That’s the footage of the first week of training.

I’ll tweet chronologically.

Fairly traditional first week of Italian coaching syllabus:

• – lot of running without the ball,

• – some of it for testing purposes, with a gradation

• – some possession / small sided games “rondos”

• – some generic technical closed loop circuits

Sprinkled with enough PR to make a good omelette 🍳

Your choice, to stop reading now, or continue.

Two things to keep in mind:

• – Sarri, Conte; both superior “training ground coaches” didn’t feel the need to show that much skin in training videos. Look how well we work.

• – A movie trailer entices to watch the movie, but when it’s too good; it’s simply the best parts.

Either way, the pitch is the truther and the ball doesn’t lie.

🍳PLYOMETRIC WARM UP? DOG PARKOUR? 🐶🚧

There’s two schools

– Modern coaches like Mourinho, Tuchel don’t believe in “plyometrics” (build muscle power with bounds and leaps). Just get on with the session straightaway.

– Old school coaches like Pochettino or Maresca, Conte are fond of it: hurdles, elastic bands for warmup.

That usually involves long-ish warmup (over 10′) to activate the mind.

As a football warm up, pretty much useless.

As a introduction, is a way for the staff to see who sleeps and needs a wake up call before you get on with the actual football.

Also, no contact there, so good alternative to always start with “rondos” – as rondos (not piggy in the middle) tend to wake up people quicker, due to the pain threshold of being kicked in the ankles.

Science isn’t binary.

-Some think it improves the strength, and speed therefore power.

power = strength x speed

-Some reckon having players repeat football sprints is more relevant, because there’s no hurdle to jump.

Courtois did his knee in 2015 with a plyometrics exercice off a box. Complained to Mourinho who told him “fuck this you’re not doing any of this anymore”

🍳TECHNICAL CIRCUIT BUILDING BLOCK: ECUADOR

This is a generic diamond: one low and top, and two exchanging a layoff in between.

Aim is to emphasis on the quality of the “dump and go” which is the building block of italian coaches, for their circuits.

Ideally never square, but back foot with a small angle (backwards)

Hit exactly in the 🇪🇨ecuador 🌐 of the ball.

Above: ball is topped

Below: ball bounces

Lavia’s one is academy standard, very good.

Opinions differ wrt: “reasoned opposition” with a coach or a player doing mock defending, some say it’s “realistic” whithin what’s not realistic.

Some say (or act as such as if) it’s rubbish and will compete 100% and ruin the drill’s flow and get told off.

This is what ultimately builds top players’ frustration btw.

• “No you’re meant to let him pass the ball”

• “So during the game I’m meant to do the same?”

• “Well no, but here, yes, but also no but yes”

• This is so [ . . . ]

source: overheard

In global training methodology (opposed), you lower down the complexity from 11v11 to 1v1.

More players = more combinations = more mental load to process it

With isolated training methodology (practice), the complexity is always the same (low), only the “circuits” are more complicated.

Complex means an unpredictable chain of events

Complicated means a known but difficult chain of events to remember

Football is complex, not complicated.

And has thankfully made some leaps and bounds (in most places) as to what works, and what doesn’t “assemble together” dissected like a lab frog. (which doesn’t magically re-assemble once you isolated every bit of it).

🍳SEPARATION MOVEMENT IN ISOLATED 💠 (1)

This is a generic academy practice (usually more Foundation YDP), with artificial separation from a marker.

Again, the realism is one to judge. Not a Maresca thing. That kind of practice builds up a feeling of success that might not translate in games.

Some will even argue there’s “training motions” and “game motions”

Colwill wouldn’t do the performative small hop in a game, would do it more smoothly and oganically. Are these good habits, or just a feel good cosplay?

Colwill’s footwork, see how he’s dynamic on toes so that his

– right foot lands with toes pointing where he wants to layoff

– left foot hits perfectly in the middle of the ball to stick on the floor

That’s the top level benchmark.

🍳SEPARATION MOVEMENT IN ISOLATED 💠 (2)

A look at Colwill’s spinning

– left foot doesnt land in fresh concrete, stays dynamic

– to land square: he was back to goal, that’s the highest angle that’s not negative.

– hops back with the left to dodge the closing down (that brings him closer to the line)

– sets the right foot with toes pointing where he wants to go, not too far away (knee stays bent) to push directly.

His right leg calf angle is the same as his chest, he can sprint

Sterling is the same, he’s a livewire. Still one of the most dynamic players in PL

🍳 bAiT tHe pReSs: semi-opposed 2v2

Two things to keep in mind:

– Pre season W1 is about getting the body back to repeating runs, not hammer them with 2v2+2 strength boxes. That will however be required from week 2-3-4 onwards.

