much smaller and pressing becomes far more difficult.
SPECIFIC PRESSING DETAIL

It is important that when working in locked areas of 2v2 the coach drives the physical work and forces
players to work towards their threshold, this will be physically difficult but ultimately rewarding to the
players physical performance, it is important that players also recognize how to press tactically and
force the opponent to play in areas of strength outlined by the session shape
PRESSING THE FORWARD PASS
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

Look to put pressure on the player in possession, if he plays forward can we press
Description
This session also includes 14 players playing within a grid that is 25x45 yards, the space has a central
zone of 25x25 with two end zones that are 25x10 The play starts from the coach on the side of the
practice who plays in to their red or blue and they attack looking to play a pass in to one of their
attacking players who is within a 2v2 in the final end zone.
The players out of possession in the end zone must press and look to win the ball back whilst their team
mate join them in an instant counter press. This session can be really effective for practicing the first
'phase' but also what to do if the opponent is successful in playing through the press, it is very important
to practice what to do if the opponent is successful in playing through the press as this will happen
18
Individuals most focus on stopping

4 Goals
Total Time the forward passes in to the end
24 Minutes 8 Footballs zones, but must instantly transition
Active. Recovery 14 Players to deal with these if the pressure is
300 Seconds 60 Seconds broken and a backup is required.
7x2 Bibs
Blocks
4 Cones for area
Look to put pressure on the player in possession, if he plays forward can we press
CONTINUED
This session is something commonly used within Germany in counter-pressing teams, training the
pressing behaviors whilst developing a structure that allows for the opponent to be successful and
because the pressing team do not see consistent success they have to work harder and this will create
the challenges they are likely to experience when playing opponents who are adaptable to their
structure
PROGRESSION
18
The simple progression within this session is to restrict the teams from being locked in each half as a 2v2,
where there is more individual responsibility to allowing the central area to become a 4v4 where the
spaces are much smaller and pressing becomes far more difficult. In order to progress this the midfield
area can be made a 2v2 with 2x neutral players this will make the pressing behaviors more important as
there is an opposition overload and reacting quicker will be even more vital

The motor behaviors are key here players must instantly press when the ball is lost high forcing the
opponent to play backwards, if the press is broken the recovery to the deepest goal must be instant and
aggressive to protect the goal.
BLOCKING THE PASSING LANES
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

Ensure the central players understand their responsibility on blocking the pass
Description
This is a 17 player rondo with 6 outside players 3 for each time, the team in possession possess a centre
back and a full back on one side, and only a centre back on the opposite sideproviding the opponent with
opportunity to press the ball when it is on the isolate side, recognising when there is genuine
opportunity to win possession back, and when the press needs to restrict passing lines.
The red and blue on the half way line are restricted to the line to force them to work on their pass
screening and offer a central option to the team in possession, the green 'Neutral' player is challenged
with playing a more 'central' role to the possession of both sides but is not required to stay on the central
line like the two players next to them.
18
Individuals need to recognise the

0 Goals
Total Time importance of defensive overloads
28 Minutes 8 Footballs to press the opponent, How to
Active. Recovery 17 Players create 2v1 and 1v2 moments in the
360 Seconds 60 Seconds wide areas dependent on if they are
8x2 Bibs
Blocks in or out of possession
4 Cones for area
Ensure the central players understand their responsibility on blocking the pass
CONTINUED
As the second image shows the screening players in the central zones play a key role in winning
possession back, this session can be used for teams looking to use the press as an opportunity to win
possession back for attacking or defensive reasons. Encourage the team in possession to use the
overload in the central areas to build their attacks as this is what we want to expose of our defensive
unit, in order to improve it we must first look to expose it.
PROGRESSION
18
1.) In order to progress this remove the central player and create an overload to a specific team and
speak around the importance of creating overloads in the defensive press/organizational moments.
2.) Allow the central red and blue to move around the zone and see if they are able to transfer that lane
blocking strategy

