Defensive Soccer Tactics [Paperback]

Jens Bangsbo (Author), Birger Peitersen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2001

Prepare your defense for the most challenging offensive attacks! Defensive Soccer Tactics provides complete coverage of individual and team defensive systems, strategies, and tactics, with more than 100 diagrams that illustrate proper defensive positioning.

No other book offers the depth of information in Defensive Soccer Tactics. Learn to assess the defensive system and strategies that best suit your players, and gain insight to help you adjust your defense during a match. You'll find coaching points that make it easy to grasp the concepts presented and exercises designed to help your players master your chosen defense and shut down their opponents.

The book follows a building-block approach, progressing from individual skills to team defense skills, systems, and strategies. Defensive Soccer Tactics includes chapters on

- covering and marking,
- support and recovery,
- forcing the opponent's direction,
- man-to-man coverage,
- zone coverage,
- combination defense,
- team defensive depth,
- coordination among teammates,
- goalkeeper responsibilities,
- high-pressure attack,
- offside trap, and
- door-bolt defense (catenaccio).

Defensive Soccer Tactics gives you everything you need to prepare your defense for the challenges from the opposition. Soon your team will contain even the most explosive offenses—and completely shut down everyone else!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I really enjoy the books by Jens Bangsbo and Birger Peitersen. They contain the right level of discussion, examples, and practical drills; and are easy to follow and refer to when developing training sessions. They are my books of choice and I recommend them to others who are interested in learning about the game and coaching young players. They have helped me immensely."
Darren K. Rogers
AYSO Region 335 Assistant Commissioner & Referee Administrator
Morristown, TN

Review

“I really enjoy the books by Jens Bangsbo and Birger Peitersen. They contain the right level of discussion, examples, and practical drills; and are easy to follow and refer to when developing training sessions. They are my books of choice and I recommend them to others who are interested in learning about the game and coaching young players. They have helped me immensely.”

Darren K. Rogers
AYSO Region 335 Assistant Commissioner & Referee Administrator
Morristown, TN

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics (December 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073603272X
• ISBN-13: 978-0736032728
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #974,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the Offensive Soccer Tactics, August 14, 2005

By 

Sostos "Sostos" (Vancouver BC Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Defensive Soccer Tactics (Paperback)

I was very pleased with the Offensive Soccer Tactics and decided to buy the Defensive Soccer Tactics by the same authors.
I found the Defensive Tactics (was actually published 2 years before the Offensive Tactics) to be a bit sloppy. Maybe it's the translation. However many of the drills are just not convincing me enough to take them to the practice field; either too cumbersome or hard to see the application to the game. They are all written in running sentences; no points or bullets are used.
Here is a simple drill:

"Player 1 passes to 2, after which 1 overtakes 2, who waits for 1 and turns to dribble past 1 (See figure 2.3). Once 2 gets a short distance past 1, player 2 turns and passes back to 1. Player 1 plays 2, and so on."

The same writing style exists in the Offensive Tactics book but at least I found the drills to be more applicable and easier to apply.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre, September 23, 2005

By 

Relentless "skepticalbeliever" (Gainesville, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Defensive Soccer Tactics (Paperback)

This book though well-intentioned, ended up being mediocre at best. The "translation" is awful, the exposition poor and the browsing back and forth looking for figures cited in the text is rather cumbersome. There is a void (of books) in this genra and in defense skills in specific. Some of them are geared towards the hard-core pro/semi-pro, then there's a huge gap in the middle, and then there are books geared towards the beginners and "dummies." Those of us who love to play and watch this sport find ourselves at a loss when it comes to good self-coaching/game improvement literature. This book, as said above, is not one I would recommend to someone fitting that "intermediate" level.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars comprehensive, July 8, 2010

By 

Joseph Thompson (Annapolis MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Defensive Soccer Tactics (Paperback)

Other reviewers are a little hard on this book. I think it does a good job laying out important defensive principles, and giving small sided games to illustrate these. Defending and marking are really important parts of the game, and if you want to be a good coach or player you need to work hard on your defending. Realize that this is a translation of a Danish soccer book, and try to meet the authors halfway.

jt