What We Do
Our Mission
At European Football Coaching, we have a group of highly experienced professional trainers.
Through their sessions, these trainers will foster an environment for young people to develop not only their playing ability, but their character too.
EFC's trainers aim to leave lasting memories that will stick in the minds of all young players long after they leave the playing field.
Our Philosophy
At European Football Coaching, we believe that players must have fun in order to develop a love and passion for the sport. With this passion, they are much more likely to develop and reach their potential. It’s all about enjoying the game and at the same time, learning and developing as both a soccer player and as a person. We aim to develop skillful players that are comfortable on the ball, which in turn helps produce teams that play an attractive, skillful style with an emphasis on keeping possession.
We also believe players should play simple, yet quickly. They must have good awareness of their surroundings at all times, in order to make fast decisions both on and off the ball. Players must play with confidence to receive the ball in any situation and aim to play forward when possible, without high risk. Movement off the ball must be incisive and fluid. Shots must be taken at every opportunity.
Our Development Aims
• Keep the ball 60% + of each game (Possession)
• If you can keep the ball 60% + of a game, then you have control of many aspects of the game (broken down in more detail below).
• Play out of Defense in a systematic way
• Making good decisions
• When/Where/Why to pass the ball out of defense
• When to play more direct – maybe you are losing the game and need to take chances, maybe there are too many opposition players to make a safe pass.
• Offensive (commit numbers to attack)
• This is a fun way to play
• More offensive, hopefully leads to more shots, which in turn leads to more goals. Everyone loves goals.
• Aim to both Possess & Pressure in opposition half
• We aim to possess the ball in the attacking half to reduce the risk. By this I mean so if we do lose possession, our opponents have further to go with the ball before shooting.
• The benefits of playing high pressure (when we don’t have the ball) to win the ball back in the opponents half are simple – the closer we can win the ball to the opponents goal, the less passes we need to make before shooting.
• Quick Passing Tempo – Low touches on the ball - 1 or 2
• This makes it more difficult for the opponents to pressure us
• This also makes it tough for them to organize as a team defensively if we are moving the ball quickly
• Play forward whenever possible
• Yes, we want to KEEP the ball first. But of course, we NEED to get to the opponents goal if we are going to score a goal. Therefore, whenever it is possible, make a forward pass. If you are not sure whether the forward pass is on, play for POSSESSION only.
• Passionate with fighting spirit – Never give up
• This is an attitude that needs to SHOW on the pitch from the first whistle until the last. It is a simple point that has a HUGE impact on personal and team performance.
• Creative with decision making
• The thing with ‘just keeping possession of the ball’ is that, if we just keep moving the ball for the sake of moving it, without a target or without creativity, it can become more predictable for our opponents and easy for them to defend. Therefore, freedom to be creative is a necessity. The players must feel open to express themselves through clever fakes, incisive dribbling, smart passes and sharp runs. All of these are welcomed during appropriate moments of the game.
• What is an appropriate moment? One that we believe involves little/no risk. To elaborate further and provide two examples. #1 A player could be creative in his defensive third by faking his opponent and trying to turn away – the risk here is high as if he loses the ball, the opponent could score a goal (High risk, not recommended). #2 If a player is in the attacking third, he isolates an opponent in a 1v1 situation and tries to beat him with speed or skill. Here there is still risk of losing the ball, but it is a situation with little risk of us conceding a goal, and great reward if it works.
• Dominant in 1v1s
• 1v1s are important to maintain unpredictability. If players are dynamic in their decisions of when/how to beat players, picking suitable moments as discussed above, then they will have the most success.
• Limit turns with the ball – try to play the way you’re facing.
• There are exceptions to this rule. But playing to this, as a guideline, will significantly reduce the amount of times we lose possession as a team.
• Turns slow down the play in comparison to 1 or 2 touch passing – slower tempo can often help the defending team.
• If we can learn to play the way we face…and if we can learn how to offer support to a player to make sure they don’t need to turn. We will find more success.
• To be clear – creative turns, in 1v1 situations, in the right areas of the field are welcomed. But right now the highest amount of turnovers in possession is due to unnecessary turns with the ball.