🇺🇬✨James Bogere : Goalbound Crane
Mulina ebyokuzanya byo kulaba? And how to platform wide strikers
I decided to watch Uganda vs Zambia to enhance my perspective and knowledge of East African football.
I’m kinda familiar with West African French speaking players (Guinea, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Morrocco, Mali…) having signed or coached players from grassroots who are either professionals or internationals (or called up) since 2020.
A few players caught my attention for Uganda’s Cubs (U17s), one of them is James Bogere (February 2, 2008).
Wearing the #9 with flashes of sheer quality as well as a sense of where and when to move on the pitch ; mostly from the left hand side.
A hybrid wide striker with pace to burn, getting past people 1v1, clipping passes to team mates, making runs all across the front line and in the box, with good finishing fundamentals.
A Neymar-y version of Marcus Rashford was the first thing I thought of.
Closer to home, Saido Berahino (1993) : for the gait, volleys, speed and runs from wide.
born in neighbouring Burundi, moved the UK at 10 - a missed opportunity to work with Mauricio Pochettino in 2015 (it might have changed a few things) when WBA - where he shared the pitch with another goalscorer/carrier/wide striker Nicolas Anelka - wouldn’t release him (Spurs wanted to pay 21 million in pocket change installments)
Laba kino!
Leaving a mark at the CAF AFCON U-17
Winning the AFCON CECAFA Qualifiers
James Bogere vs Zambia: play by play
Wide Forward Play
Bogere as lone 9
Nsobola okulaba tikitiki yo?
Hacene, Neymar and platforming wide strikers
How to platform wide strikers
My James Bogere take
Also featured on my SJA British Sports Journalism Awards : Specialist Sports Publisher category nominated publication
In the forwards section:
Leaving a mark at the CAF AFCON U-17 in Morocco
This is how the competition worked out for the Cubs (the senior team are the Cranes)
Morocco 5-0 Uganda
Uganda’s second participation in the U17 African Cup of Nations after finishing 3rd in the group stage behind Angola and Nigeria in 2019.
The Cubs were 4-0 down inside half an hour to hosts Morocco in the opening game with coach Brian Ssenyondo having to make two changes already.
Wanyama came on and moved Bogere out wide
Uganda 3-0 Tanzania
Uganda clinched a late but significant win against their regional neighbours Tanzania (3-0) where Bogere was involved in all three goals:
getting past the fullback and CB for a cross from which the rebound was tapped in
a shot spilled for another rebound tapped in
winning the penalty he converted himself
Uganda 1-2 Zambia
Uganda was eventually edged out against Zambia in the last minute for a 2-1 defeat, with a 14 year old goalkeeper between the sticks.
Their progress in the CAF U17 AFCON was therefore halted, finishing 3rd in the group, but as it’s the format for continental National tournaments; third placed teams compete in a play-off game to qualify for the next U17 World Cup.
Uganda 2-1 Gambia
James Bogere scored a brace against Gambia on Saturday 12th April to send his team to Qatar 2025 : the highlights encapsulate well what he’s about.
and clinched his second Man of the Match in four games :
Winning the U-17 AFCON CECAFA qualifiers
Uganda U17s route to the AFCON U17s was built upon finishing on top of the regional qualifiers with 10 goals in 3 games in December 2024
Uganda 5-0 Kenya
Uganda 4-1 Somalia
Uganda 1-1 Tanzania
Uganda 2-1 Tanzania
before overturning a 1-0 deficit in the final to Tanzania to win 2-1
James Bogere with 7 goals including two hat-tricks, and scoring *that* goal in the final
Footage courtesy of : Ahmed Hussein (@AhmedMarsha)
Communications Director, Federation of Uganda Footaball Associations (FUFA)
Why do strikers lay off front foot back to goal, beside having a strong support leg that will draw the foul whilst hiding the ball.
When it comes to sorting out their feet,
Land the right foot, open the gate and land the left foot.
(Bogere does it again to create a bit of separation with his marker) ; but in another situation he can already sprint off the two steps he did.
-
In case he used the left to layoff, he’d have to land L, then R, then L then R before starting to sprint ; which is one step more
An insightful read on the long term strategy of the Federation or Uganda Football Associations (FUFA).
