There are countless formations in soccer, but this short article will look at three of the most effective.
A formation that is often employed by clubs 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 sturdy back line that can sit in front of their own box. While so many recognise this formation as defeatist, or dull, it is an efficient way of shutting out a better team for prolonged stretches of the match. If you play this formation you can anticipate to have very slight control, with virtually no real out ball considering you just have a single attacking person. Clubs may play this formation for the first 70 minutes and then change their football tactics in the last period to try and snatch success. The Cardiff City owner has quite regularly favoured coaches that can field this formation effectively, as they do not have the same calibre players as other clubs.
The most well-known formation is perhaps the 4-4-2 formation that was massively famous in English football throughout the 2000’s. The formation was made well-known by one of the most successful teams in Italian history; the new AC Milan owner may well look for their coach to resort back to this formation as it has experienced substantial success over the years. Many teams nowadays choose for just a single striker, as it offers the midfield much more cover and flexibility. The benefit of the formation the Italian team employed, is that it provides a lot of width and then two forwards who make fantastic opportunities for crosses from those wide positions. Even so, the formation calls for top quality wingers, therefore if a team lacks 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 choosing which formation to play against the opponent. A major element in this decision is the style of play of the opposition. A football formation list is not given out by managers, unlike in other sports, therefore managers don’t know what the opposition side will be like until they get onto the pitch. This shortage of transparency means managers must do lots of research on the opponents to figure out how they will play. One option however, is to disregard the opposition and play a formation that complements you and adhere to it. This alternative is what the new Italian coach opts for, who was hired by the Chelsea owner at the start of this season. The Italian coach stays to a 4-3-3 formation religiously; it has been one of the most successful football formations, with many managers choosing it. It is a flexible formation that allows you to play three forwards, but the wide players in positions where they can fall back and aid in defence when necessary.