Amazing facts about soccer, for parents and kids, order here
When Frank Rijkaard was the coach for Barcelona, he did the following exercise. He would let the team stand on the pitch and shoot a ball on the pitch randomly. Depending on where the ball was, players would act accordingly and assume their positions. Knowing where to position yourself, both during ball position and when the opposition has the ball might just land you a position in a professional soccer academy.
Can You Read?
Ronald Koeman was one of the best defenders at his time. His shot was fast, but his legs were slow. Even though Koeman was very slow, he had the ability to read the game. Reading the game means knowing what to do and how to do it. The right moment and action are determent by the action being successful. This could mean retrieving the ball, scoring a goal or stopping an attack from the other team. Reading the game consist of making the right choices (decisions) and standing in the right position.
A study looked at possible qualities and the chance of becoming a professional player. These qualities range from strength, speed, ball control, etc. For midfield players, the qualities that were most associated with becoming a professional midfield player were positioning and deciding. Players with these qualities were 6 times more likely to become professional soccer players than those without. The authors concluded
“Positioning and deciding appeared to be the tactical skill that best predicts adult performance level (P<0.05). This is especially true for midfielders, with the correct classification of elite youth players in the range of 80%. For players scoring high on this skill, the odds ratios indicated a 6.60 times greater chance that a player became a professional than players scoring low (P<0.05).”
Kannekens, Rianne & Elferink-Gemser, Marije & Visscher, C. (2011). Positioning and deciding: Key factors for talent development in soccer. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports. 21. 846-52. 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2010.01104.x.
My Advice For Midfield Players
Ever played chess? One of the fundamentals of chess is to control the middle of the board. The reason for this is fairly simple. From the middle of the board, your chess pieces can go in all directions, giving you more options. The midfield in soccer is similar to chess, from a central position; you can go backward, forward, left, and right. By having control of the midfield when possessing a ball, you largely control the game.
One tactic that is often used to defeat a team is by pulling the central midfield player of the opposite team out of the center. Coaches can protect against this by defending in zones and letting teammates in other positions take over. Coaches usually put an older player as defending midfield player, this player will “hold the fort” during an attack, to make sure a counterattack cannot be easily made.
The difficulty of midfield players consists of deciding when to forego your position and make an action to retrieve/conquer the ball or attempt a shot on goal/make a defensive action. Players who know when to perform an action, and when not to, are valuable assets to a team. These midfield players usually measure their game according to making the right decisions at the right time.
How Can I Start Reading The Game
The difference between an average 11-year-old soccer player and a 14-year-old player is maturity. While an 11-year-old will often time still chase the ball, a 14-year-old can start to read the game and think a couple of passes ahead and see the consequences of possibly losing the ball or losing his/her position.
The first step in reading the game is to observe and stop looking at just the ball. By observing and looking for opportunities while the ball is not in your possession, your game will improve. For example, by keeping an eye on the goalie, you can figure out habits. Is the goalie always standing too far from his own goal? Is the goalie bad with his/her feet? If a goalie stays at the goal, it means there is space between the defensive line and the goalie, while when a goalie plays far away from the goal line, the player with a good shot might have a go.
By critically looking at the other team, you can start reading the game. Simple questions to ask are
- Which players are slow, and which players are fast?
- Who in the opposite team always does the sam3 thing?
- Which players have good ball handling, and which have bad handling?
- Which side of the team is weak, and which side is strong?
By observing the opponent and knowing your team’s strength you can draw logical conclusions and think a step ahead.
Examples Of Game Readers
Modric, Pirlo, Xavi. These players have no special physical qualities and actually are below average in some way. Modric is not fast, or strong, Pierlo is slow (compared to others) and Xavi is not a good header. These players, however, are game readers, and always seem to be at the right place at the right time. By following the basic rules in this article, Who knows, you might be the next game reader.
Read more about how to become a professional soccer playerofesinal soccer player here