The specific detail being shared with players and groups should be the principles of pressing the strong
and weak side of the ball both in and out of possession. The pressure should still remain high around the
ball even when a technical focus looks at the way in which we screen central passes.
TWO ZONED PRESS
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

TWO ZONED PRESS
Control the Counter-Pressing behaviors in this practice
Description
6v4 within a two zoned game, 4v0 in the outer zone with 2v4 in the inner zone, the ball is played in to the
outside players who can only make a maximum of 2 outside passes before they find a central player. This
is a great opportunity for our players to practice the principles of creating pressing traps, with pressure
instantly being applied to the central players when the ball moves into the central zone.
The inside players can press the ball on the outside if they wish but risk being played through with a pass
through their defensive lines. Point systems can be created to add a competitive element if required .
This session will require a real focus on positioning and zone rules to allow it to become effective,
players and coaches will see a real increased in the motor engagement in this session which will in turn
increase effectiveness in the pressing moments
18
Individuals need to recognise the

0 Goals
Total Time importance of defensive overloads
16 Minutes 8 Footballs to press the opponent, when the
Active. Recovery 10 Players transition occurs in the central zone
180 Seconds 60 Seconds of the practice.
5x2 Bibs
Blocks
4 Cones for area
TWO ZONED PRESS
Control the Counter-Pressing behaviors in this practice
CONTINUED
This session can really test the individuals ability to focus on the task at hand, the complexity to the
practice can challenge the pressing consistency as the player will be exposed to information on multiple
fronts and need to try and ensure they can take in this information without failing to act on their
pressing requirements. As the second image shows the transition provides a new pressing opportunity
PROGRESSION
18
In order to progress this the numerical system can be manipulated putting 3 outside players on the
outside to ensure the players receiving possession are forced to make a decision based on what they see
and not cheating with passing options always being open

The individual detail when creating traps is to use the body and brain to confused the opponent and
ensure they do not expect the defensive organisation to be alive. This almost acting like behaviour can
trick the opponent in to a false sense of security.
DELIVERING THE TRAP
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

DELIVERING THE TRAP
Set the Trap So Well Used By Liverpool ToWin Possession
Description
This is another coaching session that provides opportunity to set traps to win possession, but also
encourage the team in possession to try and play through the press and find players within central areas,
the players within the small grids are locked and can't leave those zones at any point during the practice
(unless a progression allows rotation). Using the space within this 25x30 yard area is key as the team in
possession will often become compact and not use the space properly limiting their opportunity to be
successful.
For every time the team in possession are able to receive possession in the central area and pass to a
team mate they will receive 1 point, the pressing team can step in and win possession when the ball is in
those zones
18
When setting a trap the individual

0 Goals
Total Time must recognize how to disguise the
20 Minutes 8 Footballs teams intent, using body language
Active. Recovery 12 Players and eye contact to trick the
240 Seconds 60 Seconds opponent in to a false sense of
6x2 Bibs
Blocks security before stepping in and
4 Cones for area winning possession of the ball
DELIVERING THE TRAP
Set the Trap So Well Used By Liverpool ToWin Possession
CONTINUED
When setting the trap the blue's for example will look to allow the reds to play in to the central player
who is spare, before traveling towards him/her as the ball moves, blocking passing lanes and suffocating
the play. This will provide a good opportunity to win possession of the ball back from the opponent.
These traps require a very co-ordinated offensive press and central areas are a common area to perform
this trap if the opponent tends to build up from the defensive third during their build up
PROGRESSION
18
In order to progress this the coach can create more realism within the practice by allowing the rotation
of the central area with the opponent allowed to rotate the player within the central zone, they just have
to ensure there is always someone in the zone.

