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It’s the latest craze that’s sweeping the soccer world, with Real Madrid trying it repeatedly in the Champions League and Kylian Mbappe using it to score the quickest goal in Paris Saint-Germain’s history: the simple four-pass routine that takes a team from kicking off in the centre circle to scoring a goal in a matter of seconds. And the unlikely source of inspiration for everyone from Europe’s elite clubs to semi-professional sides is none other than AFC Bournemouth.
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In their constant quest to find gains in hitherto unexplored ways, teams are brazenly trying to hack the system by challenging a long-held convention. Rather than using their kick-off at the beginning of a half or after conceding a goal to casually play the ball backwards and keep possession, players deploy a formula akin to an opening move in chess that turns the game on its head in the blink of an eye.
The drill involves the initial kicker tapping the ball to a teammate directly behind them and then receiving an immediate return pass. The first player then tees the ball up for another teammate to hit a sweeping ball over the top of or through the defence to a fourth player who, all the while, has been sprinting forward through the flat-footed opposition. If executed correctly, that player is then onside with the ball at their feet and only the goalkeeper to beat.
It is Bournemouth who can claim to be the ones who popularised the concept. Now back in the Premier League after two years in the Championship, it was in English football’s second tier last season that the Cherries first deployed the choreographed move against Fulham in December 2021.
With the top-of-the-table clash goalless at half-time, Bournemouth emerged for the second half with a plan. They seized the initiative…
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Source : espn