Also, a few notes on platforming “wide strikers” ; having been fortunate to coach one in 2017/18 at U19 level, who scored 6 goals in French Ligue 2 for Red Star in 2024/25
Other recent newsletters focused on the process behind signing strikers, this one has a more coaching-focused angle to actually develop a playing identity whilst acknowleding players’ natural feeling for the game.
Based on elements from my UEFA A license thesis (2018).
Some of James Bogere’s plays remind me of Hacene’s (1999)
Hacene adores Neymar. He wanted to become a professional footballer. Now he is.
Quick Facebook digging to remind you which players have got the streets.
Football Twitter is an echo chamber. Open the window, empty the bins and put your mugs in the dishwasher please, and come for dinner.
Or let grown up people with a track record in the industry tell you who are the good players.
James Bogere vs Zambia: play by play
The key game broken down on a play-by-play basis is the third game vs Zambia, which is available below:
James Bogere started wide right in a 4-3-3 ish around Wanyama, acting as a target man and his club team mate Magala creating from midfield.
I was thinking this week, 120+ live games watched in two years in the UK ;
means 20x120 = 2400 invididual performances, and half a thousand attackers.
Some performance features eventually stand out faster ; not so much in “good players are good”, but “this good player does things that other similar good players don’t do”
Separation movement and sharp touches
One of the things you notice with James Bogere is the movement before receiveing so that he’s got time to create something, as opposed to systematically receive into feet, roll whoever’s on the way (or getting dispossessed)
Here is a good example, spinning
So that he receives back to the nearest touchline with space in front
Can you move in all directions
A key scouting cue : can you actually move in all directions, without parasite movement, stutter, loss of balance or momentum.
Bogere spins in the box without losing momentum. Good stuff
Weight of through pass
Another thing of note for a quick striker - whose craft relies on chasing passes in behind, more than delivering them.
Bogere’s weight of passes is often spot on: clean contact in the middle of the ball.
Think of players as clusters; not what they look like (that’s stacking and tincanalysis) but what they actually do, ideally well. Then look at the other side of the coin.
Tall and strong vs small and dynamic
Passer vs carrier
If anyone does both, they’re probably worth a closer look.
Tidbit on goalkeepers in 1v1s
Striker takes a screenshot
Striker looks down : that’s when the GK needs to gain some ground
Set in position so that the stirker realises he didn’t hit the refresh button
That’s a brilliant footed save
Takeaway = move between the striker’s screenshots to unsettle him for a goalkeeper.
Speed and running the channel: meep meep
Defender slips on the motorway
Good skill to get the leg / arm in front to shield it.
That’s interesting for a fast striker - a cluster that usually struggles with hiding the ball from the opponent
So is the two-chops turn
Isima Mulala Magala’s dish
Isima Magala is James Bokere’s team mate for Buganda Regional League side Masaka Sunshine FC / El Cambio Academy.
The dart in behind for the second goal of the video is diabolical
So is the acrobatic finishing
All in all, a humbling viewing experience for some european player circles who think the world set their protégé for failure despite conditions other footballers would only dream of
Jhon Duran: is there something I should know? Yes, stupidly good acrobatic finishes scale up across divisions, continents and football pitches.
This is a nice tidbit of a diagonal switch from Magala you generally expect to crash early, praising the intention not the execution.
Fullback mis-reads the aerial flight, for sure, but that’s a good diagonal.
All proportion kept in mind. Pepe, Saka, Yamal, Olise, Palmer (and of course De Bruyne who walked for 78’ uninterrupted at Swindon Town on Tue 24 Sep 2013)… all master the art of clipping passes at the far post with little backlift, lots of initial power and which drops in the final part of the trajectory to beat fullbacks.
This is all the more impressive that there’s little run-in, which indicates the ability to connect with the ball perfectly having set his footwork accordingly
That’s the big difference with average deliveries (say Neto or Cucurella’s) who bend it straightfowardly with more swerve than power (that’s average academy technique), which is bread and butter to clear because the trajectory goes to point A to B without any change of angle/speed in the last part of the trajectory that can unsettle defenders - who only have to put their head through it.
Reminds me of the game I played (about a decade or so after it came out), passed on floppy disks over the desk, called QBasic GORILLAS
In which you basically had to set the angle, velocity to throw a banana on the other gorilla. Yes, this is someone’s idea of fun.
I rememer the awkwardness of trying to explain in the early 2000s why and how I knew the Gravity in Meters/Sec in school was 9.8, back when there was a handful of “computer nerds” (was I really one) per 30 student classes.
