Shambolic Defending

Not just for the Youth Player!

Very rarely do you get the opportunity to see players at the top of their profession make such glaring and costly blunders as you will see in the following clip.  The mistakes are plenty, up and down the pitch.  It starts with a part of the play that is not on this clip; Gary Neville plays a lazy through ball that ends up giving Munich a late goal kick and an opportunity to make a play with less than a minute to play.  The ensuing goal kick gets won by United’s Rio Ferdinand, who heads it straight back to Munich’s defense.  The attack is then on.  Wayne Rooney, who is carrying a yellow card for a terrible challenge earlier, backs off on this challenge (and badly sprains his ankle in the process), leaving Paul Scholes (who also is carrying a yellow and is a historically terrible tackler!) to make the next challenge.  Scholes basically escorts the Munich attacker into the final 1/3 of the field as Ryan Giggs helps with the defensive escort.  Vidic steps up and makes a strong challenge on the ball, but it bounces off the attacker right to Patrice Evra in his own penalty area.  His lazy nonchalance is quickly penalized in the most damaging of ways, as Ivica Olic steps through the play, weaves past Ferdinand and calmly strokes the ball past the helpless Van der Sar in net.  A classic example of tired, lazy and nervous defending.

Defending the Counterattack

The first clip that I have added here is a clip of how to defend on the counterattack.  Arsenal has won a free kick and driven the ball to the far post.  The Celtic defender has headed it high and wide, out to Denilson of Arsenal on the wing.  Denilson tries to break down two defenders on the dribble, loses the ball and the counterattack is on for Celtic.  Pay attention to Thomas Vermealen charging down the bottom of your screen as he tries to regain good defensive shape.  The counterattack is best, both on offense and defense, when it is done with speed and determination.  Celtic runs a technically sound counterattack with good passing and great off the ball running and is a bit unlucky to get little from this counterattack but a corner kick.  Defensively, Arsenal does just enough to slow down the counter, giving Vermealen just enough time to get back and make a heroic clearance in the box. 

This specific play is at second :40 on this clip, but the rest of the clip is classic centre back play!

 Counterattacking Football

The American Way

The video of Landon Donovan’s goal, scored off the counterattack against Brazil in the 2009 Confederation’s Cup, is a classic example of counterattacking football.  All the components of attractive attacking soccer play out in these temporarily glorious 15 seconds.  (The US lost the the Confed Cup final 3-2 on an 83rd minute header by Luis Fabiano.)

Brazil wins a corner kick off a shot on Tim Howard.  Spector wins the header and knocks it out of the box, straight to a Brazilian, who plays it wide.  The wide playing Brazilian puts a lazy, off-target pass square across the top of the box.  Ricardo Clark alertly steps into the passing lane and lays a one-time pass into the angled run of Landon Donovan, who was off as soon as he saw that Clark would win the ball.  The lovely pass of Clark allows Donovan to maintain speed and start to accelerate.  He catches up to the ball and strikes a first-time pass into the lane of the charging Charlie Davies, who angles his run a little wide so that he can cut the ball across the top of the Brazilian box with his left foot on his first touch.  This picture perfect pass by Davies allows Donovan to draw his recovering marking player past him as he cuts the ball across his body with his right foot.  The ball pops up softly and lands sweetly in the shooting stride of Landon’s left foot, which he uses to drill a bullet into the right hand corner against the completely fooled keeper.  

All the components of quality attacking football are here to see.  Solid defending, great anticipation of the passing lanes, quick release, mobile attackers always at the ready to counterattack, great first touches and confident finishing in the box.  Perfect!  Watch and enjoy. 

RJF 3/23/10