When performing a tactical press such as a 'Trap' based press ensure that the team are aware of how the
opponent build up their attack, who is likely to drop in to those positions and which player is less likely to
be able to perform this action through a poor technique, isolating and exposing the opponent is a key
component of an effective tactical press.
DESTROY THE BUILD UP
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

Use this topreventthe opponent building up in their defensive third
Description
This session takes place with a 40x30 Yard area with a 3x3 grid inside of it, the idea is for the team in
possession to build through the thirds until they are able to score, the players are locked from left to
right 3v1, 3v3 and 1v3 and this means that out of possession the only players who can press the ball are
they players in the same horizontal line, the team in possession must keep to their individual square
(except the striker). However this is going to challenge our players behind the ball to block the passing
lanes and force the opponent to go long and give possession back to our team, something similar to the
philosophy of Pep Guardiola ensuring that the opponent surrenders the ball to us when they are forced
to play long in to an overload of 3v1
18
The individual must recognise how

2 Goals
Total Time to block the passing lane and must
32 Minutes 8 Footballs know the difference between
Active. Recovery 16 Players blocking it to force long and inviting
360 Seconds 120 Seconds the trap to win possession to
8x2 Bibs
Blocks counter
4 Cones for area / Flats
Use this topreventthe opponent building up in their defensive third
CONTINUED
As this session moves forward you'll release the team out of possession and allow them to press the
opponent during the build up phase of the game. Encouraging the team to 'Jump' in that Marco Silva
style of pressing will allow for a more 'Attacking' pressing motion where the team are challenging the
opponent to play through them but have ambitions to win possession back to expose the opponent on
the counter attack
PROGRESSION
18
The progression has previously been mentioned above
- Manipulate the space and the overloads to make it easier/harder
- Remove the grid to ensure the team can press high

When performing this session you can use it for two types of pressing, the first is to block passing lanes
and force the opponent to play longer, the second is to get high on the opponent and really try and win
possession for the counter attacking opportunity that may occur from that transition.
PHASE- BUILD UP
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

PHASE - BUILD UP
Use This Easy To Use Phase to Practice Destroying Build Up Play
Description
This is a phase type practice that occurs within a 9v7 in a half pitch (relevant to the team you coach), the
blues look to build out from the back, the only restriction is the 3 players in the grey zone, can't leave
that zone until they receive possession of the ball. This create a 1v1 shape in possession, it reminds our
players we must cover the long ball that maybe hit if the opponent is pressed too high.
It also creates a better structure to the practice. the reds look to press and win possession if they can do
this and score they get a goal, if the blues can score in either wide goal they score 1 goal, and if they can
build up using one of the two gates it becomes 5 goals. Preventing the use of the half space
to build through the reds must be stopped as this is one of the more dangerous areas to defend.
18
3 Goals The individual must recognize the

Total Time 8 Footballs importance of pressing down the
36 Minutes passing lane forcing the opponent to
16 Players
Active. Recovery not play through the blue gates
420 Seconds 120 Seconds 8x2 Bibs detailed with the half space inside
Blocks Cones for area / Flats the session.
4
4 poles
PHASE - BUILD UP
Use This Easy To Use Phase to Practice Destroying Build Up Play
CONTINUED
As you can see in the second image here, if the reds press high but are late in there press, or don't press
blocking the passing lanes, the opponent will be able to break out through the gate, the space that will
cause us the largest issue. Before opening this up to an 11v11 practice, the attacking players must get
that press right to prevent the diagonal passes through the gates and through the press causing
structural issues to our defending .
PROGRESSION
18
Release the three central players and see if the defenders are able to deal with the movement of the 9
whilst defending the long ball in behind.
Remove the gate as a visual reference and see if the defenders are still successful in their pressing
moments,

As the session takes place in a more dynamic area with larger sets of players the spaces will increase, as
these spaces increase the level of detail are players must deliver when pressing must increase, smaller
mistakes will now have larger consequences
COUNTER-PRESSING GAME
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

This is a Fantastic Session to Really Understand Counter-Pressing
Description
This is an 11v11 practice that takes place within a space between 3/4 of a pitch and half a pitch (relevant
to the group). The blues look to build up through the goalkeeper and score at the far end whilst quite
simply the reds look to prevent this, the coach walks around with a second football, and at any time the
coach can blow the whistle and possession switches from the first ball to the second ball, this creates an
instant counter-attacking moment where one team must pick up possession and look to attack quickly
whilst the other team must employe the counter-pressing behaviors to destroy the opponents counter
attack and win possession back, this is a ploy that also engages players on a greater psychological level,
this engagement will be key when pressing as players must take in multiple levels of information
18
Individuals must now recognize they

1 Goals
Total Time are playing within an 11v11 practice
36 Minutes
8 Footballs and the spaces are now more
Active. Recovery 22 Players relevant so the opponent can break
420 Seconds 120 Seconds 11x2 Bibs out through larger spaces that
Blocks require a larger supporting press
Cones for area
4
4 Poles
This is a Fantastic Session to Really Understand Counter-Pressing
CONTINUED
As we can see in the below image, the coach has decided to blow the whistle and have possession switch
to the second ball, forcing a transition from the previous ball, and a initial moment of chaos, which team
can secure the ball and expose the opponents lack of tactical structure
PROGRESSION
18
The progression is to switch the blue attackers to green bibs, these players only compete in the attacking
moments meaning the reds have an overload of 3 in possession, but as soon as they lose possession they
must compete with the opponents attacking 3, this makes the transition from attack to defense more
difficult for the reds

Communication will play a huge role in how the players succeed when pressing in larger spaces, training
this larger pressing moment is key, but practicing it is even more vital. How can the players delay the
opponents counter-attack as it begins when the coach offers an unnatural transition.
PRESS THE THROW
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

PRESS THE THROW
Dominate the Throw-In With defensive Structures
Description
This game takes place as a 10v11. The game is played with a half of the pitch with a 10 yard line behind
this for the blues to break in too. In these moments the red team will take a throw in whilst the blues will
look to offer a passing option to the reds that is the middle red, this is because the blues are able to press
him from all angles if the trap is not successful. From here the blue will look to move quicker than the red,
and pinch possession of the ball. As this happens the offensive transition is premeditated with the
number 9 looking to run in behind the centre back.
To score the 9 must receive possession in the grid behind the half way line and break out of the zone, the
attacking phase is limited here to allow for more repetition from the throw-in.
18
As the individual who is challenged

1 Goals
Total Time with pressing the throw receiver
20 Minutes
8 Footballs ensure that the body is used to force
Active. Recovery 16 Players the opponent out of the line of the
240 Seconds 60 Seconds 11x2 Bibs ball so that the ball can be played in
Blocks behind quickly and directly.
Cones for area
4
PRESS THE THROW
Dominate the Throw-In With defensive Structures
CONTINUED
As we can see in the second image, the blues have pinched possession by leaving space to receive and
then stepping in anticipating the movement and winning possession from the opponent, the movement
of the 9 is key, making a movement from in to out behind the full-back forcing the full-back top change
their body shape and change their feet from forward facing to backward facing and sprinting to cover
the run, the 9 should look to start on the right centre back and drift across
PROGRESSION
18
To progress this it can be made into a 11v11 practice, the restart can occur from a throw-in every time
the ball goes out. This doesn't mean possession needs to be pinched at every corner but will provide an
opportunity to become more defensively secure from these throw-in moments.

Although the press is important as we want to regain possession of the ball, it is even more important
that the structure behind the ball is right, as we can see in the above image the blue midfield is too
stretched meaning if the ball is retained by the Reds they'll be able to break out and expose the back 4 in
a moment of vulnerability.
8v8 Pressing Grids
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

8v8 PRESSING GRIDS
Work as a Group to Dominate The Opponent 5v3
Description
This is a really easy to setup session with a 30x30 yard area split in to 4 grids of 15x15, the practice is
really easy to deliver as an activation or introduction to the session. The players play amongst
themselves with a ball between 8 on the shout of the coach 3 players from each group must press as
hard and as quickly as they can to either win possession back or destroy the opponents passing by
kicking the ball out of the zone.
This session is a very easy transition to a theme and can be delivered across a huge range of abilities,
ages and training days. This can really provide an energetic start to any out of possession based session.
18
Can the most influential individuals

