Animated Practice: The Bounce Pass That Escapes the Press
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One pressing solution is not enough. You need several ways to break lines depending on where and how the opposition presses. That is why coaches like Pep Guardiola, Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta build their play out of the back around multiple solutions to beat the press, not just one.
Here is one of those solutions in action: a bounce pass sequence built to draw the press in, then escape through the gap it leaves behind. It is taken from Beat the Press With a Box Midfield by UEFA A coach Athanasios Terzis.
Animated Practice: The Bounce Pass That Escapes the Press
Practice from the Beat the Press With a Box Midfield book. Animated using SoccerTutor.com Tactics Manager.
Taken from the book: Beat the Press With a Box Midfield
Build-up play and sessions from Guardiola, Alonso and Arteta's tactics. Paperback, eBook or both, with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
What Is a Bounce Pass in Football?
A bounce pass is a first-time pass played back or sideways off a teammate, like a ball bouncing off a wall. It moves the ball quickly away from pressure and lets the original passer, or a third player, receive it facing forward.
How Does a Bounce Pass Beat the Press?
Draw the press: the first pass invites a presser to step towards the ball.
Bounce it first time: the receiver lays the ball off before the presser can close the gap.
Exploit the space left behind: the next player receives facing forward in the space the presser has just left, and the team breaks the line.
The speed of the bounce is what makes it work. One extra touch and the press has time to recover.
160+ Tactical Solutions, Built for How They Press
Beat the Press is structured around the way opponents actually press, not one generic answer. Across the two volumes you get 160+ tactical solutions, 100 practices and 16 ready-to-use sessions. Content is organised for both 3-at-the-back and 2-at-the-back systems, with specific solutions against high-press zonal marking, man-marking and ultra-aggressive pressing.
The bounce pass practice above is one example. These sequences are rehearsed the same way as the rondo football drills used by Guardiola and Klopp, and share the same intent as De Zerbi's bait-the-press build-up play: invite the press, then punish it.
Download the practice for free. Get the diagrams and coaching points for the bounce pass sequence above, plus two more practices from the book, ready to run with your team this week.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a bounce pass in football?
A bounce pass is a first-time pass played back or sideways off a teammate, like a ball bouncing off a wall. It moves the ball quickly away from pressure and lets the original passer, or a third player, receive it facing forward.
How does a bounce pass help beat the press?
The first pass draws the presser towards the ball. The quick lay-off then moves the ball into the space that presser has just left, so the team escapes pressure and can break the next line.
Which book is this practice from?
It is from Beat the Press With a Box Midfield by UEFA A coach Athanasios Terzis, based on the build-up play of Guardiola, Alonso and Arteta. Volume 2 covers single and double pivots from Flick, Klopp and Emery.
Can I download this practice for free?
Yes. The free PDF includes the bounce pass sequence above plus two more practices from the book, with diagrams and coaching points ready to use with your team.
Beat the Press Vol.1 & Vol.2: coach the solutions Guardiola, Alonso and Arteta use to break the press
⚽ 160+ tactical solutions, 100 practices and 16 ready-to-use sessions
⚽ Vol.1: box midfield build-up play from Guardiola, Alonso and Arteta
⚽ Vol.2: single and double pivots from Flick, Klopp and Emery
⚽ Written by UEFA A coach Athanasios Terzis
⚽ Solutions for 3-at-the-back and 2-at-the-back systems
⚽ Paperback, eBook or both, with a 60-day money-back guarantee
This article was created by the SoccerTutor.com team, football coaching specialists since 2001. The practice is taken directly from Beat the Press With a Box Midfield by UEFA A coach Athanasios Terzis.
Browse more: Animated Practice: Spanish FA 5v2 Rondo · Xabi Alonso's 3-2-5 Attacking Shape · De Zerbi's Bait the Press Tactics
