Push-and-run, also known as a wall pass, a one-two or a
give-and-go, is a tactic and skill often used in
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
. It involves quickly laying the ball off to a teammate and running past the marking tackler to collect the return
pass. It proved an effective way to move the ball at pace, with players' positions and responsibility being fluid.
It was devised and developed by
Arthur Rowe, who was the then manager of English football club
Tottenham Hotspur from 1949. Implementing this new and unique style, Tottenham ran away with their first league title. In
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
they won the
First Division Championship and became the first side to win
Second and First Divisions in successive seasons.
Origin
The "push and run" style of play was first developed by Arthur Rowe at Tottenham Hotspur. Rowe himself would credit
Peter McWilliam, the Spurs manager under whom he served, with teaching him how to play a quick passing style of game from which Rowe then extended into "push and run". This possession-based game of play of McWilliam has been traced back to Scottish players who first conceived of the idea of keeping possession of the ball instead of dribbling and charging in their first ever football international against England in 1872.
Aside from Rowe, McWilliam also taught other Spurs players such as
Bill Nicholson and
Vic Buckingham such possession-based passing game. Buckingham would then pass on this pass-and-move style of play when he went on to manage Barcelona and Ajax, where it would influence the development of
Total Football.
See also
*
Combination Game
*
Give-and-go
*
Passing (association football)
*
Alley-oop
References
Association football tactics
Association football skills
Association football terminology
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