Sunday, July 07, 2019
11-a-side football after 11 years- highlights from enjoyable PSL journey
After more than a decade, I played full pitch football of 11-a-side, thanks to Puma Sports League, in which I was a proud member of the Street Slayers football team. Our journey in the tournament over 4 games was heartening for me- after a thrashing in the first game, and 2 close losses, we ended with a win which enabled us to take 3rd in a 4-horse race. Yes, it was an opposition weakened by injury and absence, but a win is a win. There were 4 of us who were in the starting 11 in all games (Deven, Sahil, Jerry and myself) who were playing PSL for the first time, so it was a new-look team taking to the field, compared to the other teams, which was one of the reasons we took time to get going. As a team, we took time in getting to know each other's game and finding the right positions for each. Apart from this, we each each had our own personal journey of improvement, too. Both the team and personal journeys were highly enjoyable for me.
Last I played full pitch was when I was attempting to take the first steps in the journey from hostel team to Institute team in UG - steps including: 1) putting up a decent performance in the inter hostel league, then 2) showing up every evening in the 'main ground' instead of 'hostel ground', and 3) Starting to get to know the who's who at the institute level (the solid captain, the mercurial midfielder, etc etc) . However, after just 3-4 passable 'main ground' performances, I was hit by a double whammy of first jaundice and ACL tear, and my 'full pitch' football career was grounded.
Cut to 12 years later, and we have PSL. Some key personal highs:
1) The overall team and personal journey discussed in para 1, and the team discussions that were a part of it.
2) Tinkering with the formation. 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1or 4-3-3? Finally, we settled with a 4-3-3. But syncing the player to the slot on the ground was a long process which was finally settled in the last game. By the 4th game, we had found the best position for each person, with Iv, Ma and As in front, Je, De and me in mid, and Ne, Ch, Sa and Vi/SaS in central midfield.
3) Getting to know everyone's game.
4) Sitting on the sidelines discussing the strengths and weaknesses of other players and teams. Among other teams, the key highlights for me: Hokhevi's controlling play and fitness, Ankit's long throws which were longer than clearances, and Anand's dangerous runs from the right flank (which led to one of his goals against us which was a powerful shot from far).
Some key new learnings for me:
1) Gotto play to your position. Unlike 5-a-side football, where you can roam a lot, here- you have to play in your position. If you are in the front 2 or front 3, stay ahead of the half-line most of the time, and keep the threat live. You cannot be in your half and take the play out to opponent half- that takes too much time and leaves you tired by the time you reach the goal leaving you without enough energy to hustle the defenders and take a solid shot on goal.
2) Precise short - passing game (tiki taka) is both slower and has higher risk. All your players have to be really fast and really technical for that to work. Further, tiki taka means more passes, and more the transfers of the ball, more the risk of losing it due to a) bad ball control , b) imprecise pass or c) opponent press. Further, if you are playing tiki taka in your own half and fail- you have lost the ball in your half and that's a big problem. Therefore, look for the long passes often. I was guilty in the first game of this- playing in midfield, I did not feed the ball enough to those in front, especially Iv. While I was good in holding the ball and little dribbling tricks, it was slow and ineffective for the team as a whole. This leads to the next point:
3) You should often play those 50% or 75% passes if they get you good distance inside the opposition half. Either the opponent may mis-control due to the pressure, or your own player may exceed your expectations, and in both those cases, you have possession in promising situations. I played a lot more of these by the 4th game. For example, we won a free kick in a promising position at edge of the D due to a rough, hopeful long ball I had put forward.
4) Leg strength for a striker is important to take powerful shots in opposition half. Full-pitch goal is big and often, shots do go in even if the end point of the kick is a few meters off of intended target. In fact, maybe just aim at the keeper at the center of goal, because anyway the ball will go 1-2 m away from him! To get those powerful long shots, need that strength in the quads and the hams. By the time of the 4th game, my quads were aching and I was unable to shoot
5) Left footed strikers are a real asset- they have an altogether different angle of shooting and the ball curves differently from what keepers are used to, as Ivan the most experienced player in our team said many times. The one goal we got was when As, our left footed striker, controlled from edge of the D and expertly slotted it in (he was fed from midfield by a pinpoint pass by Iv). Since then, I have been calling Asrani - Robin Van Persie, the devastating left-footed-striker of Arsenal and Netherlands!
6) Gotto play a lot more 1-2s : various 1-on-1 chemistries need to be build within the team so that you can build movement and 1-2s at quick speed- only comes with trust and looking into each others eyes in the game.
