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Hard: To break the offside trap

Hard: To break the offside trap

Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

This episode is easy so we’re looking at common football words and phrases. Things you use and need to know to play the game.

Summary

Learn more football vocabulary with Premier Skills English. Each lesson in our Premier Vocabulary section looks at one football word or phrase. This lesson looks at the phrase to break the offside trap

You can find more lessons on the side of this page.

Transcript

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to Premier Skills English - Premier Vocabulary.

Jack: Hi there! I’m Jack. We’re here to help you with your football English. Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. 

Rich: We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

Jack: This episode is hard so we’re looking at more difficult football phrases and idioms. 


Rich: The phrase we are looking at in this episode is: to break the offside trap.

Jack: To break the offside trap. This is a football phrase we hear quite often.

Rich: We’re not going to explain the offside rule here. We’ve done that once in this series. It got a bit complicated.

Jack: Yeah, it’s one of those things that all football fans know but if you start to explain it in detail it gets more and more complicated.

Rich: But if you want to laugh at us trying to explain the offside rule have a listen to our easy episode offside. It’s our third easy lesson in this Premier Vocabulary series. 

Jack: You can easily find all our old episodes on Apple Podcasts, Audioboom or on the Premier Skills English website where you’ll also find the transcripts in the words section.

Rich: So, we’re not going to explain offside right now but we are going to look at the phrase to break the offside trap.


Jack: So, we’re looking at the phrase to break the offside trap. To understand the full phrase we need to break it up a little bit.

Rich: Let’s speak about the offside trap. The offside trap is a tactic that a defending team uses to catch attacking players offside. All the defenders have to work together to make this work.

Jack: Defenders stay more or less in a line across the pitch and when they see an attacking player moving towards their goal all the defenders move towards the halfway line.

Rich: This means that the attacker will be in an offside position if someone plays a pass and a free-kick will be given to the defending team.

Jack: A trap is an object that is used to catch animals. A trap might be used by hunters to catch big animals or in your house, you might put a bit of cheese on a mousetrap to catch a mouse or a rat.

Rich: A bit of cheese? Does that really work? I use my cat. Anyway, the trap on the pitch is this defensive tactic we’ve been talking about and the animal is the attacker.

Jack: But sometimes an animal breaks the trap and escapes. When an attacker breaks the offside trap it means that the trap hasn’t worked. The defenders were not in the correct place on the pitch and the attacker runs forward to score. The attacker broke the offside trap.

Final whistle

Rich: There is the final whistle!

Jack: We’ll be back soon with more Premier Vocabulary from Premier Skills English.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Comment

Discuss

Is using an offside trap a good tactic?

Where do defenders need to be to set an offside trap?

Where do strikers need to be to break an offside trap?

Leave a comment

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Comments

Michaelsun
17/02/2022
CN
738
points

I think using an offside trap isn’t a good tactic.


Michaelsun
17/02/2022 15:33
China
Manchester United
738

I think using an offside trap isn’t a good tactic.

Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
06/05/2021
BR
1512
points

Depends on the team general tactics and the players characteristics. But I like to use it, when coaching.
Defenders must be as near as they can from the half line, but always adjusting their positions and body shape to the attacking team (player who has the ball and player running towards the goal line).
Strikers must adjusts themselves to the very limit of the last defender (besides the goalkeeper) when the ball is past.


Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
06/05/2021 15:50
Brazil
Arsenal
1512

Depends on the team general tactics and the players characteristics. But I like to use it, when coaching.
Defenders must be as near as they can from the half line, but always adjusting their positions and body shape to the attacking team (player who has the ball and player running towards the goal line).
Strikers must adjusts themselves to the very limit of the last defender (besides the goalkeeper) when the ball is past.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
06/12/2020
UA
6278
points

One must be careful not to get into an offside trap in life. Better be always inside and in the know.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
06/12/2020 07:02
Ukraine
Liverpool
6278

One must be careful not to get into an offside trap in life. Better be always inside and in the know.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
26/09/2020
UA
6278
points

Strikers should attentively watch the defenders' position to successfully break their possible offside traps.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
26/09/2020 06:27
Ukraine
Liverpool
6278

Strikers should attentively watch the defenders' position to successfully break their possible offside traps.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
26/09/2020
UA
6278
points

To set an offside trasp defenders should try to leave as many opponents as they can behind the last of defenders. 


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
26/09/2020 06:25
Ukraine
Liverpool
6278

To set an offside trasp defenders should try to leave as many opponents as they can behind the last of defenders. 

