Hyballa/te Poel

Peter Hyballa is a soccer coach certified

by the German Football Association (DFB).
He also holds the UEFA Pro Licence. He was
manager of Alemannia Aachen and Sturm
Peter Hyballa/Hans-Dieter te Poel Train like the World Champions! Graz and is currently training the U19 team of
Bayer Leverkusen. He was German U19 league
dutch Soccer Secrets
runner-up and German U19 Cup runner-

German Soccer
Over the past few years, a new trend has become ever more prominent in the soccer world:
up with Borussia Dortmund in 2009. Peter
passing often and fast, and including all players in the game. Combining this with their
What is the secret of Dutch Soccer? How Hyballa gives advanced training for soccer coaches in Germany and abroad.
own personal style, we have seen teams reach new heights of success from FC Barcelona
can a nation of about 16 million inhabitants In addition, he is a freelance author for online seminars, training DVDs, and
to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund and, most recently, the German National Team
regularly produce world-class players? What for the DFB journal fussballtraining.
at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
lies behind the successes of Ajax Amsterdam,
But what does it take to learn this ‘art’ of passing? What are the methodological and
of Louis van Gaal, and of Dutch soccer
technical requirements for becoming the new Schweinsteiger, Messi, or Neuer? Hans-Dieter te Poel is a soccer coach certified
manager Guus Hiddink?
by the German Football Association (DFB) and
In this book, the only of its kind, two German League certified coaches have created the holds the UEFA Pro Licence. He has worked
This book is a first attempt to present expert
ultimate guide to passing. Using the “Hyballa-te Poel-Passing-Puzzle,” they present every as a trainer in competitive soccer for many
knowledge of internationally proven useful
type of pass there is in modern soccer, with lots of drills for each type. From the goalkeeper years. As a player, he played in Cologne,
and effective Dutch soccer coaching in theory

Passing DRILLS
to the center forward, everyone can learn passing with these exercises. Gelsenkirchen, and Bottrop among others. In
and practice, based on qualitative data
addition, he is associate lecturer for soccer at
collection.
the German Sport University in Cologne and
240 p., in color,
worked at state youth training centers in Essen and Straelen and federal
62 photos, 87 illus. The authors outline the theory and practice youth training centers in Dortmund and Munich. He has written books and
of the “typical” and sometimes unique articles for numerous journals.
paperback, 6 ½” x 9 ¼” Dutch content, methods, organization forms,
ISBN 978-1-84126-327-4 and elements of educational knowledge,
including the training philosophy of the
$ 18.95 [US]
KNVB (Royal Dutch Soccer Federation)
£ 14.95 [UK] $ 17,95 /£ 12.95
and selected Eredivisie and internationally 978-1-78255-048-8
 18.95 [D]
renowned Dutch soccer coaches as well
as unique technique training content and
methods (Coerver, Meulensteen and Frans
Hoek Methods). www.m-m-sports.com

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 German Soccer
PASSing Drills

Table of Contents

FOREWORD......................................................................................... 10

1 PRELIMINARY REMARKS............................................................. 14

2 THE PASSING GAME AS PART OF THEORETICAL

GAME CONSIDERATIONS.................................................................... 20

3 A PASS IS A PASS IS A PASS?..................................................... 34

4 THE PASSING GAME IS A PREREQUISITE FOR GOOD

SOCCER: THE HYBALLA/TE POEL PASSING PUZZLE IQ®........... 40
4.1 WHY A PASSING PUZZLE®? ............................................................................42

