Animated Practice: The Bounce Pass That Escapes the Press

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 distinct solutions to beat the press, not just one.

Animated Practice: The Bounce Pass That Escapes the Press

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.

Animated using SoccerTutor.com Tactics Manager Software.

160+ Tactical Solutions, Built for How They Press

Beat the Press is structured around the way opponents actually press, not one generic answer. Inside, you get 160+ tactical solutions, 100 practices and 16 ready-to-use sessions to coach directly in your own training. 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 they share the same intent as De Zerbi's bait-the-press build-up play: invite the press, then punish it.

Beat the Press Vol.1 & Vol.2

Two volumes covering 160+ tactical solutions, 100 practices and 16 ready-to-use sessions, built on how Guardiola, Alonso, Arteta, Flick and Emery break the press with a box midfield, single pivot and double pivot.

• Written by UEFA 'A' coach Athanasios Terzis
• Field-tested across 160+ tactical situations
• Full session plans you can use right away
• Paperback, eBook, or both, with lifetime access to the digital editions
• 60-day money-back guarantee

Browse more: Xabi Alonso's 3-2-5 Attacking Shape · De Zerbi's Bait the Press Tactics · Passing and Possession Resources