Performing a pass into free space is easy but how do you initiate it? Well, you could just shout to your teammate to pass the ball and opponents will have no problem with taking the ball from you.
You could perform a V-run (this is the Swedish term and may vary depending on where you live) and trick your defenders.
More clever players will perform a V-run before receiving a pass into space, while those that are less intuitive will run directly into the defender’s offside trap.
The V-run
To perform a V-run take few steps towards the ball holder and pretend that you are going to receive a pass, but instead of receiving the ball turn around and run towards the opposing goal.
The defender that marks you will not have a clue of what is going on. I know this because I used to play in defense and a V-run was the worst thing I know because it was so hard to defend against, especially when you played versus fast and quick players.
Avoiding Offside Traps
You may have noticed that professional players often perform V-runs to avoid offside traps. One of the best players in the world when talking about avoiding offside traps is Filippo Inzaghi.
He is also the record holder of most offside running’s in the world and Manchester United’s coach Sir Alex Ferguson said that Inzaghi was born in offside 🙂
Above is one great example of a well performed V-run and pass into space. Inzaghi (the receiver first makes sure that he is not offside when Kaka passes the ball).
How to Run
To avoid the offside condition he simply keeps running parallel on the edge of the Liverpool’s defensive line and in same second as Kaka passes the ball, he is sprinting towards the goal.
His receiving of the ball and finish are truly high class and while it may look easy, there are many hours of practicing behind this performance.
Summary
This is a soccer skill that might look pretty easy at first glance, but once you find yourself performing it during your games it will surely be much harder to get it right.
Hang in there and keep working on it in both team practices as well as on your own. Never neglect to practice consistently and continuously to master new and old skills alike!
