What Is Jürgen Klopp’s Gegenpressing & How To Practice It – Tactical Theory

What Is Gegenpressing?

Football has become a lot more dynamic over the last decades.

As a result, the transition phases have become increasingly important.

This rang the bell for a new concept on how to react after losing the ball: Gegenpressing.

It is the concept of regaining possession immediately after losing the ball by pressing the opposition.

Jürgen Klopp, who already deployed this concept at Dortmund, is now using it at Liverpool.

With this approach, Liverpool enchants both supporters and tacticians.

No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter pressing situation. (Jürgen Klopp)

Nowadays, Klopp is just one example of coaches who utilize counter-pressing.

Several world-class teams, such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City (all under Pep Guardiola), as well as those led by Sarri, deploy the method with success.

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Preconditions for a good Gegenpressing

In top-level football, teams need approximately six seconds to organise after winning the ball.

Counter-pressing is the concept of using this timeframe of disorganisation of the opposition to regain possession quickly.

As six seconds is not a huge amount of time, Gegenpressing affords quick and intense runs.

That is why this approach requires players with good endurance and a lot of pace.

Furthermore, examining the teams that employ counter-pressing, it is clear that all sides prefer to maintain possession.

Confidence in possessing the ball and playing a constructive style of football is the foundation of counter-pressing.

Principles of Gegenpressing

As in the previous article (How to Practice a High Press), we will establish principles for players to follow.

Therefore, we establish instructions based on the most important aspects that influence our counter-pressing.

To begin with, a basic rule of defense is to minimize space and thereby maximize pressure.

That is why one should ensure that players move bravely towards the ball when transitioning from attack to defense.

#1 We Protect Our Goal By Moving Towards The Ball To Keep It As Far Away From Our Goal As Possible

As one needs a compact shape to minimise space, short distances between players are necessary.

A Gegenpressing situation should always be prepared during the possession phase.

To provoke situations where the players do not need much time to get into a compact shape, it is useful to keep the passes short.

The space where the ball is, is always the tightest area of the pitch.

These assumptions lead to our second principle:

#2 Play Rather Short Passes Than Long Balls To Keep The Distance To The Ball Short

Since in football the time between possession and being dispossessed can be really short, it is necessary to prepare for a possible loss of the ball during the possession phase.

Defenders should especially ensure a good rest defence.

Clarifying responsibilities can save a crucial amount of time whenever the team loses the ball.

As the opponent plays with one striker, for example, one centre-back can mark him, while the other can cover.

The holding midfielder could then move forward into midfield to press the ball.

#3 Look For Possible Threats In Case Of A Loss Of The Ball When We Are In Possession

Last but not least, the positioning of the players is important as well.

To keep possession, one needs to create width and depth.

#4 Provide Only As Much Width As Needed To Retain Possession

While your players should always provide as much depth as possible, creating only as much width as needed can be helpful in staying close to the ball.

In the event of a loss, one can press in a significantly shorter amount of time.

That means the players should position themselves slightly wider than the opponent to still stretch the opposition apart.

Football Drills to Practice Gegenpressing

The following section includes three different small-sided games that enable you to coach a counter-pressing philosophy by teaching your players the aforementioned principles.

Since quick thinking is vital for counter-pressing, one can use any drill that demands fast thinking and reacting from the players as a warm-up for a Gegenpressing session.

A Gegenpressing-related warm-up game would involve selecting three equal teams that play passes within their own group.

Whenever the coach shouts a colour of one of the teams, the given team can score on four passing goals around the pitch.

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