The ideas behind every good read
Football IQ is recognising the picture in front of you and knowing which decision it asks for. These pages explain the ideas Footy Eye's plays are built on, each with worked plays you can study, then train.
The five categories
Every play in the Test belongs to one of these, and every Test draws two from each.
- Build-UpPlaying out from the back: finding the free man and breaking the first line.
- TransitionThe seconds after the ball changes hands: counter, delay or win it back.
- PressingWhen to jump, how to stay compact and how to spring a pressing trap.
- MovementRuns without the ball: attacking the box and getting in behind.
- Game ManagementThe score, the clock, fouls, cards and restarts.
Ideas by phase of play
In possession
- The free manThe free man is the player the opponents can't mark at that moment, and finding him is the first job of every possession.
- Third-man runs and combinationsA third-man run is when player A passes to player B, who sets the ball first time to player C, who was moving while the first pass travelled.
- Switching playSwitching play is moving the ball quickly from one side of the pitch to the other to attack where the defence is thin.
- Half-spacesThe half-space is the vertical lane between the centre of the pitch and the wing, the channel between a full-back and a centre-back.
- Getting in behindGetting in behind means attacking the space between the opponents' last line of defenders and their goalkeeper.
- Pinning and decoy runsPinning is movement whose job is to hold a defender in place, or drag him away, so a teammate gets the space.
- Attacking the boxAttacking the box is how players move into the penalty area to meet a cross or cutback, and the zones they choose to attack.
- Breaking a set blockA set block is a defence that has had time to organise, with every player behind the ball, and breaking it takes patience rather than speed.
- Receiving under pressureReceiving under pressure is the set of decisions made before the ball arrives: where to stand, how to open the body and which way to take the first touch.
- Beating a high pressBreaking the first line means getting the ball past the opponents' front line of pressers while building from the back.
- Progressing through midfieldProgressing through midfield is moving the ball from the middle third into the final third, where chances are made.
- Creating chances in the final thirdCreating chances is turning possession near the opponents' box into a shot from a good position.
Out of possession
- Pressing triggersA pressing trigger is a cue that tells the defending team the moment to press has arrived.
- Pressing trapsA pressing trap is a deliberate invitation: the defending team leaves a pass open on purpose, then closes in once the ball goes there.
- Cover shadowsA cover shadow is the passing lane a defender blocks with his body while he presses, so one player can press the ball and mark a pass at the same time.
- Compactness and the defensive lineCompactness is keeping the distances between defenders, and between the lines, small enough that there's no space to play through.
- Delay and recoveryDelaying is slowing an attack down so teammates have time to recover, instead of diving into a tackle that could be beaten.
- Defending the boxDefending the box is keeping the ball out when it's in or near your penalty area: crosses, cutbacks, rebounds and set pieces.
- Pressing highPressing high is defending close to the opponents' goal, trying to win the ball while they build from the back.
Transitions
- Counter-attacksA counter-attack is attacking quickly in the seconds after winning the ball, before the opponents can get back into shape.
- Counter-pressingCounter-pressing, or gegenpressing, is pressing immediately after losing the ball, to win it back before the opponents can start their counter.
- Rest defenceRest defence is the players a team keeps behind the ball while it attacks, positioned to stop a counter if possession is lost.
- Defending a counter-attackDefending a counter-attack is slowing down and stopping an attack that's already running at your goal with few defenders back.
Restarts and the match
- Second ballsA second ball is the loose ball that drops after a header, flick-on or clearance, and the team that reads where it will land usually wins it.
- Restarts and set piecesRestarts are the moments play starts again after stopping: throw-ins, free kicks, goal kicks, corners and the goalkeeper's release.
- The score and the clockGame state is the score and the time left, and the same decision can be right or wrong depending on both.
- Fouls and cardsFouls and cards are part of the game's decisions: when stopping an attack is worth a free kick, and how a booking changes what a player can risk.
By position
Plays where your position decides the read.