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Keeping The Ball At The Back

I want to get my team to play possession football but some players, especially defenders get very panicked on the ball and seem to be unable to retain possession. Anyone got any ideas of how to change this?

Terry ThomasCoach, England

1 answer

ANSWERS

Ellie VernonOther, England

Hi Terry,

I think defenders always think they have less time on the ball than they actually do. I would practice your defenders passing along the backline unopposed. Tell them to focus on trying to take 2-3 touches, 1 to control and the others to complete the pass. The key is to know they will have time to take atleast 1 touch.

Then practice adding some gentle pressure from attacking players to see if they can keep their composure.

Hope that helps you! Ellie

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