Individual Defending in 1v1 moments
If it is not possible to immediately 'win' the ball
then what else should you be thinking about in an 'individual defending' moment.
Follow these 6 rules below (in order) when in an Individual defending moment.
Don't dive in : Remember this first. If you get beat because you dived in (over committed) or you commit a foul (espicially inside or just outside the box) - you make the situation much much worse.
Deny : Deny the forward time and space on the ball : Defenders may have to move off the defensive line to achieve this. Other defenders and midfielders must shuffle and adapt to fill the gap.
Delay ; Defenders must slow down the attacker so that midfielders and wingers can join in with the defensive process (1) can a second player put more pressure on the ball (double up) or provide the first defender cover, so that this defender can be a bit more aggressive (2) This also allows all other players to get back and behind the ball.
Disturb : Can enough pressure be applied to maybe force a bad touch (a mistake), which the pressing players can pounce on.
Block : Can defenders block shots or make sure a player doesn't get a clear unopposed shot at goal.
Win the ball : Can defenders pick the right moment to win and clear the ball . This can be done using a tackle (block/wedge), pinch, poke ,steal, kick etc. When attempting to win the ball follow the 100% rule and note : Tackling is one of the last things on the list , and should only be done if necessary. Choosing to tackle may not always be the best decision and tackling is a small part of the 'win the ball' process.
A simple way to remember these six rules is as :
DDDDBW
or [ 4xDBW ]
To get some visuals on what DDDDBW might look like , watch the following videos :
Defending Checklist