Three keys to build a rock-solid defence and win more games

They say a rock-solid defence wins games. You know what else they say? Offence wins games for the top clubs. Or, if you like cliches, “the best attack is a good defence. Whats the answer to that one? You guessed it: the best defence is a good offence.

Here’s my advice. Pick whichever phrase suits your team or opinion, and roll with it. If for example your team is suited more towards attacking, or you just want to be more attacking overall, pick the best defence is a good offence. If you’re coaching the Crystal Palaces of the world, then maybe go with defence wins games. This way you can sell your team on parking the bus à la Mourinho in his Inter days in the hopes of securing a point.

My point being, theres no need for a philosophical argument of what’s more important: both are. I’ll show you three great defensive keys you can use to shore up your goal-leaking team and win more games.

Let’s start with teaching your defence to understand where the most valuable real estate is when defending.

Never behind

If your back-line never allowed any ball in behind, it would make life a lot harder for opposing teams. In terms of high-value chances (as opposed to shooting 30 yards from goal), getting behind the back-line of the opposing team is obviously quite high on the priority list.

See how in the example below one good pass behind the back-line from the player in possession, and the striker would be in a really good position to score.

never behind atletico bad — The near-side centre-back is caught ball watching instead of protecting the space behind him. As a consequence, the striker is one good pass away from a break-away due to the centre back being focused on the wrong thing.

The near-side centre back, in this case, is too focused on the dribbler and has lost sight of the striker who could get behind him. His priority has become the dribbler when it should be the striker (who is more dangerous at this moment), and at all costs not allowing the striker to get behind.

Nothing behind mancity dropping off — Because there is no pressure on the ball-carrier, and there is a player who could be making a run in behind the back-line, the two centre backs are dropping off in order to avoid anything getting behind

In this example, we see Manchester City doing a good job of protecting the space behind the backline. If there was pressure on the ball-carrier, which there isnt, the centre backs could maybe hold their ground a bit more. With no pressure, however, that dribbler can easily penetrate them with one well-placed pass.

So how do we teach our t