Rondo
5v3 Breakout Rondo: Mini Goals or Break to Goal
Keep the ball under pressure and make possession count, and punish every lost ball: the pressing three hunt the ball as a unit and break out to goal the moment they win it, while the five react straight away to win it back.
Duration
20 min
Total drill time
Players
12
Recommended
Pitch
Full Pitch
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U11-U12
Any format
Setup & instructions
Mark a 44 x 32 m area with a full goal and a keeper at each end; one end can be the goal on the end line of a pitch. In the middle mark a 14 x 14 m square, a disc on each corner, and put a mini goal about 2 m outside the middle of its top line and its bottom line, facing the square. Five blues keep the ball in the square against three reds. Two more reds wait outside the square, one on each side, between the square and a goal. A coach with spare balls stands outside the square. Six blue passes in a row open the mini goals: from then on the blues can pass the ball into either one for a point, and the count starts again. When the reds win the ball they break out of the square at once, link with the two outside reds and attack either full goal; a goal is a point. The blues counter-press: the nearest player goes at the ball and the others cut the passing lanes. If the blues win it back they take it into the square and play on. After every goal, or when the ball goes out, the coach serves a new ball to a blue in the square and everyone goes back to their start positions. Play 3 minute rounds, change the three pressers each round and swap the teams' roles after three rounds.
Setup time: 8 min
Tactical breakdown
A plain 5v3 rondo can get comfortable: the five keep it, the three chase, and nothing much happens when the ball changes hands. This version gives both teams something to win. The five are rewarded for keeping it, and the three are rewarded for taking it.
In the square it is a 5v3 with one player in the middle. Six passes in a row open two mini goals just outside the square, so possession has a purpose: once the count is reached, the blues look for the pass into a mini goal instead of keeping it for its own sake. That asks for the basics done quickly: open the angle before the ball arrives, play away from the presser, and use the middle player to split the three.
The three reds have to press as a unit or they never get the ball. The nearest goes at the ball. The other two do not chase, they cut the two most dangerous passing lanes, usually the ones through the middle. After every pass the nearest red presses the new man on the ball and the other two shift across to the next lanes.
When the reds win it, the second game starts. Two more reds wait outside the square, one on each side, and there is a full goal with a keeper at each end of the area. The reds break out at once, link with a wide team-mate and attack either goal. Speed matters more than numbers: a first pass forward and an early finish beat a slow build-up.
The blues have just lost the ball, so the drill trains their reaction too. The nearest blue presses the ball straight away and the others cut the passing lanes and get goal side. If they win it back, they take it into the square and the rondo carries on. After every goal the coach serves a new ball, so the players keep switching between keeping the ball, pressing it and attacking the goal.
How to run this drill
- Mark the area and the square. A 44 x 32 m area with a full goal and a keeper at each end. A 14 x 14 m square in the middle with a mini goal about 2 m off its top and bottom lines.
- Set up the 5v3 and the two outside reds. Five blues in and on the square, three reds inside it, one red on each side of the square between it and a goal, and a coach with spare balls.
- Six passes open the mini goals. After six blue passes in a row the blues can pass the ball into either mini goal for a point. The count then starts again.
- Win it and break out. When the reds win it they break out at once with the two outside reds and attack either full goal. A goal is a point.
- Counter-press, then go again. The blues press the ball and cut the passing lanes. If they win it back they play on in the square. After a goal the coach serves a new ball to a blue.
- Rotate. Play 3 minute rounds, change the three pressers each round, and swap the teams' roles after three rounds.
Coaching focus
FROM SESSION PLANCoaching points
- Blues: open your body and the angle before the ball arrives, so you can play away from the presser
- Blues: the middle player moves into the gaps between the reds; the four on the lines move along them to stay visible
- Count the passes out loud and look for the mini goal as soon as the sixth pass is played
- Reds: the nearest goes at the ball, the other two cut the two most dangerous passing lanes; after every pass the nearest presses again
- Reds: the moment you win it, play forward first time, out to a wide team-mate or into space towards goal
- Outside reds: stay alive and move before it is won, so the first pass out has an angle
- Blues: as soon as you lose it, the nearest presses the ball and the rest cut the lanes and get goal side
- In the break, attack with speed and width and finish early, before the blues recover
Common mistakes
- Blues standing on the corners of the square, so one red covers two passing lanes
- Reds all chasing the ball together, leaving the passing lanes open
- Reds winning it and dribbling around in the square instead of breaking out at once
- Outside reds standing still during the rondo, so the pass out has no angle
- Blues switching off after losing it and watching the ball instead of pressing or recovering
Progressions & regressions
VARIATIONSProgressions
- Two-touch maximum for the blues, one-touch once the shape holds
- The reds have 8 seconds to score once they win it, or the coach serves to the blues
- A blue regain in the break that is passed into the square first time is a point
- Only the nearest two blues may counter-press; the other three must recover behind the ball
- A goal in the full goal from the reds' first pass after the regain counts double
Regressions
- Four passes open the mini goals
- Grow the square to 16 x 16 m
- No counter-press: the blues wait in the square until the break ends, so the reds learn the patterns first
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