Point is, I can’t not think of this game whenever I think of these game; you need to beat the first man but also the last man (which are buildings, in a different pattern every time). Can’t throw the banana like an imbecile, otherwise well you miss the target
Which you can actually play at here if you’re keen at procrastinating productively
Look at the difference between Olise’s Ballon d’Or worthy deliveries
that go fast on the three quarters of the trajectory, then drop (with the air resistance) in the final quarter to drop just beyond the last man.
Not only technique, but weight has to be considered
More than a regular bended academy standard cross that isn’t “mean” or played to hurt.
In general, TV angles don’t give enough credit to it because the ball (or set of pixels) seems the same size all along. Different perspective from behind a goal in instance, tells apart these hopeless clips and these Fàbregas deliveries beyond the last man.
The speed of the swinging leg, the sound when it connects, the first few yards of the trajectory, whether the ball turns or not
I can’t know for sure, but I could second guess Magala’s delivery has a little bit of backspin
Bokere keeps eyes on the ball whilst jockeying backwards
Lands his left foot next to the ball’s drop point, right arm for balance and small nod to keep shoulders over it.
Resulting in a quality volleyed pass between two players (which causes chaos, akin to a long throw)
There’s good players everywhere. Give credit to players, or coaches who help them.
Ball lands to Magala who followoed up
This below is the first touch
The shot flies over, (shoulders little bit backwards which isn’t too much of an issue when you’re close-ish and want to hit for the roof of the net)
But the speed to sort his feet and trigger a shot is worth noting
Left foot a bit far away from the ball
Even if he made sure it’d point where he wants to shoot
Marcus Rashford is that you
I’m not thinking out loud - or maybe I am.
Ask footballers who they like, a surprisingly high number reply Cristiano. Then Neymar, Rashford are often mentioned.
Then again, some play football, some comment on it.
Bokere got away with a last touch before the tackle
It’s that one touch that lets him a bit down
Because it’s a tiny bit too wide and long, it changes his running trajectory
Rashford got past Demichelis
But then his running trajectory is a diagonal line
Key is to land the left foot pointing where he wants to shoot
Specifically aiming for that area
Left foot is a bit far away from the ball (half a ball)
Right arm doesn’t allow to maintain balance.
Left foot far away from the ball, means the right leg will also be and the ball hit with the back part of the foot (as opposed to the laces) resulting in a bit of a shanked shot
The left leg is also bending more than it should to make up for the distance with the ball
Right foot toes are key as a follow up
Henry’s first touch takes him in line to where he wants to shoot
Look how closer the left foot is to the ball
Some more finishing tidbits
Funny how by adding the finishing touches to the article, I found this:
Players know players.
Going around to create a beter angle to receive
Kyakuwa (20) changes the picture and creates a good angle to drive and play a reverse pass.
For Bokere, the movement before receiving (yellow) is good, with a change of pace and a diagonal-ish run.
His first touch gets him away from the line towards the goal
Active movement before receiving
Things stats don’t capture.
As mentioned in the “Chizz and Crackers” newsletter.
Attacking play can be dressed down into 2v2s and the decision making has to rely on where the space is, depending on the defender’s behavior.
Not every player perceives the same things, affordances are each to their own.
Bokere sees the space for a splitting pass (it’s on)
His team mate Kyakuwa might see the space but doesn’t feel he can afford the pass
Give him a better passer etc… this is the point of scouting.
But “play der play der” pattern play still relies on players being able to see and execute
Wide forward play
Good movement before receiving, and that’s a decent match up for a shoulder on shoulder race
Mentioned in #4 of the Noni to be Upset newsletter
Compare the line of the shoulders that stay above the ball. Body balance (centre of gravity if we want to speak quantum physics) is still in the trajectory of the ball. And the right hand clearly puts the Stamford Fridge off balance
Intensity is the amount of actions per minute.
Which require physical and mental resilience:
shorter recovery between explosive actions
faster feedback loop to go again
What sells the dummy is doing it at the last split second, like Kvara vs Disasi to send the defender for a hot dog
That outside shift (masked) is good ball mastery to get off the drible
Wide striker run
This is exacly what you expect from your winger / wide striker
Read the space
Back track to pose a question to the fullbacks
Diagonal run for straight pass.