4.2 WHY A PASSING GRID?...................................................................................52

4.2.1 THE 3-ACTION SYSTEM .....................................................................56

4.3 THE INDIVIDUAL PUZZLE PIECES: IS IT ALL JUST

A MATTER OF PASS TYPES?............................................................................64

4.3.1 THE LOB PASS.....................................................................................66

4.3.2 THE TRIANGLE PASS ..........................................................................75

4.3.3 THE SWITCH PASS .............................................................................87

4.3.4 THE VOLLEY PASS ..............................................................................99

4.3.4.1 THE CHEST PASS................................................................101

4.3.4.2 THE LOFTED PASS ...............................................................106

4.3.5 THE NO-LOOK PASS .........................................................................114

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 Table of Contents

4.3.6 THE FLAT AND COMBINATION PASS (SHORT PASS) .......................121

4.3.6.1 Flat Pass Special..........................................................146

4.3.7 THE SHOT-AT-GOAL PASS.................................................................154

4.3.8 THE LAST-MOMENT PASS ...............................................................162

4.3.9 THE KILLER PASS..............................................................................173

4.3.10 THE UP-AND-OVER PASS .................................................................184

4.3.11 THE GIVE-AND-GO PASS AND BOUNCING.......................................191

4.3.12 THE WALL PASS ...............................................................................204

4.3.13 THE ANGLED PASS ...........................................................................214

4.3.14 THE HEAD PASS................................................................................222

4.3.15 THE THROW-IN PASS........................................................................228

4.3.16 PASSING INTO SPACE ......................................................................238

4.3.17 THE ONE-TOUCH PASS.....................................................................247

4.3.18 TIQUI-TACA SPECIAL—RONDOS .....................................................262

4.3.19 THE FAKE PASS ................................................................................271

4.3.20 GOALIE PASSING SPECIAL WITH

GOALKEEPER TRAINER MARCO KNOOP (RB LEIPZIG).....................286

4.3.20.1 Facts About Modern Goalkeeping...........................287

4.3.20.2 Key Points About Goalkeeper Passing....................292

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4.4 THE HYBALLA/TE POEL PASSING PHILOSOPHY..........................................295

4.5 THE METHODOLOGY KEY: HOW TO TRAIN THE PASSING PUZZLE IQ®........298

5 A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUMMARY:

SEEING THE BIGGER PICTURE................................................... 314

6 REFERENCES.............................................................................. 318

CREDITS............................................................................................ 331

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FOREWORD
All ball circulation is based on a good
passing game. Many recent examples
show that this can result in successful
top-level soccer. Within the scope of their
playing philosophy, even the national
team constantly works on the passing
game and combines this with group and
team-tactical measures. To implement
variable and efficient team play at the
highest level, teams must be able to
quickly open up space. In particular, this
can be done with precise, well-timed, flat,
hard, and vertical passes.

A successful passing game relies on foundations laid by targeted, variable, and

intensive training. Training units on the field are extremely important for coaches
and players as their teams evolve and try to reach the highest level. In German Soccer
Passing Drills, Peter Hyballa and Hans-Dieter te Poel lay the foundation to develop a
successful passing game.

In this book, the authors examine many types of passes and performance factors that
can lay the foundation through training. As such the book German Soccer Passing
Drills is a training model and is a true mine of information for any coach.

In 2015, the authors Peter Hyballa and Hans-Dieter te Poel published a second
German book on the passing game. This work includes contributions from experts
of the most diverse areas of performance-oriented soccer and applied sports science.
The different perspectives of the what and how in the international passing game are
presented using focused interviews; there is also a large number of additional drills
and different types of plays.

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 FOREWORD

Together these two books represent a handbook for all coaches and trainers with an
interest in relevant, detailed, and intensive goal-oriented training and the advancement
of their players.

Hans-Dieter Flick
Sporting director of the German Soccer Federation (DFB) and former assistant coach
of the German national soccer team, World Champion 2014 in Brazil

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4.3 THE INDIVIDUAL PUZZLE PIECES: IS IT

ALL JUST A MATTER OF PASS TYPES?
“What is Messi: Midfielder or forward? Scorer or playmaker? The answer: He is all of
those things in one; versatility personified. An all-rounder with universal abilities,
blessed with gigantic skills.”
(H.G. Klemm, Dec. 2, 2013, TOP SPEED. The New Kings of Soccer, in kicker 98, pg. 9)

Looking at the statements in previous chapters, the answer to the question posed
in the chapter title would have to be no. It is therefore necessary that the individual
puzzle pieces are hereinafter

■■ put into a concrete situational playing context,

■■ briefly outline the purpose of the training and instruction, and
■■ present effective and practical examples for the coach or instructor.

