Coach's Library · Attacking

The Underlap: The Run Inside That Unlocks a Set Defense

The Athletic on why the inside run has overtaken the overlap — a decision, not a default.

Cam Jolley

Co-Founder & Academy Coach, Coach Central

The underlap is a run every young full-back and winger should understand, and the reason it has become so common is worth teaching directly — but the real skill is reading which run the picture is actually asking for.

Overlap versus underlap

The overlap is the classic run outside the winger to the touchline. The underlap is the run inside them, into the half-space between the opposition's full-back and centre-back. As modern teams pack the wide areas and invert their full-backs, that inside lane has become the more dangerous one — it arrives closer to goal and it drags defenders into decisions they hate. The Athletic's piece traces exactly why the inside run has taken over; it's worth reading in full.

The part I coach

I do not want players who only overlap or only underlap. I want players who look at the picture and choose. Is the space outside or inside? Where is the winger's defender looking? An underlap when the half-space is open is brilliant; an underlap into a crowded inside lane is just a bad decision with a fancy name. So I teach both runs and then, in games, I coach the read — which one did the moment call for, and did you see it? The run is execution. The choice is the development.

How I'd use it this week

Coach both the overlap and underlap in a wide-attack game, then remove your instructions and let the full-back choose. Debrief on whether the run matched the space — that's the learning.

Takeaways

The underlap attacks the half-space inside the winger; it's grown as wide areas get congested.
It arrives closer to goal and poses defenders harder decisions than the overlap.
Teach both runs, then coach the read of which one the picture calls for — the choice is the skill.

Read the original

The Athletic — The rise of the underlap. Why the inside run has overtaken the overlap in the modern game (subscription). theathletic.com/3002654/2021/12/08/the-rise-of-the-underlap/

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