Good covering by Zambia’s 14
Box movement
Bogere is at the top of the centre circle. Ball is won back
That’s excellent “against the grain” movement from Bogere
To dart at the far post, after going around the penalty spot; to attack the defender’s blind side
Also, it’s easier to simply put the laces through the ball like most strikers would do
Bogere actually hits to create a rebound, to possibly nutmeg the goalkeeper
Keeping counters alive
Rule #1 : go opposite side to make a diagonal run that ends to goal
Rule #2 : if #1 somehow doesn’t apply (like here: transitional state), then make the decoy channel. But do it. Don’t clog the counter by staying in the middle of traffic to wait for service
Good job by Bogere
Who then created the space to get a positive first touch
Ending up with a left foot cross that actually connects
Something covered in the Grover / Deivid Washington article
You won’t Build Castledine The Sky if your starting position for runs is 2-3 times out of 5 central (ideally you’re 4/5 times opposite side of the centre circle to the ball), and you also refuse to make the decoy runs.
Bit of the same story here.
Zambia switch
Ball recovered from the far side
It’s a semi fast attack, there’s space but bodies behind the ball
That diagonal run all the way (9) pulls the defence whilst the carrier can take on diagonally
Bogere spins. This is satisfactory to see strikers willing to make good runs by precisely making the one run that will set up the next one.
Touchline: you can either receive feet, or in behind if the fullback is drawn to you
Which he does, cutting inside with a nutmeg,
then creative prloblem solving - fast wide strikers rarely are.
Execution let him down, but the intention was quite interesting to dink the ball over the CB. James Rodriguez or Özil stuff
Semi-blocked first touch
Losely translated from French “semi blocage” which is one of the author’s favourite skills in football
Some shoulder drop and spinning so that the defender adopts the “Cucurella stance”, flat footed
Knock past, roasted.
Can’t develop “technical” players without the most important part of the environment: affordances created by opponent’s behavior.
Nkukwasiza ekirabo
that is one good assist
Always hit the ball when it’s on its way down
Box movement at the far side
On unrelated note:
Fílter A, Olivares J, Santalla A, Nakamura FY, Loturco I, Requena B.
New curve sprint test for soccer players: Reliability and relationship with linear sprint. J Sports Sci.
2020 Jun-Jun;38(11-12):1320-1325. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2019.1677391.
Epub 2019 Oct 13. PMID: 31607228.
Good players will make “curvilinear runs” because that’s what the game demands
Same thing a few moments later
Fast strikers usually don’t have good box movement, until their latter stages when they work on their craft ; because their favoured situation has the passer behind them and not on their side.
Bogere’s movement from the blind side, to appear in front of the defender
Another “curvilinear run at maximal velocity”.
“Unreal locomotion” would say the most prominent yappers on Football Twitter.
Curry with Gary Linekar
1, Curvilinear run outside, then sprint
2, Curvilinear run outside, then sprint
3, Curvilinear run inside then sprint
Do it with a bar held behind the neck
Do it with a bar held vertically with both arms, opposite side to the direction of the run
Swap sides; 2 runs per workshop
TECHNICAL POINTS:
Lead with the head
Jermain Defoe and air-shots
One of the key thing Jermain Defoe did over the years was to ‘air shot” crosses whatsoever, to not react when the ball reaches him
Closer look at Bogere’s mechanics; left foot doesn’t point toward goal, so hip can only turn so much and it requires bending the knee to find a connection, difficult to execute with the laces
If the left foot points toward goal, hip rotates more naturally and the knee doesn’t bend before kicking besides to accompany the shot
The Madueke second touch
Covered in the Madueke newsletter.
Saka, Vinicius, Olise, Neymar etc.. have a brilliant first touch and the second touch is done against momentum in a way that unsettle the defender.
Bogere’s second touch is “nice” and allows the defender to set his footwork, the step ahead will be to have a meaner second touch in the intended direction
FIrst touch is irrelevant when it comes to surface. Some like the outside of the boot, the sole, the back foot. As long as it’s diagonal and allow a proper second touch, it’s fine really.
This is the second touch Bogere takes away from the direct route to goal ; as opposed to take on the defender.
Commit the defender to then shift to open space, final third isn’t about avoiding the direct route (that’s what the defender wants) to end up with 50/50% bad options
When he cuts inside, the double team is set
First touch and arms to protect the space and balance
That left arm has to be stiff to keep the opponent at distance: biggest area for improvement for young strikers is to multitask
Drawing fouls
Strong right step to push in the other direction, from the blind side.
