Passing Backwards

In many American sports, the fields and rules are given in such a way that everything moves directionally forward. This is based on where an athlete is standing, particularly where the athlete is facing.

In baseball, the batter wants to hit the ball forwards. If he hits the ball backwards, it’s considered a foul ball. The opposing field in the infield and outfield want to get the ball as fast as possible (or get under the ball as fast as possible for a catch) and throw it towards one of four bases, located some angle in front of them.

In football, there are two end zones. With the exception of the small movement of a quarterback, rarely does the ball move backwards. Basketball is a little more flexible in this area as the ball does move forwards and backwards, but once past half court, the ball can’t go back over the line on a dribble or pass from the attacking team.

Golf, tennis, swimming, and skiing all have this “going forward” mentality too.

Soccer, like hockey and lacrosse, are the exceptions to this. There is no rule about moving back over a half line, or getting in trouble if your running back has just given up 10 yards to try a lateral change of direction.

In soccer, the ball can move anywhere on the field. The danger comes when a team loses possession of the ball. Many people believe that if a team passes or dribbles in front of their own goal, it’s very dangerous. You’ll hear coaches scream at their players to kick it "out of bounds" or "clear the ball”. But again, the danger is present only when a team does not possess the ball.

There is an English Cup game (Community Shield) that recently happened between Man City and Liverpool. Liverpool loves to press high when a team is trying to build out of the back. Man City knows this and are the very best at bringing the ball out of the back. So, you have the best pressing team in the world vs. the best team at bringing the ball out of the back. Who will win? The answer is, at least this year, Man City in a penalty shootout.

If you watch the game closer, the only way Man City could deal with such a high press was to bring the goalie up the field to have a fifth option on defense, a true sweeper keeper. Claudio Bravo, famed for his talent with his feet as well as his hands and backup keeper for Man City, did precisely this. Man City needed numbers in order to break through Liverpool’s lines of pressure.

Man City was not afraid to move the ball backwards even though they played against the best pressing team in the world. Why? Why move the backwards when you have a higher position on the field?

Remember, the purpose of moving the ball around, possessing and passing it, is to disorganize the defense. Most teams we play against understand the basics of defensive positioning. They understand positioning in relation to the rest of their team. If we have possession of the ball and try to only move it forward against teams who understand at least how to setup when the other team has the ball in a particular area, we will often lose possession of it.

This is not because we’re less athletic or talented than another team. It’s because it goes against our philosophy of play.

Our philosophy uses the entire field and all 11 (9 in our case) to disorganize the other team. To detail this even further, we’re looking to disorganize the line in front of us, whether that’s the attacking, midfield, or defending line. Then a quick pass in to our players in front of us to move forward. A big rondo, in which the opponent can’t keep shape over a period of quick passes and movements and then a through ball to beat the line of defense. We find the third man, the free man, and move our lines up.

But to think we, or any other team playing possession football, are going to accomplish this without utilizing the players behind us on the pitch is a mistake. Soccer is an omni-directional game. It’s a game where we move our bodies and the ball anywhere on the pitch to take advantage of space, position, and the opponent’s mistakes.

So, don’t get hypnotized by the goals at each end of the field. In life, we often don’t walk a straight road to achieve or receive our goals. The road has obstacles, misinterpretations, failed timing, change of direction, discoveries, and sometimes complete blockages. A soccer game is like this. Our initial exploitations of space are met with obstacles. We need to change directions, go through or around them, so we try a different space, and a different one, until we get past our initial obstacle. New challenges arise and we find ways to move the ball past them. We continue this process until we achieve our goal, literally a goal. Then we try to do it all over again.

There’s a famous Bayern Munich video that shows the team passing 94 times in a row. They’re a couple months into Pep Guardiola’s system and they produce a brilliant show of it. The team dominates for 80 minutes and wins against a Man City that has not been beaten at home under their former coach, Manuel Pellegrini. You can find the video here.

When a team is able to dominate possession of the ball, communicating and moving into positionally advantageous space, exploiting the other team’s weaknesses, and fearless in using the entire pitch and all 11 players, it demoralizes the other team. Slowly, their energy diminishes and any hope of scoring a goal, let alone winning the game, slips away. Chasing after the ball for most of the game isn't fun. The movement of the ball becomes hypnotizing and the defensive team shifts out of position. Little mistakes are made and a good team capitalizes on these mistakes. Johan Cruyff said of Total Football, "Not one or two players make a situation, but five or six. The best is that with every situation all 11 players are involved, but this is difficult. In many teams maybe only two or three play, and the rest are looking. In the Holland team, when you are 60 meters from the ball, you are playing."

To all Fortress players: Don’t be afraid to reset, to pass or dribble the ball backwards in order to create openings in another part of the field. Moving the ball backwards, side to side, and forwards are all expected. If you can achieve this, a fearlessness to move the ball with purpose into any part of the field, other fears about the other team and expectations will fall away. You will play with joy then.

Soccer Skill Drills this week - 10 minutes every day:

L Turn - 3-4 minutes

Cruyff Turn - 3-4 minutes

Pyramid Juggling - Beat your all time high

See you tonight.