Barcelona day 3. Defending tactics.

Today we had a visit from one of the coaching team responsible for working personally with Carles Puyol of FC Barcelona.
Carles came to Soccer Services, the coaching team for football Catalunya, to ask for help improving several areas of his game from Joan Villa who had helped him in his youth at Barcelona.
In order to improve Puyol, who at 30 was at his physical peak, they needed to give him some tactical fundamentals to improve his positional play as well as his anticipation of the game. They worked on his movement and on his speed of thought which added valuable time to his game and allowed him to anticipate play much better.
Much of the lecture focussed on the spaces between defenders and how to transition into those spaces, we observed several examples where defenders got dragged out of position and never recovered. The key for centre backs is to maintain shape and occupy the space in the middle of the park thus leaving the attacker no room to move into. Staggering to think that a player as accomplished as Puyol had areas to improve his game, the fact that he took it on himself to do so is one of the main reasons he is one of the best central defenders on the planet.
The next part of the lecture focussed on defending tactics in general and below are some of the high level points discussed.
1. Defending the space as a first or second centre in clearing defensive situations.
2. Moving to cover the side when there is balance in the central area.
3. Limit running backwards in inferior situations.
4. Moving back in air balls that go into free space.

Defending 1 on 1 
Anticipate the long passes.

Training programs.
Planned training, contents and coaching points and game preparation.

                                                   How to design games.
1. Training content and coaching point.
     Age is a factor in this.                   Level is a factor in this.
      1 content per session and 1 coaching point. e.g. Passing.
      Prioritising drawing defenders before making the pass.
2. Types of exercises.
       Initiation. A team reduced in number against another team with the purpose of beating    
       them. Ball is always used but no goals are used, score by number of passes or 
       having a zone to pass into.
       Small sided game is always the way to finish this session. 3 v 3 or 4 v 4.
3. Players and floating players.
       Minimum in any team should always be 3 players, if there are 2 players it is too hard
       for them and it imbalances their relationship and doesn't allow triangle passing.
       Maximum number of players should always be what the team normally plays in 
       competition. (11 a side)
4. Spaces
        Passing, free spaces, supporting and shooting. 
5. Marking zones/scoring criteria.
       Following a specific conduct such as number of passes.
       Reaching spaces.  Time. Crossing spaces.
       Has to be realistic and based on real game situations or it is pointless.
6. Rules.
       Types of roles have to be taken into account. Player with ball, without ball or 
        defender. 
        Creating zones on the pitch and rules which relate to these zones. I.e. Shooting from 
         a specific area.
7. Key Questions.
       In which position does the ball have to arrive with my team mate?
       When do I have to pass the ball?
      Create intelligent players.

All in all quite an intense day with a massive amount of information to take in.

Barcelona day 2.
Today started with a lecture by Football Catalunya regarding the structure they implement for coaches in the province starting at grass roots level. There is a massive emphasis on monitoring and improving coaches so they can alleviate any problems early in the piece, this also helps them coach to a standard everywhere. Some coaches resisted when this system was brought in but when they saw the improvements in the other coaches they jumped on board. The federation desires their coaches to be proactive and supportive of young players.
There seems to be a huge concern here with the psychological development of young players and ensuring that the result isn't the focus when they play football, it's about enjoyment and learning.
Perhaps this is what has been taking place at Upton Park for the last 10 years without them sharing it with the supporters? 
In the afternoon we had another session with Victor Sanchez the FCB fitness preparation coach, because we met him previously at RFEF it was not possible to ask open questions in front of the other coaches. this is what we were able to do today.
In response to the major question of Barcelona over the next 10 years they don't have any plans to change the system but they aim to continue their development at grass roots level across Catalunya and bring the best young players through to the first team at the right times.
In Milan this week, the team will be set up much differently to the way they played at home to Zaragoza but clearly not much more information was provided to us as regards Pep's tactics though.
In response to the question of tactical changes within the club, if something new is to be tried then it is implemented top down so they try it at senior level then introduce it across the board.
It was a very interesting session and it was followed by a visit to attend training at Barcelona's training camp outside the city.
It was very wet but very enjoyable.

Barcelona day 1. Football Catalunya.

After arriving at our hotel late from the Nou Camp, we all crashed out and slept most of the morning.
Sunday saw the arrival of the rest of our group by coach from Madrid so after a late lunch we took in some of the sites of Barcelona and were introduced to our Tour Guide for the week.
Two beers and some tapas later we were all off to bed in preparation for a busy week.
Nice to see the Scousers beat Chelsea at the Bridge, wobble time for AVB and the boys.
Another away win for the mighty Hammers too, nice one Sam.....another step closer to the premier league.

Barcelona versus Real Zaragoza.