– There’s probably more realism when it’s an actual square 2v2 +2, and actually bait the press and play around actual opponents.

And not balding quadragenarians mock defending.

Chalobah peels off, plays a layoff to Angelo who bounces to Madueke who flicks in the space created.

In theory, that works when teams press zonally 2v2, your turn my turn. Assuming “the Caballero” respects the zonal distances and area and leaves Chalobah drop away from him.

In actual PL games, teams match up and man mark in midfield which forces a long ball to the 9 (Jhon Duran? Tammy Abraham, Romelu Lukaku) or the actual pressure resistant midfield (the Barkley) to receive and roll the defender.

This is the De Zerbi ‘bait the press’ 🇮🇹 that eventually produces square turnovers at the edge of the box.

🍳4v4+4 Omelette

cba to change the players, but it’s the same game

Maresca calls it 4v4 + 4 “floaters”

Lots of managers like to get involved, usually the ones who’ve played

This is what it is, but not a cheat code. Zidane, Conte, Lampard, Xavi can afford to.

A Glenn Hoddle special at Tottenham when the Journalists had access to watch the sessions.

That can create proximity, or decisions to “go through the gaffer” or tell him off after another turnover.

Does Maresca belongs in the category of coaches who can (afford to) get into games? Jury’s out.

🍳 Isolated running x technical games

Two years ago I produced that video, to breakdown how to adjust the workload for diferent groups. And the different kind of (modern) drills Tuchel put players through

The program is divided in workshops,

4′ of box to box running (that’s track field, Pochettino left his notes under the bowl of lemons).

But “tactical box to box running”. Not track field

4′ of small games, probably some 4v2 or stuff like that

Also, store brand Pep is really uncanny.

🍳 TrApEzE

Another generic classic: a trapeze shape where you play give and go short, then long and interchange.

Can have the 2 stay at their station; (2 in mirror in front of them – one at each angle)

Can have the guy playing the longer pass following his pass

Typical first week of pre season.

No link to game model, no complexity, not complicated.

Just getting back players to run

🍳Generic possession square

Not enough footage to throw a second guess,

But if I had to second guess, I’d say it’s this:

Maybe numerical equality, maybe not.

But maybe play x passes in the square, then tick off all 4 boxes (do 5 passes in each box). Hint because Colwill seems to wait for the green to swarm.

No tactical input here, but good practice to develop aerobic capacity (little speed or power involved)

These games are like mead, sounds great and enticing.

You want to believe there’s a link to the game model, but for it to work there musn’t be. And the more “tactics” “systems” plastered over it, the more you transform the dancefloor in something that’s not intended at this point (as it’s becomes a game involving strength, power, speed game which you absolutely don’t want)

The aim is to have homogeneous running and space coverage, players neither standing still nor chasing like crazy and a frequent amount of touches that stays even.

The game model? Not the time for it, early in the week wakes the brain and prepares the body for the week. Overload is either discouraged, or evidencing a lack of priorization in the content delivery (too much)

This possession game look like a bog standard 6 or 7v7 plus 2 or 4 floaters.

Apparently Sanchez on one boundary (we can imagine another goalkeeper on another end)

The “one or two touches” is unclear whether it’s an instruction (why?) or wishful thinking. Another grey area that players will usually exploit, as “not forbidden, therefore I can do it”. Because they feel that’s what the game demands, or to challenge the coach.

Again, this is not a Maresca thing. Players always challenge coaches if rules are unclear, as part of the bigger picture powerplay.

And the two best technical players as “magic man” who create the +2 overload in possession that keeps the possession flowing

Possibly to move possession in three consecutive boxes (a generic possession practice).

There was a lot of chatter about the “stay in position, the ball arrives”, as if that’s some kind of atom splitting. “see and be seen” is U9-11 coaching syllabus

The scalability of these generic, directionless possession drills toward anything more “tactical” is pretty lose; and the main objective is to keep players active to share the ball (usually done early in the week).

Any team, no matter the level, plays the sport properly by not smothering the ball carrier. For all this, telling players to “stay in position” is the kind of performative / listen to my own voice coaching point in the air.

“play short” doesn’t make any sense as a performative instruction.

Explicit coaching doesn’t work, it’s water off a duck.

Play where the space is, but don’t constraint the target team (we imagine: the one in possession).

If the opposition sits off, “baiting the press” is just running down the clock.

The defending team can be incentivised for recoveries in one box (+2pts), if they fill two consecutive areas, or only one area (+3pts)

But even in this case, players must be able to dribble out of pressure or ping a long ball and basically play where the space is.

“two touches, on the floor” only has one purpose. Early in the week possession practice to kick start the engine; and that demands a very laid back, observational management style. Not joystick.

Anything in view for “more tactics” is inadequate early in the week, or not effective to ingrain whatever habits players might have. But does look good for the casual onlooker.