20Goals
Total Time provide a really high intensity
15 Minutes
2 Footballs environment for players to thrive in.
Active. Recovery 16 Players
Look to press roughly 3 times a 8x2 Bibs
minute
Cones for area
8v8 PRESSING GRIDS
Work as a Group to Dominate The Opponent 5v3
CONTINUED
As the second image shows now the team have pressed across the zones and we now have 2 x 5v3's. The
first team to win possession or destroy the opponents possession win the point. This can be manipulated
number wise to create 6v2 or 4v4 dependent on the ability and the success.
PROGRESSION
This session can be progressed in many ways
Numerical: Creating 4v4 or 6v2 etc
18
Space: Change the space to manipulate the outcomes
Challenge: Add goals so when the team regain possession they can transition out through 2x small goals
to increase the challenge and make the session even more realistic and game related

As previously mentioned in the individual detail is all around the intensity and the enthusiasm to want to
go and win possession back. The energy generated in here will carry through to the rest of the session if
done correctly.
5v5 Throw-In Game
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

5v5 Throw-In Game
Develop the Ability to Dominate The Opponents Throw
Description
This is a simple 5v5 practice that allows for the development of technical and tactical skills through a 5v5
practice, whilst this occurs the practice will begin every time from a throw in regardless of how the
practice broke down. This is a great opportunity to develop both the defensive stability when defending
a throw-in as well as the pressing opportunities that will develop.
The pressing opportunity will not occur overtime as this will become predictable but encouraging the
opponent to throw in to traps is a easy way to turn over possession and put the opponent under pressure
straight away.
18
Can the individual recognise when

2 Goals
Total Time to create the pressing trap and
24 Minutes
8 Footballs when to become defensively stable
Active. Recovery 10 Players and not allow the opponent to
300 Seconds 60 Seconds 5x2 Bibs receive and provide a rigid defensive
Blocks block that forces a transition.
Cones for area
4
5v5 Throw-In Game
Develop the Ability to Dominate The Opponents Throw
CONTINUED
As we can see in the second image below, the opponent has stolen possession using that middle player to
perform a trap and steal possession, the game now continues with an opportunity for the Blues to
counter-attack and score, within this 5v5 there is no goalkeepers and the emphasis is based more
around creating really high intense pressing moments instead of the normal 5v5 outcomes.
PROGRESSION
18
To progress this allow the first team to pick the ball up to start the game, this way the throw-ins will
become less manufactured and more real, creating a scenario where it is more difficult for the team to
press and naturally creating a more realistic pressing scenario.

The most important detail in this session is how to develop the traps even under high physical duress,
can the players still organize these moments even when they are 3 or 4 blocks in to their physical work.
This is the real challenge when creating a pressing culture within. football club.
PRESS THE PATTERN
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

PRESS THE PATTERN
Delivering an Understanding Of How To Press
Description
This practice is really simple to organize, it requires 10 players to play within 4x2 Grid with a total
distance of 24x24 with two end men. The ball is played first via the blues who play through their pattern
receiving on the half turn and playing to the next man. However the reds are challenged to press the ball
as it travels to the player opposite them working intensely to stop the blue from being able to receive
under no pressure and play across the line.
Once the ball reaches the opposite end man, the same pattern is repeated but this time with the reds in
possession and the blues applying the pressure.
18
Can individual players make

0 Goals
Total Time decisions that either allow them to
12 Minutes
10 Footballs press the opponent looking to win
Active. Recovery 10 Players possession or block the passing lane
180 Seconds 60 Seconds 4x2 Bibs to the next player
Blocks
Flats for Grid.
3
PRESS THE PATTERN
Delivering an Understanding Of How To Press
CONTINUED
As you can see in the below image the passing routine has now gone out the other way and through the
red team, the same press is required from the blues. This session can be made more complicated by
letting two player press at the same time. For example the red receives the pass, and the blue presses
from the opposite side, but as this happens the blue in the grid next to them can press vertically through
the lines.
PROGRESSION
18
Allowing the player who is in the next vertical box press at the same time as the player presses from the
next horizontal box will provide a real challenge and make the task a more difficult one for the reds to be
able to play in ( This is articulated in the above continued description)

