Rondo football drills

Six against three is comfortable, which is the problem. Without a line-breaking condition the group circulates happily and learns nothing.

Five on the pentagon, two in the middle, one touch only. The ball flies until both defenders jump it, and then the diagonal split is on.

Two boxes turn a rondo into a switch. Circulate until the press commits, then transfer, and arrive in the second box before they do.

Most rondos end when the ball is lost. This one starts there, because winning it is only worth a point if you can get out with it.

A warm-up rondo and a technical rondo look identical and are not. One defender, gentle tempo, and nobody coached for the first five minutes.

Retention is not the objective here. A pass between the two defenders scores, and keeping the ball for two minutes scores nothing.

Five against three is where a rondo stops being keep-away. Three defenders can organise, so the ball has to move faster than they do.

Playing through the middle beats playing around it, because a pass into the pivot turns the defence and a pass around it does not.

Three in a tight triangle against one defender. Where every rondo starts, and the best place to teach angles, first touch and pass weight.

Four outside players keep the ball from two defenders in a 10x10 square. One and two touch, constant angles, and the splitting pass when it opens.