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Freeing the holding midfielder

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Get the ball to your #6 when a striker’s cover shadow hides him.

Go to the lab ↓or read the 2-minute lesson first

Your holding midfielder is the player the other team least wants on the ball. So when a striker presses your centre-back, he does not run straight at him. He curves his run so that his body sits between the ball and your #6. From where the centre-back stands, #6 has disappeared into the striker's cover shadow. Principle 5 taught you how to do this. Now you are on the other side of it.

In the dark

In this example your left centre-back has the ball and their striker presses him from 6 m, standing on the line to #6. The pass is blocked. Nothing about your #6 changed; the striker chose the angle.

Diagram4-3-3 vs 4-4-2
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The striker presses from the angle that hides #6. The pass is blocked.

Move out of it

A shadow is narrow. In the lab a presser can turn about 35 degrees away from a straight press before he stops pressing the ball at all, so #6 only needs to move a few metres to the far side of the striker to be in the light again. In this example he steps 8 m across and the pass is open. Moving towards the ball side does the opposite: he walks deeper into the shadow. Dropping beside the centre-backs also works, and it is what a back three does.

Diagram4-3-3 vs 4-4-2
13452861011971345211867910
#6 steps 8 m to the far side of the presser and the pass is open.

Change the angle

The other escape needs no movement from #6 at all. Play the ball back to the keeper. In the lab a striker only steps to a ball within 14 m of him, so from the keeper both strikers hold their positions, and the line from the keeper to #6 runs between them. If the keeper also steps up, he counts in the first line and your build-up keeps its 3v2.

Diagram4-3-3 vs 4-4-2
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From the keeper the strikers are out of reach and the pass to #6 is open.

In the lab, free #6 first by moving him, then without moving him at all.

Live lab

Lab

Only the instructions that matter for freeing the holding midfielder are here. Solve the challenges, then explore.

How the lab measures Player positions, distances, and how fast your players can reach each part of the pitch. It doesn't model the ball, marking, body shape or decisions, so treat the numbers as a way to see the idea, not as a verdict on a real match.

Challenge 1 of 2

Their striker presses your left centre-back and hides #6 in his cover shadow. Get #6 free with movement.

  • Pass to #6
    Blockedtarget open
    Not met yet.
Live lab4-3-3 · Custom setup
First line13452861011971345211867910

Drag your #6. Tap a player for instructions.

Team instructions

Goalkeeper

Player instructions

Challenge 1 / 2

  • Pass to #6 Blocked

Saturday checklist

Watch for it this weekend

  • When a striker presses a centre-back, look at the line from the ball to the holding midfielder: is the striker on it?
  • Watch the holding midfielder take two steps sideways as the centre-back receives — that is the escape.
  • Count how often a team goes back to the keeper on purpose, and where the ball goes next.
Next: Third-man combinations →