Skills and Strategy, Health and Fitness

IF you like to play soccer it will be your desire to improve your skills and knowledge of the strategy behind soccer tactics. And that is the integral part of a successful soccer player. Beside all the skills and strategy player also need to build the fitness level and maintain a healthy life style.

If we talk about the Skills and Strategy there comes three main skills of defending:

• Perform a Defensive header
• Catenaccio Defensive Strategy
• Zonal Defending
• Cruffy Turn

Perform a Defensive header, comes when you are playing in defensive position and ball comes in your area in the air. The aim of is strategy is to clear the ball from your area and through it away from your field as high as possible and preferably towards a member of your own team. You need to judge the flight of the ball and get in line ready to jump as soon as you can as your opponent will also be looking to attack the ball. it is better to head the ball to either side of the pitch rather than into the middle. A side-on approach will also reduce the chance of a direct clash of heads with an opponent who may also be jumping for the same ball. Use your legs and arms for leverage in thrusting yourself off the ground but do not touch or push your opponent or else a free kick or penalty can be awarded against you. I think this is enough for Defensive header. For its practice you need a football and a opponent who will also head the ball when ball comes to you.  Now we go to the next strategy that is Catenaccio defensive strategy. Its mean “Lock”. This strategy is know as a bad one, negative football in modern soccer. To discard the tactical lessons learned from Catenaccio would be extremely foolhardy for any soccer coach however as, when performed correctly, it creates as solid a defensive strategy as has ever been displayed in modern football. In Catenaccio strategy teams would push for an early goal to lead 1-0 and would then defend in numbers based around their sweeper and two banks of three in front of him with the defence and midfield protecting each other against attack. Zonal Defending comes third. It allows to sets defenders out to cover areas of the pitch or ‘zones’ rather than concentrating on marking one player in particular as in man-to-man marking. The defence typically will line up four players along the six yard box, one on the near post, one in the middle of the six yard box, one between them and one on the far post. Four more will then sit in front of them to offer further protection and to compete for the ball if it is cleared and returned to the penalty area. The main reason for using the zonal system is to identify the most dangerous area where the ball can be delivered to and have your best headers of the ball placed there ready to win the first ball and if not, to make sure they are in position to clear the second ball that comes in. Shield the ball from your opponent with your back to him and the ball close to your feet and under your control, This happened when you apply cruffy turn. For its practice you will need a ball, an opponent and quick feet.

Soccer stretching exercises come in the health and fitness area. To best prepare your body for the rigours of exercise and to avoid the chance of causing injury to unprepared muscles, it is best to do a series of stretching exercises before beginning your workout or training session. For your neck stretching, Stand with your feet square, facing forwards and reach one arm around behind your head and place the open palm on your opposite cheek. For stretching your shoulders, Stand facing a wall and lean against it with one arm. Now turn your body and head in the opposite direction to the supporting arm and away from the wall. Repeat with the other arm and turn in the opposite direction.

Do you know any thing about cruciate ligament injuries? These are the injuries that are very common and happen to many top footballers around the year. The cruciate ligaments make up two of the four main ligaments in the knee, One Collateral on either side and two Cruciate, one in front of the other, in the middle.