The players lead decision making is now key
- When to press the ball for a win of possession
- When to prevent the opponent playing forward
What can you as a player achieve, why did you make the decision?
KLOPP 4+3V4
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

KLOPP 4+3V4
Counter-Pressing Rondo
Description
A very commonly used practice by Counter-Pressing sides, it is a rondo format session with 4 outside
players who are in possession, 4 central players who are out of possession and 3 green players who have
one central player, creating a 4+3v4. When the blues win possession back they look to keep the ball with
the greens make their way to the outside of the practice whilst the reds come in and press as high and as
hard as they can. The practice takes place within a 25x20 yard space.
18
Can the players react quickly when

0 Goals
Total Time their is a transition between the
20 Minutes
3 Footballs blues and the reds when the ball is
Active. Recovery 11 Players lost and their shape changes and
240 Seconds 60 Seconds 4x3 Bibs their responsibility changes.
Blocks
Cones for Grid.
4
KLOPP 4+3V4
Counter-Pressing Rondo
CONTINUED
The session shows here what the greens are challenged with, the green needs to try and play through
the pressure, putting the best technical players in these situations is going to be important in creating a
challenge for the players who are out of possession. Challenging our players is key to this having any
success.
PROGRESSION
18
The easiest way to perform the progression is to manipulate the space the players can play in.
Manipulating the space will also mean the session can be used in different types of physical training
outcomes e.g. it can be used on any training day in line with a groups periodization.

Can we set a trap for the central player to make life difficult to receive?
If not can we isolate play on one side of the pitch?
Can we work as a group of 4 at all times.
8v8 GRID GAME
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

8V8 GRID GAME
Playing Against The Press To Finish Early
Description
As we can see in the below image this practice is set up in a 45x30 yard space with three girds of 15x30,
the coach plays in from the right side, and the game starts in a 4v4, the side then make 3 passes to break
out in to the central zone, they play in to their team mates who look to score in the goal they are facing,
once the ball goes in to this zone, it becomes a 7v7 with the team in possession looking to score in the
goal they face, whilst the opponent (in the example the red) look to counter-press and score in the
furthest goal. Once this practice breaks down the ball then moves in to opposite side, and the coach
plays in from the left side with a 4v4 in the left zone and a 4v4 in the middle zone ( A mirror of what it
looked like from the first starting point).
18
Can the individuals recognise the

4 Goals
Total Time importance of defending the goal,
20 Minutes
8 Footballs throwing everything at the
Active. Recovery 16 Players opponent to block and defend the
240 Seconds 60 Seconds 8x2 Bibs goal in the central zone.
Blocks
Cones for Grid.
4
8V8 GRID GAME
Playing Against The Press To Finish Early
CONTINUED
As the second image shows the ball is now inside the second zone where the blues are looking to score,
every red is applying pressure to the ball and looking to either prevent the opponent scoring or winning
the ball back to break and score in the other Goal this has now become a 7v7
CONTINUED
18
As the third image shows the play has now moved in to the 3rd zone, and play is now restarted looking to
make 4 passes to move in to the central zone and really create another attacking opportunity.
PRESSING PASSING PATTERN
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

PRESSING PASSING PATTEN
Press The Opponent Opposite You
Description
This is a really intense passing practice that develops a real psychologically engaged practice where
players mustn't just focus on what they are doing with their feet, they must focus and stay engaged as
the ball moves around the diamond. The ball is always passed to the right, and the player opposite always
presses the ball when it is opposite them. So for example the red passes to the blue to start the practice.
As the ball travels to the blue, the green opposite them presses, the blue then passes to their right and
the red is pressed by the opposite red. This is a simple practice that requires engagement in every phase
of the practice.
18
This session really requires focus