The question, How do I practice these puzzle pieces?, will be addressed separately
in chapter 4.5. The structure of organization, progression, coaching, and variations
chosen for the following chapters merely provides a rough pattern that is intended to
provide the reader with particularly explicit, comprehensible, and productive material
for the first steps into the topics (puzzle pieces). This training and instructional aid
provided in advance, also called advance organizer, is meant to organize and structure
the content, but it definitely does not discount the readers’ or players’ prior knowledge.
The reader should then actively and independently use the inventory of methods (see
chapter 4.5) like a building set or a color palette, based on his individual experience
and his needs.

With respect to the (1) technical and (2) tactical elements for (flat) passes10 we start
with the following:

10  A detailed description of the technical aspects of all other passes can be found in Bisanz/Gerisch (2013, pg. 332-363).

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(1) Technical elements:

■■ Running at the ball:
■■ If possible, approach from behind the ball to be able to pass from an open
position (see chapter 4.3.6).
■■ Go into the ball when passing, meaning play the pass flat and with force.
■■ Passing motion:
■■ The toe of the supporting leg points in the direction of the target.
■■ Flat pass: The shooting leg follows through and gets big by using the
supporting leg. Coaching: “Get up on the ball of the foot!”, “Keep moving
with the shot!”, and “Don’t root your supporting leg in the ground but take a
very small hop forward!”
■■ Passing techniques (flat pass):
■■ Inside foot: Frontal passes, short and mid-distance;
■■ Inside instep: Diagonal passes
■■ Outside instep: See inside instep, whereby the shooting leg is in a lateral position
to the target.

(2) Tactical elements:

■■ Individually:
■■ Breaking away from the opponent or stepping out of the cover shadow and
offering support in the gaps.
■■ Offering support for deep passes: going into the gap (e.g., as a 6er, 9er).
■■ Offering support for return passes: Having the gap in front to be able to
immediately play a long ball through the gap.
■■ Offering support to the side: facilitating diagonal balls.
■■ Trying to get into the open position (see chapter 4.3.6) to immediately be
able to play forward.
■■ Timing: Break away early to receive a pass if the ball is still on its way to the
teammate to allow the partner to make a direct pass.
■■ Group tactics:
■■ Wall pass, playing with a third man, long ball with rebound.

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■■ Oblique/diagonal balls: Play past the opponent diagonally to the front or back;
the receiving player has a gap in front of him and can meet the ball half-open (see
chapter 4.3.6).

In the following chapters, we also purposefully use mostly familiar soccer language,
thereby anticipating an easier and quicker task-oriented transfer to practice and
instruction. The figurative language chosen for the different types of passes has
been used to date by coaches Hyballa and te Poel in their own practice as collective
terminology. The intention is to establish an association between certain symbols,
visual characters, and acoustical forms of words, and the objects that create different
types of passes, and furthermore to support a team’s communication process.

4.3.1 THE LOB PASS

“Ideal is when one is proactive, when one plays assertively, is dominant, is multi-
faceted.”
(The 100-time German national team player Bastian Schweinsteiger, FC Bayern Munich, in a kicker interview with

O. Hartmann & K. Wild, Oct. 14, 2013, pg. 11).

In a competitive game, the lob pass is

mostly needed when an opponent is

LOB positioned directly in front of the player

in possession. The player with the ball
PASS urgently wants to pass to his teammate.
He either needs to look for the 1v1, play
via a third man, or lob the ball over the
opponent. This is also called chipping the
ball over the opponent. This situation is
comparable to lobbing in a tennis match.

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The following fig. 8 shows a simulated lob pass situation on the wing (in a 2v3
situation) taken form the Champions League game Arsenal London (here in white/
blue) against BV Borussia Dortmund 09, from Nov. 12, 2011, at a 0-0 score (action
starts at 5:30 minutes of playing time).

