Rondo
Midfield Box Rondo (6v3)
Hold a box shape under pressure: keep the four zones filled, time the movement that opens a passing line off the press, and break it with quick combinations. Defending, press as a midfield three and set traps.
Live animation
Duration
20 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 m (24 yd) square and split it into four equal zones with cones. Put one attacker in each zone: these four hold a midfield box and may not leave their zone. Put two more attackers outside the square, one on the middle of the left line and one on the right line; they move along their line but stay out. Three defenders start inside. The attackers keep the ball from the defenders: every 10 seconds of possession scores a point, and play goes on. When the defenders win it they must complete three passes to score a point, while the attackers press to win it back. If the ball goes out, or the defenders score, the coach plays a new ball in to the attackers. Play games of three minutes and rotate three attackers in as defenders after each one.
Setup time: 4 min
Tactical breakdown
A midfield box is four central players arranged in a square: two deeper, two higher, two on each side. Many top sides build with one, because a box gives the player on the ball a passing option forwards, sideways and back at the same time, and a midfield three pressing it can never cover all four.
This rondo trains that shape directly. The square is split into four zones and each central attacker is locked in his own, so the box cannot collapse into a flat line. Two end players outside the left and right lines give width and a safe outlet. Three defenders press inside.
The lesson is reading the press. When a defender steps out to the ball he leaves a passing line behind him, and the box players have to move at the right moment to use it: open the angle as the pass is played, not after it has arrived. When the press is intense, a quick combination does the work: a pass into a box player, a first-time set back to a team-mate, and out to the far side where there is space.
The scoring keeps both teams honest. The attackers score by keeping the ball for 10 seconds, so they are rewarded for calm possession, not a count of passes. The defenders score with three passes after a regain, so the attackers have to press straight away when they lose it. As a progression, counter goals outside the end lines give the defenders a target after a regain, worth two points.
For the defending team it is a lesson in pressing as a midfield three: one player to the ball, two cutting the lines into the box, and setting traps so the pass they invite is the one they can win.
How to run this drill
- Mark four zones. A 22 m (24 yd) square split into four equal zones with cones.
- Set out six against three. One attacker in each zone, locked in it, plus an end player outside the left and right lines. Three defenders start inside.
- Keep it for 10 seconds. The attackers keep the ball from the defenders. Every 10 seconds of possession scores a point and play goes on.
- Defenders need three passes. When the defenders win it they must complete three passes to score; the attackers press to win it back first.
- Restart and rotate. After a ball out or a defenders' point, the coach plays a new ball in to the attackers. Rotate the defenders every three minutes.
- Add counter goals. Progression: two small goals outside each end line. After a regain the defenders can score in them for two points.
Coaching focus
FROM SESSION PLANCoaching points
- Keep the box: all four zones filled, wide and deep, so one defender can never mark two
- Read the press: the defender who steps out leaves a passing line behind him, find it
- Time the movement: move to open the angle as the pass is played, not after it arrives
- Quick combinations to break a hard press: in, set back first time, play out to the far side
- End players: slide along the line to give a passing angle every time the ball moves
- Defending: press as a three, one to the ball and two cutting the passing lines into the box
- Win it and go: the first pass after a regain has to escape the counter-press
Common mistakes
- Two central players drifting to the same line, so the box collapses into a flat line
- Standing behind a defender instead of moving into the gap beside him
- Always passing round the outside instead of through the middle when it opens
- Slow, bouncing passes that let the three defenders shift across
- Defenders chasing the ball one at a time instead of pressing together
- Switching off after losing it instead of pressing before the third pass
Progressions & regressions
VARIATIONSProgressions
- Counter goals: two small goals outside each end line; the defenders score in them after a regain for two points
- Two touches maximum for the attackers
- Eight seconds for a point instead of ten
- Smaller square (18 m) to squeeze the time on the ball
Regressions
- Unlimited touches
- Bigger square (26 m) for more time
- 6v2: two defenders
- The defenders need only two passes to score
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