LibroFutbol titles in English – Part 4

RONDOS IN MODERN FOOTBALL by Juan Solivellas Vidal

98 pages

Rondos in Modern Football presents 39 different training activities for teaching your team to keep and move the ball against opposition. The activities start simple with classic Rondo forms 3v1, 4v1, 4v2, etc., sometimes with new twists and variations, and progress to more complex activities with increased numbers and more demanding conditions that require increasingly dynamic movement from the players.

This is a great book for coaches at all levels who are looking for new ideas to increase the demand to their Rondos, teach additional concepts, and/or simply to add some new variations to keep your players interested and motivated.

Available from LibroFutbol.com Retail price: $21.90

KEEPING THE BALL by Ivan Pernia

166 pages

This book is just what it says on the cover: 50 progressively complex possession and positional games to help train your team to keep the ball. In contrast to a Rondo, where we will typically find one team in a permanent situation of numerical advantage and the other in a permanent situation of numerical disadvantage, a Possession Game uses neutrals to provide each team with a numerical advantage when in possession. Where Possession Games are used to teach universal possession concepts, Positional games are used to add important context and train your players to work together in a more game-related and position-specific way.

Well-presented with clear illustrations and detailed descriptions for all 50 activities (25 Possession Games and 25 Positional Games), this book is recommended for coaches of intermediate and advanced level players who already have a good basic grasp of possession concepts.

Available from LibroFutbol.com Retail Price: $23.90

SMALL SIDED GAMES IN FOOTBALL Edited by LibroFutbol

Small Sided Games in Modern Football is a book of 57 training activities for a reduced number of players in a reduced space but employing either 1 or 2 goals with goalkeepers to allow for plenty of scoring opportunities and realistic finishing actions.

There are plenty of creative yet game-realistic activity ideas here to meet a variety of different objectives, all clearly illustrated and described in detail. It’s a great book for adding options to your training tool kit.

Recommended for coaches working with players of all ages and ability levels.

Available from LibroFutbol.com Retail price: $25.90

LibroFutbol titles in English – Part 3 – Tactics

THINKING BIG by Rodrigo Arias

188 pages

The theme of this book is analyzing the game models and playing philosophies of four coaches who have demonstrating a consistent ability to overperform at smaller clubs in the biggest leagues, using unique tactical ideas to help compensate for their lack of financial recourses in the transfer market. Brendan Rogers at Leicester, Erik Ten Hag at Ajax, Julian Nagelsmann at Leipzig, and Gian Piero Gasperini at Atalanta.

Buildout play, organizing the attack, and behaviors in the finishing zone, as well as defensive behaviors without the ball are all analyzed in-depth using still images and video links from actual game footage.

Although three of these coaches have since moved on to different clubs since this book was published, this volume is still a fascinating insight of what it takes to “punch above your weight” in the world’s most important leagues, an ability that does not always translate into proportional success when these types of coaches inevitably move on to the bigger clubs themselves.

Recommended for tactically minded coaches and students of the game

Available at: LibroFutbol Retail price: $29.90

PLAYING WITH THREE CENTERBACKS by Andres Bretones

168 pages

This book is an in-depth study of how to play with a three-man back line, with a treasure trove of details on the roles and responsibilities of the players, tactics for the buildout, creation, and finishing phases with the ball, and guidelines and advice for defending against the 4-4-2 formation without the ball.

Lots of little details are addressed, such as how to determine the height of the first (defensive) line when in possession, the differences between building out with 1 or 2 central midfielders, how to employ the wingbacks, the third- and fourth-man concepts, and much more.

The book culminates with series of recommended training activities including functional rondos, conditioned real situations, and combined actions to help put theory into action.

This book is a great resource for intermediate and advanced level coaches and students of the game.

Available from: LibroFutbol Retail price: $27.90

ATTACKING FROM THE BACK by Davide Zenorini

106 pages

Attacking From the Back is a coaching manual that examines both the theory and practice of building attacking play from the defensive third.

