Organization• On a half size football field use a central possession grid of 35x25yrds be-

tween the 18yrd box and half way line. • Mark out two wide channels that ajoin the central area that are 15x25yrds.

(30-35 mins) • 13 players. 8vs5 (+GK). Age: 12-Adult. • Formations & specfic opponent. An assistant coach could be used for

offsides.

Diagram 1. Set up of the players and area.

Progressions• Add or remove defenders in the central possession grid (i.e. 4vs4 4vs2).• Require a minimum of 3 passes before playing out to another grid or into the finishing area.• 2 touch in the central possession grid.• Add gates goals (2 or 3) on the half way line for the defenders to score in.

Instructions• 2 teams compete. The blue (attacking team) attempts to score in the full size goal. The

red team attempts to regain possession and dribble across the end line where the coach is positioned. The coach starts play by passing to an attacking player in the 4vs3 zone. The diagrams below show potential solutions to breaking down the opponents back line. For the first 10 mins we can instruct the defenders to play passive (if needed) for players to get comfortable with the patterns.

• Players cannot leave their initial zone until the ball leaves the central grid.• Offside applies behind the grids.• Supporting outside backs may enter into the 1vs1 channels when instructed to by the coach.• Attacking team (red) score in the full size goal).• Defending team (blue) score by dribbling over the half way line.

Variations• This exercise can be applied to any formation. Here we focus on the shape of a 4-3-3 (with

two attacking midfielders), but could be easily applied to a 4-4-2 etc. • Various additional rules can be added to require the attacking team to specifically look to

penetrate in required ways (i.e only central attacking combinations).

Key Coaching Points (KPs)1. Quick ball movement.2. Limited touches.3. Peeling runs to receive in open (half turned)

body position looking to play forward.4. Forward runs from midfielders.5. Create overloads in wide areas.6. Combination play in central areas. 7. Variety in attacking options to break the block.

Notes & Observations• This exercise forces the team to slide to extreme measures for teaching purposes. Walking

through the movements at the beginning can help players understand where they are need-ed to travel to when the football is in various positions.

• Focus get a quick tempo to balls in and out from the coach. Adjust the numbers up situation in the central playing area to make either easier or harder on the attacking team (i.e. 5vs3, etc). Also, you can make the winger player have one free touch before the defenders can tackle live.

Objective(s)1. Develop a teams attacking patterns.2. Develop wide attacking play.3. Develop central combination play.

Diagram 2. Example of a central combination movement.

Diagram 3. Example of diagonal through ball.

Attacking Functional Drills

The basic patterns we are looking to coach are: 1. Central combinations.2. Wide to the wing player for a 1vs1.3. Through balls (Diagonal/Straight).4. Overlapping/Underlapping Full backs

Developing Attacking Patterns U-12+