Football/Soccer Session (Advanced): 4:3:3 System

4:3:3 in Defense

General Defensive Concepts

Pressure must be applied to the ball before defense can begin. Until there is pressure on the ball the

team must drop towards their own goal/18. When pressure is applied the team then can step and compress space.

Coaching Points:

+ Pressure must be immediate.

+ Pressure must force that attacker’s vision down.

+ Pressure must make play predictable.

+ Pressure must prevent passing penetration.

Pressure must be accompanied by immediate cover. Covering players are responsible for filling space

behind the pressure to eliminate the threat of dribble penetration. Quality defending requires a team to get numbers up around the ball everywhere on the field. The team defends together. When pressure is applied, the entire team must step together to stay compact. Space can not exist between lines on the field, or between pressuring players and the rest of the team. The team must also shift across the field together as the ball moves. In general, the team must move as one unified block whenever the ball moves. This puts high demands on work rate and coordination. The team must step and compress space every time the ball moves backwards. On both their own clearances and on any backpasses played by the opposition the team must step to recover space and to eliminate time the opposition has to make decisions.

Defense Play of the Back Four: Combination Man/Zone:

Defending in a 4:3:3 should be done primarily with zonal defending. Players are not solely responsible for marking an individual opponent but instead are responsible for filling areas of space and marking any opponents in those spaces. Zonal defending allows the team to keep a better defensive shape, and

reduces some of the physical demands of man-marking. Because the 4:3:3 does not have outside midfielders, the back four must not play with a sweeper-stopper system. Instead, the two center backs are always staggered depending on where the ball is. If the ball is on the left, the right center back is deeper than the left center back. Playing with 2 centerbacks will allow the outside backs to step into wide spaces more effectively defensively to address the weakness within the system. Inside the penalty box, the system switches to purely man-to-man marking. Proximity to the goal does not allow for space to zone.

Defensive Play of the Midfield Three:

The midfield three will also function under zonal principles, however, this group must be much more aggressive and attack the ball on defense. The work rate of the three midfield players is going to determine if this system works. These three players are primarily responsible for the middle vertical third of the field—the area between the sides of the penalty boxes. Wide space must normally be covered by outside backs and wingers. The outside midfielders will be pinched in, so that the midfield works as a tight triangle wherever they go on the field. If the outside midfielders get stretched too wide, the team will get beaten up that middle, as the central midfielder will constantly be numbers down defensively. In the attacking and midfield thirds of the field, this group should force the ball centrally, where the team will have numbers up most of the time. Forcing the ball inside will reduce space for attackers to play in, and is uncomfortable for most outside backs. Also, turnovers in this area create natural counter-attack opportunities. One player must always be in the “hole” in front of the center backs. This player is most important to prevent counters up the middle of the field, and to “protect” the center backs. This player acts partially as a screen, preventing balls in to the feet of center forwards.

Coordination Between the Backs and Midfield:

The inherent defensive weakness in the 4:3:3 is the lack of outside midfielders. If this outside midfield space is not defending appropriately, the team will have major difficulties. Because, the