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Beginning with an intense activation exercise

In the first part of this series, Schmidt takes us through one of his go-to activation exercises – a high-tempo, possession-based game that sets the tone for everything that follows and ensures that his game principles are being followed.

Part 2

Turning up the temperature, complexity and realism

Schmidt continues with a second tactical activation, priming players physically, mentally and tactically. However, this time, he turns up the notch on complexity and realism, adding more players, rules and structure to improve build-up and pressing.

Part 3

Schmidt focuses on decisive, forward-thinking play

In this tactical activation exercise, Schmidt reduces the number of participants but places a greater emphasis on breaking lines earlier and taking greater responsibility on the ball, hammering home his forward-thinking philosophy of the game.

Part 4

Pressing and compactness take centre stage

After focusing on tactical activations, the series now shifts to a central pillar of Schmidt’s playing philosophy: high pressing. Here, Schmidt brings this concept to life on the training ground through a competitive 7v7 pressing tournament.

Part 5

Schmidt brings it all together in a match-like situation

In the final part, Schmidt incorporates every element from the previous exercises into a full 11v11 match, highlighting how his principles combine to create players capable of playing forward under pressure and with intensity on and off the ball.