Rotate on the wing

Why it works

Defenders who mark a player are pulled out of position when that player moves. When three of us move at once, somebody ends up free in the space behind.

What players do

• One player drops towards the ball, pulling a marker with them.
• Another runs into the space that player left.
• The third fills in behind for balance.
• Keep a triangle: there must always be a pass inside, a pass down the line and a pass back.

Common mistakes

• Two players arriving in the same space.
• Rotating with no ball pressure, so it changes nothing.
• Nobody filling in behind, so a lost ball means a counter down our side.

With young players

Start with "swap" games in threes: whenever one player comes short, another must go long.

Drawn on a 105 × 68 m pitch, showing the part where it happens. Orange attacks left to right and the other team is in blue; numbers are the usual shirt numbers for each position.

Put it into your own team's plan in the team builder, and see what it asks of each player.

Next: The underlap