A good general rule for defense is that all 11 players on the field must play defense. In fact, a good defense starts with the forwards applying pressure on the opposing team high up the field.
- The number one thing that all good defenses do is everybody is communicating
- Communication can help your team stay organized
- Talking can let your teammates know runners coming in and telling them something they can’t see
- Marking up is essential to defense because you don’t want people wide open in front of the goal, or in the middle of the field as they can find a dangerous pass
- 1v1 defending can be difficult as the offensive player can be skilled and get around you
- “Covering”- Giving help to the main defender in case he gets beat the cover man slides to the ball
- Defenders should try to force the ball towards the sideline and away from the goal
- Do not dive into a tackle as the offensive player can easily take a touch by as your off balance
- A great strategy that can be used in any formation is keeping the lines of defensive tight, again this comes with a lot of communication from everyone
- What this means is that the defensive shouldn’t be spread apart, players should be tight relative to the where the ball is, and, in what part of the field they’re in
- There shouldn’t be a big gap between the defense and the midfielders, and same goes to the midfielders and forwards.
- This gives the other team a harder time to make runs in behind and less time and space they have on the ball.
- Use the out of bounds as another defender, forcing the ball out of the middle gives the defense an easier time predicting and reading where the next pass is going
- Putting the ball under pressure is essential as you don’t want a dangerous player having time and space to do something.
- Also, other players on your team can read and intercept passes
- Pressure creates turnovers
The Beautiful Game 