Winning the 1v1s

By David Clarke

Watch any level of football and you will notice players who can win 1v1s find themselves in good positions to create problems for the opposition. This gives a big advantage to your team and means that more goalscoring chances will be created.

You could say: Win the 1v1s and you're on your way to winning the game.

If your player has the ball or is trying to win it in a 1v1, he needs to analyse the situation and opponent. It is vital to make quick decisions and use movement, skill and a change of pace to win the 1v1s.

I use this simple-to-set-up game that asks some difficult questions of my players and gets them thinking of ways to succeed.

How to play it

• Split your players into pairs.
• Players cannot tackle each other.
• Use two cones five yards apart – gradually make the distance wider to make it harder.
• Player 1 must beat player 2 by stopping the ball at the cone before player 2 can touch the cone.

The defender must analyse:

• Which way the player will move?
• Should he take a chance and gamble on which way the player will move?
• How is the attacker's body shaping up to move?

The attacker must analyse:

• Whether he should turn?
• Which turning technique to use?
• If choosing to sprint, should he slow down or run at the same pace?