Intro
Welcome back! I am Sergio and this is the second “beta-issue” of Talking Handball, a weekly newsletter about everything that should be interesting for coaches: watching and analysing matches, thoughts about the game, how to improve our trainings through methodology.
In this issue, I analysed Meshkov Brest - Aalborg, 11th round of Group A of EHF Champions League 2021/22. Then, we will take a look at how back-wing cooperation has changed and the reasons why. In a file rouge between sections, some proposals to keep involved our wings in training and avoid “wings’ loneliness”.
Enjoy your read! And if you like what you read, please send it to some friends.
The Game
Brest, 16/02/2022 | EHF Champions League - Group A - 11th round
HC Meshkov Brest - Aalborg Handbold 30-33
I saw this chart by Julian Rux that summarizes offensive and defensive performances and I decided to go deep and understand why Aalborg was the best offense last season analysing several matches. This one against Meshkov Brest does not contain the answer, but it’s likely that in the next issues of Handball Talking we will try to explain what makes Aalborg’s offense great.
This match, instead, can teach us about the impact that some players have in the game and how to be consistent or to find the replacement is the key in a tight match.
Stas Skube’s beginning was impressive: he scored 5 times and serve an assist to Vranjes. The scoreboard says 6-6, although Ilya Usik did not save any shot.
It is not just a matter of goalkeeper: Aalborg used very well its pivot to find solutions (video below).
Aalborg first used “Iceland movement” and applied the principle of triangle play. The third clip of the video shows an important thing: it’s not start, but the principle to make difference. Left wing Barthold score as pivot with the same movement used previously by Nielsen.
Dani Gordo during timeout asked his defender to not go out, they don’t, but follow pivot and spaces are created anyway (second part of the video).
Matskevich replaces Usik between the posts and it works. #12 saves a 7m shot at the buzzer and first half ends 15-17.
Aalborg starts second half in attack, two goals and one man more than Meshkov. It loses two balls in a row and Meshkov equalizes with Vailupau and Skube.
Balance fades when Bonnefond got suspended (40’34”) and Henrik Mollgaard appears in Meshkov’s half court. In the first half, he played only one attack.
In ten minutes, he scores 4 goals (three in a row), gives 3 assists (one catching a rebound after a missed shot), deflects a pass from Skube and pass to Laeso for an easy fastbreak. From 20-21 to 23-30. Nine goals scored and eight seen Mollgaard involved (video).
Gordo plays his last move and after Aalborg’s timeout switch to 5:1 defense: Meshkov score a 2-0 break, then Aalborg plays 7v6 and forces the Belarusians to come back in 6:0.
Meshkov missed consistency in its backs and this, linked to a couple of suspensions in the middle of the second half, changed the match. On the other side, Claar and Sandell played, hiding in plain sight, a solid game. Henrik Mollgaard has been the icing on the cake.
An Idea
Attack and defense are in a neverending struggle. It’s darwinism applied to Handball. Someone finds something effective, gains a competitive advantage and it lasts until counterpart adapts to. Because, sooner or later, counterpart adapts.
There are a lot of examples about this: sometimes attack leads and defence trails, sometimes it is the opposite. Today I want to talk about what happens in the corners of the court and involves back, wing and defender nr1 o nr6. I think it’s a good example to explain that it does not exist an “Handball Handbook” and that we must not be so strict about technique (and its teaching/learning) because technique is influenced by the environment and evolves when facing challenging situations from a tactical perspective.
Just go with me through this and I think this premise will be clearer.
Let’s start with this video (click the word). Five season ago, I think Gensheimer (and few more) was a unicum in this skill: scoring from a very closed position. In that season (2016/17), PSG won two buzzer-beater matches thanks to his left wing.
Since then, there are a lot of wings able to score with this shot, jumping from a narrow angle. I am not referring only to international competitions, but also to lower divisions of lower leagues in the world. I remember I was thinking about when we decided to man-mark a wing to not concede these “easy goals”.
Passive play? Is there anything easier than a pass to the wing? Watch this video. Here starts the first attack-defense battle in the Great Handball War.
Space is fixed, so if you deny space to the wing, you create space for the back (video). I have not precise numbers, but this is one of the reason of the increasing amount of breakthrough shots between defender nr1 and nr2 or nr5 and nr6. (There would be to talk about “to allow or not outside breakthrough shots” in a book or at least a weekend seminar. This is not the right moment.)
