Build-Up Play in 9v9 Games: Goal Kicks – A Unique Challenge

The transition from the 7v7 to the 9v9 format brings many new challenges, but none are as significant as those related to restarts from the goalkeeper. 

If you have coached a team in the 7v7 format, you are likely familiar with the following rules, but it is worth repeating them to highlight how different the restarts are in the 9v9 format and why these restarts require entirely new solutions if players are to succeed in build-up play—a fascinating challenge for you as a coach!

What does it look like in the 7v7 format?

In the Swedish Football Association's “Rules for Children and Youth Football 2020” regarding 7v7 play:

Rule 16: Goalkeeper Throw/Retreat Line
The game is restarted by the goalkeeper rolling or throwing out the ball. The goalkeeper may also place the ball down and make a pass with their feet. This applies both when the ball has gone out of bounds and when the goalkeeper has caught the ball in play.

Note: The concept of a goal kick does not exist in the 7v7 format.

Retreat line 
When the goalkeeper has the ball in their hands, the other team must back up to the retreat line and stay there until the ball is back in play. The ball is in play when it leaves the goalkeeper's hands. This applies both when the ball has gone out over the goal line and when the goalkeeper has caught the ball in play.

The penalty area in the 7v7 format measures 7m x 19m with the retreat line positioned 7m from the halfway line. This means that if the goalkeeper rolls the ball to a defender standing in the penalty area, the nearest opponent is initially at least 11m away from the defender in small 7v7 play and a full 13.5m away in large 7v7 play (based on the recommended field dimensions).

In 11v11 play at the elite level, center-backs can often be seen positioning themselves more or less in line with the goalkeeper who takes a goal kick on the edge of the goal area. This means that the nearest opponent is initially about 11m away from the defender. 

In a goal kick in 9v9 play, where two (center) backs spread wide in the same way as in 11v11 play, the nearest opponent can often initially be as close as 3-5m from the defender...

What does it look like in 9v9 format?

In the Swedish Football Association's “Rules for Children and Youth Football 2020” regarding 9v9 play:

Regel 16: Goalkick
The ball must be stationary. A player from the goalkeeper’s team kicks the ball from any spot within the penalty area.

Note: Any spot within the penalty area (which measures 9m x 24m).*

The ball is in play when it has been kicked and has clearly moved.

Note: When it has been kicked.

When a goal kick is taken, players from the other team must stand at least nine meters away from the ball. If a player stands closer than nine meters, the referee instructs the player to back up, but play may still resume. If the player moves towards the ball and disrupts play, the referee stops play and allows the goal kick to be retaken.

Note: There is no longer a retreat line.

The Challenge for You as a Coach – Goal Kicks

Unfortunately, most coaches and players carry "baggage" — preconceived/fixed ideas about how a goal kick should be executed. The baggage from 7v7 is that teams typically play with two defenders who develop a standard behavior of spreading wide on either side of the goalkeeper, who rolls the ball out to one of them. Coaches and players also carry baggage from 11v11 play — either because the coaches have themselves played 11v11 or because the coaches and players watch 11v11 football and adopt the standard goal kick model — where the center-backs spread wide on either side of the goalkeeper, who rolls the ball out to one of them into their 9v9 environment. This baggage is a major obstacle for players when it comes to playing past the high press that occurs on goal kicks in 9v9 play.

On a goal kick in 9v9 play, where two (center) backs spread wide in the same way as in 7v7 or 11v11 play, the nearest opponent can often initially be as close as 3-5m from the defenders. How do the defenders react then? Often, the defenders try to spread out even more, sometimes even outside the sides of the penalty area to get away from the direct marking of the opponents' two forwards. When the goalkeeper still chooses to play the ball to one of the center-backs, it usually results in the opponents pressing the defender almost into the corner flag, and the solution for the defender is to boot the ball up the field if they can't dribble out of the situation.

In addition to the "baggage problem," there is often another challenge, especially in the first year of 9v9 play: your goalkeeper (and defenders) lack the range in their passing and/or the ability to hit the ball over the opponents.

Sometimes I have seen teams where the coach has tried to provide players with a ready-made solution for these two problems. A fatal example: the (center) backs position themselves on either side of the goal on the goal line, the goalkeeper places the ball at the edge of the penalty area, and plays the ball backward to one of the defenders in an attempt to play out of the opponents' press.

Sure, the distance from the defender to the nearest pressing forward is about 8-9m, but now the team is as deep as it can be on the field; there is no option for the defender to turn back if no solutions appear forward (e.g., to play back to the goalkeeper); your goalkeeper is facing the wrong way on the edge of the penalty area or is on their way back to the goal if they receive a return pass; if the defender is forced to boot the ball up the field, they are on the goal line and therefore do not reach very far and place all opponents onside if they win the ball and counter. Don't do it!

The Solution for You as a Coach – Goal Kicks

The key for you and your players is to realize that goal kicks in the 9v9 format have very little to do with restarts (goalkeeper throws) in 7v7 play or goal kicks in 11v11 play. With a bit of creativity, you can train your players to be flexible enough to find their own solutions from time to time to play past the high press, regardless of how the opponents are positioned. The clue is in the rules of the format plus two principles that always apply in build-up play:

• A player from the goalkeeper’s team kicks the ball – i.e., it doesn’t have to be the goalkeeper taking the goal kick. 
  

• … from any spot within the penalty area – i.e., the goal kick doesn’t have to be taken right in front of the goal. 
  

• When a goal kick is taken, players from the other team must stand at least nine meters away from the ball – linked to the two previous points. 
  

• +1 Principle – In build-up play, your team will have a numerical advantage in their own half. You are 9v8 because the opponent's goalkeeper does not participate in the press. In this numerical advantage, you need to identify where the specific advantage lies, i.e., can we find where on the field we are 3v2 or 2v1?
  

• Quick Restarts – This applies to all set pieces—why wait until the opponents are in position?!

In this, you should inspire/train your goalkeeper to think, set up, and direct like a quarterback in American football, where "trick plays" that fool the opponents’ defense are commonplace.