Principles of Decision Making

Understanding the principles of any subject is key to reaching an elite level. When playing with or against players who have competed at higher levels, you'll notice some aren't necessarily fitter, faster, or even more technically skilled. The difference lies in their superior and faster decision-making.

Find Strength in Numbers

• Find the Overload: The goal is to find the open player. In possession, the game is essentially 11v10. By process of elimination, one player will always be open. Can you read the game and identify where there's a 2v1 or 3v2 advantage?

• This is why goalkeepers often pause with the ball at their feet, waiting for pressure. The moment a forward presses, a field player becomes open. If the goalkeeper can find that player, it creates a 2v1 situation moving into the next phase of play. Find the opponent's weak point and exploit it.

Time

• Control the tempo: Control the game's tempo with your passing, like Toni Kroos. He knows when to speed up the play with quick, incisive passes or slow it down to maintain possession and patiently wait for gaps to appear.

• Timing off the ball: Can you be patient and arrive in gaps when your teammates are ready to pass, not a second early or late? Many players I've coached have the right idea but not the right timing. You need both to be effective. My coach in Spain constantly reminded us that the key is to arrive in space; waiting in space is useless.

• A still target is an easy target: Just like in MMA or hunting, a still target is easy to predict. It's the same in football.

  • Play quick: Give opponents less time to recover or think.

  • Play slow: Entice opponents to press, giving them a false sense of confidence about their press.

  • Perfect timing: React in a moment that maximizes your time on the ball.

Space

• Constant awareness: Be constantly aware of the entire pitch. Develop the ability to perceive available space, even in congested areas. Continuously scan the field, identifying pockets of space where you can receive the ball or move into to create opportunities for yourself and your teammates.

• Create space: Use your positioning and movement to draw opponents out, creating space and passing lanes for others. I always say good players find space; the best players create it.