USING THE RONDO EFFECTIVELY PDF

The rondo is such a diverse task, that challenges players and coaches in all areas of the game.

It is used at FC Barcelona and has spread quickly throughout world football. The well documented videos of FCB use have inspired its use and made the rondo synonymous with the club.

Its development and introduction at FCB can most likely be linked to their club legend Johan Cruyff who introduced this type of practice from his time in his native Holland, and more specifically Ajax.

As the game has developed, and coaches and players have come and gone, the use of the rondo has spread. Coaches such as Pep Guardiola have consistently used the practice with success, as have clubs such as Bayern Munich and Manchester City .

However, the drill is not complex in its structure, and can be implemented and adapted for pretty much any age, level or gender. With this in mind, it is probably the most understood practice in all of football. The rondo is often seen as a ‘free-time’ warm-up activity where players just look to keep possession. However, the rondo offers far more.

t challenges players in every corner of performance and can be implemented by coaches to try and develop tactical principles within their game model.

In its most simple design, the rondo practice is a game where players look to keep possession from one other person, almost in a ‘piggy in the middle’ like format.

The image to the right demonstrates this, the practice in its simplest form resembles a 3v1 where the players look to move position, to prevent the central players winning possession from them.

Although this (in it’s simplest form) might seem a very simple and un-complex task, we can create variety and challenge within the practice, in order to challenge the players and train more specific components of the game model.