5 POSSESSION GAMES TO IMPROVE TECHNICAL ACTIONS PDF

5 Possession Games to Improve Technical Actions: The Engine of Football Mastery

Introduction: Where Technique Meets Tactics

In the relentless, high-speed environment of modern football, technical proficiency cannot exist in a vacuum. The true test of a player’s skill is their ability to execute under pressure, in confined spaces, and while making split-second decisions. 5 Possession Games to Improve Technical Actions is a pivotal resource that addresses this exact challenge. This guide moves beyond static technical drills to present a curated selection of dynamic, opposed practices where technique, tactical awareness, and cognitive function are developed simultaneously. These games are the bridge between the training ground and the matchday pitch, designed to forge players who are not just technically sound, but technically brilliant in the most game-realistic scenarios imaginable. This approach is a cornerstone of contemporary coaching methodology, emphasized from the foundational UEFA B License Coaching Manual to the advanced strategic concepts of the UEFA Pro License Course.

The Philosophy: Contextual Technical Development

The underlying philosophy of this resource is rooted in the principle of contextual learning. Isolated passing patterns have their place for muscle memory, but they lack the perceptual-cognitive demands of a real game.

• Technique Under Pressure: The five games are designed to replicate the psychological and physical pressure of a match. Players must receive, pass, and move while being harried by opponents, thereby improving their technical execution when it matters most.
• Decision-Making at Speed: Possession games are constant problem-solving exercises. Players must continuously scan the field, assess their options, and choose the right technical action (pass, dribble, turn) at high speed.
• The Foundation of a Playing Style: Dominating possession is the bedrock of many successful team philosophies, from Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City to the intricate patterns seen in top academies like the Leicester City Football Club Academy. These games build the individual and collective competence required to execute such a style.

The Games: A Deep Dive into Five Transformative Exercises

While the resource features five specific games, they can be understood as archetypes of possession training, each with a unique focus and set of coaching points.

Game 1: The Rondo – The Heartbeat of Possession

The most iconic possession game, a rondo is a structured exercise of keep-away, typically in a numerical overload (e.g., 4v2, 5v3, 6v3).

• Technical Focus: First-touch passing, receiving under pressure, using different surfaces of the foot, and sharp, crisp passing.
• Tactical Focus: Angles of support, creating passing lanes, body shape to receive, and understanding when to play one-touch versus taking a touch.
• Progression: To increase difficulty, reduce the space, limit touches (e.g., two-touch only), or add more defenders. To focus on a specific technique, require players to use only their weak foot.
• Coaching Points: “Can you receive on your back foot?” “What is your body shape telling the defender?” “Play the way you’re facing!”

Game 2: Positional Possession in a Grid

This game involves two teams in a defined area, often with neutral players, with the objective of maintaining possession for a target number of passes.

• Technical Focus: Line-breaking passes, switching play, receiving in tight spaces, and shielding the ball.
• Tactical Focus: Principles of play like width and depth (as detailed in Principles of Play (Attacking)), creating numerical superiorities, and player rotation.
• Progression: Award extra points for passes that break a line of defenders or for successful switches of play. Condition the game so that a goal only counts after a certain number of passes.
• Coaching Points: “How can we create width to stretch them?” “Where is the free player?” “Look for the penetrating pass!”

Game 3: Possession with Transition Goals

This game incorporates the critical moment of losing and regaining possession, training both technical and mental transitions.

• Technical Focus: The first touch after winning possession (to play forward immediately) and the technical execution of passes under fatigue and duress.
• Tactical Focus: Counter-pressing (immediately pressing after losing the ball) and quick attacking transitions. This is a hallmark of philosophies like Marcelo Bielsa’s Football Philosophy.
• Setup: Play a possession game in a central area with four small goals or target zones on the outside. When a team wins the ball, they must quickly transition to score in one of the goals.
• Coaching Points: “Reaction to loss!” “Win it and play forward!” “Where’s the space to attack?”

