[kami]

Ok first of all I feel stupid to be asking this since I played sweeper for my soccer team but I am now coaching and have come upon a question about defense. This question arose out of a coaching clinic run by Dan Donigan, SLU coach. Dongian had a 2 v1 type drill running and stopped in the midst of it to point a problem with defenders positioning. The situation looked like this:

Fo......... F
.... D\

Fo Forward with ball
F Forward
D\ Defender with left hip to Fo and chest toward F.

Fo had the ball, which the defender pressured. At first I thought "Well if I'm in a 2v1 such as this, I would probably do the same. I canmake a quick turn if Fo takes me to my left and I can track down F if a pass is sent to him" Wrong. Donigan said that in a 2v1 situation the defender is in a bad situation, a low probability of success situation as it is. He said the defender should in fact cut out one of Fo's options, i.e. the pass to the other forward. So he should position himself like this:

Fo.............F
.... /D

Now his body is facing the Fo and he is in the passing lane and able to force Fo outside to dribble. While Fo could make some pass, it will be more difficult with the pressure in the passing lane.

Ok so if you stick to this, would one line up the defense in a 3v2 situation like this?

F................... Fo................. F
........................ /D

.................. /D

Knock out a passing option, second defender is there to back up first defender in case first defender is beat, and second defender can pick up outside right forward if pass is sent to him.

Again, the 2v1 is the situation that got me thinking and the one I am wondering about. The 3v2 appears to be correct and familiar to what I did as a sweeper. Thanks for the input and comments.

[Counselor]

Re: your 3v2 example--yes, you have that right. Defending is all about numbers and predictability. You make a 2v1 into a 1v1 by cutting out a passing option; by the same token, you make a 3v2 into a 2v2 in the same manner. The covering defender is able to read that the first defender is showing the ball to one side and position himself accordingly. Deadly in this situation is if the lead defender lets the player on the ball cut back the other way on the dribble, or allow a pass (other than a square or negative ball that tends to slow the attack) to the player that the defense is attempting to cut out.

Cheers and best of luck.