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Home/Training Drills/Pressing Drills/Man-Oriented Press (Force the Long Ball)
PressingAdvanced

Man-Oriented Press (Force the Long Ball)

Force a long ball with a man-oriented press. Lock man for man on every short option, deny the easy pass, force the keeper long, and step up to win the second ball.

Create your own drill
Live animationPRS
Duration
12 min
Total drill time
Players
7
Recommended
Pitch
60 × 44 m
Setup space
Level
Advanced
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U13-U14
Any format

Setup & instructions

The opponents build from the keeper. Each presser locks man for man onto an opponent, tight and goalside, to take away every short option. With no easy pass, the keeper is forced long, and the midfielder steps up to win the second ball. Emphasise tight, aggressive marking and being ready to win the long ball. Rotate the pressing team and the build-up team.

Setup time: 2 min

Tactical breakdown

A man-oriented press is not really trying to win the ball in the opponent's third, and coaching it as though it is leads to disappointment. What it is trying to do is remove every short option so the keeper has nothing to aim at, forcing a long kick that the pressing team is set up to contest. The turnover happens forty yards away from where the pressure was applied, and that is the intended outcome rather than a consolation.

Understanding that changes how success is judged. A sequence where nobody tackles anybody, the keeper hits it long and the pressing team's centre-back heads it clear to a teammate, is a complete success. Players who have been taught that pressing means winning the ball back high will experience the same sequence as a failure and stop doing it.

The demand is that every short option is genuinely covered. One loose marker is enough to make the whole thing pointless, because the keeper will find him and the press is bypassed with a ten-yard pass. Tight and goal-side on every opponent, accepting that this leaves space in behind, is the bargain being struck.

That space is the real cost and it should be acknowledged. Man-orientation across the pitch means a runner who beats his marker is through, and it means the defensive line has to be high enough to compress the pitch and brave enough to hold it.

The second ball decides everything. A team that wins the header and loses the knockdown has done all the work for nothing.

How to run this drill

  1. Assign every short option a marker. Each presser locks onto a specific opponent, tight and goal-side. One loose marker gives the keeper a ten-yard pass and the entire press is bypassed.
  2. Deny the pass rather than chase the ball. Position between your man and the ball. The aim is that the keeper looks up and finds nobody available, not that anybody makes a tackle.
  3. Accept that the long ball is the goal. A keeper forced to kick it is the press succeeding. Coaching this as a failed press is why players stop committing to it.
  4. Push the defensive line up. Compress the pitch so the long ball lands in a contested area rather than in space. This is the bargain: pressure everywhere costs room in behind.
  5. Win the first header and the second ball. Winning the header and losing the knockdown wastes the whole sequence. Bodies around the contact point matter as much as the contact itself.
  6. Rehearse the escape for the other side. Let the build-up team practise beating it with one long diagonal or a runner off the shoulder, so both sides learn what this press actually risks.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Lock on man for man, tight and goalside
  • Take away the short option, force the long ball
  • Deny the easy pass, do not get split
  • Step up early to win the long ball
  • Aggressive and brave: commit to the man

Common mistakes

  • Marking loosely, leaving a short option on
  • Getting split by a pass between two markers
  • Not stepping up to win the long ball
  • Ball-watching instead of tracking the man

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Add a build-up option to test the marking
  • Finish on goal after winning the second ball
  • Trigger the press on the keeper's touch

Regressions

  • Opponents play at a set pace
  • Fewer build-up players to simplify the marking
  • Walk the man assignments first
Equipment
Cones×1
Tactical principles
man oriented pressman to man pressingforcing the long ballsecond ballpressing drillman marking pressdenying short optionshigh pressadvanced pressing drillu14 pressing drill
Audience
U13-U14

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