Soccer Possession Drills – Tiki Taka Masterclass
Soccer Possession Drills to create a Tiki-Taka team.
Soccer Coaching License USSF Pathway
Step-by-Step guide on how to get your USSF Soccer Coach License. From grassroots, through D, C, B, A and Pro licenses, blueprint with all cost, time, effort and benefit, for obtaining the licenses. Full guide to the steps on how to become soccer coach.
Youth Soccer Formations
Link to the complete article to guide you through choosing the right youth soccer formations.
The Kryptonite: 3-4-3 Soccer Formation to Counter Possession
Wouldn’t it be great if there is a simple way to set any team for success? Every coach around talks about “having majority of possession”, playing “tiki-taka with intention” and “dominate the opponents”. You would also hear mentions of “exploit the half spaces” and “I want my full-backs to invert“. When two teams with coaches like these meet, you will get a battle of over-coached teams trying to get 51%, more like 75%, of the ball possession and no shots on goal. Then they play against another team with a 3-4-3 soccer formation and they don’t know how to respond to the seemingly outdated formation.
Don’t trust me? How else can we explain that the mighty Manchester City lost against the inferior Chelsea in the UCL 2021 Final? It was a simplicity of countering as a team, while pound for pound Chelsea’s players were simply not as good as their opponents. Now, it is easy to claim that Tuchel, Chelsea’s coach, was genius and Guardiola, Man City’s coach, was wrong and should have known better. Of course, even with 3-4-3, the probability of Chelsea winning was low. However, it was all about how to put themselves in a position to have a chance to win, despite City’s dominant possession.
What makes the 3-4-3 soccer formation the best counter formation?
Admitting inferiority is not settling for defeat. In fact, it is battling for victory in spite of the circumstances. While we all want to have perfection of dozens of accurate passes before “walking the ball in the net”, we should live in reality. We claim that the four pillars of player development are technical, tactical, physical and psychological. While these virtues are dynamic and can range depending on many factors, including the team that a player plays in, we have seen teams with inferior players win against dominant teams. The 3-4-3 soccer formation is the best counter formation not because it solves for this issue, but because it gives us flexibility to counter the opponents and ask different questions.
The most important aspect of the formation is the discipline and tactical awareness. This is not a formation where the team will have the majority of the ball. In fact, it is likely that the team will need to yield possession and make the opponents believe that they control the game by having the ball. However, the team will need to prevent chances in their own defensive third. So, the simple formula is to invite opponents to occupy the middle third and even send players forward, only to create space for the two attackers to strike back. The secret to counter attacking is the dynamic advantage that is the one of the principles of soccer domination that is often overlooked.
What does the 3-4-3 soccer formation look like?
The 3-4-3 has three defenders, often big, strong, standard defenders. The two wing-backs do as much attacking as defending. The middle of the pitch is fluid, often playing with two holding and one attacking midfielder, or one holding and two box-to-box midfielders. Finally, the attackers will have all the freedom we can give them. The desired characteristics for them is to be able to hold the ball up and speed to race against the defenders – there cannot be much of counter attacking without pace.
For comparison, let us take a 4-3-3 formation and see how it naturally changes between attacking and defending. We have seen the fullbacks overlap with the wingers, that are often playing as inverted wingers. Great way to attack with numbers. We have seen the striker dropping deep to create numerical advantage and dominate possession. We have even seen the holding midfielder dropping as an extra center back to strengthen a low-block defense. However, it often puts players in unnatural positions and creates uneasiness.
Compare a 3-4-3 formation with players barely moving outside of comfort. When defending a lead in the last moments of a game, the winger-backs naturally drop back in a back five. When chasing a goal, they become wingers and create overload. On top of that, this formation allows for having a true counter attacking options with two strikers. We all know that naturally you cannot have two target attackers, but when they work together, it can lead to very difficult counter attacking to handle. Overall, this flexibility makes the 3-4-3 the deadly option for disciplined teams.
Defenders – the Backbone
The defense is the place where you can’t get creative in this formation. Having 3 players in the last line is a given and really the only aspect that changes is the width of it. In general, when attacking they spread out, while defending they come close to each other. However, when trying to keep the result as-is, the wide midfielders essentially become wingbacks and the defenders stay in the middle. It might look boring, but on the bright side, it is easy to coach.
The opponents will either play with 2 attackers or a single striker and two wingers. When playing against 2 attackers, the wide defenders mark them while the central defender covers. When playing against 1 attacker, we will have two options. If we have attacking wide players, then we will ask a holding midfielder to press the striker, while the central defender provides cover for him and the wide defenders can push up. Alternatively, we can let one of the wide defenders push up or even invert in the midfield, while the other one stays back to form a 1v2 defensive setup. Either way, the attacking option for the wide defenders is there only in a patient attacking plan.