Attack 1 - Defense 0. What’s the next move? Defender nr1 and nr6 learned to play this 1v2 and to regain possession provoking an attacking foul (video).
Attack 1 - Defense 1. Watch this Duvnjak-Ekberg pass: we can say this is the traditional pass, timing is correct to avoid defender intervention. This is possible only because there is enough time and space. Attack, to lead again, needs a solution that involves all the previous moves: quick pass to the wing, breakthrough, avoid helping of outside defender. What? The pass behind the back! I think the clips that I selected show very well the advantages of this pass.
Pause. The first player to play this pass just solved a problem, I think nobody taught him or her to pass this way. We cannot consider this pass a special one just for highlights video, we need to include it in our Handbook, we need to create challenging situations in training to force our player to learn when to and how to execute this pass.
Spoiler alert: attack wins this battle. Take a look at the video below.
In the first two clips you can see “normal” back-wing passes. In the second two, Kiel’s defenders position change. Ekberg and Dahmke does not allow to pass fast in front or behind the back, neither to break through. To understand better, please stop the video at 0:30 and 0:38.
What did Cindric and Mem do? They pass inside, in the space between defender and 6-meter line.
I would have a lot of questions. Is this pass in “Handball Handbook”? Did Filip Jicha expect this pass when he asked his defenders to do this move? Did Xavi Pascual teach this pass? Or, did it happen? And from a defence perspective: why very few defenders are positioned parallel to the outer goal line? You can cover two (or three) passing lanes to the wing and put pressure on the back.
Now, I hope that my premise is clear. We, coaches, learn a lot from the game. We have power, of course, but sometimes we put our players in a cage. This example teach us how game evolves and, most of all, why game evolves.
This is not a drill
Wings are getting more and more involved in the game. They are not only a final lethal weapon waiting for a ball in the corner. But they are mainly a final lethal weapon waiting for a ball in the corner. Backs have the majority of ball possession and this means the majority of attention during training.
A 4v4 (backs and pivot) could be enough and when we play 6v6 it could happen that wings spend a lot of time in the corner, losing focus. You can say that one of the skill requested is to be ready, it’s true, it’s also true that training has to represent game, but I think that sometimes we need to create conditions to increase the number of repetitions.
Here, I propose three different options to keep involved the wings in a training focus on attack, defense and counterattack.
Attack. Consider traditional 6v6 on half court. It is mandatory to play a second ball for a wing shot: as soon as the first attack ends, coach gives the ball to one player and he passes to the wing. For example, left back gets the ball and can do a fast short pass to left wing or a long pass to the right wing (simulating an attack with pressure by defense). I think it’s also a good moment to train kempa: the same back can play it for his wing or wing can fake the shot and pass.
Defence. Multi-ball drill: first ball, 6v6. After that, just two wings (both attackers and defenders) start to play a second ball: it could be a simple fastbreak or a fast throw-off in which the wing gets the ball from a coach-pivot and attacks - it depends on the outcome of the first ball. In the meanwhile you can train again defense, this time 4v4, while wings come back in the half court to start over with a 6v6.
Counterattack and retreat. Diagram can help you in understanding this use of the wings in the drill. 4 players are in defense (blue), 4 more act like a defender (yellow) waiting for a wing shot. Coach pass to one the black wing and he or she shots: the outcome of the shot determine the type of counterattack. Thus, yellows attack 4v4 against blue, while the second wing shots and then both wings run to their position in the other half court. Now, coach plays one more ball asking defenders to touch a line or something similar to recreat conditions for a second wave, this time in 6v6. To start over with a new repetition, you can ask to red wings to go in fastbreak (2v6) to stimulate attack to retreat.
Outro
From September, here you will find a mix of things that could be interesting: videos, articles, papers, links.
Today, in this beta-issue, I ask you to give me suggestions and advice about what you just read: is it too long or short or ok? Too many videos or too few? Do you prefer links to click or video embedded in the text? Language? Things like these, I appreciate.
And spread the word, forwarding this email to somebody that could be interested in this topic.
Read you soon,
Sergio
If you have questions or suggestions, please reply to this email or leave a comment on the website.