Get clamped, scream, free kick.
Very clever attacking play, essential for fast attackers to do it in the box.
Here’s to you Aristide who won my team so many penalties in 2020-21
Mentioned at the end of the Shim newsletter
💫 🔁 Shim Mheuka vs København
“I feel sorry for Tyrique George and Mheuka, the young lads coming in, they didn’t get fed the ball because the system behind them wasn’t right.
Dart at the near post
Some more outstanding box movement
To appear from the defender’s blind side at the last moment
That step (left) is a bit too large, would have benefited from skipping “hopping” dynamically on his left to land the toes towards goal
Benchmarking with one of the best
Steps are large
Short steps to compute the required amount…
… to land the left next to the ball pointing towards goal
From the blind side vs Liverpool in 2004-05
Perfecty in line with the near post, left foot pointing towards direction of the shot
On more acrobatic finishes.
See how Defoe is already sliding and connects with the cross, doesn’t “shoot”
Bogere “goes to ground” to volley when it’s about to reach him
Jermain Defoe is already flying towards the ball
Moments after for his 4 or 5 goal game vs Wigan.
Sorting his feet accurately, left foot pointing towards goal, shoulders over the ball
Drive diagonally on fastbreaks
Half turn reception,
The only way to be able to change direction whilst stil going towards goal, is to move in diagonal lines especially on fastbreaks
To attack the defender’s back foot
Touch with the laces, knee bent, hashtag baller (Olise, Chukwuemeka)
Bogere as a lone 9
Bogere started the opening game - gainst the home nation Morocco, being 2-0 down inside 8’
Upfront. Where he showed good fundamentals stemming (it’s not very important) either from organic understanding of how to “survive” on the pitch, and / or good coaching / footballing education
Left arm on chest, strong left stance to leave little surface to be kicked to get hold
To put the CB off balance
Locking the defender’s arm
That’s good channel running, from someone doing Nico Jackson / Ekitike things of being able to play centrally, wide ; and not only get hold but actually run and drive which is a defenders’ nightmare
Hide intent when connecting towards the box
Drive one way (horizontally), squaring the defenders
and splitting them with a nice masked pass between the two, against the flow. Saka is very good at these, delaying a split second then releasing it.
The kind of pass “with intent” that strikers who want to make things happen play.
Not just a cute layoff with no rythm
Cut the pitch in half
2025, no need for a PhD thesis.
Split the pitch in two, cut off the easy pass between CBs to set a pressing trap ; and actively making sure someone jumps on the deepest midfielder.
Actively hunting down the CB from the edge of his field of vision, from where he sees a moving shape (that will force him to get rid, or turn the head and cock up the subsequent pass forward)
Nsobola okulaba tikiti yo?
Some bits from the game vs Gambia where Bogere scored the brace to send his country to their first ever World Cup at any age group.
Finishing off a volley
Sprinting before the winger receives to be on time whithin the goalposts
The volley is already prepared, hit on the way down sligthly above the top
To aim for the area between arm and leg
Turning a channel ball into a 1v1
There’s a fine balance between giving the ball away, and making something positive out of a channel reception (usually meant to dig out a CB from the box, to put a cross in the - vacated - box)
Wheels of fortune
You’ve got to recognize a player who’s on fire, with a Zidane turn, and a drag back-pass to find a runner. Fair enough.
That’s the Nemar-y version mentioned at the top
Multitasking when running the channel
Reading the game : defender is in nowhere land, let’s attack the channel (and not chase the channel punt)
Good use of the “stiff arm”
But as it’s often the case with young forwards - as mentioned at the top, multitasking is a challenge and JB fails to roll the ball around the defender which would draw a foul
On the following instance, he drags the ball but unable to prevent the CB to pull his shirt
1 Set the footwork and pivot foot,
2 Use the stiff arm and roll the ball simultaneously to “hide it”
Spinning 180°
Can you move in all directions?