Midfielders – the Heart
The midfielders are not only the most numerous, but also the most influental in the 3-4-3 formation. When set in a diamond shape, they can provide both the stability and the creativity to dominate the opponents. Playing with with one holding midfielder, 6, and one attacking midfielder, 10, might look like a recipe for disaster. The thinness in the middle of the field is evident. However, the wide midfielders can look more like mezzalas or they can play as a double pivot, all at the same time. They need to be tactically aware to anticipate the soccer context. When the ball is on their side, play wide and do an overlapping run. When the ball is on the other side, tuck in and provide support. The change of roles should become second nature for midfielders and this is a great formation to use tactically aware players.
Attackers – the Creativity
This is not too different from the 4-3-3 formation, with the main difference that we have a more classic 10 in the midfield. That influences the options that we have in the attack, because we create a formation with 4 attacking players. Think about it – the moment we win the ball, we have 4 players that need to move the ball as fast as possible for a counter. Yes, the wingers can be out wide, or invert inside as they see needed. The striker can come and help the midfield or push up as a target man to hold up the ball. Either way, the key is that the 10 can decide that they need to play as a shadow striker or they can drop deep and distribute the ball. Either way, it unsettles the opponents, as they don’t know how to defend the unpredictability of all of these variables.
Disadvantages of the 3-4-3
As any other formation, the 3-4-3 has the disadvantages. While we can drop to 5 defenders more easily when we need to defend, that transition takes time. When there is a time to regroup, the defensive line can get the two wide midfielders dropping deep into 5-3-1-1. Alternatively the wide midfielders tuck in and we form a 4-3-3 defensive line. However, by default, the standard 3-4-3 defensive setup might look fine at first. But if the opponents are actually counterattacking team, it will leave the last line playing 3v3 very quickly. That is why the 3-4-3 is more often played as a counter attacking formation. Or at least as a formation where the tempo of the opposition is lower than ours.
Play Practice Play – Why is US Soccer lagging behind?
Almost a decade ago, United States Soccer Federation (USSF) decided to get serious about soccer development. They saw that the women’s soccer in the US is arguably best in the world, but the men national team was lagging behind. After deep analysis, while getting data and feedback from the field, they agreed that one of the biggest issues was that players were not getting unstructured playing time compared to other nations, like Brazil, Argentina or European countries. The theory was that other nations were better than the US because the kids played way more hours outside of practices. Furthermore, the global trend shows that kids play less and less time outside compared to previous generations.
To combat these issues and trends, USSF decided to revamp their youth coaching education system by introducing the Play Practice Play methodology. Similar to other professions, such as piano teaching or chess progression, we needed an educational curriculum. This will give structure to the training sessions, instead of disconnected drills to have one cohesive theme. The goals of lots of unstructured play, keep high level of engagement and soccer-themed environment are all accomplished. But is this really the best methodology for coaching youth soccer?
What is Play Practice Play?
In a nutshell, the PPP methodology is about making a sandwich of the soccer session. The two breads are just soccer games. Usually small sided games (SSGs) with maybe a question or two at halftime. In the middle, there is a practice session. That is also a game with opponents and teammates, but often with some sort of overload. Focused on numerical advantage for one team, it can be a 4v2 game with many options/goals for counter-attacking. Overall, there should be one theme for the session. The questions around the SSGs and the session in the middle should cover that theme.
Types of Soccer Activities
There are three types of soccer activities – game form, modified game form and non-game form. Game form means that there are boundaries, equivalent attacking and opposing team, two soccer goals and a ball. Modified game form activity can be imbalanced teams with some other variation, such as gates instead of goals or no goals at all, such as basic rondos. Non-game form soccer activity can be anything that requires a lot of squinting to see how it fits into soccer. For example, playing tag apparently is a good activity for U8, but it has the same closeness to soccer as basketball or baseball.
Why Play Practice Play kinda works?
Let me try to state the argument about the benefits of Play Practice Play. First of all, it is fun. There is no argument that players are mostly engaged during SSGs. Secondly, it looks like soccer and it has most of the elements of it, except for maybe a referee and audience. Thirdly, the coach can structure the entire session to really overload the players one way or another. For example, there can be lots of shooting or lots of crossing, based on the rules that we have made up in the session.
Why it doesn’t work for technical development?
The whole concept of Play Practice Play is that soccer coaching is about overloading the players in a soccer environment, so they can adjust their skills in more challenging situations and improve. We call this process contextual interference. What if the players don’t have the skill? No worries, they are all going to suck together. Well, that is not true. I have seen over and over again how some kids have grown up in families where soccer is already a big sport. They have a huge advantage because they have been shown at other places these very basic skills. The other players who are less fortunate with opportunities will just never had that basic skill unless they magically acquire it. This is like saying that kids should already know how to read and write when they start school and we will go straight to writing books. Some kids might, but you cannot leave kids behind because you can’t be bothered to teach them the alphabet.
What should coaches do instead to implement Play Practice Play?
