Professional teams like Real Madrid, Arsenal London and Bayern Munich play attacking soccer the way it should be played: The entire team switches to offense as soon as they win the ball, instead of waiting for their opponents to get back into formation. They instantly take advantage of holes in the opposition’s defense and get into the penalty box with just a few passes, usually direct ones. Most goals are scored within fewer than five passes.

Rock-solid combination play and accurate passing, even under maximum opposition and time pressure: These are the critical skills that characterize successful teams.But how do you train accurate passing? And how do you lay the foundations for perfect combinations? This collection, corresponding to the booklet "The Art of Playing Attacking Soccer - Part 1" will help to show you how.

From basic direct passing exercises to complex ones like Exercise 25, “Fully direct passing,” the first part of this series is all about fast passes and combinations. You will find exercises on important technical-tactical basics like the three-player combination. These exercises help players internalize pass sequences that will give them an edge in match play. The corrections you make and the example you set are especially important.