JB is dynamic on toes
His “cone” (whose width is the distance betwen his feet) is narrow enough to be able to spin
Land the left foot effectively
Rotate effectively
With calf in the same diagonal as the chest
Best of the bunch
First touch to keep the ball alive
Selling the dummy to send the defender
One of the most fool-proof ways to scale up finishing skill and strikers:
the time between:
the last touch
And the shot, whilst the defender’s centre of gravity is outside the “cone” (shoulders feet)
Straight leg when kicking
Yo, that’s Marcus Rashford OBE
Hacene, Neymar and platforming wide strikers
In 2017 I signed Hacene , returning to "*his* club. Whoever runs a club doesn’t own it.
The backstory / storytelling belongs to him.
I took charge of the club’s U19s as I was also getting my UEFA A license that season.
There’s no genius in noticing a player who was chesting over defenders’ head or scoring Van Basten volleys off both feet in the “trial” kickabout 7v7 on half a pitch in June was a player. Just like James Bogere. A player is a player.
That goal was chalked off for offside, but damn.
The discussion in the office was fairly straightforward behind our respective smirks:
I’ll platform your ability and help you improve the best to my ability, I’ll also get my coaching badges and will need some mutual understanding of what we’re both trying to achieve.
“I want to become a professional footballer”
These runs in behind and finishing skills were outrageous.
Curved run to get around the defender (blind side) then creative problem solving.
Most of the things I was told about the player(s) I signed proved untrue over time.
Create pathways, play the strongest team.
Shut off the noise, judge from what you see, not based on the gossip
Agendas are strong, carried by cluelessness, stupidity bordering on bigotry and libel at times. All tools in the process to undermine to the benefit of vested interests.
A word on different types of leadership. Quiet leader, by example. Few words, but impactful.
And not only one of the best forwards I’ve coached, an exemplary mentality on the pitch. Workrate? Yes. Channel punt? wewillbedere. Striker specific training under pissing rain? There. U19 training when the B team isn’t training? There. Football bag? Ready. Boots? Clean.
Three passes goals? Say no more
Down the line, the ball doesn’t lie and having now seen enough players blossoming from that seed nobody cared about by the side of the highway (at Grassroots level) transplanting themselves to professional / international level ;
I’ve got a significant enough sample size of condiditions / factors or parameters conductive to success.
In other words; not everyone who did all these things did succeed (it’s an unfair, crowded, “who you know, not what you do” industry).
But everyone who made it ticked all these boxes.
Make of that what you wish.
I decided the day before the final friendly game to name him captain, because it actually made the most sense.
I was initially unsold on 4-diamond-2 that I thought was too open down the sides.
I’ve always been (lots of *I*) rather keen on getting a sample size of 7v7 / 11v11 then platforming the best players in the most impactful areas
Hacene is ahead of the curve, makes channels runs in behind. Why should I bother with wingers, considering he can also score the goals
“put the right players in the right areas”, a team is a byproduct of the synergy between individuals. You can’t plaster a framework nor shoehorn players into “roles”, it’s not a casting, you don’t have the scipt ; players are writing it.
Hacene - absolute fan of Neymar, had his sights on #11 so despite giving him the #9 initially, I gave him what he wanted (because realistically who cares - yes these are the EURO 2016 bibs I kept as a souvenir).
Who are your key players:
Quick Brazilian idiosyncratic CB (could Cruyff Turn a striker in the box and win a race against anyone)
A DM from Djibouti (think Busquets’s technical security, with box to box shifts and chops)
A towering creative Pastore-like DM (nicknamed “Flaco” by his team mates)
A hybrid LW / striker with long runs, phonebooth problem solving and finishing
Your players = your system. Fit them all.
Key ideas in possession:
Have as many vertical layers, without screening a more advanced option…
… whilst not being overly open.
UEFA A guideline: your team shape should fit a handball court on a football pitch
And the tutor is an assistant U20 World Cup winning coach.
“stop having your teams wide open with both fullbacks on touchlines”
Arguing (based on skills analysis)
Against the “CM rolling out and high fullbacks” but more in favour of CM / 10 and wingers roaming from centre to wide areas because they are the ones you want in attacking positions. (not your fullbacks like a Polar Bear in Arlington, TX)
Some excellent “sunflower” movement from Hacene, to always stand at technical distance with the ball, then creep in the box to score a goal :
Hacene is already flying to connect (and nutmeg the GK)
James Bogere is starting his motion when the ball is one yard away or so, that’s too late
In the air to dominate the ball ; it’s a goal vs Gambia
Find the most advanced player beyond, or into feet.
