When the game of football was started way back in the 19th Century, it was some people randomly kicking the ball around. Over the years, with the inclusion of thinkers and philosophers like Herbert Chapman and Ernest Egri Erbstein, the game became more scientifically developed. The war began to be fought on whiteboards and papers as much as on ground zero. As the years progressed, more and more input was put into behind the scenes work. Managers consistently scouted opposition teams and players and planned to cash-in on the weaknesses.
One of the important aspects of modern day tactician management is how the players take up their positions on the pitch. Formations are the building blocks of any tactics. Any instruction to the players would be useless if they play like a bunch of people strolling together in a park. So, in this series, we will be looking at various formations used by managers over the years, the game-changing formations, the era defining ones, and here, the most popular ones today.
4-3-3
The 4-3-3 formation in various versions is used currently by a majority of the teams. The formation is based on triangles formed by players that allow the ball to be played across the pitch by some quick passing.
The 4-3-3 was popularized by the Brazilian team of 1962 and patronized by Johan Cruyff, a legendary player and visionary of the game. It requires technically strong players in the midfield with two of the three as attack minded. The defensive midfielder works both as a shield to the defense and as a ball provider for attacking moves. The wingers are generally good dribblers and can either play on the wing of their foot to provide crosses (fig a) or inverted to cut in and shoot (fig b). In such case, the full-backs provide the crosses by going forward.
Teams that generally played 4-3-3 recently:
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Spain, Manchester City
Elite Managers that prefer 4-3-3:
Pep Guardiola, Maurizio Sarri, Marcelo Bielsa
4-2-3-1
A slight deviation from 4-3-3, this formation only differs in the fact that we have two defensive midfielders working as a pivot and the wingers are more of wide midfielders, dropping down to defend as well as rushing forward in attack. Not to mention, the fitness of these wide players is the key. The two players in the midfield have different roles too, one of them working as a screen while the other carries the ball forward in attacks.
The formation is very solid defensively, providing a solid block in various spaces on the pitch. The striker however, can remain isolated if the players are unable to hustle their way up and down. He has the least involvement in build-up play but is more of a classic striker converting half chances and scoring a hell load of goals. He is a headache for the defenders proving lethal for slightest of their mistakes. The key factor is that due to the central attacking midfielder working just behind the striker, the defenders cannot be sticking to him as it leaves spaces for the no. 10 to exhibit his finishing skills.
Teams that generally played 4-2-3-1 recently:
Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspurs, Bayern Munich, France, Brazil
Elite Managers that prefer 4-2-3-1:
Jose Mourinho, Didier Deschamps, Roy Hodgeson, Sam Allardyce, David Moyes.
4-4-2
The most revered formation of the 80s has come as a rejuvenation for teams that usually struggle to play ball against the big guns. The 4-4-2 is played by teams relying heavily on counter attack and the pace and physicality of the strikers. The team recedes in two deep blocks of four strong defenders and four sturdy and defensive minded midfielders alongside two pure strikers instead of one as seen earlier. The fullbacks have to push forward consistently in attack due to this reason. There are a load of long balls and crosses to deal with, and usually the teams are content to sit back and see through the game as a draw or even a one goal victory if they get to score in their hit-and-trials.
The formation has been a key factor to two of the most dramatic dream runs in 2016, Iceland in the Euro Cup and the Premier League winning Leicester City. Since then, teams have successfully adopted this strategy to bolster their strengths.
Teams that generally played 4-4-2 recently:
Leicester City, Atletico Madrid, Uruguay, Iceland, Russia, Crystal Palace, Portugal
Elite Managers that prefer 4-4-2:
Fernando Santos, Ernesto Valverde, Diego Simeone, Claudio Ranieri.