7) Got to shout out loud! It's not like we play day in and day out that we know without talking where the other player would be. Shouting for the ball instills urgency and energy, too.
8) Clear to the sidelines, from defence. One of the goals we conceded in our close matches was from a clearance from a corner which put the ball right back in the middle of the box. This was purely accidental, but the fact that a goal was conceded from it shows how dangerous clearing into the middle is.
Last I played full pitch was when I was attempting to take the first steps in the journey from hostel team to Institute team in UG - steps including: 1) putting up a decent performance in the inter hostel league, then 2) showing up every evening in the 'main ground' instead of 'hostel ground', and 3) Starting to get to know the who's who at the institute level (the solid captain, the mercurial midfielder, etc etc) . However, after just 3-4 passable 'main ground' performances, I was hit by a double whammy of first jaundice and ACL tear, and my 'full pitch' football career was grounded.
Cut to 12 years later, and we have PSL. Some key personal highs:
1) The overall team and personal journey discussed in para 1, and the team discussions that were a part of it.
2) Tinkering with the formation. 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1or 4-3-3? Finally, we settled with a 4-3-3. But syncing the player to the slot on the ground was a long process which was finally settled in the last game. By the 4th game, we had found the best position for each person, with Iv, Ma and As in front, Je, De and me in mid, and Ne, Ch, Sa and Vi/SaS in central midfield.
3) Getting to know everyone's game.
4) Sitting on the sidelines discussing the strengths and weaknesses of other players and teams. Among other teams, the key highlights for me: Hokhevi's controlling play and fitness, Ankit's long throws which were longer than clearances, and Anand's dangerous runs from the right flank (which led to one of his goals against us which was a powerful shot from far).
Some key new learnings for me:
1) Gotto play to your position. Unlike 5-a-side football, where you can roam a lot, here- you have to play in your position. If you are in the front 2 or front 3, stay ahead of the half-line most of the time, and keep the threat live. You cannot be in your half and take the play out to opponent half- that takes too much time and leaves you tired by the time you reach the goal leaving you without enough energy to hustle the defenders and take a solid shot on goal.
2) Precise short - passing game (tiki taka) is both slower and has higher risk. All your players have to be really fast and really technical for that to work. Further, tiki taka means more passes, and more the transfers of the ball, more the risk of losing it due to a) bad ball control , b) imprecise pass or c) opponent press. Further, if you are playing tiki taka in your own half and fail- you have lost the ball in your half and that's a big problem. Therefore, look for the long passes often. I was guilty in the first game of this- playing in midfield, I did not feed the ball enough to those in front, especially Iv. While I was good in holding the ball and little dribbling tricks, it was slow and ineffective for the team as a whole. This leads to the next point:
3) You should often play those 50% or 75% passes if they get you good distance inside the opposition half. Either the opponent may mis-control due to the pressure, or your own player may exceed your expectations, and in both those cases, you have possession in promising situations. I played a lot more of these by the 4th game. For example, we won a free kick in a promising position at edge of the D due to a rough, hopeful long ball I had put forward.
4) Leg strength for a striker is important to take powerful shots in opposition half. Full-pitch goal is big and often, shots do go in even if the end point of the kick is a few meters off of intended target. In fact, maybe just aim at the keeper at the center of goal, because anyway the ball will go 1-2 m away from him! To get those powerful long shots, need that strength in the quads and the hams. By the time of the 4th game, my quads were aching and I was unable to shoot
5) Left footed strikers are a real asset- they have an altogether different angle of shooting and the ball curves differently from what keepers are used to, as Ivan the most experienced player in our team said many times. The one goal we got was when As, our left footed striker, controlled from edge of the D and expertly slotted it in (he was fed from midfield by a pinpoint pass by Iv). Since then, I have been calling Asrani - Robin Van Persie, the devastating left-footed-striker of Arsenal and Netherlands!
The Street Slayers football team after our win!
6) Gotto play a lot more 1-2s : various 1-on-1 chemistries need to be build within the team so that you can build movement and 1-2s at quick speed- only comes with trust and looking into each others eyes in the game.
7) Got to shout out loud! It's not like we play day in and day out that we know without talking where the other player would be. Shouting for the ball instills urgency and energy, too.
8) Clear to the sidelines, from defence. One of the goals we conceded in our close matches was from a clearance from a corner which put the ball right back in the middle of the box. This was purely accidental, but the fact that a goal was conceded from it shows how dangerous clearing into the middle is.
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