The first portion of the book covers the basics theory of playing out of the back, including team structures, the positioning of the players, player rotations, the occupation of space, and advancing from the buildout phase to the buildup and finishing phases. The option of building the game through longer passes to the wingers and center forward is also addressed.

The second section of the book gives a comprehensive overview of how to build out in the face of a variety of different pressing strategies and behaviors from the opponent.

The final section of the book is a series of progressive training activities that will allow you to put your newfound knowledge into practice.

This is a great book recommended for all coaches who don’t want their players just hoofing the ball out of the back.

Available from: LibroFutbol Retail price: $21.90

LibroFutbol Titles in English – Part 2 – The (mostly) German Edition

I’m back with a new quartet of LibroFutbol books that have been translated and are now available for purchase in English. All these books are currently available at LibroFutbol.com. Each of these books involves an in-depth tactical analysis of a single innovative coach.

FOOTBALL ACCORDING TO KLOPP by Alejandro Gomez Escojar

182 pages

With Kloppo winding down his time at Liverpool and eying at least a temporary retreat away from the coaching spotlight to Mallorca, now is the perfect time to look back at his wildly successful approach to the game. His tactics, strategies, and team behaviors at both Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool are deconstructed in great detail using matchday images and video links. The offensive, defensive, and transitional phases are all covered separately.

Recommended to coaches and players interested in studying Klopp and his tactics, as well discerning fans of Klopp, BVB, and Liverpool FC

Available from LibroFutbol for $29.90

NAGLESMANN TACTICAL by Adria Milan

170 pages

Bursting on the scene with his incredible work with the TSG Bundesliga’s Hoffenheim, he’s arguably the first and foremost among the new breed of top managers who “never played at the top level” and is currently the youngest coach of the German National Team in almost a century (Only Otto Nerz was younger when he took up the position in 1926). This book focuses on his successful spell at RB Leipzig, which led to much less successful spell at Bayern Munich. Through still images and video links, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of Naglesmann’s Systems of Play, tactics in the Offensive and Defensive Phases of Play, the Atttack-Defending and Defending-Attacking Transitions, and his Attacking and Defending strategies on set plays.

Recommended to coaches and players who are interested in studying one of the game’s best young coaches, as well as Bundesliga and RB Leipzig enthusiasts.

Available from LibroFutbol for $27.90

TUCHEL TACTICAL by Carolos Dominguez

134 pages

Next in the pantheon of young top-level coaches who made the breakthrough to the highest levels of management is Thomas Tuchel, and this book follows the same spirit as the previous two, using still images combined with video links to provide a rich tactical analysis of his work, focusing mostly on his Chelsea career. The author breaks down the coach’s offensive tactics in the Buildout, Creation, and Finishing phases, plus the Transitions from the Defensive Phase. The Defensive Phases are analyzed in terms of preventing penetration in the opponent’s Buildout and Creation phases, plus defending in the final third and the Transitions from the Attacking Phase. Set pieces on both sides of the ball are also covered.

Recommended to coaches and players interested in studying Tuchel and his tactics, and fans of Chelsea FC looking for deeper insights into the Champions League winning side of 2021.

Available from LibroFutbol for $27.90

ANCELOTTI TACTICAL by Jonathan Fernandez Rodriguez

132 pages

Although Ancelotti is obviously not a German coach, he DID coach Bayern Munich (and win a Bundesliga title) in his single season there, giving me the tenuous excuse needed to add him to this list. Rather than focus on any one station in his illustrious career, this book examines the adaptations and evolutions along a coaching path that has taken him through a variety of leagues, cultures, and challenges. The book starts off with his time at PSG, the first coach entrusted with the club’s petrodollar resurgence, before tracing his career through Real Madrid, Bayern, Napoli, Everton, and then back to Real Madrid.

At each stop along the way, the book uses still images and video links to analyze and dissect his team’s varying formations and behaviors in the various phases of play, including buildout play and positional attacks, tactics in the defensive phase, pressing schemes, and tendencies on set plays on both sides of the ball.

Recommended to coaches and players who are interested in studying one of the 21st centuries most important coaches, as well as all football fans who consider themselves to be students of the game.

Available from LibroFutbol for $29.90