Edition 38

Welcome to the Soccer Newsletter. Today's subject will deal with finishing breakaways.

Finishing breakaways is something that is taken for granted by way too many people. It has always amazed me at how little coaches and players work on this skill yet they will spend an entire game working up to the point where they have created a breakaway opportunity. Then when this opportunity is squandered, everyone gets frustrated and says how unlucky they were.

The truth is that finishing breakaways is something that can and should be practiced on a regular basis. It's an important part of the game as well as something that can be incorporated with some other aspects of the game to utilize economical training to it's fullest.

The first thing to emphasize when attempting to finish a breakaway is score. That might sound like an obvious statement but too many great scoring opportunities are lost because the player wanted the goal to look pretty and not just put it in the back of the net. The easiest and most effective way to finish a breakaway is with a simple pass with either the inside or outside of the foot pushing the ball past the oncoming keeper.  There is nothing fancy about this but it simply allows for the greatest opportunity to score a goal. Simply go at the keeper, make them commit and push the ball, on the ground, past them into the back of the net.

Before you get to actually finishing a breakaway, you must make put yourself into the best position to
actually finish a breakaway. Once you have beaten the last defender, your first goal is going to go at the
far post (I am assuming you are coming from the midfield and not from a weird angle such as the corner
of the field). By taking this touch toward the far post, it will take you toward a more central position
on the field (if you are already in a central position then go straight toward the center of the goal). This
touch should be hard, allowing you to really separate yourself from the chasing defenders. Once central, go at the center of the goal and make the keeper commit to coming out to challenge (if the keeper chooses to stay back then you can score anyway you want).

Now that you are central and going at the keeper, you will wait to see which way the keeper commits and then with the inside or outside of the foot, push the ball past their feet (note that this does not have to be hit very hard). There is no need to go for side netting and it's important to remember that the hardest shot for a keeper to save is the one that is low and just outside of the foot.

As long as you keep in mind that the prettiest goals are the ones that are scored (as opposed to the flying half volley that looks impressive but go over the goal), then finishing breakaways becomes an easy task.

Remember that all previous newsletters are archived at http://finesoccer.com

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, send them to comments@finsoccer.com or post them at http://finesoccer/com/forum.htm

Have a great day.

Lawrence