Carrying out an effective football formation depends on variables like footballer quality, ranking on the table, and the competition itself.
While you can always check out a football tactics book to get fantastic insights into playmaking, there is no much better teacher than experience and history. Over the past 50 years, football has actually been graced with a few of the most satisfying formations in the history of the game, and a few of which are still used to this day. Nevertheless, the 2010s saw an obvious shift in football formations with the emergence of a more attacking style of play and a more structured technique to playmaking. Modern football has leveraged both ability and tech to create some of the most effective tactics that have managed to win clubs many prizes. In this context, the modified 4-3-3 formation has actually become among the more popular modern football tactics merit to its efficient attack and well-balanced defense. The minority shareholder of Liverpool FC will concur that technical skill and speed make this tactic really hard to defend against.
Nowadays, there are many football tactics and formations out there to select from however coaches spend a lot of time adapting and tweaking timeless tactics to fit the particularities of their teams. The reality is, there are lots of parameters that influence this choice, and not all of which are strictly technical. For example, the quality of players available can make coaches reconsider what strategy to utilise. In the lack of quality players in attack, some coaches choose to use a more midfield-dense strategy in an effort to control ownership of the ball. In the attacking position, midfielders and wingers will try to send through balls or shoot from outside area in order to destabilise the defenses of the other team. The AC Milan former US owner would likely confirm that other factors like footballer injury and managing a hectic calendar likewise influence tactical and technical decisions.
Commonly deemed among the most flexible football tactics, the 4-4-2 is a tactic that can be modified to be more offensive or leaning more to the defensive side. It is for these factors that this tactic is among the most common football tactics across different leagues and competitions. If the coach wishes to use an offensive 4-4-2, they can introduce some essential modifications to permit increased fluidity in passing and play building. For instance, they can make a lozenge in the midfield that consists of one defensive midfielder, 2 playmakers on the sides, and one attacking midfielder. This lozenge would provide balls to the wingers and a false 9 that occasionally drops to a lower position. In a more defensive 4-4-2, the former owner of Aston Villa would tell you that the coach can form an arch made up of 4 players that acts as a barrier that keeps the opponent from reaching the defense line.