Playing the offside trap
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	The offside traps works more or less the same whether you play with three backs in a 3-5-2 or a sweeper in a 4-4-2. In a 4-4-2 with a flat back 4, the weak side central defender takes on the role of sweeper. The sweeper should be the farthest back of the field players. That may not always be true in the fluid run of play, but it MUST be true when setting the trap. They key to making this work lies with the weak side defender. As a terminology reminder, "weak side" refers to the side of the field opposite the ball. So, if the ball is on the left (the "strong side"), the sweeper is generally looking left and setting the offside line based on the position of the left back and the opposing right attacker. In this situation, it is IMPERATIVE that the (weak side) right back be even with the sweeper, even if that means letting the opposing left attacker go past. By definition, that attacker will be offside. Of course, the situation reverses when the ball is on the right. Perhaps the most important but also hardest part for the weak side defender is anticipating when the sweeper will quickly push forward without notice. As a result, it's critical for this defender to always have an eye on the sweeper. This has an impact on positioning. In the following diagram, the attacker ("A") on the defense's left has the ball. Note how the right back ("D") on the weak side is a bit outside the attacker ("A"). This allows him to see the ball, the sweeper, and his man all at once. The "we're doing the offside trap NOW" command is "OUT! OUT! OUT!" Only the sweeper should make this call. "Push up" (see below) has some urgency to it, whereas "OUT" means get forward immediately. Trust the sweeper. The whole scheme falls apart if the weak side backs don't play even or higher than the sweeper. When that happens, there's a good chance their attacker(s) will be in alone on goal. On a related note, once the defense has won/cleared the ball, or if the attacking team has the ball and pulls it back towards their goal (but still in our attacking end), it's critical that the defense push up. This means defenders AND midfielders not lagging about. Everyone should feel free to give the "PUSH UP" call--while giving that call is the sweeper's job, it's great to get help from the GK, other defenders, and midfielders.