Soccer Attacking Tactics: Keeping Possesion

All great teams have an ability to keep the Soccer ball when they are in possession of it. It is going to be very difficult for your team to score goals and win games when you are not able to take care of the ball. If you currently play on a team who isn’t capable of keeping possession of the ball and simply kick the ball up the field hoping for a lucky break, you will agree, this is a very frustrating style of Soccer to play.

When your team has the ball, your first priority should be to keep possession, even if that means moving backwards initially. You cannot score if you don’t have the ball. Conversely, your opponents cannot score if they don’t have the ball. This is why keeping possession of the ball can be a very strong form of defence as well as offense.

Look at great teams like Barcelona, they rarely ever give up the ball. Most of their games end with them having 70% – 80% of the ball. When you keep the ball for a significant majority of the game it doesn’t allow your opposition many opportunities to cause problems for your defence.

When your team is in possession of the Soccer ball and players are getting lots of touches on the ball it improves the quality of your movement. I know many of you would agree, when you have been out of the game for a while and you finally do get the ball, your first touches are not always the best. Keeping possession of the ball will improve the quality of your team’s ball movement and hinder the opposition’s.

Keeping possession of the Soccer ball and continually moving it around the pitch will create and exploit openings in the opposing team’s defence. Rather than forcing the play, and sending the ball into areas where the chance of succeeding is minimal, you will have a better chance of creating goal scoring opportunities.

Not to mention, keeping possession of the ball is going to tire the other team out. Remember, the ball is faster than the man. They are going to spend a majority of their time chasing you and your teammates around the field. When they do retain possession of the ball, their fatigue may play a significant part in decreasing the effectiveness of their attacking Soccer.

Overall, this is a much more enjoyable style of Soccer to play. Nobody likes to chase the ball around the pitch. Being on the ball and creating scoring chances is one of the most exciting parts about playing Soccer, so why wouldn’t you want to do it more often?

These are just a few of the reasons, keeping possession of the Soccer ball is so important. Next time you’re on the ball, remember your first priority should be to keep the ball, after that job is done you can worry about creating scoring chances.

You can’t score without the Soccer ball.
Keep possession.

Watch this short Soccer video of Chievo vs. Levski Sofia
- watch how they patientlly wait for openings to occur, don’t force the ball, and always keep possesion of the ball (even if it means going backwards).

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