Modern Soccer Coach Podcast Elite Level Back 3 Attacking Principles with Laurent Courtois
Jul 24, 2025
Laurent Courtois, former head coach at CF Montreal, discusses his innovative back three system. He highlights the crucial balance of patience and verticality in attack, as well as how freedom and structure coexist during gameplay. Each position's player profile plays a significant role in this tactical setup. Courtois dives into real-time coaching challenges, the importance of tactical communication, and how evolving player roles lead to dynamic, versatile forwards. His insights shed light on maximizing offensive strategies while navigating modern soccer complexities.
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Advantages of Back Three Build
- Building from a back three offers numerous natural passing options and positional flexibility.
- Narrow center-backs invite compact opposition, creating exploitable half-space openings.
Invite Press to Break Deep Blocks
- Invite aggressive pressing to create momentary numerical advantages for your team.
- Avoid deep blocks as they are the hardest defensive structures to break down.
Freedom Within Structure
- Establish a structure with a few key rules but allow players freedom once opposition lines are broken.
- Encourage any player to attack goal when an advantage is created to maintain momentum.