Jordi Ribera on the 5-1 defence: be flexible and adapt

Ribera has coached the Spanish men's national team for the past 10 years, leading them to two EHF EURO titles as well as multiple Olympic, world and European medals.

During the webinar Ribera gave real-life examples, drawn from many of Spain's recent international matches, as to how teams can adapt a 5-1 defence to different styles of attack. The most important thing, said Ribera, was for the defence to be flexible, noting: "Within each system it’s possible to change the rules."

Ribera's presentation covered not only match-day tips, but also advice on how to train a 5-1 defence. He recommended that teams start with simple movements, practising until they become natural, before adding more speed.

The webinar covered how to respond to a seven-against-six attack, with Ribera noting that in such circumstances maintaining defensive discipline is difficult, but still possible.

After Ribera's thorough presentation, he responded to questions posed by participants in the chat, including which players were most important in a 5-1 defensive system. According to Ribera, the three players in the centre of the line were key, and they needed to be strong, fast and tactical. 

He also answered a question on what the main objective of a 5-1 system should be, saying: "The objective of the 5-1 defence is not to foul, the objective is the ball and to disrupt the opponent."

Ribera's last answer was perhaps one of the most important of the session, as he responded to a question about Spain's flexibility in their defensive system.

"For me the most important thing is that the coach does not change the strategy only when there are mistakes or when the strategy doesn’t work," Ribera said. He suggested that switching from 5-1 to 6-0 and back can be particularly challenging for an opponent, and that coaches should not just be reactive in the way they responded to how the game was progressing.

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