Fig. 8: Lob pass from the Champions League game Arsenal London vs. BV Borussia Dortmund 09

But often the lob pass is also played when space in the game is very tight (e.g., near the
opposing penalty area) and is then played as a final pass to catch the opposing central
defenders off-guard. Zidane was a master of the lob pass, a technically ingenious
passer.

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EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE AND INSTRUCTION

Fig. 9: Lob pass with five in the passing grid

Organization:
■■ Five cones are placed in an approximately 30-x-20-m space.
■■ A player positions at each cone so that the passing grid will be completed with 5
players.

Progression:
■■ A player passes the ball to the opposite player. This player allows the ball to
rebound, and the first player lobs the ball over the second player to the third player,
who stands opposite him about 15 m away.
■■ The third player plays the lobbed ball directly to the fourth player who stands to
his side.
■■ He lobs the ball over the third player to the fifth player, who then passes the ball
to the second player, thereby ending the exercise.

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Coaching:
■■ Demand body tension from all players.
■■ Demand two-footed lobbing.
■■ The ball must be lobbed hard and with precision so a new play can be initiated.

Variations:
■■ Only practice the lob pass with a specific passing foot.
■■ Increase the distances and play the lob pass incisively to the teammate’s head.
■■ Simulate game situations: Set up two passing grids next to each other and man
them with a total of 10 players. Who finishes the exercise fastest (time, bonus
points, etc.)?

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Fig. 10: Lob pass in a grid of five and position changes

Organization: See fig. 9.

Progression:
■■ See fig. 9, whereby the players in the circles switch positions with their opposites
after the lob pass.
■■ After the lob pass all players play the ball with one touch (“Direct play!”)

Coaching:
■■ Demand, “Play and go!”
■■ After the lob pass all players must orient themselves to the respective new space
(passing tactics).
■■ Don’t put too much spin on the lob pass!

Variations:
■■ Increase the distances so that a player, for instance in the light-green circle, has to
execute several lob passes at a time. He should always run after his own lob pass.

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■■ In addition to passing from a closed position, the players also pass the ball to each
other the ball from a double-pass situation.
■■ Add one goal with a goalie, and after the lob pass, end the complete action with
a shot at goal.

Fig. 11: Lob pass in a 5-man grid: offensive 1v1 or play the lob pass

Organization: See fig. 9

Progression:
■■ As in fig. 9, the player letting the ball rebound immediately becomes the defensive
opponent.
■■ By doing this the player receiving the ball can decide if he wants to play offensive
1v1 or use the lob pass.
■■ Every player who used the lob pass immediately becomes the defensive opponent
(long and short running paths).

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Coaching:
■■ Demand speed and precision from the fast opponent.
■■ Encourage quick or delayed decisions11 (offensive 1v1 or lob pass) (passing tactics).

Variations:
■■ Increase distances between players to prompt the player in possession to dribble.
■■ Decrease the distances between players so that the players only require one or two
touches to make their decisions.
■■ Execute the lob pass with two touches. Lob the ball into the air with the first touch
and play it away with the second touch.

Fig. 12: 4v4 plus 2 lob pass players

Organization:
■■ 4v4 at two big goals with goalies in a space that is 40 x 30 m.
■■ Two neutral players are added, making it 4v4 plus 2.

11  Based on the pre-decision, pre-action, and post-action phase by Höhner (2005, pg.36)

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Progression:
■■ See Progression, Fig. 11
■■ The two neutral players are part of the team in possession. These two players can
only play lob passes (ground passes are not allowed).

Coaching:
■■ Focus on quickly settling and controlling the ball in the 4v4.
■■ The neutral players must be able to determine if the lob pass should be played into
space or to the teammate’s foot.
■■ Play additional lob passes with the inside foot (passing technique).

Variations:
■■ Change the size of the playing field so that the lob passes can be played farther.
■■ The two neutral players play open soccer, whereby only the final assist before a
shot can be a lob pass.
■■ The two neutral players are allowed to play ground passes, whereby the goal must
be scored with a lob pass. The two neutral players can also score.

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