Bring people into play, feed runners, fill the box.
Something developped during the season with a variety of narrow but deep small positional “end to end” games like 3v3+3
Deep fullback on the ball, 7 (CM) wide and opposition fullback caught in between.
Striker able to drift wide.
We actually scored with a diagonal long ball for the second striker taking the space between the CBs
Clustering goal situations based on what happens “organically” (where do clever players find space).
Then “modelising” (that’s the Federation’s terminology) these sequences into training situations.
You could daydream and say “I wish my team scored that goal” that you brainstormed during your mornin poo (or more like: the other way around).
That’s why we see soo many teams fucking about at the back, coaches want the perfect sequence or “recycle”
Our coaches are ecologists at heart. Heart warming (just like the climate).
Speaking of climate and wave of cold, scoring two goals in 45 seconds at the rival to win 0-2 was a good one.
Just do football in training, see what happens organically, then set up the most frequent protagonists in the same areas so that it is likely to happen again during a game. This is elementary logic.
Do 8 minutes of 6v6 (plus keeper) on 2/3 of a pitch.
If shit don’t happen then (which you know reviewing the footage), such as no chemistry between the two forwards or midfielders / attackers ; it is beyond deluded to expect “play der play der” pattern play to fix it, or worse, expecting shit to work out during games because you show your players your tactical software
Hacene and Youssouf like to play together. Let’s play the latter 10 behind the former.
Another one: striker drifting wide, so 10 can attack the space between the pinnned fullback and CB.
That St Pantaleon side was sitting deep and hitting teams on the counter, but was a bit of a surprise package, promoted team, 4th in December.
We sat deep, so they filled the remaining space (leaving half a pitch to attack).
3-0 inside half an hour, 5-1 final score. Go home (longest away trip of the season)
220 km, or 130 miles.
We also won the return leg 3-0 in January 2018.
Playing 11v11 ; no subs either side.
Areas to hit on transition
A: 10 space
B: unprotected channel between CB / FB.
Half spaces aren’t a thing. Space doesn’t produce actions, players do.
If you disagree, then you’re - quite litterally - a Nazi (who thought the “Lebensraum” was producing superior humans. Nein. Late 1800s geography / eugenics was full of “good climate produce more intelligent races”).
No wonder football which is often an intellectual cesspit when it comes to pseudo science, thinks “half spaces” produce actions.
Nope. Players do. Players game.
More football please.
How to platform wide strikers
Speaking of
FFF - but just like every other federation with different words because it’s scientifically based - uses a
Game
Situation
Exercise
Framework to maximise learning opportunities
Game : two teams have a goal, one is incentivised to create a problem for the other team (not restricted) to solve
Situation: once the “problem” is identified, work on a cluster of similar (not identica) opposed solutions to work on the decision making tree.
Exercise : unopposed pattern play to refine (not develop - opposed does) technique, and manage workload.
Stretch teams horizontally to use space to play through
Game format
Defending team (red) in the central area, defenders can only get out once the ball moves outside the box
Attacking team (blue) can use the whole width.
Looking at it closely, this is a placebo referential pitch design.
You have to defend properly anyway.
Also (pitch availability permitting), set the game with two actual penalty boxes and depth to attack. Nothing worse than CBs trampling the 6yx box because the game starts from the byline. Social distancing please.
But it generates the situations you’re looking for, players think it’s all of a sudden super intersting to find separation back to the touchline.
Who can then make runs in “intervals” between players.
Situation
This is a 3 defenders (CB, RB, CM)
against
CM-10 and two strikers
So 3v4 with a magic man ; which makes it a 5v3 or 4v4 (to have a player to find on transition, who can or can’t score - to force the red to provide support and shoot).
The “goal / instruction” (but/consignes) box ; “modelises” the desired situation, depending on the defenders’ behaviour
fullback tracks the striker drifting wide and CB covers : Up-back with striker to find the 10 making a channel run
fullback tracks striker drifting wide and CB doesn’t cover: Up-back with the CF and 10 to launch the second striker
fullback doesn’t track the striker drifting wide: receive diagonally and take on diagonally (one of the suggested idea was to play the 10 who feeds the left CM overlapping).
But wide striker can very well do what he wants. Can do up with the other striker, back to the 10 to find him again running diagonally.
Exercise
Platformed by science, coaching curriculums (don’t look for holier than thou - Germany France England etc… all do the same).
