“Watch the best players in the world, the ones you love to see play, and you will see how well they turn. The best players all have this quality of turning better than the players who are just a level below them.” - Andre Merelle, Former Head of Clairfontaine
The best players in the world all have one thing in common...they're extremely confident in 1 v 1 situations. Even defenders, especially in the age of the ball playing Centre Back, look calm and composed when under pressure from an opponent. As the game continues to develop, many national associations are following the suit of coaching players to be creative and fast-thinking in 1 v 1's. The Football Association have gone as far to state it in their Player DNA.
Confidence in 1 v 1 situations starts in the foundation phase. Players develop a relationship with the ball and as coaches we have a wonderful opportunity to nurture that attitude. We can set up practices where players get the chance to manipulate the ball with all parts of the foot. They can attempt tricks, turns, feints and fakes against an opponent. Players have the chance to develop life-long footballing skills that become more difficult to master when puberty hits.
Former Man Utd Coach Rene Meulensteen stated that it is important that we "give the kids all the skills to go into the skills tool-box" when it comes to 1 v 1's. As someone who has worked with young children and the likes of Cristano Ronaldo, it's hard to disagree. Meulensteen states that players will encounter four 1 v 1 situations in games
A defender in front of them (how most 1 v 1 practices look)
A defender behind them
A defender to the side of them
A defender coming from an angle
1 v 1 With A Defender In Front
A defender in front is arguably the most coached 1 v 1 situation in football. It's understandable. After all, penetration is one of the attacking principles of play and as coaches we want to see our players on the front foot when dribbling. We have also seen the likes of Messi, the Ronaldo's and Maradona light up the crowd with their ability to go past players. If we want our players to play like these idols, then this is a situation that we should allow them to experience.
Go to Goal is a practice that allows players to do that. It is the familiar practice of receiving the ball from a player directly across and immediately being on the front foot. 2 goals mean that players have the opportunity to the ball shift left or right. They also get to work on a variety of fakes and feints to catch the opponent off guard.
As the game develops and players get older, we can adapt this practice to look at 1 v 1 in wide areas. Despite being in this situation, going past the opponent to move the ball forward is not always an option. By the adapting the practice we allow our players to experience turning back onto the other foot and cutting inside.
The challenge with this type of practice is that it doesn't teach our players how to create enough space so that they are facing forward. There may be times in games when they receive the ball facing their opponents goal. Mostly, their starting position comes with a defender behind them.
1 v 1 With A Defender Behind
75% of 1v1's begin with a defender starting behind the receiving player. With a percentage that high, it makes sense that our practices incorporate this situation the most. The beauty of including this type of scenario is that it encourages players to think of a number of different solutions to get the themselves facing the opponents goal.
The above video is the first part of the activity Transitional 2 v 2 and we'll use this as an example. The receiving player first needs to look over her shoulder to see the defenders movement. When she recognizes that the defender has stepped to her left, she turns to the right, immediately protecting the ball. Space opens up and she is able to dribble forward and get her opponent on the back foot. As often happens in games, she has begun 1 v 1 with a player behind her and turned it into having the defender in front of her, backing up towards their own goal.
As coaches, we can also encourage players to create that opportunity in a number of ways
- Double movement to lose the marker and turn with the first touch
- Holding the ball up and backing into the defender until they can be turned
- Receiving on the front foot to protect the ball and encourage the defender to make a move
- Flicking the ball one way and running the other
As this play develops, the defender ends up side by side with the player on the ball. This is the next 1 v 1 situation that offers learning opportunities.
1 v 1 With A Defender To The Side Of Them
Watching the likes of Andres Iniesta, David Silva and Jack Grealish in recent years, I can't help but admire the way the shield the ball when dribbling. A defender is beside them and they will keep the ball far enough away to protect it. At the same time, they advance with the ball to give their team an attacking threat. It's the first skill I look at developing when I initially work with a U7 or 8 team. Players get to develop their ball control, turns and agility.
The game Mirrors is a great game to paint the picture of protecting a ball while side by side with a player. First off, it's FUN! It offers competition, allows for creativity and has the right intensity to rest ratio. The progressions of the practice mean that players can learn in stages. It starts with passive pressure to help build muscle memory and develops into full pressure to represent an aspect of the game.
Working on players shielding skills while dribbling alongside opponents will also come in useful for the previous 1 v 1 situations. If faced by a defender, they may react quickly and be side by side when you take them on. Likewise, after twisting and turning to get away from an opponent stood behind, your players will be looking to take the ball into space. This may involve dribbling across the pitch to open up space to go forward. If that happens, there is every chance that a player receives pressure from an angle.
1 v 1 With The Defender At An Angle
The nature of foundation phase football is one that encourages players to dribble. 5 v 5, 7 v 7 and even 9 v 9 means less players and more space. Opportunities to dribble will open up and players who are confident in doing so will be aggressive in that nature. As a result, situations where they are approached by a defender will occur.
Making the most of a 1 v 1 when approached at an angle gives us the opportunity to ask players to consider their first touch Is it the best decision to take the ball away from the defender or across them? Both decisions have their benefits. We can also ask players what the ideal second touch will be. Let's take this clip of Ronaldinho being approached by Modric into account. His first touch goes in one direction, to drag Modric into that space, then he cuts back the other way (with a nutmeg) and Modric's momentum means he is unable to react quickly enough.
The Crossfield 1 v 1 practice in the clip above progresses to involve pressure at an angle. The 2 goals give players an opportunity to attempt both types of first touch, knowing that if they beat the opponent they have a chance to score right in front of them. With two 1 v 1's happening on the same pitch, it also paints the picture of leaving players behind.
Additional: The 50-50
Technically, a 50-50 is a 1 v 1 with the opponent in front. Where this type of situational practice differs, is that the player who gains possession doesn't have an advantage of having complete control of the ball. Even in the above clip, Marcelo's heavy touch to get past the first defender leaves him at risk of losing the ball to the next opponent. His quick thinking allows him to perform a fantastic turn, protecting the ball and getting past the opponent in the process.
The 4 Goal 1 v 1 practice is ideal for working on this situation. As the ball is played in by a server, both players are racing to the ball and the first one there needs to think quickly as to what they are going to do. Options include going past the opponent or turning and going in the direction they have just come from. The game also includes elements of 1 v 1's with the defender to the side of them, further developing their in-game awareness.
The practice can also be developed where one of the 2 players starts with the ball. They deliberately have a heavy touch into the middle of the playing area. By doing this, the situation becomes like the one that Marcelo faces himself in and one that will occur on many an occasion in your teams' games.
Translating Into Game Play
When it comes to game day, give your players the chance to try things out. Encourage them pre-game and remind them of the different 1 v 1 scenarios. If they try to re-create what they have done in practice and it works, praise them. Tell them what they have done well. If it doesn't...praise them again. Admire their character for being brave. Feedback can be given when the ball is out of play.
Remember, if we want our players to be confident on the ball when no pass is available, it starts in this phase of their development.