How to coach pressing in football

3. Movement

To succeed in football, you must master a wide range of fundamental movements. In terms of pressing, it's essential to accelerate, decelerate and change direction quickly. These movements allow players to press with varying speed and intensity. They also help players to reposition themselves if they decide to drop off, or their opponent has passed the ball to someone else.  

Unsure how to help players develop these movements? Try using tag games in your sessions. They're fun and will improve players' agility, balance and coordination – essential skills for pressing in football.  

4. Positioning

This is very important. A player's position determines whether there's an opportunity for them to engage with their opponent – or support a teammate. It also influences how their opponent reacts.  

For example, if a player is the nearest to the ball and presses, they force their opponent to respond quickly – which could prompt a mistake. On the flip side, if the defender's not close enough – or decides not to press – they allow their opponent plenty of space and time to move the ball forward.  

When pressing in football, ideally the whole team need strong positioning skills. Support from surrounding teammates helps to ensure attempts to press are not made in isolation. As a result, maintaining a compact shape behind the ball is crucial.  

To help players work on their positioning, split your pitch into five zones. Once the game begins, ask your team to look around and think about how they can help their teammates to press by occupying certain zones. After a while, if players need a little help, encourage them to go into a particular zone. Then, get them to try to move together as a unit.  

5. Deception

It's important to be able to press in different ways. A lack of variety can make your presses predictable, making it easier for the other side to react effectively.  

This is where deception comes in. If your players can disguise their intentions or mix up their pressing approach, they can engage with their opponent when they're least expecting it.  

To do this, play games where there are a lot of problem-solving opportunities and where there's more than one way to complete the challenge. Games like tag and Wembley singles or doubles are great as there's lots of transition and turnover. This will encourage players to develop their deception skills on and off the ball. It will also allow them to start predicting the actions of their opponents.  

6. Techniques

Last but not least: developing good techniques. It's the final piece of the puzzle.  

When pressing in football, players need to quickly adjust their position as they get closer to the ball. Tweaking the angle of their body – and how tight they get – can limit their opponents' options and dictate play. This could result in the other side having to play the ball backwards or kick it long. It could even force them into a certain area of the pitch, such as out wide and away from goal.  

Just like with timing, you can develop your players' technique through repetition of the task. The more opportunity they get to explore pressing, the more chance they have of developing their technique. If you also make your activities reflect the actual game (I.e. realistic and relatable), then you're on to a winner. 

Putting it together

To master the skill of pressing, players need to be efficient in each of the six areas. If you haven't already, take a look at the video above to see what this looks like in a real game.