Haverford Analysis

College Defending

In an interesting match at Kean earlier this month, Haverford fell 2-1 in OT.  With suspensions and injuries depleting the starting lineup, Haverford sat in low pressure and absorbed Kean's attacks, conceding a great deal of possession, but still had a chance to win with a 1-0 lead as late as the 86th minute.

The efficacy of low pressure defending is seen all over the world, and at all levels.  While everyone would love to play flowing football with lots of passes and combinations, it is rare to have the requisite talent to do so.  Our own Philly Union have shown this year how solid defensive organization and pragmatism can get results repeatedly.

Kean have wonderful, technical players, but even for that talent, it was tough sledding against a team determined to minimize mistakes by keeping the game small and manageable.  However, it wasn't as clean a performance as it could have been (of course!) and the value of possession and patience can be seen below.

In the first still frame we see a good shape and starting position by the red (Haverford).  However, Kean are patient and simply roll the ball from one outside back across to the other, to the tune of three or four times in this particular possession.  There isn't much space here for the Kean attack to advance the ball:

On the third switch of play, we see the second still frame:

Here things are getting dicier.  The outside backs have become far too stretched, essentially opening up huge spaces for the midfielders to play in, and making it very tough for the Haverford center mids to help each other out.  The Kean wingers are in 1v1 situations with lots of space; the Haverford CBs will find it tough to get out to cover the outside backs.  The 1v1 between the ACM for Kean and the lone HCM for Haverford (inside the center circle) is a good situation for Kean as well.  

The main problem is that the Haverford ACM (red arrow) hasn't closed down the Kean HCM fast enough and this may allow that Kean player to face the back four, and play positive passes into advanced teammates who now have more space than we'd like to operate.  This may be a result of the Haverford forward and ACM pressing too high up the field so they are chasing across too much space (with too little support the team is stretched,) or they have lost their shape/starting position as the outside back begins to swing the ball back across the field so the ACM is late to press the holder, or that the back 4 and holders did not move up to provide cover for the two forward players...I won't say in this space which the staff prefer...but for certain the left-to-right dimension is far too wide.

Credit must be given to Kean for their patience and skill, and it's a fine lesson in why slightly dull ball swinging through the back 4 is useful- no team can maintain their shape integrity indefinitely defensively.  However, it's simple enough to fix this spacing and pressing issues - much harder to learn the creative and high speed play to break that defending down.  Jose Mourinho has made a very good living allowing his opponent to have the ball based on the assumption that the team with the ball will make more mistakes than the team without; SPEC goals.  Set Pieces, Errors, Counters.  The stuff coaches live in terror of!

Defending Crosses

Nerves Of Steel

Here's why the old-fashioned cry of "just put it in the box" is ill-advised.  Mind you, GKs have been doing this stuff for decades...but these days the level of organization inside the penalty area means that GKs and backs are accounting for very small margins.  Attackers must be very cool and precise to break down such defenses.

Wojciech Szczesny pulls out all the stops to defend this Man City cross.  The attack comes from a tough angle for the GK as the player with the ball is able to threaten the goal, particularly if the defender over-pursues and allows him to run at the goal.  The attacker is also well-positioned to play a ball between the GK and the covering CB (Per Mertesacker) for the central attacker to run on to.  To mitigate some of these threats, Szczesny does a quick little cheat move, though in the end the attacker elected to play a ball into a space reasonably comfortably covered by Mertesacker who cleared over the endline for a corner.  For a GK, however, the lesson is a good one in terms of excellent footwork and timing to gain an advantage...perhaps his movements forced the crosser to pick out a less dangerous pass.

With the attacker just approaching the edge of penalty area, Szczesny has a solid, if basic, starting position:

As the attacker is put under a small bit of pressure, puts his head down to attack the defender and advance into the penalty area, Szczesny jumps a yard or more, nearly to the top of the 6 yard area to get a jump on the ball played centrally:

As the cross is played, Szczesny identifies that the ball is an excellent one, and unplayable by the GK.  He now relies on Mertesacker to cover the top of the 6 as Szczesny prepares to face a shot in case Mertesacker gets beaten to the ball...most key is that as soon as the cross is played, Szczesny has recovered back to the goal line, his original starting position so that he can cover the goal line laterally from a strong position and an athletic posture - he has given himself every possible chance to save a shot:

Here's the replay from a different angle.  The attacker enters the penalty area, and Szczesny has moved from his left shoulder outside the back post to his right shoulder inside the back post:

Jumped out to here as attacker looks up...

