Guest article: Training with FUNino
Integrate game situations from small football games into training –
Guest article by Thomas Staack
FUNino is the football game of the future. The form of the game developed by Horst Wein is not new and yet it is more current than ever. Many football associations in Europe have discovered the advantages of the FUNino and are considering switching to small football games on weekends.
Some countries, such as Belgium, have already implemented it. In lower age groups, the game is played in a mode from 2vs2 to 5vs5. The trend is clearly visible, no trainer should close their eyes to it, especially since the positive effects are obvious. Small football games in small teams ensure lots of ball contact, 1vs1 situations and a sense of achievement. The intensity in the game is high. All children receive equal working hours. The four goals promote passing, shifting play and dribbling across spaces, while the goal zones promote combination play right up to the goals. At FUNino, new game situations always arise that the children can solve independently within the framework of the few provocation rules. This trains speed of action, cognitive thought processes and, above all, creativity. Small football games are ideal for creative dribblers, who we are desperately looking for. They are allowed to explore their technical skills freely and without pressure. But ultimately all children benefit from small football games, because at the end of a FUNino game day they have all scored goals, prepared goals and gained a variety of playing experiences.
The football game is the driving force behind training. Our job as coaches is to isolate game situations from football and use them to create exercises and games that advance our players technically, tactically and coordinatedly and motivate them to be creative and act quickly. The special challenge with the FUNino are the four mini goals. They always create two options for the attacker and make it more difficult for the defender to win the ball. Below I will show you, using three examples, how you can incorporate FUNino game situations into your training. You can find further exercises and games for typical FUNino situations in the free training sessions at DFB Training Online.
Forms of training
Exercise 1 FUNino running duel
Construction
- Place two starting cones approximately 10 meters apart.
- Build a row in the middle with four cones (cone wall).
- Set up two mini goals on the sides.
- The children form rows at the starting cones with balls.
Sequence
- The children on one side run one after the other with the ball in their hands to the cone wall. They then either sprint to a mini goal and throw or roll the ball into it.
- The first child on the other side runs to the cone wall at the same time and then tries to touch the runner with the ball.
- Then change tasks.
Variations
- Competition: Who will score the most hits? Who catches the most runners?
- Pass the ball into the goals.
Tips:
- The ball in your hand makes running more difficult and improves your feel for the ball.
- The runner can choose between the two goals and deceive the catcher.
- Adjust the distances to the children's ability level.
Exercise 2: FUNino-2 vs 1
Construction
- Set up two mini goals next to each other and two more mini goals on each side.
- Place a starting cone approx. 12 meters away.
- Form rows with balls between the two mini goals (defenders) and without balls at the starting cones (attackers).
Sequence
- The defender passes to the attackers and starts down the field.
- Two attackers play 2v1 against the defender and try to score in one of the two mini-goals opposite.
- If the ball is won, the defender is allowed to counterattack on the mini goals on the sides.
Variations
- Competition: Which attacking team will score the most goals? Which defender scores the most counterattack goals?
- 2v2.
Tips
- Let the children practice freely. Avoid coaching as much as possible.
- The two goals promote children's creativity. You are free to decide whether to overcome the defender with a pass or in a 1vs1.
- The counter goals motivate the defender.
Exercise 3: FUNino game
Construction
- Mark a field measuring approximately 28 x 22 meters with 4 mini goals and goal zones approximately 6 meters away.
- Divide into two teams with 4 players each.
Sequence
- Play 3v3 with 1 rotation player each.
- Substitutions are made every time a goal is scored, at the latest after 2 minutes.
- If a team is leading by 3 goals, the team behind may play 4v3 in the majority until the gap is only 1 goal.
Variations
- 3vs3 with goalkeepers on youth goals.
- 4vs4.
Tips
- FUNino improves speed of action and creativity. If a mini goal is optimally defended, the players have to think quickly and attack the other goal.
- Have spare balls ready on the sidelines.
- Play without a throw-in. Instead, dribble the ball in or pass it.
About the author
Thomas Staack, born in Lübeck in 1972, studied law in Freiburg. The DFB-B license holder has been writing articles and training sessions for the specialist magazine fussballtraining junior and the popular web portals DFB Training Online for many years
and DFB Training Live. Most recently, he published the DFB football training card “Coordination in children's football”. He has gained many years of experience with children's soccer teams in various age groups, including at VfB Lübeck, Viktoria 08 Lübeck, TuRU 1880 Düsseldorf and the ISD Sportverein Düsseldorf. He is currently a trainer and coordinator at SC Borussia Lindenthal-Hohenlind in Cologne. He also invents imaginative stories in the field of entertainment literature and has already published four books.
You can find more from Thomas at:
https://www.dfb.de/trainer/f-juniorin/training-online/trainingsunits/
https://www.facebook.de/kinderfussballtrainer/
Author: Tammo Neubauer
