Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia walks you through some important aspects in defending, from seeing the ball and the man to body positioning so you can win the soccer ball. Yes, reading the game does come with experience but one thing young players can learn to do is slow down. There’s no need to run around wildly trying to win the ball when it might be better to just drop off and read the play.
Watch this video to learn how to read the game of soccer. The game of soccer is made up of patterns of play. And being a top player is about reading the game and knowing what needs to happen next.
Here’s what the Liverpool scout said about Hyypia:
They say he hasn’t got any pace. I didn’t have great pace but I could read what players were going to do. You put them in a corner more or less. The only thing you have to do is get past me on the left and I have got you there. You wonder: ‘how did he manage to get that?’ Well, this was the only place the player could put it and I used to be the same myself.