Innovative coaching methods are continually being developed, introduced, and implemented in world football.
Perhaps more than ever, these innovations include the defensive side of the game.
This tactical theory focuses on exercises that develop players’ emergency defending skills.
For the purposes of this tactical analysis, emergency defending is defined as any situation where the back line is left exposed, in or around their box, with no protection from the midfield.
This could result from a counterattack or a sustained positional attack that has led to a box entry with a shot at goal imminent.
Emergency defending is required when the situation is urgent, and desperate measures are needed to prevent the opposition from scoring.
This tactical theory offers three exercises that can be used specifically to improve defending in emergency situations.
These exercises can be used in conjunction with one another to form part of an emergency defending session or as stand-alone exercises.
Liverpools Virgil van Dijk will be used as a model performer with his defensive tactics being used in this analysis.
Defending one-on-one
A key element of emergency defending is a players ability to defend one-on-one.
As is their ability to turn a two-against-one into a one-against-one, which will also be analysed in this section.
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