The Principles of  Play

Everything in principle is easy. Cooking; mix a series of ingredients together in a particular way to create
food. Painting; arrange colors in different shapes and sizes to produce an aesthetically pleasing design.
Writing; organize words and letters in a distinct manner to transmit thoughts and ideas to the reader. In
theory, these are all simple tasks which anyone could do. Football is no different; put a spherical shaped
object in a rectangular goal. That being said, understanding the principles of any activity is crucial in the
learning process.

By definition football is considered a team invasion sport, which is characterized by the objective of
invading the opponent’s territory with the ultimate goal of scoring points. Other examples of team
invasion sports include Rugby, Basketball, Hockey, Handball, and Lacrosse, just to name a few. Research
has shown that strategies, tactics and patterns of plays are transferable between sports and can help
participants better understand concepts of their sports through learning other sports. Within football,
and most team invasion sports, there are three main principles of play.

1st  Principle: Possession

To score a goal, a team must be in possession of the ball, even if it’s momentarily. For this reason,
possession is such a key component in football and is the foundation to the rest of football’s principles.
In attack, teams strive to maintain possession at all costs before anything else can be done. When in
possession, they are one step closer to obtaining points. In defense, teams must, first and foremost, look
to regain the possession of the ball.

2nd  Principle: Progression

As previously mentioned, with all team invasion sports the objective is to attack the opponent’s goal,
and to do so effectively, they must advance the ball into the competitor’s territory.  Football is no
different. Once having secured possession of the ball, the 1 st principle of football, a team must look to
progress towards the opponent’s goal. In defense, the opposite objective is desired. A good defensive
shape must prevent any progression towards one’s own goal.

3rd  Principle: Finalization

The final and most important principle of football is finalization in the opponent’s goal. This is the
principle which is absolutely necessary in order to win a match. Teams that are able to effectively finish
opportunities increase their probabilities of winning. Defensively, if your team is capable of protecting
its own goal, you put yourself in a better place of coming out on top. You cannot lose a match if you are
never scored on.

Obviously in order to win a football match one must score more goals than the opponent. However,
different game systems place more or less emphasis on each principle of football. For example, a team
which plays a defensive style and sits back places more significance on protecting their goal. A team
which defends with a high line values impeding progression. A team which pressures immediately after
losing possession stresses possession.
Offensively speaking, these principles affect game systems as well. Teams which have long, well
calculated build-ups value possession. Teams which play a direct style of football with quick counters
and long balls are more interested in progression. Clearly, all teams stress the importance of finalization.
This principle mustn’t be negotiated.

In today’s modern football, game systems influence how an entire club plays. The clearest example of a
club’s foundation being based on certain game principles is F.C. Barcelona. From their youngest
academy teams to their world famous first team, we can see they highly stress the possession of the
ball. They have built a system of play around possession–based football, and they train players to value
possession from the first moment they represent the club through a specific training methodology.
Italian football in general has always valued the protection of the goal which leads them to play systems
of play which rely on creating a defensive fortress around their goalmouth. English football regards
direct football to be the most beneficial style of play which shows how important they believe
progression is in the game; the faster they are able to move up the pitch, the better.

As coaches, we must analytically think about the principles which dictate the game in order to fully
understand which style of play we feel best fits us. This is the first step to establishing a coaching style.
Of course, after having successfully found the game style that we prefer, we must then adjust our game
style to the players at our disposal. It would be counterproductive to try to play a certain style focusing
on specific principles without having the players required to do so. For example, if we strongly believe
that the most effective way to win a match is by protecting our goal, conceding possession to the
opponent, and our roster is full of players who are all under 6 feet and are not powerful defenders, then
this might not be the right approach. We should evaluate the principles of football to adopt a game style
that would increase our probability of winning with the players available to us. In this example, focusing
on possession would be more appropriate. If we had a team of speedy wingers we might adopt a style
which stressed progression.

We must understand football’s principles of play in order to create the right conditions for our players.
Coaching is knowing what the game requires, what your team has to offer, and applying the correct
formula. There are so many coaches out there who have never thought about football in basic terms
and the further they progress in their careers, the more difficult it is to unlearn some skewed ideas they
may have adopted along the way. Football can be as simple as the principles it’s founded on. I challenge
you; next time you are watching a match, decipher which principle of the game is being disputed. In
doing so, you’ll begin to see each moment of the match as a mini battle to conquer these principles. This
is the first step to critically analyzing matches and teams, and the next step to becoming the coach
you’re striving to be.

By: David Garcia