3 of the most common football tactics and formations

There are so many successful formations that can be used by a football coach, but here are three that have been used effectively.

The most popular formation is possibly the 4-4-2 formation that was hugely famous in English soccer during the 2000’s. The formation was made famous by about the most skilled teams in Italian history; the new AC Milan owner may well look for their coach to resort back to this formation as it has seen huge success over the years. Many teams nowadays go for just a single striker, as it gives the midfield much more cover and versatility. The benefit of the formation the Italian side applied, is that it provides lots of width and then two forwards who make fantastic opportunities for crosses from those wide places. However, the formation needs high quality wingers, so if a group does not have options in this position, it works better to play a formation that goes down the center.

One the most difficult decisions for a soccer manager, is selecting which formation to play against the opponent. A major element in this choice is the style of play of the opposition. A football formation list is not given out by coaches, unlike in other sports, therefore managers don’t know what the opposition team will be like until they get onto the pitch. This absence of transparency suggests coaches must do plenty of researching on the competitors to find out how they will play. One alternative nevertheless, is to ignore the opposition and play a formation that suits you and adhere to it. This alternative is what the new Italian manager opts for, who was employed by the Chelsea owner at the start of this year. The Italian coach sticks to a 4-3-3 formation consistently; it has been among the most successful football formations, with many managers settling on it. It is an adaptable formation that allows you to play 3 forwards, but the wide players in positions where they can drop back and aid in defence when required.

A formation that is often employed by teams that lack the high quality of their opposition is the 5-4-1 formation. By playing this way, a team can overload the midfield and have a strong back line that can stay in front of their own box. While many recognise this formation as defeatist, or drab, it is an effective way of closing out a better team for prolonged periods of the match. If you play this formation you can anticipate to have very little control, with no real out ball considering you only have a single attacking player. Clubs may play this formation for the first 70 minutes and then change their football tactics in the final period to try and snatch success. The Cardiff City owner has quite frequently favoured managers that can field this formation properly, as they do not have the same calibre players as some other teams.

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