In a team full of superstars, 22-year old Oleksandr Zinchenko often does not get the credit he deserves in Manchester City's back-line. This is in part due to simply not being a big name player, having come from the academy at Shakhtar Donestk rather than one of Europe's more illustrious outfits. But the Ukrainian left-back has been a key component to Manchester City's success with little recognition.
Author: Rhys Desmond
Sports journalist and football analysis writer ⚽. High-performance coach working with soccer & running pros 🏃🏔️.
Attacking Transitions – Full Session Plan and Key Coaching Points
INTRODUCTION Attacking transitions are one of the four key phases of the beautiful game. They can be defined as the movements and patterns of play after the first regain of possession in order to set up the attack. After regaining possession, there are two things that the team in possession can do to quickly catch … Continue reading Attacking Transitions – Full Session Plan and Key Coaching Points
Positions, Roles and Responsibilities in the 3-2-3 (9v9)
Over the past year of coaching 9v9 soccer, the 3-2-3 has become my favourite formation to use. I am a firm believer that the formation of any team should not be based around a club identity or a coach’s personal style of play, but rather based around the team’s style of play and the personnel of the team. However, I have found that the 3-2-3 is fantastic in suiting nearly every type of player and the simple and easy variations that can be created using the formation such as shifting into a 3-1-3-1, allow coaches to tweak and change their style of play to fit the needs of the vast majority of youth soccer players.
Coaching the 3-2-3 (9v9)
Over the past year of coaching 9v9 soccer, the 3-2-3 has become my favourite formation to use. I am a firm believer that the formation of any team should not be based around a club identity or a coach's personal style of play, but rather based around the team's style of play and the personnel of the team. However, I have found that the 3-2-3 is fantastic in suiting nearly every type of player and the simple and easy variations that can be created using the formation such as shifting into a 3-1-3-1, allow coaches to tweak and change their style of play to fit the needs of the vast majority of youth soccer players.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 – Team of the Tournament
Despite much of the attention of the tournament surrounding VAR, the FIFA Women's World Cup in France was a large success and saw record viewing audiences around the world. The Americans ultimately came out victorious for the fourth time in their history but they weren't the only nation to shine at this summer's tournament. Here … Continue reading FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 – Team of the Tournament
Individual Marking & Defensive Awareness – Analytical Activity
As the great Sir Alex Ferguson once said - "Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles." This quotation does a fantastic job in highlighting the importance of a strong defence, but it's also important to note that defense also wins you games, which eventually then leads to those title wins that the legendary former … Continue reading Individual Marking & Defensive Awareness – Analytical Activity
Playing Through the Central Midfielder – Conditioned Game
Central midfielders are essential to build up play and playing out from the back. As a result, it is necessary to teach players in the position where to be on the pitch during build-up phases. This conditioned game will teach all players how to involve the central midfielder in playing out from the back, in … Continue reading Playing Through the Central Midfielder – Conditioned Game
3 Ways Borussia Dortmund Could Line Up in 2019-20
Borussia Dortmund have had a busier off-season in the transfer market than any other club in Europe. With the disappointment of missing out on the title by just 2 points in 2018-19, BVB and Lucien Favre have quickly gotten their business done to try and right their wrongs and make another title charge in 2019-20. The likes of Julian Brandt, Nico Schulz, Mats Hummels and Thorgan Hazard have all joined Borussia Dortmund and will provide much needed improvements in several departments for the club. The one biggest fix was clearly needed at left-back, while Lukasz Pisczcek on the right is aging slowly and will in time need a more long-term option if Achraf Hakimi does re-join Real Madrid in 2020/21.
