24: Grow Coach Newsletter
Football Coaching: 7 Habits of highly effective attacking midfielders.
A warm welcome from JustCoachMD. We are happy to have you on board. We are looking forward to providing you with helpful content.
Here is what to expect:
Education: 7 habits of effective midfielders.
Activity 1: 3v3 Receiving and Facing Forwards.
Session Commentary: Tips on how to coach the practice.
The attacking midfielder position in football is one of the most fun, but the job also comes with many responsibilities. If you want to be a great attacking midfielder, then you need to take the time to learn what it takes to develop in that position.
Here are 7 tips to improve a player’s ability to play as an attacking midfielder.
Development of receiving skills: Using 1st touch to get into forward-facing positions.
Improve pass appreciation: Observing teammates and deciding on the type, speed and space the pass needs to arrive in.
Development of movement skills: Shaking off or dragging markers to create space for self or teammates.
Support play: Finding hurtful pockets of space that opponents do not want you to enter and receive the ball in them.
Improve long-range shooting: Being able to take shooting opportunities around the box by anticipating the space where the ball will drop or arrive.
Awareness of others: Relates to scanning surroundings and checking the movements and locations of teammates.
Be willing to defend and make recovery runs: Sprinting back toward the goal and marking, blocking or covering.
The tips can help players and coaches understand what to coach or what skills and abilities are required to perform consistently in this position. Coaches could assess their players in some of the areas identified and support them to make better decisions around these moments.
Develop Great Receiving skills
Attacking players are often going to be under pressure from opponents, mainly because they receive the ball mostly in the opponent’s half. Having a good first touch with both feet will allow these players to deal with the ball in tight areas and execute the next phase of an attack such as a dribble, pass, cross, or shot.
Coaches should therefore develop practices that allow the first touch to be practiced. A poor or predictable first touch will slow down the attack and make it easier for the defence to regain the ball.
A player with a good first touch will have more time on the ball, they will make quicker decisions to progress the attack and be able to attract pressure from the opponents.
The main receiving technique to develop is the ability to receive and face forward in one smooth motion. This will often require the player to scan before receiving the ball to know if this is possible.
Another receiving technique would be recognizing the time to use a no-touch turn which means reading the speed of the pass and letting the ball run across their body. The player must scan before they receive the ball and if successful the player will be facing forwards in space to attack.
The final receiving technique attacking midfielders should aim to master is protecting and shielding the ball and using their first touch to buy themselves time on the ball. This type of receiving often involves the sole and means the first touch goes backwards or is stopped dead between their feet so the player can set themselves for the defender’s pressure.
Improve Pass Appreciation
Good pass appreciation is key to getting the right amount of power on passes. Coaching players to pass with different parts of the foot such as the inside for accuracy, the laces for power and pace, or the outside for disguise is important.
TIP: Develop practices that allow players to work on ranges and types of passes. Include game-based decisions so the player has to decide on the following:
Where do they want the pass to go?
Feet or space, in the air or along the floor, fast or slow pass?
Where does the teammate want to receive the ball?
The attacker must read the receiver’s body position.
An open body position would indicate a pacey pass to the receiver’s back foot so they can turn quickly.
A player facing the passer with their back to play will want the ball passed in front of them so they can go to meet the ball.
Where the space is?
If a player is marked tight then rather than passing into feet it may be a good idea to pass into space for the run of the attacking player.
The attacker will pick a space a few meters ahead of the receiver so they can step onto the ball.
Where is the opponent?
The passer should observe where the opponent is positioned and then decide where to play the pass.
Attackers should anticipate where the defenders are going to be. The weight of the pass can be important, especially when the ball is being played between two defensive players.
If a through ball pass is under hit the opponent can regain it and attack quickly. Ball speed is vital for breaking the lines of opponent pressure.
Development of Movement Skills
The movement to lose a marker is an essential skill for attacking midfielders. They need to be supporting the play and showing their feet to the ball carrier.
Ideally between or behind opponents.
The following movements are important:
Single movements: Explosive off-the-mark changes of speed to get into a space to receive the ball.
Double movements: Help to deceive defenders and prepare the space the attacker wants to receive the ball in. The first movement is for the defender to drag them out of position. The second movement is for the ball carrier to show where the receiver wants the ball.