4-1-2-1-2 Diamond
The diamond formation is so called due to its quadrangular midfield that involves a defensive midfielder to shield the defense, two technically gifted midfielders with vision and exquisite passing abilities and an attacking mid who is comfortable on the ball and likes to carry and dribble as well as create chances for the two strikers ahead of him. He is generally the fulcrum of the attack and is typically the best player on the pitch. He also has the privilege to position between the defense and midfield of the opposition (fig below) and therefore confuses them who either put both a defender and a midfielder on him or none, disrupting their solidarity. Lionel Messi and Isco are two current players best suited for the role.
When out of possession, the midfield four must drop and assist the defence, while the two strikers must be free for the counter-attack
This formation is based on midfield dominance and the play generally build from the middle of the park. The formation has been a game changer ever since its inclusion as a way to disrupt solid defensive blocks. Carlo Ancellotti employed the tactics in Milan to its most effect, and it was later modified by Pep Guardiola in his Barcelona side as a “False 9” formation.
Teams that generally played 4-1-2-1-2 recently:
Real Madrid, Argentina, Villareal
Elite Managers that prefer 4-1-2-1-2:
Carlo Ancellotti, Pep Guardiola, Zinedine Zidane
3-4-3
While the previous formations differ in the attacking front and have same role for the players of the backline, a variation in defense requires a complete change in the system. Many managers over the years have had a tendency to employ more players up the pitch and put the responsibility of shielding the goal on the strong shoulders of the rigid defenders. The three men at the back are proper no-nonsense centre-backs, tackling and clearing anything that comes their way. The system works best when the wing-backs of the midfield four are able to track down the opposition wingers, leaving the striker of the other team to deal alone with the three at the back.
When the team is attacking, the two wingers or attacking midfielders cut in as the wing-backs occupy wide positions. The two central midfielders provide the passes and creativity while the centre backs remain solid in their position in an attempt of preventing any sort of counter attack.
The formation was made famous by West Germany of the 60s and 70s. In the current managers, Antonio Conte is a strong believer in this tactic, and has employed it successfully in his tenure at Juventus, Italy and Chelsea.
Teams that generally played 3-4-3 recently:
Juventus, Chelsea, Italy, Arsenal, England
Elite Managers that prefer 3-4-3:
Antonio Conte, Gareth Southgate
3-5-2
The 3-5-2 is a hybrid formation that compiles the defense and wing back of a 3-4-3, a midfield of 4-3-3 and an attack of 4-4-2 formations. In this system, the strikers are required to be strong and lethal, one of the midfielders to be able to shield the defenders and the other two to be creative and precise as the responsibility of creating chances is heavily on them. The wingbacks are quick and good crossers, and therefore provide the aerial balls for their attacking duo.
Teams that generally played 3-5-2 recently:
Juventus, Newcastle United
Elite Managers that prefer 3-5-2:
Antonio Conte, Massimilano Allegri
Incomplete formations
When a player is sent off or leaves the field due to an injury or other reason with no ability to be replaced with a substitute teams have to switch the formations using only 9 outfield players. In such cases, teams generally fall back to defensive formations such as 4–4–1 or 5–3–1. Although when facing a negative result a team with ten players shall play in a risky attacking formation such as 4–3–2 or even 4–2–3.
There are various variations of the five formations discussed above that are bring used currently by managers. Some formations are even a hybrid of two or more, inculcating the role of different players from different formation to club it into something new. Few such formations are:
4-3-3: 4-1-4-1, 4-5-1, 4-1-2-3, 4-3-1-2
4-2-3-1: 4-4-1-1, 4-2-1-3
4-4-2: 4-4-1-1, 4-2-2-2, 4-2-4
4-1-2-1-2: 4-3-1-2, 4-3-3 (False 9)
3-4-3: 3-4-2-1, 5-2-3, 5-4-1
3-5-2: 5-3-2
These formations vary in each match and situations, depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the squad and that of the opponent as well as the situation of the match. But what remains intact is the position that a player acquires on a pitch, and his other duties revolve around it.
Beyond Minute 90 