Support a pressured teammate
Occupy the centre-backs, receive with your back to goal and turn, shield or lay off to connect midfield.
View source principle ↗Club game model · 11v11 / 4-3-3
Connect the attack, threaten behind and lead the first line of pressure.
Source family: Center Forward · 9
U.S. Soccer Position Profiles, pp. 3, 9.
Strength to protect the ball and explosiveness to separate.
Focus, determination, control, anticipation and creativity.
Attack the assigned delivery space and prepare for rebounds.
Occupy the centre-backs, receive with your back to goal and turn, shield or lay off to connect midfield.
View source principle ↗Move between defenders, checking short when it creates a third-player run.
View source principle ↗Vary onside runs and finishing methods: foot, head, cross, rebound or distance; find a better-placed teammate when available.
View source principle ↗Role behaviors summarize the supplied Position Profiles. Exact runs, support assignments, set-piece roles and practice tasks are this fictional club’s applications. Physical qualities are descriptive, not player ratings.
Club practice application: Break lines to advance attack / Engage in a 2v1
Centre-back finds the pivot; the winger holds width.
Occupy the centre-backs, receive with your back to goal and turn, shield or lay off to connect midfield.
Right centre-back, pivot, right interior, right fullback, winger and centre-forward against the defending left-back, left centre-back, left interior and winger. Use the right half-space and touchline from halfway to the box.
Shown on one side of the pitch; mirror the activity for the opposite fullback, interior or winger.
Start at the centre-back. The centre-forward can check short, protect and lay off to connect midfield, then threaten behind. Release the winger or overlapping fullback into the final channel for a cutback to the arriving interior. Defenders counter toward the halfway gate after regaining.
Fullback, interior and winger occupy different lanes; the receiver can see both pressure and the next option.
Allow the winger to come inside. The fullback reads the movement and chooses to overlap or hold.
Club-authored exercise and animated walkthrough, applying the linked principles. Players retain their 11v11 roles. This illustrates the task; it is not match footage or an exercise supplied by U.S. Soccer.