Because they will dribble out (think Hazard and RLC with Sarri) or ping a long ball (Luiz, Rudiger etc…).

🍳30-15 IFT: more track field!

A test involving 30s running, 15s recovery

To calculate (and compute other metrics) the MAS

Maximum Aerobic Speed

Which is the speed at which the oxygen intake is maximal, before the body reverts to using the energy reserves (an-aerobic)

The idea is to get players’ 100% logged on database.

And in injury rehab when you’re building fitness back

🍳Style and substance

Italian coaches are traditional, like vertical management.

There’s the style and the substance.

The didactics (the what), and the pedagogy (how).

Everyone will make his own mind about a Post Office set up with one PhD lecturer, and players freezing their balls off in typical english queue.

• Drive diagonally to play a masked pass

• Arc your separation run.

From a didactics perspective, nothing ground breaking, the command is clear.

Players have done that a million times, but can only get better at it through match situations (counter attacks especially).

Via isolated practice, that’s dress rehearsal.

Not sure Tyrique George in particular needs to learn how to find separation (or will learn anything new there).

You’re probably told off at UEFA C level for “not guaranteeing effective ball in play time”.

And from a Chelsea / PR perspective; they briefed they wanted a teacher. But you didn’t get this indulgent training footage under managers who won titles there, not because it’s a different century.

But the intended effect is there, if not for the players, the entire social media ecosystem is in awe at that attempt at micromanaging or listening to his own voice from Maresca.

Look at that pump fake

The best “oooops let’s not embarass myself” since Henrique Hilario at the very start of the video

🍳 Attention to detail vs smelling the coffee ☕️

I think half of the players at least are in autopilot mode in training sessions.

Hands on hips, or waking up periodically and think they’re the one spoken to and about to pass the ball to the coach and changing their mind when they realise the “you” is the “you all”

Looking at their boots, and turning the head towards him. Not having the first clue what they’re asked.

Again, game of opinions, everyone will make his own mind

🍳 Week 1 library of practices

W1 is usually itching for coaches who want to get on with it.

So far we’ve seen:

– The same 2v2 with Madueke/Chalobah shown previously

– 4v4+4 “floaters” as described previously

---

– No cut corners in training pitches. Tuchel did it to prevent reliance on squatting/closing down in corners (unwanted strength)

– some opposed format, pitch doesn’t seem too deep (not too much speed)

Players icks.

Some second guessing.

“play on play on don’t stop” (6:36) in a begging way, suggest there’s no crunching tackle / foul (you could hear a thump) so it’s probably a matter of ball across a boundary.

A frequent pit tacticoaches fall into because the sequence is promising.

To which players usually don’t give more care than they would for any other play, ball is out, stop the play and go on.

These small things are conductive to erode trust over the course of a training process. And the “strongest” players will eventually extend the pitch for as much as they want, and “weaker” players (socially) won’t get their way even by claiming it’s their ball.

Nobody knows what was Bruno Saltor’s exact role at Chelsea, some say he was the Eminence Grise behind the Marc Cucurella social experiment (who he started vs Liverpool with a fit Badiashile on the bench).

One thing for sure, at Brighton and Chelsea, the man was reffing scrimmage and trainng ground games whistle in mouth.

Limiting players to a certain amount of touches kinda makes sense in technical drils but ultimately, the truther in games is the speed of execution. Not the manner of it

Players have ingrained habits, you won’t change a futsal players’ first touch with the soles if he feels more comfortable with it.

Touch restriction is the one thing that gives players the ick, the game is efficient enough at smothering players who take too many touches (who can’t connect and get end product) to force good players to limit their contact with the ball for the sake of fluidity in a training ground game

Generic, standard practice for W1

🍳TL;DR

– Yes, Maresca focus. Why not.

Why not focus on your 60m Lavia or Nkunku?

I don’t care for Maresca, especially as the practices are utterly generic for a first week of pre-season. Which is okay

– Can expect more opposed practice from next week onwards. Will be interesting if they stick to these bog standard academy drills, or show some of the football circuits (surely they can’t)

– Don’t listen to keyboard tacticos who pretend there’s anything “game model” related in that first week. There’s none. Isolated running, and basic old school ball mastery.

– Maresca is on hands, which is what it is Good if he wins, not if he doesn’t. Rule of the game.

There seems to be a clear emphasis on explaining the most basic of things, which doesn’t always resonates well with actual good players.

I don’t think there’s anything special to note, but I wouldn’t argue against the idea that some of them are merely turning up in the session and mostly going through the motions.

Which happens, at different degrees, everywhere.

They wanted a “teacher”, surely they got one.

Let’s see how they handle the 50+ professionals, who stays at home and who’s sent training with the U21s.

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