Start from the game, dress it down through “situations” and kick about “pattern play” to finish it.
Inverting the outdated process to copy the alphabet 100x times to learn a new language.
Look what Duolingo does. Games then problem solving.
Imagine if Duolingo was asking you to type words in a text box. Right.
Side midfielder overlapping the strikers
Game format:
This was the cycle where we worked (from 4-diamond-2) to get the far side CM overlapping to crash the box.
U17 international Paul ; usually on the bench for the first team, can’t get a game for the B team because the local Guardiola finds every reason under the sun to play one of his mates instead - kind of bullshit I had to deal with.
Not unhappy to start him at U19 level, but come the fuck on.
Based on a goal we scored:
CM Cheick-Ousmane finds Striker 1 (Hacene), finds Striker 2 (Paul) who finds Cheick-Ousmane again overlapping the two strikers.
We scored 8 goals out of 12 shots on target, from 18 attempts.
I don’t know.
Maybe finishing skill isn’t just a “proper football man’s'“ fever dream, and has to do with Paul (U17 U19 international for New Caledonia) and Hacene (Algeria qualified for the next senior AFCON. Watch this space) knowing where the back of the net is.
Another feature of that 2017-18 season et U19 level, is how often we’d score on our first shot of the game, and back to back goals (often against “momentum”)
For anyone disagreeing with my definition of “control” which is;
accessing the opposition’s box, whilst preventing access to yours.
Anyway, that’s the training process:
Blue 2-1-2 / Red 4-2 and the thing I liked doing to maximise the number of players.
Use floaters who are fullbacks in attack, and wingers in transition.
The idea was to find the connection between CM and CF (drifting wide or receiving on the half turn) then up-back to find runners
Play the game, BUT
Red: goal counts twice if scored on the side of the recovery (therefore: create player density ball side )
Blue: goal counts twice if scored opposide side of the build up
These are the game realistic incentives.
If you’re dumb, you’ll score whatever goals you can. If you’re smart, you’ll think about maximising scoring.
Wave practice
Blue in 2-1-2
Red in 2-2 with two CBs nominally outside the box, 2 CMs nominally inside the set area.
Start GK to CM, who finds the attacker open somewhere.
That would be the one CF1-CF2 linking up, maybe dump on the 10 to find a third man runner on the far side.
Cut inside, do what you do
Hacene has scored 6 goals in Ligue 2 for Red Star in 2024-25
That’s his professional heatmap. Likes Neymar and (therefore?) drifting wide.
Who am I to change that? I’m happy to have platformed it, which he now continues doing at professional.
Carlo Ancelotti said 'There are two types of managers: those who do nothing and those who do a lot of damage'
Hacene’s goalscoring chances in 2017-18. 4-diamond-2 ; naturally drifting wide to cut inside and shoot. Reactive to attack space in behind on second balls
Alright, let’s find a training slot and give you a bag of footballs at disposal
The goalkeeper in the photos and video below, is another local boy from grassroots I signed that 2017/18 season ; now International for Comoros - who also qualified for the next AFCON
Best goalkeeper of the COSAFA Cup 2024 Group Stage
My James Bogere take
I’d be surprised if he doesn’t end up on the Red Bull fishing net.
Fairly relentless when it comes to intensity (amount of actions) and confidence to perform two consecutive plays.
If anything, he’s playing across “clusters”, being creative in terms of ways to problem solve that isn’t just knocking past people - for someone so fast.
Some feline finishing skill, both in speed and execution.
Intelligent use of the space across the front line, realising early where there’s gaps to exploit ; selflessly, for himself or dropping off the front.
Box movement varied, near post, cutbacks and not afraid to connect headers
Surprisingly good vision to pick out runners after carries.
A good foundation in terms of gamemanship (for a quick striker) when it comes to shoulders and shoulders ; next stages being multitasking and making sure he doesn’t get kicked from pillar to post
Decent activity off the ball, and doesn’t seem to be overly exhausted
Some will say Nicolas Jackson or Salomon Kalou, there’s vibes of Neymar or Rashford
Good attitude attackers who can impact games in a variety of ways all across the front line.
Question is whether he’ll move before or after the World Cup next winter; and if he finds a pathway that gives him opportunities to play - hopefully not in a talent farm PE owned club with no perspective.
Very good, really need to know what the french bit means tho haha