Match moments / The ball changes hands

We have just lost it

The ball is gone and their player is looking down at it. The next five seconds decide whether they counter or we win it back near their goal, and then what we do with it.

In the match

Play it as
  1. Decision 1Number 10
  2. Decision 2Midfielder
  3. Decision 3Striker
1081196GK
  • Us
  • Them
  • Pass
  • Run
  • Dribble

You are 10, the player who lost it.

You have just been tackled. What now?

Play the build-up, then choose.

How you know it is happening

  • You, or a teammate near you, has just lost the ball.
  • Their player is facing their own goal or looking down at the ball.
  • Two or three of our players are within a few metres.

Why it works

Just after a team wins the ball, its players are still in defending positions and the player on the ball is not ready. That is the best moment to win it back, and the closest we will ever be to their goal.

The tactics behind it

Your job, by position

  • AM
    Attacking midfielder
    • If you lost it, you press first. No stopping.
    • Press the player on the ball from the side of their best pass.
  • CM
    Central midfielder
    • Close the nearest pass, not the ball.
    • Be ready to win the loose ball after the heavy touch.
    • When we win it, look forward first.
  • ST
    Striker
    • Block the pass back to their defence.
    • When we win it, show for the ball between their defenders.
    • Shoot early: their defence is not set.
  • CB
    Centre-back
    • Step up so the gap behind the press is small.
    • Mark their forward tightly in case the press fails.
  • DM
    Holding midfielder
    • Stay in front of the defence: you stop the counter if the press fails.
    • Be the safe pass back if we win it.

How to explain it

  • Teach the five-second rule: press for five seconds, then drop.
  • Celebrate the regain as loudly as the goal.
  • Make the player who lost it the first presser. Every time.

On the training pitch

  1. On your ownClose down and jockeyThe technique underneath it, with a ball and some space.
  2. The practiceDribble and stealThe same decision, over and over, with a little pressure.
  3. The gameWin it highA small-sided game set up so the moment keeps happening.

Set the game up so it keeps happening

  • A goal scored within five seconds of winning the ball back counts double.
  • If the team that loses it wins it back within five seconds, they get a point.
  • Play 4v4 in a small area so the ball changes hands often.

Three things to say

  • Press at once.
  • The next two close the nearest passes.
  • Five seconds, then drop.

On Saturday

For the player
For the coach

Tick them off on the day. Nothing is saved: print the page if you want to keep it.

After the whistle

Ask yourself

  • After losing it, did you ever stop?
  • Did your press win it, or force a backwards pass?

What to look back on

  • How many counter-attacks did they get from our lost balls?
  • Did the back line step up behind the press?

Next moment: We have just won it All match moments