A handful of us left Madrid after touring the Santiago Baernabeu Stadium and flew to Barcelona for the home game at The Nou Camp on Saturday night.
The Bernabeu is a hugely impressive venue and some of the memorabilia on display is fabulous, massive amount of history with Real Madrid although as a keen Barcelona fan it wasn't over whelming to me personally especially since it was my 4th trip to the stadium.
On arrival in Barcelona, we made our way to Plaza Catalunya to collect our tickets and then headed to a bar next to Camp Nou? After eating and having a few drinks we made our way into the stadium and were seated in the lower tier just to the right of the dug outs as you face the main stand. The first thing that struck me was the lack of Spanish fans in this part of the ground, it certainly does seem to be more of a tourist attraction than a partisan Catalunyan crowd and that is evident in the atmosphere.....very subdued.
Zaragosa managed to contain the mighty Barcelona for all of 18 minutes when Pique nodded in a corner and it was clear from there it would result in Barclona's 7th straight home win this season. They have scored 30 times at home too which is no surprise considering the ease at which they punctured the Zaragoza defense, they appeared to be looking at containment rather than getting back into the game.
The football on display was truly magnificent at times and Messi really is un-playable for opposing teams, truly a magician with the ball and it was a joy to be there and see his magic first hand. My only surprise is that he only scored once although he pretty much had a hand in everything good Barca did.
Zaragosa substituted a couple of players at half time, including West Ham's Pablo Barrera, and looked much more likely to score in the opening exchanges. The left winger was creating opportunities down the left and causing Dani Alves a few problems but then Barca countered, Puyol scored and it was exhibition football from then on.
Let's hope for footballs sake that Milan pose a much more sterner challenge to the Champions of Europe on Wednesday when they meet.
All in all this was a fantastic game of football and a great way to spend a Saturday evening.

Day 4. Spain, World Champions.
This morning we had a visit from the coaching team of Spain. They spoke with us about their strategies taking charge of a team which had just won the European Championships and attempting to maintain that hunger then take them to the next level. 
The strategies of Señor Del Bosque, Señor Grande and Señor Minano were extremely insightful and a massive amount of hard work went into taking a great team and making them even better. 
Spain lost their first game of the World Cup against Switzerland and the press were calling for wholesale changes across the team. Señor del Bosque was very calm, he changed just one player whilst shouldering the expectations of the Spanish people and the press then went on to win the whole tournament. The press were highly critical of Busquets after game 1 but del Bosque simply backed his player 100% to everybody which unified the squad and brought them closer together.
The session also covered competitive analysis of the teams they are playing and what type of information Señor del Bosque requires from his team prior to a game.

I think these guys must have been on holiday leading up to the game at Wembley recently. :-)
Joking aside, their comments regarding the England match were very accurate in terms of the way teams play against Spain. 
In terms of possession Spain had most of the ball, in terms of passing Spain had a significantly higher completion percentage, in terms of shots  on goal Spain were superior and Spain recovered the ball in Englands half of the pitch 42% of their possession recoveries. This is aligned with one of the main tactical priorities we have seen consistently everywhere in Spain so far, if you lose the ball you must try to recover it as quickly as possible.

Day 3. Valdebebos. Real Madrid training centre.

WOW!
Real Madrid has the most fabulous centre of excellence about 20 minutes drive from the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the centre of Madrid, we got full access to it yesterday and spent the afternoon and early evening there.
The centre has a multitude of pitches built in a cascade from the top of a sloped complex, the  philosophy is that you join Real Madrid at 8 years old and train on the bottom pitches then work your way up to the top of the complex and ultimately the first team.
The first team was on site yesterday training so security was tight and our access was under close scrutiny, Mr Mourinho was very clear about that.
Raul spent several hours taking us through the complex viewing training areas, changing rooms, gym facilities and then observing training matches from under 17 right through to B & C teams. 
These kids are the best of the best from the Castillan area of Spain and the future of Real Madrid FC, some of the videos I will post later will absolutely demonstrate that very clearly and we witnessed some fabulous play.

Prior to this trip, we had a visit from the President of Malaga FC who have just undertaken a re-building program across the entire club. From their training centre right through to the stadium they are building on the outskirts of Malaga, this is a club on the up and up. They shared their philosophies from the grass roots training right up to the tactical preparation of the first team and their scouting policies which they hope is going to propel them into the Champions League over the next 2 to 3 years.
Watch this space.

Madrid Day 2. FC Barcelona/Villarreal Methodology

Day 2 had visits from senior coaching directors from both Barcelona and Villarreal. Lectures from both groups were fantastic and we looked at methodology and structure for the Academies at both clubs. Training sessions followed in the afternoon with under 8, 9 and 11 at the Spanish Federation and the development of the children here is staggering. I have to admit, these kids are the best Spain has to offer but even at under 8 level the awareness of the game tactically is beyond belief. The passing and ball control is equivalent to a much higher age group in Australia. there are plenty of videos taken by the group and they will be posted later tonight.