ANIMATION / 10v10 / 3-2-4 / VERSUS A REAL OPPONENT
Shifting against
a real opponent
The same shifting model, now with a team to defend against. Watch them move the ball between players while our block slides — and watch who they leave free.
watch them pass — or switch to free ball and drag it yourself
MODE
THEIR SHAPE
WHAT THEY DO
SHOW
BLOCK WIDTH–
BLOCK DEPTH–
PHASE–
MUST TUCK IN–
LW–
RW–
FREE ATTACKERS–
MOST DANGEROUS–
Mid block
KEY
us
them (lowercase)
their free man
the ball
nearest presser
furthest — must tuck
What to say while they watch it
THE ONE IDEA
- There is always a free man. Ten against ten, we can never mark everybody. Our job is not to leave nobody free — it's to make sure the free man is the one furthest from the ball.
- Watch the FREE ATTACKERS number. Two or three free is normal and fine. What matters is where they are. Run a sequence and pause it: if the highlighted free man is out by their own goal, we're doing our job. If he's inside our box, somebody didn't travel.
WHAT EACH SEQUENCE SHOWS
- Build-up. They pass around the back. Nothing happens, which is the point — a team that shifts properly makes the first two minutes boring.
- Switch of play. The one that hurts us. The ball crosses the field faster than any player can run, so the far-side players have to be moving before the pass is played.
- Wing overload. They load one side to drag us over, then look for the free man on the other. It's the reason we don't over-commit — our far fullback tucks in, he doesn't join the crowd.
HOW TO USE IT AT A SESSION
- Play the switch at half speed and pause on the pass. Ask them who has the longest run — then ask when that run should have started.
- Toggle OPPOSITION off and on. With the red players hidden it's an exercise; with them on, they can see who they're actually responsible for.
- Switch their shape between 3-3-3 and 3-2-4 and ask what changes for us. Answer: almost nothing. Our shifting rules don't depend on what they play, which is worth them hearing.
What this is and isn't: it's a model of where players should be, not a simulation of a match. Nobody on it ball-watches, mistimes a step, or refuses to track back, and the opposition always does the sensible thing. Real games are lost to exactly those failures. Use it to give them the picture, then go and coach the picture on grass — the model can't tell you whether your left back will actually make the run.