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Build-upRepresentativeTactics

Build-up against full man-marking pressure

Find the passing lane when every player on the pitch, including the goalkeeper, has a dedicated marker — the most extreme pressure goalkeeper-led build-up can face, and increasingly common in the modern game.

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Load

minutes
12
Intensity
High
Sets and reps
3 × 1

Microcycle days it fits

MD-3

Each bar’s height is that day’s dive ceiling.

Setup

Goalkeepers
1
server
0
outfield player
6

Space: 30 × 20 m

Equipment: Balls, Bibs, Full goal

The coach serves and manages the breaks.

1 steps

A build-up phase against man-marking in every position. The goalkeeper always has an attacker close by, directly shadowing their options, with no obvious free zone.

Exercise sequence

Coaching points

  • With no free zone, the solution lies in the receiver’s movement, not a static position — anticipate the teammate’s movement before deciding the pass.
  • Body orientation before receiving matters even more here, because decision time is minimal.
  • If all short passing lanes are genuinely closed, the long ball stops being plan B and becomes the correct option.
  • After a pass is denied for lack of an option, the team reorganises immediately for the next attempt, without wasting time.

Progressions

  1. Reduce the available space.
  2. Increase marking intensity, allowing closer contact.

Regressions

  1. Return to zonal marking.
  2. Increase the available space.

Sources · 2

  1. CurriculumUEFA Goalkeeper Coaching, First Edition (2022), UEFA
  2. StudyAdding texture to the Art of constraints-led coaching: a request for more research-informed guidelines (2024)