Holding Midfielder: Screen the Strikers
Three midfielders try to pass into two strikers. A holding midfielder in a screening zone moves with the ball to block the passing lanes, and two centre-backs mark the strikers.
- Age
- U13–Senior
- Players
- 8–10
- Duration
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Intensity
- High
- Area
- 30 × 30 m
- Type
- Tactical
- Approach
- Global
- Format
- Positional game
- Objectives
- Tactical: Defensive organisation, Pressing
- Concepts worked on
- Technical:Interception
- Tactical:CoverCompactnessMarking
Training diagram
Legend
- Attacker
- Defender
- Pass
- Run without ball
- Ball
- Cone
The defensive midfielder protects the back line by standing in the passing lanes, not by chasing the ball. In this game the screening player must shift with every pass to keep the ball and the strikers on opposite sides of their body. The centre-backs learn to step in when a pass gets through.
Objective
Block passing lanes into the strikers by positioning in front of the defence.
Organisation
- Area of 30 × 30 m: a 10 m zone at the top for three midfielders, an 8 m screening zone in the middle, a 10 m zone at the bottom for two strikers and two centre-backs.
How it works
- Midfielders pass and try to find a striker; a pass that reaches a striker who controls it is a point.
- The holding midfielder may only move inside the screening zone.
- Defenders who win the ball score by passing to a coach behind the midfielders. 4 × 3 minutes; rotate the holding midfielder.
Coaching points
- Shift as the ball travels; stay on the line between the ball and the nearest striker.
- Body half-open to see the ball and the striker behind you.
- Centre-backs: tight to the striker, step in front when the pass is weak.
Progressions
- Four midfielders.
- A second holding midfielder (double pivot).
Regressions
- Midfielders two-touch only.
Variations
- Strikers can drop into the screening zone, followed by a centre-back.
Key principles
- Block the lane, not the ball.
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