Triple movements: Adds another movement to the double to hide or disguise the intent. The idea is to shake off a marker so the attacker can receive the ball into feet or space.
Defenders like to stay close to midfielders. It’s important that attacking midfielders try to move into spaces between players or off the back of a defender, rather than be marked by a player by standing in front of them.
TIPS:
Encourage players to move off the back of players who are marking them so they are harder to pick up.
Attackers should practice moving off defenders at angles so it becomes easier for the receiver to deal with the ball and know what options are available.
‘THINK AND ADAPT, ADAPT AND THINK, SEE AND ADAPT, ADAPT AND SEE, FOOTBALL IS CEREBRAL’ (XAVI)
Support Play
This involves two skills anticipation and scanning. The player must anticipate what the opponent is looking to do and see ahead of time how teammates are going to react.
TIP: Encourage the attacking midfielder to look for space to exploit. Attacking midfielders should ask themselves where is the most hurtful space to receive the ball.
The space could be below, beside, between or behind the opponents.
The 4 B’s of support play.
Below: This means that the space to receive the ball is in front of the defending player. The defender can see the midfielder but the dangerous positioning can draw them out of position.
This can create options and opportunities for others If the defender steps out to mark the attacker. Alternatively, it allows the midfielder to turn if the defender holds their position.
A single movement is usually enough to get on the ball if the space is below.
TIP: Encourage midfielders to make runs below to drag defenders out of position, they may not get the ball but they can cause problems for the opponent if the run is tracked.
Beside: The space is at the side of the defender. The ball is received by the attacker in line with the shoulder of the defender.
A tight touch can eliminate the defender easily if they try to dive in and steal the ball.
A double movement is often useful, In movement one the attacker can step into the defender and give them a little shove, in movement two the attacker checks off to the side to receive the ball.
TIP: If the space is at the sides of an opponent the coach can encourage the attacking midfielder to drag the defender into a wider space. This can open up a passing lane for the ball carrier to play through or give the attacking midfielder time on the ball if the defender decides to hold their position.
Between: The best space is between two players and slightly behind them. The ball is received between two players which is great because it eliminates them from the game if the speed of the pass cuts through them.
If the space is between players the coach must encourage the ball carrier to fire their pass through the gap between the players to take them out of the game and the attacking midfielder must take up the correct sideways body position to take advantage of the pass they have received.
Tip: The receiver of the pass can start close to one defender and then move off the back of them centrally to receive a through pass. The receiver of the between pass should face forward, then pass forward.
Beyond: This means the space is behind the defender. The player would be running onto a through ball from the passer. The defender ends up in a foot race with the attacker. The attacker has the advantage of being forward-facing so they have a head start.
The passer has to see the space behind and the receiver has to disguise their intent by using double or triple movements before running onto the ball.
It can be useful for the attacker to cut across the front of the defender as they run forward to stop the defender from getting in front.
Tip: Timing of the run can be important to get on the end of through balls. If the attacker goes too early they risk being offside. So the receiver's pre-ball movements are important, dropping deep, pulling wide and finally running forward.
KEY POINT: Awareness of space is about giving the opposition problems, through clever support movement and tactical positioning. Players need to provide the opponent with a problem, should the defender follow the attacker’s movements? or should they hold their position?
These moments of hesitation from defenders allow attacking midfielders time and space to create and exploit.
Improve Long Range Shooting
Encourage players to get a balance between trying to set up teammates and shooting. So rather than attacking midfielders always trying to set others up, they should be encouraged to look for opportunities to shoot, especially when they can get faced up behind the opponent’s midfielders.
If attacking midfielders are faced up they should be encouraged to run at opponents with the ball and get into a position to shoot.
The running with the ball at defenders will often get the defender to commit to regaining the ball, therefore a pass may also be an option here.
If the defender keeps dropping off the attacking midfielders should spot this and take on the shooting opportunity.
A benefit of being a good passer means opponents will often expect the pass and will keep dropping off thus opening up the space for the attacking midfielder to attack and shoot.
When opponents start stepping out to deal with the shot then coaches should encourage the attacking midfielder to think about passing again.
This game of cat and mouse will keep the opposition guessing, the best-attacking midfielders can feed on the hesitation of the opponent and exploit the opposite decision that the defender makes.
TIP: Top-scoring midfielders use the defender to block the view of the goalkeeper, before shooting. They get the defender to plant their feet then shift the ball to shoot across the bodies of the defenders. This can mean that the goalkeeper does not see the shot until it’s too late.
Develop an Awareness of Others
Coaches should encourage attacking midfielders to develop their awareness of the movements and actions of other players in the team. Practice is a great time for attacking midfielders to develop an awareness of their teammates’ instincts on the field.
Scanning is a vital component of game intelligence. Coaches need to share ideas with players about the best times to scan:
Before the ball even arrives players should be checking out the spaces around them and adjusting their position to the ball, the opponent and teammates.
As the ball is travelling between players. This is a great time to take an extra scan to make sure the picture they have is still available.
It may need more than one scan. Encourage the player to look more than once.
Some players spin their heads but forget to take in the information. Remind players what they are looking for (space, options, opponents, teammates).
Coaches should expect it to take time to improve relationships between different players in and around the attacking midfielders but it is necessary to build into a successful football team.
Once attacking midfielders get a feel for what their teammates are likely to do in various attacking situations it will start to become much easier.
The coach will play a role here as they may have to provide the attacking midfielders with the triggers to look for once they receive the ball in an area to attack.
Here are some examples of triggers for the attacker to share the ball:
A defender jumping out of position so a pass could be played into that area.
A team playing with a high defensive line may encourage passes into space behind the defenders for a runner to chase.
Overloads, the attackers have more players than the defenders.
A positional advantage, such as a slow defender against a fast one.
TIP: Try not to tell the player what to do in every situation. The coach must share the information for the midfielders to make the correct choice.
Be Willing to Defend and Make Recovery Runs
Coaches need to get their attacking midfielders to develop a willingness to run back into position to help out with defensive responsibilities.
Attacking midfielders will often attempt passes that are at a higher risk of losing the ball so they need to be encouraged to react quickly and help their teammates defend upon any losses of possession.
One of the main jobs of the attacking midfielders upon any loss of possession is to make play predictable and prevent attacks through the middle of the field or slow down any counterattacks the opponent tries to make following any regains.
This will either be sprinting towards the ball at an angle to force it towards the sides of the pitch or sprinting back into a position to help reduce the space the opponent has to attack.
The main concept to coach the player is to encourage a positive reaction from any loss of possession which encourages other players in the team to do the same.
Related Questions
What type of practices will help players to develop these attributes?
Directional small-sided practices where players have to attack, small goals, zones, or gates will be really useful.
For Younger players, 1 v 1, 2 v 2, or 3 v 3 practices where the players must receive the ball with their back to play are also excellent practice setups to support the development of these attributes.
Should I try to coach all of these things in one practice?
No, I would suggest picking maybe two at a time and spending time during the practice helping the attacking midfielders make good decisions when applying some of the coaching advice.
3v3 Receiving to Face Forwards
Created On: @SSPlanner
Set-Up:
Narrow pitch (30 yards by 14 yards) split into thirds with shaded zones (see image).
Teams:
🟢s are support players they are limited to 1 touch. They have to play into the attacking team ⚫️s.
🟢s can pass to each other once then it must go into a ⚫️.
1 x 🟢 can move up to support the attack, as they leave a third. They are still on a one-touch limit.
⚫️s v 🔴s Start 1v1 in the first two zones.
How to play:
🟢s play into ⚫️s. They have to get turned and dribble into the next zone before being able to combine.
Once in the middle zone, the ⚫️s can dribble or pass over the next line.
Finally, the ⚫️s must get into the shaded zone before scoring in the mini goal.
🔴s win the ball and can score off the 🟢s with a 1st-time finish or by dribbling into the end zone to score.
Rotate the roles of the players so they experience each role in the practice.
Session Commentary
Tips on how to coach the activity
Player Intention: Take up the correct body position to face forward and play forward.
Coach Pay Attention:
The scanning of the receiver
Receiving skills the player uses to face forwards
Do the attackers use disguised double movements to lose the defender?
The type of pass used by the attackers to set up the attack
Notice how:
The number of scans the player uses
How the attackers adjust their bodies to see the full pitch
The changes in speed and direction to shake off a marker.
The timing, quality and accuracy of the pass to set up the attacker
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