Passing accuracy, weight and timing.
25 drills
25 drills
A line of mannequins acts as the defence: the central player combines with a winger and threads the pass for the opposite winger, who runs diagonally in behind the line and finishes.
Four-station circuit Pep Guardiola ran in his first pre-season at Bayern: wall pass after getting beyond the mannequin, long switch, first-time lay-off, through ball and finish. Every player rotates to the next station.
The classic Dutch square from the Ajax academy: pass to the next corner, wall pass back and a through ball for the teammate already running to the next line. Continuous tempo with one and two touches.
The foundational rondo of the Ajax-Cruyff school: four possession players on the sides of a 10x10 m square against one defender inside. Slide along your own side, pass with the far foot, and whoever loses the ball goes in the middle.
Y-shaped passing sequence: support, lay-off to the third man and a pass into space to finish against the keeper. A pre-season classic for passing, movement and timing.
Classic four-versus-two rondo in an 8x8 m square with a maximum of two touches. Works circulation speed, constant support and the coordinated pressing of the two defenders.
Diamond passing pattern in which the ball reaches the third man through a support touch and a first-time lay-off. Develops timing, pass weight and support movement.
Pairs run up the pitch, play a wall pass and shoot; the keeper deliberately spills the rebound so the second player can pounce on it inside the box.
Wave warm-up with four lines 10 m apart: the outside players pass to the inside players, who dribble diagonally outwards while the passer overlaps around the outside and receives on the run. The group advances up the pitch keeping its spacing.
First-touch exercise from the Ajax methodology: two players inside a box receive from the outside lines, take an oriented touch and play forward through a gate. It progresses until the coach calls the colour of the gate the ball must go through.
Circuit from the FIFA Talent Coach Programme: the midfielder receives with his back to the opposition goal between two mannequins, moves off the cone, takes an oriented touch with the far foot and plays between the lines. Progress with a defender who forces the choice between turning or playing back.
Simeone's Atletico circuit in a 30x15 m rectangle: trios cross the area chaining diagonal passes into a teammate's run and finish with a long diagonal switch of play and a dribble to the opposite marker.
Two identical diamonds mirrored either side of the halfway line. Each diamond circulates the ball first time from a feeder's one-two and ends with a long diagonal to the central player, who finishes in the opposite diamond's mini goal. The two diagonals cross through the middle.
Four cones in a line 5-10 m apart. The two central players peel off their cones sideways in opposite directions to offer a passing line and the ball travels from one end to the other with three combinations: short pass, long pass with lay-off and one-two.
The Dutch school (KNVB) triangle: inside-of-the-foot pass, back-foot control pushing the ball behind the cone and pass to the third point. The advanced version adds a first-time return and an angled pass into the run.
Five cones forming a star. The ball is always passed to the player two cones away, drawing the star, and every passer follows their pass. A passing warm-up that ends with two or three balls circulating at once.
Six players on the corners of a 20-yard hexagon circulate two balls at once, receiving on the back foot and turning. At the top and bottom corners an extra player adds a wall pass.
Possession game from the FIFA Talent Coach Programme: 20x20 m square, 4v4 inside and four neutrals, two inside and two at the ends as targets. The ball must progress from one target to the opposite one and is obliged to go through the centre.
The classic dressing-room rondo: eight possession players spread around the circumference of a roughly 10-yard circle with two defenders inside. Outside players hold their relative position; whoever loses the ball goes in and the defender who wins it comes out.
Rondo from the FIFA Talent Coach Programme: three possession players in a 10 m triangle against one defender inside. The focus is readjusting body shape, feet and position after every pass so the ball carrier always has two triangular passing lanes.
Rondo observed at the Etihad Campus on 12 July 2017: six possession players around a 10x5 m rectangle (two on each short side, one on each long side) against two defenders. Short distances, both feet, and the pass that splits the defenders.
Two adjacent 10x10 m squares. Five possession players against two pressers; after eight passes the ball is switched to the other square and the two pressers must sprint across. Works possession under pressure and the transition after losing the ball.
Activation circuit in two parallel stations: agility ladder, low hurdle jumps and a slalom between poles, finishing with a wall pass and a pass to the next team-mate.
Ball circulation around the four sides of a square, following the pass while performing a mobility movement on each leg. Combines passing technique with activation without stopping.