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Defensive Stances and Footwork

Once in place, the position of the body itself, along with the footwork used to maintain this position, become vital. Because the defender is moving backward, it is essential that the center of gravity be lowered so that the defender does not lose his balance and fall over. Likewise, it is essential that the defender use his body/legs to create obstacles in the way of the attacker, so as to lure the attacker to head into the channels which the defender has chosen to leave open.

     

    There are two basic defensive stances. 

     1- (and most used) stance is similar to that used by boxers or fencers, and is called the "sideways-on" stance. This stance is used near the boundary lines, or in situations where it makes sense to try to steer the attacker in a certain direction. The knees are bent; center of gravity is lowered; rear foot is turned sideways; weight is balanced over both feet. Movement is made backwards or forwards by very quick shuffle steps. Movement to the sides is made with a galloping motion. Correct instruction in this basic defensive footwork is essential, so the coach should spend the necessary time to be sure that all players can move properly.

     2- Closed or blocking stance, which is used when the ball is in the middle section of the field or in the final defensive third where the primary object is to prevent a successful shot/cross from being made. In this stance, the feet are kept fairly close together (with the heels often angled inward), and the torso bent forward with the knees bent so as to allow most of the weight on the toes. In this stance, the defender usually will get fairly close to the attacker, and move backwards with small quick steps.

 

Especially with younger players, the coach likely will teach these different stances in different sessions, and will start with teaching the footwork for a sideways-on stance. After spending some time on the basic footwork involved, the coach will begin to teach the player how to apply these skills in order to close down an attacker who had just received the ball.

The defender usually wants to come in quickly and hard in order to try to fluster the attacker and force an error. If the attacker is flustered and turns his back on the defender to try to protect the ball, then the defender must learn how to close the attacker down from the back and try to win the ball. But, the defender first needs to know how to handle an attacker who is confident on the ball and who is going to try to beat him. As a result, when the defender comes pouncing in - and does not manage to fluster the attacker- the defender must put on the brakes while a few yards away and go into the defensive stance (more experienced defenders often will get even closer and then quickly retreat back - but it is so easy to misjudge the timing of such a move, or the speed of the attacker, that coaches should not introduce this until much later in training).

On the field, the first thing a defender must decide when he is closing down the attacker is where he will want to try to steer the attacker. In general, the defender will want to steer the attacker towards the nearest touchline. Why? Because what the defender wants to do is to try to trap the attacker against the touchline. In essence, the defender wants to use the touchline as an extra defender to help to bottle up and contain the attacker in a place where the attacker cannot score.

To accomplish this, the defender will come in at an angle which blocks off the central part of the field, while leaving space towards the touchline. The attacker naturally will want to try to escape into space away from the defender, and will tend to move towards the touchline. However, if the defender leaves too much space along the touchline, the attacker will try to move underneath the attacker and go down the line to get away from the defender. And, if the defender shuts down too much of the space along the touchline, the attacker may try to come over the top of the attacker and move into the central part of the field. As a result, the defender will need to experiment a bit to see the optimal angle and distance from the attacker which will keep the attacker moving towards the touchline, but which also will keep the attacker from being able to beat the defender.

Factors which will influence the distance and angle used will include the relative speed/quickness of the attacker as compared to the defender; the relative skill of the attacker compared to the defender; and the "footedness" of the attacker (whether the attacker is particularly weak in using one particular foot). Another big factor is the available support. For example, a forward who is near the goal of an opponent can afford to be beaten, because all of the rest of his team (as well as most of the field) is between his goal and an opposing defender with the ball. Thus, there is little risk in going for the ball, so this player can afford to be much more aggressive in trying to win the ball than an unsupported defender could be. Finally, the choices which the defender will make may depend on the area of the field in which the ball is (particularly when support is available).

Before learning how to defend when support is available, however, the new player must learn how to defend as if there is no support is available. In general, if an attacker is fast compared to the defender, the defender will need to get farther away from the attacker. Likewise, if the attacker is very quick, the defender must stay fairly far away in order to keep from being beaten. If the attacker is along the touchline, the angle to be set runs from a point about 2 yards inside the near post thru the defender to the attacker. Basically, what the defender is trying to do is to move inside and back at an angle which will allow him to traverse the shortest distance possible and still remain between the attacker and the goal.

 

As the illustration shows, a line drawn from inside the near post will go through the defender (D) and the attacker (A). Where the defender is slow, he will move farther in along the line toward the goal, as this positioning will permit him to run less distance than the attacker, which compensates for the speed differential and allows him to still remain in the way of the attacker. Because he is forced to fall off of the defender to keep from being beaten, he has weighed the risks of being beaten against the potential reward of getting close enough to steal the ball, and has opted for safety. When unsupported, or when close to your own goal (even if support may be available), "Safety First" is the number one rule for defenders.

As can be seen from the positioning of the defender, the attacker would have to make an arc over the top of the defender to be able to get around him. However, a left-footed attacker typically will prefer taking the ball down the touchline to trying to carry it around the top of the defender on the unfavored foot. By the same token, a right-footed attacker may be completely unable to go down the touchline, and will be forced to try to escape by going around the top of the defender. Thus, the defender can use this information to predict the movements of the attacker, and allow more space on the side which the attacker will refuse to use because of his footedness problem. 

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