Positional Play is a style of football that puts emphasis on where players are positioned both in and out of possession of the ball. Here we will take a look at the 5 most important points when implementing positional play into your team’s game.
Positional Play Basics (Part1): 10m Rule
Our first key concept is the 10m pass rule. Johan Cruyff explained this as he described FC Barcelona’s playing style and how positional play is important both in attack as well as defence.
By not playing passes more than 10m, a team is able to take advantage of close combinations. A good example are passing triangles, which are arguably the most important for a team who wants to stay in possession of the ball. Passing triangles, though not only a concept in positional play, are an effective way to ensure one player always opens a passing lane (of course this is provided the players off the ball move side to side to leave the opponents cover shadow).
In addition, players will not have to run more than 10m after losing the ball, which allows for an effective counter press. This is accentuated by the fact that the passing triangles are able to crowd the ball-carrier immediately on a loss of possession further increasing the chances of retrieving the ball.
In short: The 10m rule allows for close combinations and is ideal for possession based football. Since the philosophy requires players to come close together it also allows the team to prepare to defend, while attacking.
Of course there are always exceptions in football, and longer passes can also be very effective and are indeed often necessary. Tactics and strategies need to be implemented at the right moment.
Particularly in modern-day football where teams are defending increasingly compact, it can be more effective to play longer balls from deep before the opposition have time to organise. This however of course also increases the probability of losing the ball.
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Go to page 2 to read about the 5 zones of Positional Play!
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