Rondo
3v3v3 Counter-Press Rondo (Newcastle-Style)
Train the reaction to losing the ball. The moment it is lost, all six press to stop the exit, and they have to do it again when the defenders score and get the next ball. The defending trio presses as a unit to stop the six passes and breaks for a goal the moment it wins the ball.
Live animation
Duration
15 min
Total drill time
Players
9
Recommended
Pitch
22 × 22 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U11-U12
Any format
Setup & instructions
Mark a 22 x 22 m square and put a mini goal about 3 m out from each corner, angled so it faces the square. Make three trios in different bibs. The coach stands outside one side with a supply of balls. Two trios play together, 6v3, against the third. The coach serves a ball to the six, who need six passes in a row before they can score in any of the four goals (1 point). If the three defenders win it, they break straight for any goal with no pass needed, and a goal on the break is worth 2. All six players who lost it counter-press to stop them; if the six win it back, the count starts again. After a goal by the six, or when the ball goes out, the coach serves a new ball to the six. After a goal by the defenders, the coach serves the next ball straight back to the defenders, so the six must counter-press again. Keep the same trio defending for 45 seconds, then rotate until every trio has defended. Play three or four rounds with 90 seconds' rest between them.
Setup time: 5 min
Tactical breakdown
This rondo was shared online in September 2026 and attributed to Newcastle United. We could not find the club or its staff describing it, so treat the name as a label rather than a fact. The reputation behind it is real: under Eddie Howe, Newcastle had the fourth-lowest PPDA and the longest average press in the Premier League midway through 2022/23, according to Opta Analyst, and scored 31 league goals from high turnovers across his four full seasons, behind only Manchester City and Liverpool.
The rules are built around one moment: the second after the ball is lost. Two trios keep it 6v3, and the six need six passes before they can score. That target keeps the defending trio pressing, because every pass it allows is a step closer to a goal against it.
When the defenders win it, they do not have to keep it. They go straight for any of the four goals, and a goal on the break counts double. The six who lost it cannot recover as a line, so they have to counter-press: the nearest player presses the ball at once, and everyone else closes the nearest pass and the route to the nearest goal. England Football's guidance for the same moment is to win it back within five seconds, with everyone reacting together.
The rule that makes it hard is the second ball. When the defenders score, the coach serves the next ball straight back to them, so the six must react again straight away. Conceding is exactly when a team switches off, and this rule punishes it.
Forty-five seconds is enough to keep the defending trio at full intensity. Then the next trio goes in, and after three blocks every player has defended once.
How to run this drill
- Mark a 22 x 22 m square. Put a mini goal about 3 m out from each corner, angled to face the square. The coach stands outside one side with the balls.
- Play 6v3. Three trios in different bibs: two keep the ball together against the third. The coach serves a ball to the six.
- Six passes, then score. After six passes in a row the six may score in any of the four goals, worth 1 point. The coach then serves a new ball to them.
- Win it and break. If the defenders win it, they go straight for any goal: a goal on the break is worth 2. All six who lost it counter-press, and if they win it back the count starts again.
- Serve the next ball back. When the defenders score, the coach serves the next ball straight back to them, so the six have to counter-press again.
- Rotate every 45 seconds. Keep one trio defending for 45 seconds, then rotate until all three have defended. Three or four rounds, 90 seconds' rest between them.
Coaching focus
FROM SESSION PLANCoaching points
- Lose it: the nearest player presses the ball at once, the rest close the nearest passes
- All six react, not only the player who lost it
- Get between the ball and the nearest goal: stop the exit first, then win it
- Win it back, then spread out again before the next pass
- In possession, open up and play away from the pressure; take a touch only when you need one
- Defending trio: press together to stop the count, and when you win it, first pass forward and shoot early
- After a goal on the break, switch straight back on: the next ball is already coming
Common mistakes
- Only the player who lost it presses while the other five watch
- Pressing one at a time, so one pass beats all of them
- Everyone chasing the ball and leaving the nearest goal open
- Switching off after conceding on the break, when the coach's next ball is already in
- Defenders dribbling after winning it instead of going straight for a goal
- The six forcing a pass before they have earned the six
Progressions & regressions
VARIATIONSProgressions
- Eight passes before the six can score
- Five seconds to win it back, or the defenders earn a point
- Two touches for the six, then one
- A smaller square, 18 x 18 m
Regressions
- Four passes before the six can score
- A bigger square, 25 x 25 m
- Defenders may only score in a goal on the side where they win it
- 30-second blocks for younger players
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