Rondo
6v3 Positional Rondo: 4 Outside, 2 Inside
Play through the middle, not round it. Draw the three defenders to one side, find an inside player between the lines and play back out to the far side, with the split and the third man as the prize. Lose it and win it back before the defenders connect a pass.
Duration
15 min
Total drill time
Players
9
Recommended
Pitch
14 × 14 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
Medium
Physical demand
Age band
U11-U12
Any format
Setup & instructions
Mark a 14 x 14 m square with a disc on each corner (about 15 yd; go up to 18 m for younger groups). Split nine players into three trios in three bib colours. Two trios keep the ball: each puts one player on each of two opposite sides and one player inside the square, so there is a player on every side and two inside. The third trio defends inside. Outside players move along their line but stay on it; inside players move anywhere. Two touches maximum. A pass into an inside player that he plays back out to a side is a point, and if that pass splits two defenders on the way in it is a bonus point. When the defenders win the ball they must connect one pass between them: then the trio that lost it goes in to defend and the defenders take its spots, one on each of its two sides and one inside. If the trio that lost it wins it back before that pass is connected, nothing changes. Play three rounds of three minutes with a minute's rest, counting points for each trio.
Setup time: 3 min
Tactical breakdown
Six against three sounds like an easy overload, and played as six round a circle it is: the ball goes round the outside and nobody has to think. The positional version changes one thing. Four players hold the sides of a 14 m square and two play inside, among the defenders. Todd Beane's TOVO method calls it 4v3 plus 2 inside, and Arsenal have been filmed using the same shape: four outside, two central players, three defenders.
The inside players are the point. A pass into one of them that comes back out scores, because that is the line-breaking pass the exercise exists to train, and a pass that splits two defenders on the way in is worth a bonus. So the outside players are not circulating for its own sake. They draw the three towards one side with short passes between two or three players, the way Guardiola describes attracting defenders, and then look through them to the far side.
Inside, the two central players have to live between the defenders: off their shoulders, on different lines from each other, half open so they can play out first time. When one is screened the other is usually free, and a pass from one inside player to the other, or a lay-off to a third man facing play, beats all three defenders at once.
Playing it with three trios in three bib colours gives the defenders a reason to press flat out. When they win it they only have to connect one pass, then the trio that lost it goes in and they take its spots. Win it back before that pass lands and nothing changes, which makes the first seconds after losing the ball the most important moment of the game.
For the three defenders it is a lesson in pressing as a unit: one goes to the ball, one screens the nearest inside player, one covers the split, and all three shift every time the ball moves.
How to run this drill
- Mark a 14 x 14 m square. A disc on each corner, about the 15 yd TOVO use. Go bigger for younger groups or if the ball keeps dying.
- Split nine players into three trios. Three bib colours. Two trios keep the ball, each with a player on two opposite sides and one inside, so every side is covered and two play inside. The third trio defends.
- Score through the middle. Two touches maximum. A pass into an inside player that he plays back out is a point; if it splits two defenders on the way in, it is a bonus.
- Draw them in, then play through. Short passes on one side pull the three across. The moment they shift, look inside or to the far side, and use the second inside player or a third man when the first is screened.
- Connect one pass to swap. When the defenders win it they must connect one pass. Then the trio that lost it goes in and the defenders take its spots. Win it back first and nothing changes.
- Play short rounds. Three rounds of three minutes with a minute's rest, counting points for each trio.
Coaching focus
FROM SESSION PLANCoaching points
- Draw them to one side with short passes, then play through or to the far side
- Inside players: stand between the defenders, not behind one, and on different lines from each other
- Receive half open, so the ball can go out to the far side first time
- Look inside first; if the lane is shut, keep it moving and wait for the gap
- Split them when two defenders go level: a firm pass to the inside player's far foot
- Lost it? Press at once: win it back before they connect and nothing changes
- Defenders: one presses the ball, one screens the nearest inside player, one covers the split
Common mistakes
- Inside players on the same line, or hiding behind a defender, so one defender marks both
- Circulating round the outside and never playing inside
- Forcing the pass inside when the lane is shut, the usual way to lose it
- Outside players standing still on their line instead of sliding to open the angle
- Switching off after losing it instead of pressing before the defenders connect
- Defenders all chasing the ball and leaving the split open
Progressions & regressions
VARIATIONSProgressions
- One touch on the outside, two for the inside players
- Only a pass that splits two defenders into an inside player scores
- Defenders who win it score in one of two mini-goals outside the square instead of connecting a pass (Arsenal's version)
- Shrink the square to 12 x 12 m
Regressions
- Grow the square to 18 x 18 m
- Free touches outside, three touches inside
- Two defenders (6v2) until the inside players find the pockets
- Keep the same three defending for a 90 second round instead of the swap
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