Soccer Drills - Transition
Quick transitions for a fast counter-attack
A quick transition game has become somewhat of a trademark of modern and most of all successful soccer. Teams who can take advantage of their opponent's slow transitioning between offense and defense or vice versa have a clear advantage over their competition. Jurgen Klopp made the "Gegenpressing" of Borussia Dortmund world famous, by switching extremely quick between ball possession and surprising opposing teams. You can do the same with your squad!
We, at planet.training, got you covered if you want to improve those skills. We have thousands of soccer drills for any skill! You can directly start coaching with these four exercises or try hundreds of Premium Exercises and public drills in our soccer database.
3 vs 3 – A Transition Game
Set Up:
Two goals need to be set up with poles (Width 7m) on a 15m x 20m field. Divide the group into teams of three and sent two teams to each field. One of the two teams will get the ball in the middle of the field.
Execution:
The teams will play a “3 on 3” match on each field. The teams need to dribble across the goalline, in order the score a goal – Both goals can be attacked by each team! The attacking team needs to establish a fast passing and good transition game to create open spaces and make use of the circumstances that two goals can be attacked. Note that there should be a time limit of 30 seconds to each attack. If time expires, the ball is lost or the team scores a goal, the other team will kick off the ball in the middle of the field to start their attack. Playing time: 3 x 3 minutes.
2 +2 versus 2 - Majority in a small sided game
Set Up:
Set up a field of approx. 30m x 20m - One big goal on each end of the field. Three teams of 2 - One goalkeeper per goal. Place balls near goalkeeper for a quick pass, in case ball goes out of bounce.
Execution:
In this drill your players will learn to play a fast, yet controlled majority game, to take advantage of the situation. Team A (Blue) plays a free 2vs2 against Team B (Yellow). Neutral Team C (white) will always support the ball possessing team in their attack - After a goal Team C joins the attack around midfield.
Played with offside rule. After change of ball possession the neutral team C has to transition quickly as well. Because of the small sided game setting, this drill will get quite exhausting. Use little breaks where players can catch their breath to coach them up.
Defending the Counter Attack - "1 vs 3" to "3 vs 3”
Set Up:
Set up 2 Defender's stations (Orange) approx. 30m in front of the goal. Set up 3 Offensive Player's stations (white) 5m in front. One Defender is positioning himself 15m in front of the goal. Players line up at the stations - place balls at the center white station.
Execution:
This exercise starts with the center attacking player passing the ball to either the left or right wing player. As the pass is played, the two defenders, lining up behind the offensive players, start running backwards to support the defensive player in the orange zone.
The defender in the orange zone tries to slow down the approaching white team, to make use of the defensive recovery by the two running defenders. The approaching defenders, have to get into a good defensive position as quickly as possible - to prevent the white team from scoring.
1 vs 2 - Attack and Counter
Set Up:
Set up two goals with poles (width 3m) opposite of the big goal. Two defending zones (Size: 20m x 5m) are set up with each four cones. Distance between the zones is 5m. Determine two defenders and a goalkeeper, the other players line up behind a cone that is set up between the two pole goals. Each player at the cone should get a ball.
Execution:
The coach signals first player at the cone to start dribbling towards the two defenders waiting in their zone. Attacking player needs to dribble past both defenders, which are not allowed to leave their individual zones. If offensive player gets passed both defenders, he tries to score the goal against the goalkeeper. In case one of the defenders is able to intercept the ball, both defensive players will run a counter attack in a "2 on 1" against the previously attacking player.
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Register nowWithout passing and dribbling there is no scoring
Scoring and winning is the ultimate goal of any football game. Whether a volley shot, bicycle kick, header or instep drive. Any technique can be improved by practicing it during your soccer training sessions. However, without an effective passing game or a perfect dribbling, there would not even be a chance to score. Therefore, coaches should always combine several skills in their session plans. Shots on the goal are perfect for engaging in small-field games or passing drills. To make sure that your next session plan is created even faster, there are a lot of other drill examples and variations on our other exercise pages.
