Superb! Sent from my iPhone
> On 24 Jan 2019, at 21:29, Mark Pilling <markpill...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Haven't seen this posted/mentioned. thought it might interest: > > https://www.socceriqeducation.com/bielsa-observations.html > > > > Leeds were set to face QPR on Sunday at 2pm in the FA Cup, so in all > honestly I came into the visit not exactly too sure of what I was about to > experience. I naturally expected something resembling a generic pre-game > preparatory session, fine-tuning a few details before tomorrows game. But > as we reached the fields, I already knew this was going to be something a > little out of the ordinary. This is a Bielsa team after all. > > Once we got down to the fields, 5 fields were prepped and ready to be put > to use, each one sprinkled with mannequins, and each one created for a > different purpose and area of the pitch. As the players headed out to the > field, the make-up of the squad consisted of around 13 first-team players, > 8 u23 players, and 5 u18 players, with some players coming back from injury > on another small field for a total of around 29 players training that day. > > Goalkeeper Coach Marcos Abad had a small area set up behind us to begin > work with Bailey-Peacock Farrell and Will Huffer, and his themes for the > session focused around tipping high balls, near-post angles from cut-back > crosses, and reacting to make double saves inside 10-12 yards. > > On what seemed to be the main field, there were 6 mannequins set up in the > attacking third. Midfielders Lewis Baker, Adam Forshaw, and Tyler Roberts > left the core group (who went to warm-up on another empty field) and > immediately began working with Assistant Coach Diego Flores on some > triangulating movement patterns & combination play. This was fairly intense > and included lots of repetition and sharp movement over 15 yard spaces. > > Carlos Corberan (Leeds United’s First team Coach and Head Coach of the > u23’s) took 5-6 players over to one field, where he worked them through a > very specified passing pattern to replicate playing out of pressure and > manipulating the opponents shape to exploit spaces in wide areas. This went > on for roughly 15 minutes, and the pattern was obsessively replicated, with > extremely fine details touched on by Corberan in terms of angles of > reception to the ball, and disguises in body shape when looking to play > into the next zone. > > On another field adjacent, a few other Assistant Coaches worked with a > small group of 5 u18 / u23 players. Again, there were mannequins set up in > a specific shape, and this group were focusing on building out from the > Goalkeeper into the middle third in high intensity bursts. The phase of > play itself lasted no more than 10 seconds, but the pattern was repetitive > and diligent. Players had cues of exactly when to move into targeted > pockets of space either in front of, or behind certain colored mannequins. > Everyone knew their part within the pattern, and the detail was intriguing > to watch. > > After the 15 minute warm-up via some passing patterns and agility, the core > group of players headed onto the main field to begin the main chunk of the > session. By this point, The equipment staff and Assistant Coaching staff > had set up an opposition formation (via mannequins) in the attacking half > of the field. I had an idea this was going to be some focus on team shape > in transitions, and sure enough it was. This was probably my most > intriguing part of the day, as the attention to detail was astounding. > iPads with numerous members of the coaching staff, filled with specific > visual movements for each player to observe and then produce when it was > time to execute certain shifts in shape. > > The shifts in shape were short bursts, yet quick and inventive. I’d like to > say I fully understood the tactical transitions completely but I didn’t, as > they happened so quick and there were 4 or 5 varied patterns in which each > player knew their exact next move. You’d hear a number called out loud by a > staff member, and out of nowhere the #2 was suddenly on a full sprint into > the #8 position, while the #9 would turn into the #11 and the #11 would > become the #10 as the #10 became the #9 (for example). All this happening > within about 5 seconds. > > It is also worth noting how fascinating it was to see the staff to player > ratio in the ongoing sessions. As I looked around the numerous fields in > use, there must have been a 1-to-3 ratio in every capacity at any moment. > The players had plenty of observant eyes on them, but also plenty of > willing coaches ready to help and tweak any glitches in preparation that > may arise during the session. No stones were left unturned, and it was also > quite surprising to me how often the staff would stop exercises and bring > the group in to watch more iPad footage or to to get some tactical points > across. For many of us, a very contrasting notion in comparison to the new > way we are taught to coach in terms of “let the players play”. > > Nevertheless, as much as I would love to share the actual session diagrams > with everyone, and the meticulous approach to pattern play in which Bielsa > is renowned for, I unfortunately cannot. But what I can say is this.. For > anyone who believes you cannot replicate “game speed” or “realism” when > training against mannequins, I challenge you to go and observe a Bielsa > team train, and then watch the players replicate the exact motions and > movements in real-game situations, consistently. > > This guy is a genius, and the smallest details matter if you play for him. > What angle are your hips facing when you receive the ball? Are you moving > when you receive it? - You better be, or you’re going to get hammered by > Bielsa personally if you aren’t. Can you drive a pass 22 yards diagonally > between two opponents 6 yards apart? Try it, and try again.. > _______________________________________________ > Leedslist mailing list > Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org > > Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ > > RIP Jimmy WAC-COE _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ RIP Jimmy WAC-COE
