How To Be a Decent Defender

Do Not Dive In

As a defender, you have to know when to go for the ball and when to contain. Many times playing good defense is not always taking the ball away, it's making the player playing backwards. Force the attacker to the outside, so that he can't get down the middle.

Communicate

Because you can see the field, talk to your players, and tell them if they have a man on or if they have time etc, so they don't make as many mistakes as possible. You can also tell your teammates on who to mark, and telling them to drop back for help occasionally. Defense is all about being in the right spot at the right time and making good decisions, you can't do that without proper communication.

Marking

Stay on your mark, and don't let him carry the ball, if he gets the ball make him pass backwards. Mark the person who your goalie tells you to, if your goalie doesn't tell you to mark anyone, then mark the nearest person.

Stance

If you are on your toes and you are shuffling your feet, your opponent is going to find it hard to get past you if you are concentrating. Be in a position so that if he makes a bad touch, you can jump right in, and take the ball away.

Passing

Passing is a crucial part of defending, you have to be able to keep the ball under pressure and be able to take the ball away from your opponent. If you are under pressure in your third of the field, then you can either kick it out or play it back to your keeper. If you play it back to your keeper, you must open up wide for him so that you can advance the ball up the field from the back. This is a very good strategy to use and if your midfielders open up wide to the side lines, you can be able to play it up to your forwards or down the middle, towards their goal.