We have lack of technical readiness in many kids and that is fine at the start. The coaches should make sure that the players are aware of the existence! We shouldn’t expect them to reinvent the wheel. So, we show some basics like receiving or passing the ball. Here is a simple structure of how a Play Practice Play training can look like for a U8 team.
- Start with a game of up to 5v5, while the players trickle in (10-15 min)
- Play a game as a warm up that contains passing and receiving. For example, in pairs there is a hunter who looks for loose balls in the field that should capture a ball and pass it to their partner in the penalty area that should receive it. Each ball is a point, the goal is to get more balls than the other teams. This introduces them to the passing and receiving the ball. (10 min)
- Discuss and show the players how to pass with the inside of the foot, outside of the foot and laces. Give them 5 min to try those out in the pairs they had before (<10min)
- Play another game where two teams need to compete in passing and receiving balls across a longer distance. The competitiveness is still there, but the interference from opposition is not. (10 min)
- Play some rondos – 4v1 might be the right level at this point. Get creative and look at our rondo series for inspiration. (10 min)
- End with a scrimmage game (rest of practice)
Note that at this age it is harder to keep the attention of the players, so we cannot have isolated practice for long time. Also, we can’t just let them play and claim that we have done our jobs as coaches because the players are engaged. The PPP structure is there, but not in a silly way. Be intentional, give the players what they need!
Soccer Camera Gimbals [How to film soccer games in 2025?]
You can’t be there for every single game that your kid plays. Even if you can, you want to be able to keep it for when they grow up. Or your neighbor asks about it. Or your third cousin brags about their kids and how they [read with nasal voice] “just use these soccer camera gimbals”, but you just dismiss them. You want that in your pocket, ready for whenever you might need it. But you can’t afford the expensive cameras that clubs use these days.
Instead, you should use your smartphone!
It is raining, you are confused between looking at your kid or looking at the screen, and in the end, your spouse is disappointed because your hands kept shaking the image despite your best efforts. Yes, there is a simple solution for all of this. It is called a gimbal, or if you don’t want to sound funny a stabilizer. They are affordable these days and can be used to film all the time, not just your kid’s soccer games.
What are the best soccer camera gimbals?
There are 3 factors to determine the quality of the soccer camera gimbals:
- Stability of image – the most important thing of a gimbal is to be stable. When it comes to sport camera gimbals, account for uneven terrain, wind and rain, as well as the occasional ball or person hitting it. Don’t look for perfection, but expect some reasonable stability that will not break the image, or even worse, your phone.
- Integration with smartphones – while optional at first look, you want these features of tracking the action. The more common level of tracking is to track the ball and the action at all times. Less common is to track a particular player (like your kid or yourself) and usually more sophisticated systems are used for full wide field of view recordings. In any case, you want to be able to enjoy the game while the camera moves and records the game.
- Durability and sturdiness – you do not want to keep buying the soccer camera gimbals each season. So, do yourself a favor and get the one made with good materials and engineered with attention to detail. And yes, it will feel heavy and you will know how it is once you have it in your hand.
We rate the soccer camera gimbals based on these factors. Also, we make sure there is no monthly fee for them, for streaming, storage, data analysis and statistics, or whatever else the most premium soccer cameras have. They all have options to get them from Amazon, but also some of them have their own stores. Check out both for the best pricing and add-ons.
Insta360 Flow (Our Pick)
Insta360 is the leader in the space of capturing action. Most of their products include a camera, from 360 or action-focused to professional VR or webcams. However, it looks like they managed to integrate a lot of the technology into their Insta360 Flow product, which is a gimbal for smartphones. It brings stabilization, together with the AI-powered technology of action tracking. The price is reasonable for a great build and intuitive interface in case you want to manually capture the moments. The stabilization is great and the integration with the smartphones works as you would expect. Furthermore, the community is large and there are all kinds of tricks and tips on how to get the most out of it on their forums.
Buy it from Amazon or their store.
XBot (with tripod)
It definitely is a level up to the Insta360, but it comes at a price. It supports smartphones, integrated with a remote control or even an Apple Watch. The XBot is actually designed for soccer as primary usage, making it a perfect solution for our needs. The tracking is optimized and tested for soccer!
Another great thing about the XBot is the range of accessories that you can find with it. Considering the size of the field and the number of players, you definitely want to set the camera at some elevation to capture the entire field. The XBot tripod is stable, and high quality and adds on to the already great functionality of the XBot to get the perfect view of the field and action.
You can buy it from Amazon or directly from the XBot store (use code RONDOCOACH for $25 off your purchase).
DJI Ronin-SC (mirrorless camera)
If you have a high-quality mirrorless camera with good lens, this might be a better option for you. While you need to operate it (one-hand handling is great), it will give the best capture from all the options. You can still mount your smartphone on top of it and use it for capturing, but also to adjust the force sensitivity of your movement and stabilization.
If you want to watch the game with your coffee, while the video is being captured automatically, this is not for you. But if you want to be actively tracking the action, capturing the plays and the players throughout the game, this is the option to pick. We also highly recommend it for capturing footage to be sent to soccer scouts and college recruiters. We have even seen some parents sending soccer videos before tryouts (tread carefully there).
Hohem for GoPro (waterproof)
Similar to the DJI stabilizer, you will be manually operating this gimbal and won’t be able to use your smartphone. However, the most important aspect here is that you will be able to record games in the worst possible conditions, such as rain and snow. The gimbal is relatively cheap for what it does, but it does require a GoPro or one of the other compatible devices. The secret weapon is a waterproof design with limited functionality and compatibility. Also, the sturdiness and durability of the device are great, but then you will likely run it through tough conditions and you will end up really testing it.
Zhiyun Smooth Q4 (Budget pick)
There is nothing wrong with this gimbal and we would definitely recommend it if you are looking to spend minimally on a stabilizer for your smartphone. However, it just misses a lot of the magic that the other options have. The integration with smartphones is there, but minimally (suggests angles and adjusts zoom and light). This also means you need to manually move it. It comes with a tripod, but you will likely need a table or a chair to get the height and stability right. It is sturdy, but not as robust as the others, especially when extended as more of a selfie stick. Of course, it doesn’t have waterproof characteristics or cross-compatibility with other devices, such as high-quality cameras. Overall, if you know exactly what you need it for, it is a great option. If you need anything beyond to feel the magic of AI and motion tracking, you will need to spend a bit more.
Pick the right soccer camera gimbal for you
The technology for sports and entertainment is amazing today. We have seen U6 games not only recorded, but streamed in real time. You think that might be crazy, but their grandparents were actually watching live overseas! It is truly incredible that we have all this technology to capture these moments. At an affordable prices we can film them and play them whenever we want. Also, with the power of AI we can often be lazy and let the smartphone track the action while we enjoy the game in real time. We recommend picking the right option for you and give it a try. Over time you will be amazed how much the ML models will improve the capture and tracking. Have fun, make memories and save them forever!
Quality Masterclass Mentality: Vertical Tiki-Taka is the Future
Tiki-taka is the style of play that has defined 21st-century soccer. At its peak, Barcelona under Pep and the Spanish National Team was dominating the world of soccer. That patient passing and keeping the ball until there was an opening was so beautiful, yet annoying to watch. The idea that you cannot concede a goal if you have the ball in your possession made it difficult to watch sometimes. The team would keep the ball for so long and always choose the safe pass. So essentially, we started seeing the backline passing to each other seemingly forever. The birth of the vertical tiki-taka was needed…
Something changed and we started to see the need to modify the mentality. Mourinho saw it first when countering Barcelona (with Inter and Chelsea), but we saw it so much in the recent decade. Teams became very good at defending. At the most recent World Cups, it feels like the worst teams can still hold a 0:0 draw against the best teams. So, playing patient, controlling, possession-based tiki-taka will just not work. Instead, what needed to happen was to move the ball quickly when in possession to unsettle the opponent.
How does vertical tiki-taka compare to tiki-taka?
How is it the same?
First and foremost, the idea of having possession is still the same. Starting from a goal-kick against a low-block opposition, you won’t be able to see the difference. The team will not try random crosses or skipping the midfield. Instead, the goal is to maintain control of the ball with passes in triangles while moving the play toward the opposition box.
Out of possession, the relentless pressing is also similar. The idea of recovering the ball within 5 seconds of losing it, is still valid. In fact, in La Masia, the famous FC Barcelona youth academy, they teach that the team doesn’t steal the ball. Instead, they recover possession. That is because the ball is theirs to have and the reason why they don’t have it is because they lost it. It might sound like a negligible difference, but it is important. The mentality of fighting to keep the ball as a team practiced through thousands of variations of rondos, is vital.
How is it different?
The main difference in the vertical tiki-taka is how build-up play happens. Namely, once the team recovers possession, it needs to quickly move forward to attack. This leaves very little time for the opponents to get back in the right position to defend. If we leave the opposition time to get in shape, we will limit the opportunities to get tactical advantages – numerical, positional, or dynamic.
Let’s say that we recover the ball at the edge of our penalty box, while the opponents try to attack on the wing with both their wing-back overlapping their winger. The standard tiki-taka mentality would make sure we keep possession and pass sideways or back to the keeper until we get into shape. Unfortunately, that allows for the other team to come back to shape. Instead, imagine if we send the ball down the flank with the winger and/or wing-back sprinting into a counterattack. And from there looking for the striker or the winger on the other side.
This will give us at least a dynamic advantage, where everybody will have to sprint back instead of actively defending and pressing the ball because they don’t feel that they have the cover at the back. Their wing-back will be tired after the attacking movement. Also, the confusion with the winger on who is running back to cover. If neither does, then we have the numerical advantage. If both run back, then we have time to pick the pass that we want with no pressure.
Advantages of using vertical tiki-taka
Assuming we are playing against a team that has some desire to attack against us, this is a very effective tactic. We get all the benefits of the tiki-taka, to maintain possession and control. With the right players and their decision-making abilities, we can confuse the oppositions. Since defending is where the team cohesion really matters, changing between direct attacking and patiently maintaining possession can truly frustrate and be tiresome. Also, it can be really devastating when we create 1v1 opportunities for our attackers. Any qualitative mismatch is more amplified when we are given 1v1 chances. The vertical tiki-taka gets us in those situations.
Disadvantages of the vertical tiki-taka
The downsides of tiki-taka are still present. When playing against low-block teams, often it looks like a fruitless exercise. If the other team only defends, then there is no counter-fast buildup that can happen. Therefore, no benefit there. Similarly, the risk of having a bad pass in the back line between the defenders or the keeper is still there. Perhaps a vertical pass to the striker is not as risky, but if that is blocked then the logic is to still maintain possession by passing sideways or backward. That comes with the same risk and often can be devastating. In fact, a bad pass can lead us to concede and in effect results in the opponents transferring to a low-block, catenaccio defense that is even harder to break.
When to use vertical tiki-taka?
Let us look at the teams that have used vertical tiki-taka or any variations and subsets of it. The most obvious ones are Barcelona, Ajax, Bayern, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool… When did it work? When the teams had strikers like Harland, Messi, Salah, Mane, and Van Persie, then it worked very well. The importance of the ability to win the majority of the duels 1v1, 2v2, or even 2v3, and score goals cannot be overstated. Similarly, the ability to defend without numerical advantage gives the opportunity to keep the attackers high, so that a direct pass to them is possible. I am sorry to disappoint you, but if you don’t have the technical, and overall qualitative advantages, this is not for you.
Formations to use for vertical tiki-taka
To maintain possession, you have to get a numerical advantage by keeping the defensive line high. The formations are actually similar to the standard tiki-taka. The classic 4-3-3 and the variations are always appropriate. The 4-4-2 diamond can work great, using mezzalas for the slower buildup. Also, a more defensive 5-2-3 formation that uses the three attackers as outlets can give the counter-attacking opportunities while maintaining the solidity in defense.
Most Insightful Soccer Statistics Books [Complete Guide 2025]
“The better team lost today”. We have heard this statement when teams think they’ve been the better team. How did they measure them being better? Did they do that objectively? Sometimes one team had the majority of the possession and the opposition had only one set piece, like a corner or a free kick. Would the statistics tell us that the first team should win the game? Well, if the first team passed between the goalkeeper and the center-backs, while the opposition had David Beckham take a free kick, then it means that the data didn’t tell us the full story. The best soccer statistics books can tell us the progress that soccer analysts have made over the past decades and where they are going.
Which data is important and which one is just noise? How can we evaluate the quality of the data and the true advantage that one team has over the other? Does the tactical approach drive the statistics of the game? Or can the data drive our tactics to victory? Is there something left to the naked eye that cannot be quantified by statistics?
What are the best soccer statistics books?
Soccer has become so big financially and the league structure for most leagues requires good performances. In Europe, teams have to perform well even if they have no chances for the title. They need to qualify for international competitions (lucrative incentives). Also, if they perform particularly badly, they get relegated, which can devastate the team, both financially and in terms of players who wouldn’t agree to play in the lower division. For these reasons, it is imperative for teams to win games, or at least not lose them.
To gain an edge, the top soccer clubs in the world hire soccer analysts, data scientists, and statisticians. Not only that, but soccer agents and their agencies hire them to identify the talent earlier. They synthesize data with methods from the best soccer statistics books, but also from books about data science from other sports and overall in the field of statistics. These are our picks of books that can significantly improve the way you look at the game through data analytics. They are not soccer books for kids or maybe even regular soccer fans – it is for the ones obsessed with numbers.
Net Gains by Ryan O’Hanlon
Net Gains is probably the most comprehensive book on soccer analytics. The author has played Division I soccer in the US and has transferred his passion for soccer into his life as an ESPN staff writer. In addition to his personal story, he guides us through the history of using data to gain an edge in soccer. He starts in the 50s and 60s and the very basics of soccer statistics. In contrast, he shares information about the exponential growth of data inputs that we get today through video analysis, GPS tracking, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and so on. However, he is also honest and questioning the models that we have today that cannot explain some phenomena today and how some players and some teams cannot be explained through data. If you plan to read only one book, then this is the one.
Football Hackers by Christoph Biermann
Perhaps a bit more current and Europe-focused, Football Hackers digs straight into the details of what you need to know about the world of soccer statistics. Analyzing the possession, shots taken, tackles, and so on, Biermann tries to help differentiate what is important and what is just empty data. Indirectly, he proves the rule that “If it’s important then it can be measured, but not all that can be measured is important”. The book can look very math-oriented and requires a genuine interest in soccer analytics and/or math and statistics. However, it’s a requirement for anybody who wants to get an edge or at least avoid being outsmarted based on accessible data.
The Expected Goals Philosophy by James Tippett
The rise of Expected Goals (xG) in soccer analytics is evident, as many pundits share these statistics more than any other info to show how the game went. For example, a team can have dominant possession, but it can be defensive and not have a single chance. Similarly, a shot on goal from far away doesn’t mean it is a good chance. In contrast, a team can have a penalty and miss the goal, which is a great chance without a shot on goal. The book explains what xG is and how to quantify it. It makes the case of why it is a better indicator of the dominance in the game. The book doesn’t have the complexity of the other books on this list, but it gives the right framework so that you would understand the xG on a much better level when you see it in real life.
Signal and Noise by Nate Silver
This does not naturally fall in the category of soccer statistics books. However, Nate Silver is the modern guru of statistics and his classic is something that every person who wants to understand data should read. His work in politics, in addition to his obsession with baseball, explains over and over again why probability is not certainty, and why only certain data is important. As we encounter variables in our analysis we have to assign appropriate weight to them. While this book will not teach us how to do that in soccer, it will help us think about the world of data. I have reread the book multiple times, pausing and thinking along the way with the new information and in the context of the recent games and seasons, of my teams that I coach and the professional ones that I have watched.
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
Possibly the most famous book on this list, helped by Brad Pitt starring in the movie. It shows how one of the poorest baseball teams in MLB went on the most impressive winning streak using data analytics to scout the sports talent. This is a true story that changed the way baseball teams use data. Obviously, this cannot be directly used in soccer, but certain aspects of it already are. With players playing key factors, it shows how there are no straight replacements in sports. One great player can be sold and two weaker players can be bought for that money. But the end result can be better or worse depending on the characteristics. The right data models can tell us which one is the better option. European soccer clubs like Leicester, Brighton, Borussia, Leipzig, and others have tried this approach. They cannot compete with the giants financially, so they have to be shrewd. I am certain we will see a soccer book like this in the upcoming years. Until then, enjoy Moneyball in the world of baseball.
Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke
Written by a professional poker player, we learn to think of our decisions as a process. It is not just the result that matters. Say we play against a better team overall, but we have taller players. We will try playing for set pieces and crosses. We might still lose the game, but we increase our chances of success. The book explains how we should think about maximizing our chances. That doesn’t guarantee success, but it makes us think in terms of probability. We naturally do that in our lives. I still travel by car, bike, and airplane. We limit our downside by wearing helmets and seatbelts. There would be unfortunate accidents, but we try to minimize them. Thinking in Bets will teach us exactly that. My only advice is to pause and reflect while reading the book. Think about your teams and matches, and how to maximize your chances of success.
Decision time
With so many books on soccer statistics, you might think we know so much about it. I would disagree with this statement. We know the human stories of soccer players, but we are far from understanding the numbers. I think we are just starting with it. With the rise of AI and the influx of data through various sensors, we will see an explosion of it. We have even seen it in youth sports as young as U8s. Video systems can calculate possession, passes, shots, and even xGs. This is truly impressive and will drive the development of youth players in a different way.
As you saw from the books, many other industries are ahead of soccer. However, as soccer is so lucrative, clubs will invest more and more in technology over time. The best soccer clubs in the world already hire these kinds of job profiles: data scientists, programmers, AI/ML engineers, computer vision experts, computer infrastructure engineers, and so on. The soccer aspect will not stay a side gig or a niche, but it will become a legitimate track for these professionals. They will try to outsmart each other and give an edge to their clubs. Only a few will succeed, so it will be fascinating to see yet another battle between the soccer clubs.
What is Mezzala in Soccer? [Complete Tactical Guide]
Central midfielders are the most versatile players on the pitch. However, even they have some advantages that they can express, especially in attack. Being able to wear many hats, a mezzala needs to find the right time to drift to the wing and create an overload. Often cooperating with the wing-back and the winger, can truly create confusion for the opponents. If the three players on the wing have the pace to do overlapping and underlapping runs, the defense can have their hands full. Furthermore, if they end up dragging more defenders, then a quick switch to the other side or a cross can create a numerical advantage in a very dangerous area. We have seen some fantastic players, such as Iniesta and Odegaard, really owning this role. Let’s look at what is needed to excel in it and the systems in which it makes sense to use it.
What is the Role of Mezzala in Soccer?
Mezzala is the role of a central midfielder that occupies a wide forward area of the pitch. The main purpose is to provide support to the team by pushing high in the winger area when the team is in possession. Mezzalas are often used to provide support to the wingers and wing-backs. This is especially true if some of them play in inverted roles. While attacking patiently and switching the ball from one flank to the other, a mezzala can create a numerical advantage. Also, they can create quality or dynamic superiority is hard to defend against. The players need to have good technical qualities, but also tactical knowledge to time their runs. That will avoid being caught off possession, and allow the opponents to progress in a counter-attack.
Formations for a Mezzala
There are lots of different ways to use mezzalas. Because it’s not easy to coach it, you will rarely see it in youth soccer teams and their tactics, even when you see players randomly drifting into it. The most typical ones are the 4-3-3 formations, which have been seen a lot by Guardiola and his disciples, Arteta and Xavi. We see that technically gifted and incredibly creative players with vision can make a difference in the wide areas, not just through the middle. In fact, they can contribute more when the opponents cannot predict their passes while positioned in the half-spaces, as it opens too many channels. Furthermore, with the rise of inverted fullback, the wingers do need support, especially if they are outnumbered.
Other common formations that support the mezzala role are 3-4-3 or even 3-5-2. As you can notice, in all cases the importance is to have many of players in the middle, so that the abandoned space is not easily targeted. If the players are dynamic that is easier, as they cover lots of ground. However, the positional awareness of the teammates to occupy the place in the center of the pitch is vital for the mezzala to have the freedom to help in attack.
4-3-3
In a 4-3-3 formation, the fullbacks can act as traditional fullbacks or as inverted fullbacks when attacking. However, keeping the wingers high and wide can create distance from the fullbacks. Getting the right amount of support for them is often the role of the attacking midfielders who will need to drift. Furthermore, they might need to occupy that area if the winger cuts in or plays as an inverted winger. The 8 and the 10 are fairly balanced in the attacking and defensive duties. Therefore, the moment of attacking the wings is up to them to time it. Similarly, if one of them goes wide, then the other one might need to balance that by coming more central. Either way, it’s not an individual decision that can work without cooperation with the teammates.
3-4-3 Formation
With the 3-4-3 formation heavily concentrated in the middle, it can be hard to break low-block teams. However, that also means that the central midfielders need to have the freedom to bring confusion in the opposition’s defense. If they can drift to the sides and create overloads, that can create opportunities for the wingers. Then strikers push through the half spaces and cut in passes to the middle. Easier said than done. Having versatile central midfielders who can keep possession and exploit these spaces will be of great benefit to the team.
3-5-2
In the 3-5-2 formation the central attacking midfielders can act as carrileros, but also as mezzalas. In fact, in a well-managed system, there can be mismatches. For example, if one of the fullbacks bombs down on the flank, but doesn’t get much support from the striker that stays central, then it is natural for the midfielder to act like a mezzala. On the other flank, maybe the other striker wants to drift and act like a raumdeuter. Well, then we can have a supporting act of a carrilero. It is up to the coach to understand the quality superiority of their team.
Attributes of a Mezzala
As it is a role that can change over the course of the game, it is often flexible in the requirements. However, the key is to have experienced, versatile players to complement the others on the team. First of all, their positioning and timing have to be excellent, otherwise, it creates more issues than it solves. Secondly, their decisions must be correct or it will leave the team exposed. Finally, their physical attributes will require them to quickly cover a fair amount of ground, as they will essentially play in somewhat distant areas in possession vs. in defense.
Attacking traits
The main attacking attributes of a mezzala are proficient first touch, passing, and vision. The first touch is important for any player that receives passes in the opposition third, especially with high pressure and high pace. This goes together with dribbling and flair, mezzalas are in positions to produce something out of nothing if there is an opportunity. When the player is placed in a position to play 1v1 near the box, they have to quickly control the ball and take a chance to score or assist. If that capability is not there, then there is no threat to the opponents and the effectiveness is much smaller.
If the numerical advantage is lost, then it’s up to the player to have the vision and passing ability to move the ball to another area. This patient approach might frustrate the team, but it will be even more annoying to the opponents. However, that assumes that the player can identify the opportunities and take them, but also make a good decision when there is no opportunity and move the ball quickly.
Defending skills
Obviously, a mezzala shines when the team has possession. However, the role is not of a poacher, so it has some defensive duties. The most important feature is to recognize when it needs to transition into them. The anticipation ability is key for the role. If the player can see a move or two ahead and repositions themselves (off-the-ball skill) to account for more aggressive offensive opportunities or more cautious defensive or even counter-pressing situations, then we have a quality mezzala in the squad. The only way a player can do this effectively is if they possess a high work rate and amazing stamina. Putting these together in one player is what makes it really challenging.
Famous mezzalas
As this is a very specific role with many challenges, there are not many players who have played their entire careers as a mezzala, but there are some who have become famous in the soccer world while excelling in it. They often played as central midfielder, a winger, or a creative playmaker in some systems. However, when there was a need, they stepped up to the challenge.
