<b>Tactics blog #003 – the basics of pressing</b>
The concept of “pressing” has significantly gained in importance in the domain of football tactics over the last 20 years. Since Jürgen Klopp’s success at Dortmund at the latest, pressing and related concepts such as “gegenpressing” have become extremely relevant. In this post, we take a closer look at the various forms of pressing and its related concepts.In almost every tactical analysis here on our blog we dissect the quality of Bayern’s pressing or the opponent’s pressing. We use terms like “gegenpressing”, “attack pressing”, “midfield pressing”, “defense pressing”, “man orientation” or “space orientation”. But what do they mean exactly? High time to shed some light on these terms here in this piece.In the past, people used to talk about “forechecking” when they meant that the team without the ball pushed forward as a unit to disrupt their opponent’s build-up play. But nowadays, this term is often wrongly equated with the notion of pressing as it is used today.The German Wikipedia defines pressing as follows: “Pressing is the act of (momentary, prolonged, or permanent) closing down an opposing player or players in possession.” However, it will become clear later in this article that this definition is incomplete. For during defensive pressing there can be no talk of closing down at all, and yet it is described as a kind of “pressing”.It would be more accurate to say that, in addition to the classic closing down, pressing also refers to the formation and organization of a team against the ball, which is intended to make it more difficult for the opponent to score goals. While the common definition thus implies above all that the opponent is put under pressure by closing down the ball-carrying opponent as early as possible, there are also varieties of pressing that do not involve direct and aggressive forms of attacking the opposing player on the ball. Lucien Favre, for example, insists that his players hold their positions in the game against the ball and do not close down opponents unnecessarily.<a href="#the-level-of-pressing"></a>The level of pressing<a href="#attack-pressing"></a>Attack PressingWhat the quoted Wikipedia definition explains is best subsumed under “attack pressing”. In attack pressing, a team puts pressure on their opponent as early as possible. “Early” in this context refers to the progress of the opponent’s build-up play. Some teams decide to press as early as the goalkeeper, others start with the defensive back line. Regardless of such differences in detail, a team that deploys attack pressing takes up an average position deep in the opponent’s half. Bayern practised this form of pressing consistently under Pep Guardiola, and now again most recently under Hansi Flick. A particular advantage of this form of pressing is the enormous pressure that can be exerted on an opposing team. On the flip side, however, there is a constant risk of conceding counter-attacks when the opponent has managed to play through the first pressing line.<a href="https://miasanrot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/04/FCBBVB1-960x650.jpg">Media</a><strong>Flick’s tactics include attack pressing over long stretches of the game, in which the team as a collective is positioned very high up the field.</strong><a href="#midfield-pressing"></a>Midfield PressingSince the high intensity demanded by a determined attack pressing can hardly be maintained for a full 90 minutes, teams deal differently with the intermittent phases in which they have to moderate the intensity of their play to take a breath and recover energy. Guardiola tends to use periods in possession to recover, while Diego Simeone does so by varying the average positioning of his team. His Atlético side skilfully alternates between phases of attack and midfield pressing. During midfield pressing, the opponent is allowed to build up their game more or less unopposed. Instead of aggressively closing down the opponent early,…
The concept of “pressing” has significantly gained in importance in the domain of football tactics over the last 20 years. Since Jürgen Klopp’s success at Dortmund at the latest, pressing and related concepts such as “gegenpressing” have become extremely relevant. In this post, we take a closer look at the various forms of pressing and its related concepts.In almost every tactical analysis here on our blog we dissect the quality of Bayern’s pressing or the opponent’s pressing. We use terms like “gegenpressing”, “attack pressing”, “midfield pressing”, “defense pressing”, “man orientation” or “space orientation”. But what do they mean exactly? High time to shed some light on these terms here in this piece.In the past, people used to talk about “forechecking” when they meant that the team without the ball pushed forward as a unit to disrupt their opponent’s build-up play. But nowadays, this term is often wrongly equated with the notion of pressing as it is used today.The German Wikipedia defines pressing as follows: “Pressing is the act of (momentary, prolonged, or permanent) closing down an opposing player or players in possession.” However, it will become clear later in this article that this definition is incomplete. For during defensive pressing there can be no talk of closing down at all, and yet it is described as a kind of “pressing”.It would be more accurate to say that, in addition to the classic closing down, pressing also refers to the formation and organization of a team against the ball, which is intended to make it more difficult for the opponent to score goals. While the common definition thus implies above all that the opponent is put under pressure by closing down the ball-carrying opponent as early as possible, there are also varieties of pressing that do not involve direct and aggressive forms of attacking the opposing player on the ball. Lucien Favre, for example, insists that his players hold their positions in the game against the ball and do not close down opponents unnecessarily.<a href="#the-level-of-pressing"></a>The level of pressing<a href="#attack-pressing"></a>Attack PressingWhat the quoted Wikipedia definition explains is best subsumed under “attack pressing”. In attack pressing, a team puts pressure on their opponent as early as possible. “Early” in this context refers to the progress of the opponent’s build-up play. Some teams decide to press as early as the goalkeeper, others start with the defensive back line. Regardless of such differences in detail, a team that deploys attack pressing takes up an average position deep in the opponent’s half. Bayern practised this form of pressing consistently under Pep Guardiola, and now again most recently under Hansi Flick. A particular advantage of this form of pressing is the enormous pressure that can be exerted on an opposing team. On the flip side, however, there is a constant risk of conceding counter-attacks when the opponent has managed to play through the first pressing line.<a href="https://miasanrot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/04/FCBBVB1-960x650.jpg">Media</a><strong>Flick’s tactics include attack pressing over long stretches of the game, in which the team as a collective is positioned very high up the field.</strong><a href="#midfield-pressing"></a>Midfield PressingSince the high intensity demanded by a determined attack pressing can hardly be maintained for a full 90 minutes, teams deal differently with the intermittent phases in which they have to moderate the intensity of their play to take a breath and recover energy. Guardiola tends to use periods in possession to recover, while Diego Simeone does so by varying the average positioning of his team. His Atlético side skilfully alternates between phases of attack and midfield pressing. During midfield pressing, the opponent is allowed to build up their game more or less unopposed. Instead of aggressively closing down the opponent early,…
