Defensive Techniques: Working on Interception

Mark out a 15m x 15m square with cones, creating 3 zones (two 6m zones and one 3m zone in the middle). Place 3 attackers in each of the 6m zones and 2 defenders in the 3m zone. The exercise lasts 10 minutes.

The attackers aim to make passes from one zone to the other, and the defenders try to intercept the ball. The attacker who loses the ball becomes a defender.

Note that the attackers must make passes within their zone before passing the ball to the other zone.

You can limit the number of passes if necessary to increase the pace of the exercise and force the players with the ball to find a solution as quickly as possible.

Also, make sure to work on positioning with your defensive players. If they find themselves on the same line, as shown in the image below, the passing angle for the player will be very wide.

Their objective is to reduce the passing angle, so ask them to shift intelligently by positioning themselves slightly relative to each other. If the ball is on the right side, one of the two defenders will draw the ball carrier, and the second will position themselves slightly back.

The same logic applies when the ball is on the other side: