Rondo
Transitional Rondo: 4v2 to 6v4
Keep the ball in a tight 4v2 with good supporting angles, and react the instant possession changes: the pair who win it attack the space in the big area straight away, the four who lose it press with urgency to win it back.
Live animation
Duration
16 min
Total drill time
Players
10
Recommended
Pitch
25 × 25 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U11-U12
Any format
Setup & instructions
Mark a 25 x 25 m area with a 10 x 10 m square in the middle, a disc on every corner. Two teams: four blues and six reds. The four blues start with the ball on the four sides of the square, two reds press inside it, and the other four reds wait between the square and the outer line, one on each side. Blue score a point for 8 consecutive passes or for a pass that splits the two defenders, and play on with the count reset. When the two reds win the ball they transition at once: they play it out of the square to a team-mate, everyone uses the whole 25 x 25, and it is 6v4 with red scoring a point for 5 consecutive passes (the pass out counts as the first). All four blues press straight away. When blue win it back, they take it into the square, two new reds come in to press, and the other four go back between the squares. Keep spare balls by the square so a ball out of the big area restarts at once with blue in the square. Play 3 to 4 minute rounds, count points per team, then swap the teams' roles.
Setup time: 5 min
Tactical breakdown
The transitional rondo puts two games inside each other. In the middle, a 10 by 10 metre square, four players keep the ball against two. Around it, a 25 by 25 metre area waits for the moment possession changes. The best thing about it is that the change of possession also changes the space and the numbers, which is exactly what happens in a match.
In the square the four score by completing eight passes or by splitting the two defenders. That makes them work on the basics of every rondo: the receiver moves along their line to stay visible, the players either side of the ball give two short angles, and nobody stands flat on a corner where one defender can cover two passes. The split is the reward for patience: when the two defenders drift level, or too far apart, the pass between them takes both out of the game. When they are compact, it is the pass that gets cut out.
When the two defenders win it, the game changes at once. They play it out of the square to their four team-mates waiting outside, and now it is six against four in the big area, five passes a point. The four who lost it have to react straight away: the nearest player presses the ball and the other three shut the passes around it. The team on the ball has the opposite problem: make the big area big, find the free man, and switch when the press overloads one side.
When the four win it back, they take it into the square and two new players come in to press, so everyone takes a turn in the middle.
How to run this drill
- Mark a square inside a square. A 25 x 25 m area with a 10 x 10 m square in the middle, a disc on every corner.
- Set up the 4v2. Four blues on the sides of the square with the ball, two reds pressing inside, the other four reds waiting between the square and the outer line.
- Score in the square. Eight consecutive passes or a pass that splits the two defenders is a point for blue. Play on with the count reset.
- Win it and break out. When the two reds win it they pass it out of the square at once. Now it is 6v4 across the whole 25 x 25 m, five passes a point for red.
- Press with urgency. The four blues press straight away: the nearest man on the ball, the other three shutting the passes around it.
- Reset with new pressers. When blue win it back they take it into the square and two new reds come in to press. Play 3 to 4 minute rounds, then swap the teams' roles.
Coaching focus
FROM SESSION PLANCoaching points
- Support on angles either side of the presser so there are always two passes on
- Move along your line to receive: stay visible between or beside the two defenders
- Scan before the ball arrives and know your next pass
- Split the two defenders when they get level or too far apart, and don't force it when they are compact
- Defenders: one presses and cuts the return pass, the other screens the split
- Win it and get it out of the square first time, then make the big area big
- Lose it and press at once: nearest man to the ball, the other three shut the nearest passes
- In the 6v4, secure it with the free man or attack the space the press leaves, and switch it when they overload one side
Common mistakes
- Blues standing flat on the corners of the square, so the presser covers two passes at once
- Forcing the split through two compact defenders instead of circulating
- Winners dribbling out of the square into the counter-press instead of passing out
- The four outside reds standing still during the 4v2, so the pass out has no angle
- Blues switching off after losing it: the first two seconds decide whether they win it back
Progressions & regressions
VARIATIONSProgressions
- Two-touch maximum in the square, one-touch once the shape holds
- A split counts double
- Blue have five seconds to win it back in the big area or red score a bonus point
- Shrink the big area to 20 x 20 m so the 6v4 is harder to keep
Regressions
- Six passes for a point in the square
- Grow the square to 12 x 12 m and allow free touches
- Only two blues press in the big area (6v2), so red can find the rhythm of the transition first
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