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
26/09/2020
UA
6278
points

It's a good practice using an offside trap if performed as a good clock works.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
26/09/2020 06:22
Ukraine
Liverpool
6278

It's a good practice using an offside trap if performed as a good clock works.

hsn's picture
hsn
03/06/2020
TR
5525
points

I think it's dangerous tactic. I watched many matches that defenders do not move coordinately and causes goal. But it works at the corner shoot of opponent team.

In my opinion best place in front of goalkeeper /in six yard box that defenders should set an offside trap. The strikers should move one or two step to the back of the defender's line.


hsn's picture
hsn
03/06/2020 17:50
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5525

I think it's dangerous tactic. I watched many matches that defenders do not move coordinately and causes goal. But it works at the corner shoot of opponent team.

In my opinion best place in front of goalkeeper /in six yard box that defenders should set an offside trap. The strikers should move one or two step to the back of the defender's line.

Vitor Augusto
18/05/2020
BR
62
points

I think that using an offside trap is vey risky, so the defenders have to be smart. To set an offside trap, the defenders need to do a line in the pitch, and it is better if the line is done near the halfline. To break an offside trap, the strikers need to be before this line and run in the right moment to be in a "legal" position and score.


Vitor Augusto
18/05/2020 18:10
Brazil
Manchester United
62

I think that using an offside trap is vey risky, so the defenders have to be smart. To set an offside trap, the defenders need to do a line in the pitch, and it is better if the line is done near the halfline. To break an offside trap, the strikers need to be before this line and run in the right moment to be in a "legal" position and score.

Vic
15/05/2020
MX
817
points

Is using an offside trap a good tactic?

In my opinios, not isn´t a good tactic, because needs absolut coordination in all defenders, sometimes one defenser stiil in their position and the attacking brak the tactic.

Where do defenders need to be to set an offside trap?

Near the middle pitch, in a long pass, all defenders in a line could trap the other player.

Where do strikers need to be to break an offside trap?

In my opinion, amoung line of the defenders.


Vic
15/05/2020 22:44
Mexico
Liverpool
817

Is using an offside trap a good tactic?

In my opinios, not isn´t a good tactic, because needs absolut coordination in all defenders, sometimes one defenser stiil in their position and the attacking brak the tactic.

Where do defenders need to be to set an offside trap?

Near the middle pitch, in a long pass, all defenders in a line could trap the other player.

Where do strikers need to be to break an offside trap?

In my opinion, amoung line of the defenders.

Johan®7's picture
Johan®7
14/05/2020
CO
65
points

Hi,

-Yes. I consider it a good one. Although it depends on how flexible and coordinated the defenders are at the moment of doing it. If they are strong but slow, it's better for defenders to wait for strikers to avoid problems. The offside trap is not the best good idea for players like Moh Salah, Messi, Cristiano that are usually so fast as they could break a trap at any moment. But it is undoubtly an intelligent tactic. I've seen the offside trap more usually in free-kicks.
-to set successfully an offside trap they need to stay just near by strikers behind them to be sure they control their movements so that they can anticipate them. As you said earlier, they need to stay in a line and work together.
-For strikers to break an offside trap they need to be assured of their free space and the line made by the defenders in order to find an empty space on which one of them can surprise one or two defenders, obviously they can't stay back of them, they need to work just next to them or some centimeters ahead of them and they have to wait for a pass that break that line swiftly. As defenders, strikers have to anticipate the rival's moves
-


Johan®7's picture
Johan®7
14/05/2020 18:57
Colombia
Arsenal
65

Hi,

-Yes. I consider it a good one. Although it depends on how flexible and coordinated the defenders are at the moment of doing it. If they are strong but slow, it's better for defenders to wait for strikers to avoid problems. The offside trap is not the best good idea for players like Moh Salah, Messi, Cristiano that are usually so fast as they could break a trap at any moment. But it is undoubtly an intelligent tactic. I've seen the offside trap more usually in free-kicks.
-to set successfully an offside trap they need to stay just near by strikers behind them to be sure they control their movements so that they can anticipate them. As you said earlier, they need to stay in a line and work together.
-For strikers to break an offside trap they need to be assured of their free space and the line made by the defenders in order to find an empty space on which one of them can surprise one or two defenders, obviously they can't stay back of them, they need to work just next to them or some centimeters ahead of them and they have to wait for a pass that break that line swiftly. As defenders, strikers have to anticipate the rival's moves
-

wsanta's picture
wsanta
14/05/2020
AR
5086
points

We lost the 1996 Olympic football final against Nigeria because the lineman didn't see the offside when our defenders made a offside trap.


wsanta's picture
wsanta
14/05/2020 04:45
Argentina
Leeds United
5086

We lost the 1996 Olympic football final against Nigeria because the lineman didn't see the offside when our defenders made a offside trap.

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