Attack-to-defence and defence-to-attack transitions.
17 drills
17 drills
Full-pitch 11v11 with normal rules but no stoppages: the moment the ball goes out a coach feeds another one in instantly from the touchline and the players must press and transition without rest. The Wednesday exercise of Bielsa's Leeds.
Two facing 6v2 rondos with mini goals on the sides: the defenders score the instant they win the ball, the player who loses it must counter-press immediately and, if a goal is conceded, sprint to defend the other grid. The Klopp-style counter-pressing rondo.
Continuous 2v2 game in 20x10 m where one defender must touch the opposition goal before defending: his partner faces a temporary 2v1 and learns to delay until help arrives.
Half a pitch with one full-size goal at one end and two at the other: reds build and attack the single goal; blues defend and, on winning the ball, counter towards either of the two goals, shooting only after crossing the 15 m line, which gives the red counter-press time to act.
Narrow 8v8 game on 45x25 yards split into thirds, both teams in a 1-2-4-1: the four midfielders may push up to overload the final third but cannot drop back to defend their own, so every regain produces a counter-attack with an advantage and some emergency defending.
Two teams of seven on 30x40 m split into two zones, with two supports per team in 5 m end strips: five passes, pass to the support, one-touch lay-off and a finish into one of the two mini goals; the team that wins the ball immediately looks for its supports at the far end.
Three attackers against two defenders between two goals with keepers: if they score they get another ball and attack the opposite goal; if not, the two defenders plus a team-mate become the attackers. No pauses between changes.
Six reds combine around the outside to feed the team-mate in the central zone within five passes; three blues defend the in-between space and, if they win it, counter-attack into four mini goals while the reds counter-press and cover.
6v6 possession game with four neutrals in an 18x18 m central zone split by a halfway line: the team that wins the ball must break quickly to score in the goal opposite the half where it regained, while the team that lost it counter-presses.
7v7 game with two stopwatches on the touchline: after every loss the team has 8 seconds to win the ball back and, once it has, 10 seconds to get a shot on target. The game Rangnick used to turn transition into an instinct.
40x25 m pitch with two goals and keepers: every attack starts with a pair dribbling on and joining their team-mate in the central zone, against two defenders entering from the opposite goal plus their own central player.
Continuous 2v1 game in both directions: each team keeps one player on the pitch and a team-mate dribbles on to create the overload and finish quickly.
Positional game for U17: 40x40 m square divided into four 20x20 m zones. Two teams of eight and five neutrals. In the active zone a 3v3+3 is played and, after 8-10 passes, the team in possession must switch play to another zone.
Possession game from the FIFA Talent Coach Programme: 30x20 m split into three lanes, two teams of nine in a 3-3-3 (one player from each line per lane) and two neutral goalkeepers at the ends. Always pass and move, no offside.
3v2 counter-attack on a half pitch with a defender recovering from behind. The attackers must finish quickly before the recovering defender evens up the duel.
4v4 small-sided game in 40x30 m with mini goals in which the team that loses the ball has six seconds to win it back. Trains immediate reaction and coordinated pressing.
Goalkeeper transition drill: after the save, a quick overarm throw to the winger breaking into the flank, with a striker pressing the distribution.