Jonas Urias: Breaking lines

n the modern game, the majority of teams operate with either a high press, a mid-press or a low press. These strategies present obstacles for an attacking team, and their ability to break lines allows them to overcome these barriers and enjoy greater success when it comes to creating goalscoring opportunities.

If performed consciously and constructively, breaking the opposition’s lines can serve to open the pitch up and result in swift and successful attacks. To break a line, players must be able to receive the ball on the turn and deceive and eliminate pressing opponents from the game.

In this session, FIFA Technical Expert Jonas Urias presents a series of exercises to a group of young girls that focus on breaking opposition lines. Before the exercises get under way and as an introduction to the session, Urias challenges the players to think about the skills that they may require to break opposition lines. Following this cognitive preparation, the first exercise is a simple passing and receiving circuit that acts as a warm-up to prepare the players for the more complex activities later on in the session. The second exercise is a 6v6 game that focuses on breaking the opposition’s first pressing line, and the final exercise involves overcoming the opposition’s midfield press.

Session overview

Key coaching points

• Receive the ball with a view to turning out in the direction of the next phase of play.

• Constantly scan and check shoulders to identify the direction of the opposition’s press and where pockets of space may appear to turn and play into.

• Use body and passing feints to deceive and eliminate opponents from the game to create space.

• Focus on the quality of the initial pass, which should set the receiver up to turn quickly and seamlessly break the lines.

• Create pockets of space and passing lanes when operating between the lines.

Introduction: cognitive preparation

Before the players take to the pitch to perform the exercises, it is a good idea to get them to think about all of the actions and strategies that they may need to call upon during the session to break the opposition’s lines. Gather the players together and divide them into two teams.

• Present the players with several scenarios and ask them to think about how they would go about breaking the opposition’s lines in each of them.

• Using one flip chart per team, ask the players to draw an image or write down actions that will help them to break opposition lines in each of the scenarios.

• The players then present their ideas to the other team and the coach.

• The coach gives feedback and asks further questions.

Part 1: passing and receiving circuit to break lines

This first exercise works on the fundamentals of playing and receiving line-breaking passes. If players are able to receive, turn and pass on the move, it provides them with the platform to work the ball through the opposition’s lines and continue to the next phase of play.

Organisation

Explanation

Variation

Coaching points

Part 2: breaking the opposition’s first pressing line

The orange team try to create an opportunity to break the blue team’s lines.

This exercise provides the players with the opportunity to work in real-game situations, in which they are pressed by the opposition and tasked with breaking the first line of the press. The players’ ability to work some space, perform feints and receive the ball on the turn are key elements when it comes to successfully breaking the opposition’s lines.

Organisation

Explanation

Variation

Coaching points

Part 3: breaking midfield lines

The orange players try to play the ball beyond the two blue players occupying the red corridor.

In this exercise, instead of breaking lines to overcome the opposition’s first press, the focus is on breaking the opposition’s midfield line and progressing play into the final third. To overcome the midfield press, players must master passing feints, perform short, sharp movements in tight spaces and have the ability to play accurate passes.