Attacker's Movements

Creating Options

A hot topic in the circles I'm running in these days is the movement of the front players when they're off the ball...how to get players to be more dynamic (and yet not frenetic/chaotic) and purposeful when breaking the final line of defense is starting to feel like the holy grail.  Or shopping for unicorns.

Here's a couple GIFs of good movement...very likely the first installment of a series, as these are merely two examples of a great many patterns of movement players may choose from.

MLS haters are fighting a losing battle.  The wide player attacks toward the center as two teammates surge forward, cross their runs, then recover back to remain onside, and execute very tidy combination play to create the goal.  Great stuff.

If you're talking off-the-ball-movement, you have to talk Barcelona.  This is Guardiola-era stuff, but wow...

Wide player is patient, stays wide, receives the ball and attacks centrally, the forwards watch closely, and when the teammate with the ball is facing goal with a bit of room to work, they surge forward and cross their runs, execute an unselfish pass inside 8 yards from goal and score.  The flowing nature of this movement, even with the players who don't touch the ball, is wondrous to watch:

The full video of this GIF is at the bottom...4 minutes of top-class analysis: