There’s nowhere quite as lonely on the football field as when you realise you’re defending 2 vs 1. When you’re the only defender standing in the way of a stampede of attackers, that can be a bit disconcerting. Let’s be honest, in 2 v 1 situations the odds are not on your side. But that’s no […]
What Klopp Can Teach You For 5-a-side
It seems right now Jurgen Klopp is the hottest thing in Liverpool since the Beatles. Even if he doesn’t turn out to be the saviour of the football club you can’t deny he’s a great character. But, aside from the big energy, the smiley persona and cultivating a fine head of hair, what can he […]
What Pirlo taught me about 5-a-side
I’m sure that Andrea Pirlo is a regular reader of 5-a-side.com, but you may be surprised to know that I haven’t actually interviewed him for this article. No, I just happened to be away on holiday armed with a copy of Pirlo’s autobiography and kept on finding little gems from the great man that I […]
5-a-side Defending: The Ultimate Guide
Your attack might provide the thrills, but it’s your defence that makes you a proper team, as well as delivering success in the long term. For most of us, our natural inclination is to want to be in possession of the ball and to try to bag a goal. So it’s not surprising that defence […]
The Basic Problem in Defending
Defending: it’s a subject dear to my heart. I’m not a defender by trade but I often find myself playing there as, more often than not, other people on my team aren’t doing it properly. Sometimes that’s due to others not understanding how to defend, but it’s more often an issue of attitude, or rather a […]
Positioning for Football – A Game Played Sideways
Football is a simple game, which can be played impressively just by doing simple things well, none more so than positioning yourself correctly. It’s one of the things that nobody ever seems to tell you, how to position yourself correctly, but it’s something that can make all the difference to your game. Putting it Simply […]
How to Play Against a Better Team
Sometimes you come up against a team who are quite obviously better than you are. It’s not time to panic; it’s time to prepare – follow our list of tips to ensure damage limitation and, who knows, you might just pull off an upset. 1. Keep a positive attitude Sometimes the game is lost even […]
The Last Man – A Vital Defending Strategy
Solid, dependable, consistent. The Last Man (or woman) is the furthest defender back and the foundation on which a team’s defense will be built. Nearly all good 5-a-side teams play with somebody in this position and in this article we explain what it is all about and how your team can improve by focusing on it. This […]