The Offside Trap
Many successful teams have utilized the offside trap over the years. In many cases the coach has not labeled
them as such, he merely states that we are going to get our back line up field and hold it up there "high" for as long as possible, thus creating compactness in our team, and at the same time restricting the amount
of space that the opposition has to play in.
They are effectively leaving a large area of space behind them, but are confident enough in their play to ensure they will not be caught out, as the whole team is drilled in what to do at any given time in a particular part of the field, in relation to where the ball is.
Remember the law itself "A player is offside if he is nearer his opponents goal line than the ball, at the moment
the ball is played", unless:
(a) He is in his own half of the field.
(b) There are two of his opponents nearer to their own goal line than he is. "b" is the crucial part, in that if the
player is level he is not offside.
(c) The ball is last touched by an opponent.
Key Factors for Defenders in catching opponents offside.
1. When the ball is played back - step up.
2. When the ball is played long - sprint out. Hopefully catching lazy forwards offside if the ball is played straight back.
3. If the defense is coming out, pressure must be put on the man with the ball to:
Stop him running through the defense,
Looking up to play balls to runners.
Especially runners from deep position, both centrally and on the flanks.
A vital fact to remember if a team is going to utilize an offside trap is human error. Every player in the team must thoroughly understand the law and their individual and collective team responsibility in relation to ball position. The sweeper or libero is a position, which demands excellent technique and understanding of the player concerned. He needs to have very good
"all-round" vision and to be comfortable on the ball, knowing when to move forward and support his attack and be an able distributor of the ball, in other words his passing over long and short distances needs to be top quality.
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