Footy Eye
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Cover shadows

A 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.

A presser who runs straight at the ball only pressures one player. One who curves his run to keep an opponent behind him, in his shadow, takes that pass away too, and his team needs one player fewer to press.

Attackers fight back by stepping out of the shadow: a small sideways movement opens the lane again and makes the presser choose.

What to look for

  • The opponent your run can keep behind you
  • Curving the run so the ball can only go one way
  • Attackers standing directly behind a presser
  • A sideways step that gets you out of a shadow

The common mistakePressing in a straight line and leaving the easiest pass open behind you.

Worked plays

13 plays from Footy Eye's training pool, with the best read and why.

  1. Play 1

    The situation
    Keeper, ball at your feet. Their striker’s curved run shadows one centre-back; the other has stepped away with grass ahead.
    Best read
    Flat to the free centre-back, touch forward
    Why
    A curved run buys the striker one lane and costs him the other: once his angle commits, the far centre-back is free with the pitch ahead, so weight it flat and slightly in front. The shadowed centre-back receives with a presser arriving blind twenty yards from goal.
    The other options
    • Clip it long down the channel The clip lands in a contest down the channel, possession up for grabs.
    • Into the shadowed centre-back, let him turn The striker arrives on his blind side and wins it near your box.
    • Roll it to the pivot dropping short The pivot takes it with his marker tight on his back.

  2. Play 2

    The situation
    Your team builds from the back. The keeper has it. You’re the pivot, screened from both centre-backs by their two strikers.
    Best read
    Slide into the near striker’s blind side
    Why
    Two strikers can screen one pivot only while both can see you: step into the near one’s blind side and the lane opens without anyone else moving. Dropping in builds a back three you don’t need; the keeper is already the spare man, and you hand them a free presser where you were unmarked.
    The other options
    • Drop between the centre-backs, make a three You make a back three, and a striker is left free to press.
    • Hold your spot, keep showing between them Both strikers keep you screened, and the ball can’t reach you.
    • Push up onto their midfield line You leave the middle empty, and their strikers press the centre-backs.

  3. Play 3

    The situation
    You’re the six and the ball won’t come, however hard you ask. Their striker is arcing in to press your centre-back.
    Best read
    Take two steps sideways, out of his shadow
    Why
    You are not being ignored — you are invisible. Their striker’s body sits on the line between you and the ball, so that pass does not exist. Two steps sideways take you out of his cover shadow and the lane opens. Dropping deeper leaves you in the same shadow, further from goal.
    The other options
    • Show harder and demand it to feet You shout louder, but he’s still in the lane and it never comes.
    • Drop deeper, level with your centre-backs You drop into the same shadow, and your centre-back gets pressed.
    • Spin and run in behind their midfield Your centre-back has no short pass left, and their striker is on him.

  4. Play 4

    The situation
    Their keeper has it in his hands. His full-back has already broken wide for the roll-out. You press that side.
    Best read
    Get in the lane and kill the roll-out
    Why
    You can’t press a ball in his hands, so press what he’s looking for. Stand in the lane to the full-back and the restart is gone: he kicks long into a 50/50 or holds it until your block is set, and both suit you. Charging him achieves nothing he can’t step around.
    The other options
    • Close the keeper down, make him hurry He steps around you and rolls it out to the full-back.
    • Drop into your block, let him restart He rolls it to the full-back, who brings it up freely.
    • Man-mark their pivot in the middle The keeper rolls it wide, and the full-back carries it forward unopposed.

  5. Play 5

    The situation
    You lose it in their box and the keeper gathers. He’s already looking up; your side is thirty yards behind you.
    Best read
    Block the full-back lane, make him hold it
    Why
    The keeper isn’t the danger, the release is — every second he holds it, you get back into shape. Block his best lane and he waits or goes long, a fifty-fifty you’d take. Closing him down moves him a yard and he rolls it round you; sprinting home concedes the release for free.
    The other options
    • Close the keeper down, make him hurry He rolls it round you to the full-back, and they break.
    • Turn and sprint back behind the ball Nobody’s in the lane; the keeper finds the full-back in stride.
    • Drop into midfield onto their pivot The full-back takes it unopposed and runs at your midfield.

  6. Play 6

    The situation
    66th minute, 1–0 up with ten men. You’re the lone striker; their pivot drops in to build three-v-one.
    Best read
    Drop in and screen their pivot
    Why
    One man cannot press three, and a lone press played through hands them the whole pitch with a nine-man block behind it. Drop onto their pivot and your team defends with two proper lines. Staying high as an out-ball sounds like relief, but nobody in a deep block can reach you.
    The other options
    • Press the ball — force a mistake They pass round you to the pivot, and he runs at your midfield.
    • Stay high and central as the out-ball Their pivot turns freely, and your team can’t reach you up top.
    • Shuttle across and shadow the far centre-back The ball goes into their pivot behind you, and he turns.

Train it

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Train Cover shadows

Test it

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