If you are a defender, concentrate on what great players like Jamie Carragher, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Paolo Maldini etc do.  Have a notebook and a pen handy.  Write down some questions before on some specific areas you wish to study like how do they try to move the attacker onto their weaker side, how do they position themselves at corners, free kicks, how do they marshall their defensive unit etc.  Study how each of the pros executes these moves, write notes and when it comes to training, try to put into practice what you observed.

A word of warning though.  Just try to concentrate on how these guys play the game, not how they act or more importantly, sometimes react!  Unfortunately there are many players these days that seem to have a very high level of disrespect, not only for the officials but also their opponents and sometimes even their own teammates. 

Please don’t copy the "personality" or the "attitude" of players like this.  You know what I mean.  Players who are always in the face of the referee, arguing, complaining about a decision that went against them, reigning injury, trying to get opponents sent off etc.  Yes, the stakes are high and you want to win but please, just play the game.  When studying the pros simply concentrate on what you can learn from their skills.  Their skill is without question, their temperament unfortunately sometimes is not.

A caveat: I am not tarring all pros with the same brush here.  There are many pros whose temperament you should try to emulate.  Examples of great professionals off the top of my head would probably be players like Beckham, Carragher, Paul Scholes.  There are many more, but these three are great examples of guys who perform impeccably on and off the pitch.  But I’m sure you know what I mean and can name a few players that fall into both categories.  Point made and I have digressed a little from the main subject of this article, let’s get back on track.

The best defenders over the years have always had good poise and balance.  They seem to have more time than other players, perhaps even look slow but they are anything but.  They read the game brilliantly and like all great players their mind is two steps ahead of the game.  If you can, try to watch some old games of players like Bobby Moore, Alan Hansen, Franco Baresi, Franz Beckenbauer.  These are the kind of defenders that simply oozed class.

These are examples of players who dominated both on the ground and in the air.  To be a top defender you have to be good at both.  You could learn a great deal by watching old tapes of these guys playing

Of course watching and analysing tapes of defenders, whether they be past masters or current stars is only a small part of your overall learning.  You can’t simply watch professional games and go straight out onto the pitch and reproduce these skills in training or in games.  You have of course to supplement this tactic with proper training material. 

One of the best training courses on the market is the Play Great Soccer System by Coerver Coaching.  I have written a review on the system and you can read it by simply clicking on the link.

Enjoy your training!

Rik

The Soccer Blogger

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Don’t just train and practice with your team at organised training sessions.  Practice by yourself whenever you can too.  Practice makes perfect.  I forget who said it now, but I’m sure it was a famous sportsman, "the more I practice, the luckier I get!"  Get the point?

Get into your back yard.  Find a quiet spot in the local park.  If you can find a place that has a wall or something similar even better.  Ideally you want to be able to simulate someone else passing the ball back to you.  You also want to practice hitting the same spot on the wall again and again with one foot, then switch to the other foot and do the same.  Playing against a wall in this way not only helps to increase your passing accuracy but also allows you to get as many touches of the ball as possible, so at the same time you are increase your ball control skills as well.  Try to pass the ball without stopping it, first with one foot then the other and then also by first controlling it before passing it back to the wall.  You can then even try spotting the ball with one foot, then transfer it to your other foot it pick out your spot on the wall again.  Vary your drills to keep your interest.

When the ball comes back to you off the wall why not practice some dribbling or juggling skills first before you pass it back and try hitting you spot on the wall.  Perhaps run around with the ball a little and try a few body serves as if you were trying to beat a defender.  Practicing this way is obviously not totally ideal but what you can do is really only limited by your imagination.  This form of practice allows you as many touches of the ball as possible, so make use of them.  The more comfortable on the ball you are the better, it needs to feel second nature to you.

To add a bit of variety perhaps you could put a couple of objects on the ground in front of you as mock defenders.  Ok they will obviously be stationary but still, it will make you think.  You will have to decide which way to take the ball, what to do with it.

Of course, the very best you can do with the type of training is, if at all possible, substitute the wall with a friend.  This will add even more variety and if you are anything like I used to be with my friends, it will add a certain level of competition!  You’ll laugh more too, I guarantee it!

Want to take your soccer training and skills to the next level?  Then take a look at The Soccer Blog Review section to the left of this page.  I have reviewed some of the best soccer training courses on the market.  Simply click on the links to read the reviews.

Enjoy your practicing!

Rik

The Soccer Blogger

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