Where Goals Come From: Training for Progressive Pass Finishing
/This is the seventh article in a series of articles and videos in the Where Goals Come From project from Jamon Moore and Carl Carpenter.
Now that we have inundated you with progressive passing data, videos, and presentations, now comes the time where I provide examples of how to create these types of opportunities in matches by applying these attacking principles to training. This is the part which is the most important to me personally: it’s easy for us to theorize and analyze what successful teams do well and identify these as the top levels of the game, however, the goal (no pun intended) of the Where Goals Come From project is ultimately to impact clubs and coaches to incorporate this framework into their strategy and game models.
Jamon’s analysis demonstrates to key decision-makers at the front-office level why knowing how goals are scored in every league regardless of perceived quality -- and roughly 40% of goals come from a progressive pass -- matters so much to an effective set of attacking and defensive philosophies. Working with coaches and analysts of all types is more nuanced: they need something which is actionable. Nothing is more actionable and practical than taking these concepts to the practice pitch to incorporate and improve on until they become second nature to the players. This is done via a variety of drills and sessions that create the environment to help players learn the situations and when to apply them in games. Further reinforcement comes from the locker room discussions and team meetings.
To quote Leicester City’s assistant manager Chris Davies:
“Having clear learning objectives or a reason for doing everything is so important because players will do anything, in my experience, if they know there’s a good reason why.”
If players are aware of the benefits progressive passes and other well-formed attacks that provide on-pitch success, the buy-in at all levels becomes natural.
In terms of how this article fits within the greater project we’ve been unveiling on American Soccer Analysis, leaving this piece towards the end of our initial series was purposeful for two reasons:
While the benefits of progressive passing might seem logical by this point due to our work and other recent work on the subject by many analysts, it’s important to lay as much groundwork as possible for those who have not been exposed into the specifics of them before.
Creating training sessions are HARD, especially in the way I wanted to frame it.
To touch on the second point directly above this, I worked on making these sessions/drills something that can be utilized at all levels of the game, be it youth soccer or professional levels.
As well, I did my best to identify drills which will apply to any game model, not the ones which require a specific formation/style/or positional profile to execute. The ideal ones will be those which:
Help identify ways in which progressive passes can be played individually.
Identify when to use teammates to bypass opponents and create advantages ahead of the ball.
Be flexible in how they can be applied and adjusted depending on numbers, player ability, etc.
Sessions for Generating Forward Passes
Session One: 2v1 + 3v2 Game To Goal
This is a very simple game given to me by Ryan Hopkins, head coach at San Diego State University. While it features a goal-scoring element, it’s primarily a good way for players to work on the weight of pass which bypasses opponents, as well as interacting with teammates to try and manipulate defenders to generate forward passes. You can add numbers as you like and use actual goalkeepers or smaller goals, depending on availability.
Design/rules:
Players can dribble if not pressed.
A loose interpretation of offside should be maintained (perhaps by a coach).
Adding in other restrictions (touch limit) is recommended.
Session Two: 4v4 + 1 Breaking Lines/Transition
Progressive passes mean verticality, so inevitably breaking lines. This one requires a neutral player in the middle to use as a target for finding these sorts of passes. Defenders aim to shift across the pitch laterally and close passing lanes, while the attackers move and shift to create these angles. Once a team gets to one end, defenders and attackers rotate.
Design/rules:
The neutral player cannot defend.
Neutral player has one touch.
If you’d like to add in a finishing element (goalkeeper in a full sized goal) that can be changed.
Session Three: Forward Passing Leading to 1v1 To Goal
This one builds off the concepts touched on in sessions 1 and 2, however, due to the tightness of the midfield players and bodies in these areas, it stresses the importance of recycling possession, moving the ball horizontally before finding the killer ball in between lines. An added wrinkle in the section to goal where the 1v1 is highlighted: You can add a variation where other attacking players can join the ball carrier to create 2v1s or even switch the ball horizontally to create cutbacks, etc.
Design/rules:
Defenders can switch the ball between themselves.
No player has more than one touch.
Sessions to Learn Finishing Attacks
Session One: Switching Play To Create 2v1 - Finishing With Cross/Cutback
The passing in the initial passes of the session can be easily modified: Any sort of pattern you want your defenders and midfielders to use can work (even if you want to start from the goalkeeper). The focus and application within the Where Goals Come From framework is on the big switch of play and the 2v1 created between the full back and winger: Timing of the run in relation to player receiving it, as well as the center forward and weak side players timing/shaping their runs to attack the cross or cutback. While the example utilizes stationary defenders, if you have enough players to defend (or want to build upon the session once the movements are correct) you can make it live.
Design/rules:
A goalkeeper is recommended to increase the difficulty and requirement of realistic movements/finishes.
You can adopt the shape/formation of the mannequins depending on how you want.
Players in the build up phase should have a form of touch restriction - This emphasizes quickness to facilitate progressive passing movements. Once the players in the final third, these should be reduced.
