By Stretching The Opponents

"A defense in retreat will funnel back towards its own goal with the primary objective of sealing off space near the goal to the attacking players." 9 This can be seen by looking at the recovery lines for defenders. When the opponents are in possession of the ball, teams want to stay compact and limit the amount of space between and inside of their own lines. "Football is a game of opposites and, therefore, having funneled back to restrict space and win the ball the first requirement in attack is to spread out and create space by stretching the opposition from side to side." 9 Establishing width is the attackers answer for the defenders concentration. It helps to open up space between the players in a line.

In the diagram on the right, the orange goalkeeper has just won the ball and the three backs run straight up the field, the black lines. With these runs the two blue forwards will be able to mark all three of the of the orange players. But, if the two outside backs run parallel to the end line, the yellow lines, they both will take up wide positions giving the blue forwards a big problem.

"It is also a fault for the player with the ball... to pass the ball before the player has reached his position. The result is twofold: either the player stops to receive the ball in a position which is less than wide, or the ball is intercepted because the ball is short of pace and fails to reach the player who continues his run into a wide position." 9

Teams can also be stretched the length of the field. The effect of this is to increase the space between the lines. See an example and an explanation of this at Striker is Too Far Back. Also see Shape, Size and Space.

Movement

Defenders react to three things; the movement of the ball, the movement of opponents and the movement of their teammates. Since the attackers control two out of the three they have an advantage in deciding where defenders should be. Creating space is largely a matter of moving defenders out of good defensive positions into poor ones or freezing them in a position and at a moment they don't want to be in.

Attacking Players With And Without The Ball

In diagram 1 the blue attacker runs with the ball across the field towards the corner flag. Both orange defenders follow him across the field. They don't see the run as dangerous and are content to buy time and jockey across the field, because in soccer, time favors the defense.

In diagram 2, both orange players have been pulled into poor defensive positions as the second blue attacker moves in behind them to receive a pass. (This is an example of an attacker creating space by standing still. He lets the defenders move away from him.) The attacker with the ball was able to create space for his teammate with the run. The defenders followed the movement of the ball and the other attacker and left open the space for the second attacker to move into. A quick switch in the direction of play can destroy a defense. Defenders hate having the ball played into the space they just left.

In diagram 3 a lone orange defender faces two blue attackers. The attacker with the ball dribbles at speed, straight at, and attacks the defender. This type of challenge usually results in the defender standing his ground and often makes him stand square to the attacker. The key is that the attacker goes all out, it's all or nothing. If the defender stands his ground the space behind him becomes vulnerable. In this case he has stopped retreating and the attackers will attempt to exploit it, either with a pass or through the dribble. Teams that contain players who know how, when, where and why to dribble have an advantage when they are in possession. Players that can make space for themselves or their teammates on their own at any time pose an incredible problem for their opponents.

Diagram 4 shows an example of a decoy run. The attacker with the ball is facing two defenders in good defensive positions. The pressurizing player has support and the situation is under control. The second blue attacker makes a run in front of the supporting defender and calls for the ball, blue line. The supporting player reacts to the run and follows the attacker, orange line. (Defenders will react when attackers try to run into the space behind them. That is why attackers who do not want the ball run in front of defenders and call for the ball.) Now, without a supporting defender the first attacker takes on the pressurizing defender in a 1v1 and tries to go past him on the inside, yellow line. In youth soccer decoy runs are few and far between. Any time that a child makes a run they expect to get the ball. This is a subtle skill, and when you consider how often it could be used is worth the time to teach.

The diagram at left shows two examples of checking back. In number 1 the orange number 8 simply moves towards his teammate for a pass and brings the defender with him. In fact, once the pass has been made it is likely to become a foot race between the two for the ball. This situation robs the orange team of the space they want to use, players can end up on top of each other, and makes it harder for the number 8 to control the ball.

In example number 2 the number 8 first moves away from the space that he wants to use and the defender follows him and tries to stay goal side. The number 8 then cuts back quickly towards the pass. This helps to keep the space open between the attackers and helps to back the defender off of the number 8 as he will have a hard time making up the lost first step. Checking back can also be used with the deep pass. If there is enough space between the two attackers the player who will receive the pass first moves towards his teammate. Then, when he has drawn the defender in, he can turn quickly and move back into the deep space.

Creating Space Through Technique

Above we saw how dribbling can create space by either moving or freezing defenders. Screening is another dribbling technique that is related to space. When a player with the ball is under close pressure, has very little space, his vision will go down and his entire field of vision will be a matter of a few feet or yards around the ball. Some useful advice for young players caught in this situation is not to panic and, if you're not sure where the defenders are "move where you know they're not." Too often young players get impatient and simply try to fight their way through the opponent(s) and lose the ball. They don't take advantage of what space they do have to keep possession until help arrives or they can dribble out of trouble.

Good ball control, first touch, is another ingredient in creating space. Good players control the ball, poor players chase it. But ball control is not an end in itself. It is a means to accomplish other tasks, so the first touch should set up the next action. Whether it's a shot, dribble or pass the first touch should enable the game to move onto the next play. This means controlling the ball, keeping it alive and moving. (Kill the ball, kill the game.) Two or three touch, ball can't stop games encourage this type of play. Finally, if a player is under pressure, they should control the ball away from the pressure.

Long range shooting also creates space. Teams that have players who can shoot from long range will benefit when they do. Defenders cannot drop back into the penalty area and build a wall close to the goal. They'll have to come forward and defend farther out than they might want too leaving space behind them.

Quick, accurate passing is one of the best ways to create space in the opponents defense because no player can out run the ball. For teams to be able to play "circulation football" 6 they'll need:

Excellent TIC for their level. . None of these elements alone is not enough. A wide range and scope of techniques are needed. Two footed players that can disguise their intentions; that can play over very long distances and in very small spaces; that maintain their concentration and composure under pressure. And the quality of the TIC will be relative to the demands of the game.

Keep the ball on the ground. Teams can only play quickly, consistently, when they are able to move the ball on the ground. Taking the air route only appears faster but results in players chasing the ball as opposed to using it. Children moving too early onto the big field and 11 a side struggle with this and the game often degrades into a battle to control geography as opposed to controlling the ball and the opponents.

"Effective attacking play is not possible without the creation of space. The greater the range of techniques which a team employs to create space the more difficult it will be for opponents to establish a composed and effective defense." 9

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