What is a Rondo in Soccer?

What is a Rondo in Soccer?

The Rondo is a fun soccer warmup or training session that typically involves a team positioned outside a square or circle playing area possessing the ball in a small space with the defensive pressure remaining inside the playing area. There are many variations to the rondo, which allows possession players to play inside the area. In its simplest terms, the rondo is simply a keep-away game in a confined area where the number of players possessing the ball outnumbers the defensive players.

Benefits of Rondo Soccer Drills

Rondo soccer drills and games improve the player's communication, angle of support, positioning, decision making, creativity, first-touch, speed of play, competitiveness, and possession. Players often have to rely on tricks, flicks, flighted-balls, back-heels, and 1-touch passing. Therefore, the receiving player must learn how to react and handle all of these situations.

Rondo Soccer Drill Example

To get started with a rondo soccer drill, create a grid approximately 12x12 yards. You can adjust the size of the grid based on the skill level of your players. Place ten possession players around the outside of the grid and two defensive players inside the grid. The possession player's goal is to maintain possession while not allowing the defensive players to win the ball. If possession is lost, whether to a defensive player, a bad pass, or a bad touch, the player making the mistake switches roles with one of the defenders.

Rondo Variations

There are many variations to the rondo that will focus on different aspects of the game. The teachings that come out of the rondo are endless, and I encourage you to throw the rondo into your regular practice schedule and use it as a pre-game warmup.

More Rondo Soccer Drills and Games

Here are some rondo soccer drills and games found on SoccerXpert: