Question of the Week: What Do I Focus On During a Counter Attack?

A counter attack in soccer is a fast attack⚡ that occurs at the moment of transition from defense to offense. The purpose of the attack is to create a goal-scoring opportunity before your opponent can recover their shape and positioning.

A counter attack is to overwhelm your opponent when they are unbalanced, taking advantage of open space on the field.

Again, the counter attack happens when a team recovers the ball ⚽and moves quickly from defense to attacking.

This week, coach Mike Semenza is back to share with you what to focus on during a counter attack.

What Do You Focus on During a Counter Attack?🧠

The decision to make a counter attack needs to happen immediately. As soon as your team wins the ball, your team needs to have the decision made. Good players can read the situation, calculate the probabilities, and act.💪

When your team switches into a counter attack, you want to move the ball up the field as quickly as you can before the defenders of the other team can get back into position.😲

If you do not have the ball, sprint up the field to join the play before the defenders can get back into position.

You want to get a chance on goal 🥅as quickly as you can.

1 – Build momentum. Counter attacks are fast and direct. The average counter attack at the professional level lasts only eight seconds. ⌚

2 – Notice space on the pitch. Professional counter attacks go through the central areas 73% of the time. This is from the opponent being out of shape and leaving spaces open.⚽

3 – Overload the opponent. Using their lack of shape against them, overwhelm their defenders with 3 or more attackers as you rush up the field.💪



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