One of the main technical factors that separate professionals from amateur's are the tiny details behind their play. Things such as weight of pass, angle of pass, whether to pass into space or feet, what space to pass into, different parts of the foot to make the pass, etc. In this blog we will go over a few key details that if you master we promise will take your game to the next level.
1. Is the pass going to be into feet or into space?
Playing a pass into space or into feet will have 2 very different outcomes. Being able to read the situation and decide whether your teammate needs a pass into space or into feet is crucial. Understanding if there is space in behind or the defender is flat so we can play that pass into space vs when we need to play feet instead is essential for reading the game at any position.
2. Are you playing their front foot or back foot?
Having an understanding of what foot your teammate needs the ball played to is massive for speed of play. Reading whether they have space to turn or if they need to play 1 touch of protect is critical when making this decision. Do they need a pass to their back foot so they can turn or face forward quickly, or do they need a pass to their front foot to either protect or play a pass first time?
3. Does the pass need more pace than usual?
Weight of pass is so important. If we decide to switch the field the pace of the pass is going to determine whether we are under pressure or if your teammate will have an extra second on the ball. Another situation may be if a defender is closing down quickly we may need to put some extra weight on the pass so the attacker can take a touch in behind. Determining when we need something extra on the pass or something taken off the pass is what can separate a good passer from an elite passer.
4. Can we pass away from the defenders momentum?
Can we read a defenders movement to be able to wrong foot them? For example if a winger is making a run and the outside back is moving towards them, can we see if there is space in behind and play it behind that outside back away from his momentum for the winger to run onto. So if we play the wingers foot here it will be intercepted or easily defended. Playing against his momentum will leave the defender out of the picture
5. Do we need to bend our pass for it to reach?
This one is pretty self explanatory but we need to have different passes in our locker. A defnder pressuring or a high line should not be the reason we cannot find a teammate. Being able to adjust your pass based on the situation is critical for your game