...and slides back to the goal line as the attacker plays the cross.

Forward's Movement

Marco Di Vaio On The Back Shoulder

While Di Vaio doesn't actually touch the ball on this goal V. LA, it's where he starts from and how he moves that is crucial.  First, in still images, see how he is behind the defender as his teammate slips the ball to the wide Montreal player:

Watch it in real time:

Di Vaio did score on this one...and the same sort of movement can be seen again.

In real time...see how Di Vaio's running creates a lovely 3 v 2 for a moment at the top of the 18...and his hard work is rewarded with an easy tap-in goal:

Annual Tradition

A Fine Reminder

Passed on to me from a friend, this column is a great nudge to all adults involved in "youth" soccer...

This column is for the kids. Adults can stop reading now.

By Mike Woitalla

Dear Soccer-Playing Children of America,

The fall season is underway and I'm hoping you're having a great time. I'm hoping that you're playing soccer more than you have to stand in line and do drills.

I hope you're falling in love with the soccer ball and keep it with you as much as you can. Juggling it. Kicking it against a wall. Dribbling it around in your backyard.

And I especially hope that your parents aren't screaming at you during your soccer games.

I worry that you probably do get yelled at, because that's what I see at almost all the youth soccer games I go to. Hopefully you just ignore it. But I don't blame you if it bothers you.

No one enjoys getting screamed at. Sure, if you start crossing the street on a red light or throw a toy at your little sister or brother, your parents are justified in raising their voices. But they shouldn't scream at you while you're playing a game.

If they do, it doesn't mean they're bad people. But, unfortunately, sports does something to adults that makes them behave in ways they usually wouldn't.

You may have noticed this if you've watched sports on TV. A coach, for example, dresses up in a fancy suit and throws tantrums like a 3-year-old.

Get adults around sports and all of a sudden they forget the same manners they try to teach you. In a way, sports are like driving. A grown-up gets behind the wheel and all of a sudden forgets you're not supposed to pick your nose in public.

And when grown-ups go watch their children play soccer, they, for some reason, think it's OK to scream like maniacs. Perhaps they don't realize what they're doing. Like the nose-pickers on the freeway who think they've suddenly gone invisible.

I hope you're able to block out all the sideline noise. But maybe you do hear their shouts. Telling you when to shoot the ball, when to pass it. Ignore all that!

You need to dribble the ball. Try to dribble past players. If you're dribbling too much, your teammates will let you know. And they'll help you make the decision of when to pass and when to dribble.

You decide when to shoot. When you're dribbling toward the goal and the goalkeeper is 20 yards away, and the adults are screaming at you to shoot, don't pay attention. Because if you get closer to the goal, it will be harder for the goalkeeper to stop your shot.

One of the really cool things about my job is that I get to interview the best coaches in America. And you know what the national team coaches tell me? They say young players are far more likely to become great players if they're allowed to make their own decisions when they play soccer.

They say that coaches should coach at practice, and when it's game time, it's time for the children to figure things out on their own. It's like at school. The teachers help you learn. Your parents may help you with homework. But when you get a test, you're on your own.

That's just an analogy. I'm not saying soccer is school! Soccer is your playtime.

I hope you have lots of playtime, on the soccer field and elsewhere. But I bet that you don't have as much time playing without adults around as we did when we were children.

When we were kids we had summer days when we would leave the house in the morning, be only with other children all day, then see our parents when we got back in the late afternoon.

Things have changed. The reasons adults are much more involved in your activities than they were when they were children are complicated, and a result of your parents' good intentions.

But sometimes we adults forget how important it is for you to play without us interfering. We love watching you play, especially on the soccer field, because it is such a wonderful sport. But we need to be reminded that it's your playtime.

You should decide. Ignore the shouts if you can. But don't be afraid to say, "I'm trying my best. Please, don't scream at me."