Session Two: LAFC Transition Game To Goal
I took this session from Bob Bradley and his LAFC teams, who as shown in article five of Where Goals Come From, were masters of progressive passing in 2019. The narrow aspect of the pitch means that verticality is a must, and players off the ball must stretch play property to not kill the momentum of attacking moves. Depth in attack is an imperative, whether it’s the progressive passes to get into the final third, or those which create chances in the final third. Teams are 10v10 (+1 neutral player), and attackers and defenders cannot get into the other half of play. There is also a touch limit (I like 3 max) to stress quickly finding passes which mimic the pressure you’d face in a match.
Design/rules:
Three touch maximum in the attacking half (apart from the neutral player)
Game is played in three minute rounds.
As soon as possession goes out of play, or a goal is scored. The ball is immediately sent in from the center of the pitch to find the neutral.
Session Three: Breaking Pressure To 2v2
This session works in a tighter space (about 30 yards long) and puts demands on movement from players in the initial phase, even with the two man advantage in this area. Players need to open up the pitch as wide as possible and drop deep to provide angles of support.
The neutral zone in between the two halves can only be accessed by one of the two forwards when the pass into the final “third” has been made. From here, the two forwards must combine and find a way to outsmart the two defenders and go to goal. If this is not an option, they drop the ball back and restart. This emphasizes the importance of not forcing progressive passes into the final third.
Sessions with full 11v11 (or full squad)
Session One: Attacking Centrally Through the #9
This is a great session intended for team’s to attack centrally (compressing the opposition), before combining and getting cutbacks or through balls in wide area: A variation of the overload-isolate-score theme discussed in previous Where Goals Come From articles. I like to add in an element of jeopardy to these sessions for the attacking team: allowing the defensive team (if numbers are available) to try and create a transition - either to the big goal like a real match or two smaller goals placed in the channels they can go to. The focus for the team in attack is utilizing the center forward and helping him connect with players underneath to link the build up phase with the attacking phase.
Design/rules:
The addition of the highlighted wide channels (see the animation) are to stress the importance of full backs and wide players not occupying the same vertical areas
Once the defenders are bypassed in the final third you can alter elements - allowing them to drop back and defend, or restricting them and focusing on the process of finishing.
Session Two: In-Out-Through To Goal
One of the biggest ways to create opportunities for progressive passes is through attracting their players to one side of the pitch, and attacking them/moving the ball to another. This session makes that dynamic a rule/imposed demand on the team in possession: As shown in the animation below, the team must attack through the wide areas FIRST before entering back into the center at the halfway line. From there, the game is free, and the team can look to score on any of the three mini-goals. If they score, the game is reset and the opposing team starts with the ball.
Because the wide areas are even numbers (i.e. full back on winger) the ball must be recycled constantly and even switched in the team’s own half before they can progress into the attacking phase. Generating forward passing lines doesn’t just happen at the drop of a hat, so this session imposes those demands on the players.
Design/rules:
To make things more difficult, and make the attacking team move through the wide areas quicker, you can add in a limit of one touch, the addition of combinations required, etc. to make them play through these areas quickly and dynamically.
Session Three: Tactical Progressive Movements - Build Up To Score
The final session is a combination of every phase of progressive passes/movements: starting build up play from deep, combining through the middle, isolating players in the final third, and scoring goals. As with every session, this can be modified to suit your needs, but mannequins are used as the first two lines of defensive pressure - the focus here is on varying patterns and movements to find as many different ways as possible to break lines and move the ball through the thirds.
Once into the attacking/finishing phase, the two opposition CBs are live to add some realism: While the animation has the team in possession scoring through a cutback, they can use what the opposition give them: if the central runs are open, use them. A further variation has fully live opposition and two goals (with keepers on the end) - another way to add coaching points which back up the goal of attacking in a way which is most fruitful. As you move the ball to one flank, the defenders will make it difficult to score on the goal in the direct vicinity - to combat this, switch/recycle play and go down the opposite flank. The possibilities are endless.
Design/rules:
There are no real rules or requirements in this one: this is the most “open” of the sessions detailed - As ever, adapt it to what you have available and how you look to create progressive passes!
Key Points
Think of training sessions/drills (as shown) which best fit your team’s way of progressve attacking: both in the build up and finishing phases
Tailor sessions to the skill level/age group of your players - if they need to be given the freedom to take more touches to understand the movements, allow them too.
As with all other coaching jobs: Find ways to stress the vertical/dynamic passes and movements Where Goals Come From in each and every drill.
About Carlon Carpenter
Carlon is the current Tactical & Video Analyst for StatsBomb, one of the largest soccer data companies in Europe. Carlon also works as a contract employee for the U.S. Soccer youth national teams, working as a performance analyst for the U-17 men’s national team. Carlon can be contacted through his LinkedIn account, or via Twitter.
About Jamon Moore
Jamon is a twenty-five-year professional in the high-technology industry who started as a software developer and is now in executive management overseeing business agility transformations with a specialization in high-technology. In addition to his analysis for American Soccer Analysis, he is a credentialed media member covering the San Jose Earthquakes. Jamon can be contacted via Twitter, and club analysts and executives can connect with Jamon on LinkedIn.