Game 4: Directional Possession Game

This exercise adds a clear directional objective to possession, moving the play from a start point to an end point.

• Technical Focus: Penetrative passing, receiving on the half-turn, and playing forward with accuracy.
• Tactical Focus: Playing through the lines, exploiting space behind the defence, and coordinated movement to progress the ball.
• Setup: A long, narrow grid divided into zones. Teams must work the ball from their defensive zone into the attacking zone to score a point, often by passing to a target player.
• Coaching Points: “Can we play forward?” “Check your shoulder to see the space!” “Support in front of the ball!”

Game 5: Functional Unit Possession

This game isolates specific units (e.g., midfield three, back four + pivot) to work on their specific technical and tactical interactions.

• Technical Focus: Technical actions specific to position (e.g., centre-backs playing long diagonals, midfielders playing disguised passes).
• Tactical Focus: Unit coordination, understanding positional roles within a specific formation (e.g., a 4-3-3), and building patterns of play. This is where resources like Essential 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 Training Exercises provide further depth.
• Setup: A game that mimics the team’s formation, often against a representative opposition shape, focused on a specific phase of play like building from the back.
• Coaching Points: “What are your triggers to drop and receive?” “When should the full-back push high?” “Where is the #6 to provide support?”

The Coach’s Role: Facilitator of Technical Excellence

The coach’s role in these games is to observe, analyze, and intervene to enhance technical execution.

• Setting the Standard: Demand technical quality. If passing is consistently poor, stop the game and refocus on the technique.
• Freeze and Correct: Use the “freeze” method to highlight both good and poor technical actions. Show players the body position that leads to a successful pass or turn.
• Ask Technical Questions: “Why did that pass go astray?” “Which surface of your foot should you use to play that pass?” “How can you prepare your body before you receive the ball?”
• Manage the Variables: Constantly adjust the difficulty by changing the size of the area, the number of touches, or the number of players to ensure the technical challenge is appropriate.

This active, insightful coaching is a skill developed through formal education like the AFC B Diploma Coaching Course and is detailed in practical UEFA A Coaching Session Plans.

Integrating Possession Games into a Holistic Training Plan

These five games are not standalone activities; they are powerful components of a periodized training plan. A typical session structure might be:

1. Activation (10 mins): A dynamic warm-up with the ball that incorporates technical actions like passing and dribbling.
2. Technical Possession Game (20 mins): Select one of the five games that focuses on the session’s theme (e.g., a rondo for quick passing, a directional game for penetration).
3. Expanded Application (25 mins): A larger small-sided game or phase of play where players can apply the technical and tactical lessons from the possession game.
4. Conditioned Match (25 mins): An 11v11 game where the coach can observe the transfer of learning.
5. Cool-Down & Review (5 mins): Recap the key technical focuses of the day.

Conclusion: Forging Complete Footballers

5 Possession Games to Improve Technical Actions is more than a list of drills; it is a philosophy of training. It provides the essential tools to develop the complete modern footballer: one who is technically sublime, tactically intelligent, and mentally resilient. By integrating these games into your soccer training program, you commit to a method that produces players capable of thriving in the intense, decision-rich environment of the modern game.

This resource is the practical application of a global footballing evolution—an evolution that values intelligence and skill over physicality alone. Embrace these games, master the art of coaching within them, and watch as your players develop the technical confidence to control not just the ball, but the game itself.

External Resources for Further Learning:

• The Coaches’ Voice – Possession: Analysis of how the world’s best coaches train and execute possession-based football.
• Training Ground Guru – Possession Drills: Insights into the specific possession practices used by elite clubs.
• YouTube – FC Barcelona Possession Drills: A visual library of possession exercises from the club that perfected the modern possession game.
• Soccer Awareness – Possession Training: A website dedicated to exercises and theories for developing possession play.
• The FA – Developing Possession: The English FA’s resources on coaching possession-based practices.