The most obvious one today is Martin Odegaard in Arsenal. He plays with Bukayo Saka on the wing, often inverted, in a 4-3-3 formation. Similarly, Mason Mount (and others) were acting as mezzalas in the 3-5-2 Chelsea team that won the Champions League in 2021. However, if you are looking at a masterclass, look no further than Iniesta. He was not a classic 10 or 8 (as his jersey number suggested). He was flawless in finding the wide areas to exploit at the right time. Clearly, his technical skills resulted in high effectiveness when playing as the mezzala in the legendary Barcelona teams for over a decade.
Conclusion
There it is – a full guide of mezzala in soccer. We covered what the role is, which formations to use it in, and the characteristics of it. The details of the role are so fascinating that they cannot be explained in a brief definition, so we decided to make a guide out of it. Finally, we looked at famous players who have played the role at the highest level. They made us think of the balance that our teams need to have in order to win games and maintain possession.
Top Soccer Coach Gifts [Complete Guide 2025]
One of my mentors, a soccer coach, was having an “after-practice chat” with his players, playing at a U16 level. He asked them: “How do you get to have good teammates?”. Nobody answered. “You need to deserve good teammates. By being a good teammate yourself! How do you deserve a good coach?”. They were smart and got the answer: “By deserving a good coach!”. The system of volunteer soccer coaches in the USA, often by parents, and much of the world dictates that the hard work of the coaches often goes unrewarded. With that in mind, you need to ask yourself, how do you show appreciation for a great coach? I’ve seen players and parents excel in selecting thoughtful soccer coach gifts that don’t cost much, but have an enormous emotional impact on the coach and the team.
What are the best soccer coach gifts?
The best soccer coach gifts are those that create an emotional bond between the team and the coach, often long after both have moved on. I have seen gift cards given to the coaches and that just seems unnecessary and not personal. The right way to do it is to put some thought into it. If you are too lazy to make it personal, at least get them a soccer book about coaches. I am happy to help with some of the best gifts I have received or have seen being given to other coaches. It is up to you in the end to decide which one fits your coach, so let’s go through them and you take your pick!
Picture Frame with Photos
One of my favorites is a personalized picture frame and team photos of each game of the season. I occasionally rotate through them. The players are now much older, but I still have the pictures from U10 and cycle through them on that picture frame. I think somewhere between 5 and 15 photos is a good number. Ideally, the players would also sign the photos at the back. Putting that all together with the picture frame creates a perfect, inexpensive gift for the coach – ideally at the end of the season.
Soccer Coach Hoodie
This one is just fun, while also being practical. Ideally, you would pick colors that fit the club colors, too. For example, if the uniforms that the team usually wears are black and white, then don’t pick a red or blue hoodie. Of course, this can work with other clothes, usually a T-shirt or a hat. Socks are usually not great, as they often wouldn’t show – a reminder that you are buying a gift for the coach, not the players. Just don’t get something that is hard to find the right fit, including any kind of shoes.
Whistle
I personally don’t use whistles when coaching, but I occasionally act as a referee or need to lend my whistle to a referee. This often happens at the youngest age groups where we have a parent act as a referee. For this purpose, having a whistle or two is great. I would likely not buy one myself, so it’s great that I got one as a present. It’s either that the players saw that I can use one or they prefer me using the whistle than my voice. Well, obviously that is not going to change anytime soon.
Tumbler
Unlike other sports, soccer can be played in rough weather. I never use an umbrella, but my players can often see me with a tumbler full of hot tea during evening practice or coffee for early games. I don’t run as the players do and often have multiple games in a row. In fact, I often have a second tumbler in the car after the game. So, having a quality tumbler that keeps the temperature is important. When spending such a long time on the pitch, I just need enough warm tea and some protein bars and I am good to go.
Water Bottle
The other side of the coin – summer weather can be brutal in some places. I always have at least two water bottles. When the players are very young, I often have several spare ones, as they always forget theirs. In fact, more often they just don’t bring enough. This is true for both boys and girls playing soccer. So, I just transfer some of the water from one of my gigantic water bottles into their empty ones. In any case, I always have one with me, so it’s an easy, practical gift that can bring good feelings to every practice and every game.
Soccer Tactics Board
This one is a little tricky and depends on the coach. When the players are very young, this can create more chaos than benefit. They might think it’s a toy and not focus on the actual tactic. However, as they get into their teenage years, the coach needs a tool to quickly show a concept to them.
One idea to personalize it is to sign it on the backside with a Sharpie. And this doesn’t have to be an electronic one. In fact, the idea for this gift is a signed tactics board I have seen gifted to a fellow coach many years ago, even before I met him.
Decision time
I hope this is a good guide on the soccer coach gifts. As a soccer coach for many years, I appreciate all the gifts that I have received from my players and parents. It was never about the cost, as I often spend way more on prizes for the players, but about the amazing memories and the way these gifts make me feel every day. Buying gifts is hard and each person is different in what they like. You will need to think a little bit about the person you have as a coach. However, I hope that this gift guide helps you with several ideas on what to consider buying for them. If you have other ideas, please reach out, happy to include them!