1. Introduction to the Style of Play – The 4 P’s
Position – Correct spacing during different moments of the game, relative to your role (center forward,
left back, etc.), the opponent, your teammates, and where the ball happens to be in that moment
Possession – Gaining, retaining, circulating of the ball, which ultimately allows you to move the other
team’s defenders and find space to exploit and attack
Pressure – The act of regaining possession after having lost it through teamwork
(pressure/cover/balance) and communication
Play – Freedom to create, express yourself, and enjoy the game while creating chances to score
Being in a good Position leads to increased chances of keeping
Possession or being able to Pressure the ball effectively, both of which
lead to being able to Play with freedom and enjoy the game
4 P's
Position
Posession
Play
Pressure

2. Position
Video: Thierry Henry on Guardiola’s Tactics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB9jpteTgH0
Questions to ask before/after watching:
When does the game require discipline and when does it allow for freedom? – in possession vs out of
possession, different thirds of the field
Why is position important? Should you stay in position? When can/should you leave your position?
What has to happen for that to be okay? How do forwards and outside backs give us width and why is
that important? How do forwards and center backs/goalkeepers give us depth and why is that
important? What is the difference between having 3 forwards vs 2? How does that affect the other
team’s defenders? Are there disadvantages? What about having 3 defenders – how would that affect us
and our positioning or decision-making?
Video: La Masia DNA of a Goal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNOKw9sCUls
Questions before/after watching:
Where did the play start? What position received/played each pass? How many passes were there?
Where were the outside backs and why were they important even without touching the ball? Where did
the forwards start and where did they finish? Why did they play it short instead of booting long? Who
did they want to get on the ball and why?
By Positioning yourself where the space is, you give yourself more time,
which increases your quality on the ball.
Space -> Time -> Quality
You find good space by being aware of what’s around you (teammates,
defenders, boundaries), and you relate that to what your Position and
role (forward, goalkeeper, etc.) is on the field. Positioning is the
starting point to gaining and maintaining Possession and being able to
Pressure the ball effectively.

3. Possession
Video: Bayern Domination
https://vimeo.com/136475380
Questions before/after watching:
What are Bayern (red) players doing technically to maintain possession? (How do they receive, dribble,
pass consistently?) What are the physical demands of keeping possession? Short movements versus long
runs? What are the mental demands of keeping possession? What happens to your mental state when
you are out of possession for long periods of time? Do you see a pass-first mentality?
What habits are they repeating with their team-mates? How many touches do they take? Do they play
the ball at speed or slowly? Are there times to pause and times to speed the game up? How many
passes are they completing? Are they ‘low-percentage passes’ or ‘high-percentage passes’? Are certain
players more involved with others? How might communication play a role? Awareness?
How does their position affect their ability to keep the ball? How does each player – center back,
forward, etc. involve themselves? How does it help them switch the field? Why is that important? How
many players are around the ball? Do they consistently create numerical superiority?
Graphics: Link Between Keeping Possession & Winning – Inspire! Bristol Conference 2013
Richard Bate, Cardiff City FC Youth Academy Director

4. Questions before/after graphics:
Why is possession helpful? Why is it important to create more chances during a game than your
opponent? What kind of chances or shots can be created through possession vs ‘kick & run’? Why does
it matter how many passes your team makes in a game? What are those passes ultimately moving? (hint
– it’s not the ball) What teams do this the best in the professional game? Is it possible to win games,
create chances, or score goals without dominating possession?
Keeping Possession doesn’t guarantee chances, goals, or wins – but it
does make our percentages go up! Good teams have a pass-first
mentality. Forcing yourself to make good decisions to keep Possession
may backfire in the short term (giving up goals, losing games) but will
benefit you in the long run (player that has maturity and cool under
Pressure can play at higher level than player who takes easy way out
and ‘just boots it’)

5. Pressure
Video: Ajax Pressing vs Barcelona 2013-2014
https://vimeo.com/136475381
Questions before/after watching:
How does Ajax (red/white team) defend Barcelona? Individuals or as group? What does each player do
individually to assure good defending? Work rate, body shape, speed & angle of approach? Do they dive
in and over-commit? Contain? What are they defending besides the ball? Where are the dangerous
passing lanes? How do they shift and maintain pressure/cover/balance?
What are the back four doing? Do they step too high, stay too low? How do you think they’re
communicating to the midfield and forwards? What are they saying? When the long pass comes their
way, do they take responsibility to win the ball? Do they let the forwards they’re marking settle it?
When they step up, are they stepping alone or are they taking a Barcelona player with them?
Do the Ajax players get behind the ball and then press, or is it the other way around? When do they
decide to press the Barcelona players? When do they press the keeper? When do they decide to sit
back? Is there a line of confrontation? Are there cues that they jump on? How does numerical
superiority effect their decisions? How many defenders are around the ball vs attackers? Does the
sideline affect anything? Where do they force Barcelona to play?
By Pressuring the ball with intensity, at speed, with good knowledge of
what’s behind through awareness and communication, especially from
our back-line and goalkeepers, we will have a better chance of getting
behind the ball, making the field compact, cutting off passing lanes, and
getting the ball back into our Possession.

6. Play
Video: Barcelona Tiki Taka 2009-2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMkJht0GxOs
Questions before/after watching:
How did the team change from beginning of video to end? What were some patterns you noticed?
Combination play? How often did they have to make a difficult turn with a man on? How often did they
play the way they faced? Who did the outside backs get involved with often (look for #2 Dani Alves)? Did
they get forward? Overlap? When did they choose to do so? What were their cues? How many shots did
the forwards take with their laces vs inside of foot? What allowed them to do that? How did the players
express themselves going to goal? Did they show freedom and creativity? Were they committed to
scoring or did they stay back just in case? How did they celebrate goals (if you can’t see, then how do
you think they celebrated?) By themselves? With a couple team-mates? Whole team? Fans? Why?
Video: Best Goals w/Great Teamwork
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGId3mJgXks
Questions before/after watching:
What did you notice about lots of the goals scored? Did it look fun? Was there a high technical ability
shared among the players involved? Was it usually an individual that made the difference or a group
that put it together? Could you see yourself scoring goals like that? What would it take to do it?
Other Videos Watched:
Thierry Henry Top 25 Goals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko5jBnTn9hU
Dennis Bergkamp – Technique and Elegance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m38PAhjvaY
Lionel Messi: Overall 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPrHkwAtrz0
By putting it all together – Possessing the ball as much as possible,
Pressuring the other team when we don’t have it, and maintaining
good Positioning during both phases – we will give ourselves and our
team-mates the freedom to Play the game in a way that is fun, creates
goals, and wins games.