Total Time with out the ball. The player must
16 Minutes
0 Goals focus on the game when the ball is
Active. Recovery 3 Footballs not at their feet.
150 Seconds 30 Seconds 16 Players
Blocks
5
PRESSING PASSING PATTEN
Press The Opponent Opposite You
CONTINUED
This second image just shows how the pattern develops as the blue player receives possession of the
ball. This session doesn't require huge amounts of coach intervention but does require a coach to
galvanize the intensity and ensure the players are responsible for the overall quality of the pressing, the
job completion and the application of each other.
PROGRESSION
18
The simplest way to modify this session is to manipulate the space to make it either easier or harder. Or
more / Less physical dependent on the requirements of the session in line with its technical, tactical or
physical requirements.

As a coach during this practice keep the information simple
-Run hard
- Arch the run
- Press the life out of the ball
zONAL PRESSING
Session Notes:
Date: Time:
_________________ _________________

_________________ _________________
Planned
Delivered
Reflected

ZONAL PRESSING
When to Engage the Opponent
Description
This is a 7v7 in just over a relevant half, this session is only for acquisition parts of the training week. The
pitch has two artificially designed defending lines and the challenge will be for the reds to defend each
line at different times, this is demonstrating how to defend areas of the pitch under physical fatigue that
will naturally be created because of the size of the space. In this first image the reds are pressed up high
trying to refuse the opponent the opportunity to play behind the defensive line.
The individual players are

Total Time challenged to deal with their
48 Minutes
3 Goals individual roles under huge physical
Active. Recovery 3 Footballs stress from the opponent and the
720 Seconds 240 Seconds 14+1 GK Players space
Blocks
Flat discs
3
ZONAL PRESSING
When to Engage the Opponent
CONTINUED
The second image just shows how the opponent look to defend the second defensive line once the first
line has been broken, this zone is deeper and replicates the half way line. The team are then challenged
to press that line and refuse the opponent the opportunity to play through this space.
PROGRESSION
18
- Manipulate the time to change the physical load
- Change the space to manipulate the load
- Change the numbers to influence the tactical outcomes.

Keep information to a minimus due to the physical work being applied to the players
- Organize the requirements for the players before the setup.
- Develop an environment where players enjoy the outcome of the press (The reward)
- Keep training the Reward

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"Developing The Pressing Behaviours"

"Developing The Press

"IF YOU LOSE THE BALL, THE COUNTER

What Should I Expect when I've Finished This Book?

"I want the ball for 90 minutes. When I don't

Who has Influenced The Pressing

Within this next chapter we are going to attempt to categories these to

For example pressing the

The high press is commonly used to try and

Some coaches will look to create graphs

The orange zone is still opportunity for

The use of zones creates awareness in

As you can see in the image to the right

As you can see here the defensive line is

The role of the goalkeeper can also not

1.)Opponent organizational triggers

Opponents lack of Control

Dead-Ball Pressing Within 12 Seconds Of Regaining

What Does It Take To Coach

What Does It Require?

Who has Influenced The Pressing

Where Has The Game

Ramsey created a system that did not use pressing as much

Sacchi despite the critics was able to have an

With differing philosophies

What Was The Pressing

What Was The Pressing

What Was The Pressing

What Was The Pressing

How Can Your Players Learn To

Age Group Group Size

Size Players Work Rest Blocks

Session Detail Session Information

Individuals must be constantly

SPECIFIC PRESSING DETAIL

Age Group Group Size

Size Players Work Rest Blocks

Session Detail Session Information

Individuals most focus on stopping

SPECIFIC PRESSING DETAIL

Age Group Group Size

Size Players Work Rest Blocks

Session Detail Session Information

Individuals need to recognise the

SPECIFIC PRESSING DETAIL

Age Group Group Size

Size Players Work Rest Blocks

Session Detail Session Information

Individuals need to recognise the

SPECIFIC PRESSING DETAIL

Age Group Group Size

Size Players Work Rest Blocks

Session Detail Session Information

When setting a trap the individual