Team Football 101
Playing The Beautiful Game
Not a lot of people know this - but I have come close in the past to doing my UEFA badges with the intent of becoming a football coach / manager. It isn’t the money, fame or glamour that I long for (nor is it likely to dissuade me), but the beautiful game that can be played when all the players on the pitch combine harmoniously. Very few teams play truly beautiful football, but with this brief guide, I hope your PMC (or real life) team can start to reproduce the kind of football that will have your opponents both admiring and fearing you in equal measures.
# 1 - You are not the only one on the pitch, so pass
Regardless of whether you are playing a 5 a side game down the park or a full 11 a side on the hallowed turf of Wembley stadium, football is a team game. There are moving parts, lots of responsibilities and constant interaction with those around you. Playing football with a team is very much like being in a serious relationship, and like any serious relationship, it requires some give and take in order to work.
On the football pitch, this relationship is symbolised by the giving and receiving of passes - the very core of a successful football team. If you haven’t got a passing game, you are less likely to break down any challenger worth their salt, and thus have any chance of winning.
Learn your team mate’s names, learn which foot they prefer to receive a pass with, share your limitations and learn theirs. As a team, you must move fluidly together, not as 11 individual components on a patch of grass trying to do their own thing.
Remember the phrase, ‘there is no “I” in team, but there is a “U” in failure’.
# 2 - Don’t miss when someone else can score
A continuation of part # 1, and states that if you are in a goal scoring opportunity, but a team mate has a better chance of putting the ball in the net, let him or her do the honours. Quite simply… why miss when someone else can’t?
This whole exercise depends on 2 things - vision and trust.
Firstly, you have to be able to identify that a player is in a better position that yourself. This requires you keeping your head up and not solely being intent on scoring. Drive into the box, and rather than try to beat the keeper at his near post, look for the cutback to a buddy in space.
Secondly, you have to have faith in your team-mate’s ability to finish off a lovely move that ideally started with your goalkeeper. This isn’t always easy, it is possible that same team mate missed a sitter in the first half or is showing signs of fatigue. Regardless, you must trust their ability. If the boots were on the other foot, you would expect a pass… time to reciprocate. One good thing from passing the ball off is that you won’t get shouted at for missing, and you get your assist bonus if he or she does score!
*This rule does not apply if you are on a hat trick and are winning the game comfortably. Greed is permitted, but only in moderation.
# 3 - Goalkeepers, a funny bunch, but not responsible for 75% of goals
Whether your goalkeeper is human or AI, there are some things to consider. Firstly he / she is most likely mad, secondly they have the least desirable job on the pitch and finally shouldn’t be held responsible for 75% of the goals your team concede. Yes they make mistakes, but good defending should prevent shots from coming in from any closer than 10 yards, and anything outside the box should be dealt with efficiently by the madman / woman between the sticks. So before you have a go at the keeper, have a look at the reactions of the defenders around him, the way they react can speak volumes about who was responsible for the goal - it most likely wasn’t the keeper.
One thing to always remember is that having a goalie is better than not having a goalie, and if he or she wasn’t there, would you volunteer to? Thought not.
# 4 - Fitness wins game and repairs broken bodies
The average football game lasts 96 minutes in total, and the average outfield player will cover around 10km in this time. Broken down, a player will walk 25% of this distance, 37% will be spent jogging, 20% running below top speed, 11% sprinting and 7% running backwards. This means top players will sprint one kilometer and cover five to six thousand meters jogging / running just below top speed. Combine this further with kicking and throwing the ball, knocks picked up from challenges, constant pushing and pulling (usually at corners, and rarely penalised) and other general influences that increase fatigue, it is safe to say that top flight footballers have to be incredibly fit to last the distance.
Being fit not only means you can get a win, but will also reduce your chances of injury, and will aid the recovery time of any injury that you do pick up.
Well, what does this mean for your team? Quite simply, the fitter you are individually, the more chance you have of grinding out a result and lasting the course. Many games are lost in the last few minutes as players tire and it is not only the physical side of the game that will suffer - mental fatigue can be as damaging as tired legs.
Keep fit, keep switched on and keep going until the end of the season.
# 5 - Winning ISN’T everything
No one likes to lose, but psychologically, losing is very important. Without the lows of defeat, you appreciate the highs of winning, and improvement must always be a driving factor. The most important thing after a defeat is to identify what went wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Do not dwell. Do not lay blame. Do move on.
That is not to say that you shouldn’t enjoy a victory like the best of them. Use this success to bring you closer together and stronger for the next game - just ensure you don’t celebrate too much and jeopardise the following match.
I hope this will help you and your team mates become the best players you can be. Learn to give rather than to take, learn that the whole team is a collective and no one person is responsible for a win, a loss or the scoring and conceding of goals.
The main thing though, is to always have fun - whether you are playing top flight Champion’s League or just having a friendly game of FS, you must have fun.
It is up to you, and I will be seeing you on the pitches, both real and virtual over the coming months.
