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deep and help build attacks from the back. The midfielder can
drift wide to overload the flanks, acting as a
central winger.
When the central attacking play maker drifts wide (and the
holding midfielder isntman marking him) he can
create a 2 v 1 situation down the flanks with the central
midfielder and the winger vs. the one fullback. Themidfielder can
also drift wide to overload the flanks, still acting as a central
winger, but while being man
marked. With and intelligent central play maker realizing this,
they will drift out wide and drag the holding
midfielder with them, leaving space to be exploited in the
middle of the field. That is the space that the holding
midfielder vacated. In the scenario the winger (Ronaldo) cuts
inside into that space unchallenged and can eithershoot and score
or pass for an assist.
4-3-3
In this formation there is more freedom for the two central
midfielders to drop deeper to build attacks or to
make forward runs from deep, so the side is more connected, it
isntseparated into just defensive midfieldersand attacking
midfielders, here you have one defensive midfielder and two central
midfielders who attack anddefend, so the team is more connected
throughout and dontseem a broken team, the link from defense to
midfield and then to attack is a lot smoother. The team is a lot
more flexible in their movement with one pivot
man holding in the midfield. The wing backs have more room to
run into because there are two wingers now
and not two wide midfielders. The pivot man can drop between the
two center backs to push the wing backs
forward and stretch the play and create space in the middle, and
also makes it seem like you havetwo wingers on each side, so it can
cause an overload on the flanks, or it cause the opposing wingers
to track all
the way back which makes it a lot harder to counter attack
because they are farther away from the opponentsgoal. With good
movement and intelligence from players it is a very flexible
formation where players can
switch from a 4-3-3 to a 3-4-3 or something similar very fluidly
while still remaining solid and structured
defensively.
Since this formation has one less defensive player it can be
exposed if the opposing team is quick on the break
and transition quickly before the two central midfielders can
transition back to defense. The opposing team canalso expose space
behind the attacking fullbacks on the break. In this formation
there are more attacking players
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so it is better for pressing the opposing team and playing a
high line to keep the opponents in their own half, but
you need good ball possession so that the high line and pressing
isntexposed when the ball is lost. With moreattacking players on
the field there are more skilled ball players so the circulation of
possession is quicker than
if there was two holding midfielders, it is harder to defend
against more creative attacking players.
Cruyff
Cruyff on the differences between a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 and
Holland.The problem with two holding midfielders is quite simple,
but somehowmany coaches dont see it. The build
up happens to slow. Holding midfielders always need that extra
touch. Always need to have a look when theyhave the ball already.
That takes time away. The opponent can position themselves to stop
the killer pass and
the forwards are all marked. Plus, having two holding
midfielders means there is one less creative play maker.
Its a double edged sword.We need one good controller in midfield
and two creative players on the wide midfield spots, like
Barcelona
does. Or Man United and Man City for that matter. This way, if
the wide players have the ability to run as well,
its much easier to control the opponent, to put pressure on the
ball early and to play with forward pressure,
I believe this was done because our defensive line was not that
strong. We didnthave Strootman nor Nigel deJong in those days and
Sneijder, Van Persie and Robben were not yet as good and confident
as they are now.
We need to play our strongest defenders and that could mean
Douglas. But, as I always say: the best way to
keep pressure off your back four is by attacking!
Coaches use the 4-2-3-1 system to avoid risk, but with two
defensive midfielders you lack a creative playerand your team will
fall apart in two sides. You cant make triangles and its essential
to have triangles to play
good positioning play.
If our build up is slow, the effectiveness of our creative
forwards will decrease significantly. Van Persie got alot of
criticism last World Cup, and I believe it was because we played to
defensively and passively. We
became a counter team. Our best players are up front though.
They need the ball and they need it quick. I love
that fact. All nations would love to have our problem, even
Germany, Italy, Spain and England. Spain hassensational midfielders
but could use a Huntelaar or Van Persie. I believe we need to play
our strongest team,
with the best players. We need to field one holding
midfielderand we can field one who can play football too!
And take the game to the opponent. Relentlessly.
FluidityAs Cruyff says, it is a double edged sword to play with
two holding midfielders. Most problems with
formations can be solved with fluidity of the team. When teams
are too static then they really are limited to theirpositions
within that formation. Say a 4-2-3-1 had a double pivot holding
midfield, with that fluidity in midfield
your 4-2-3-1 can turn into a 4-3-3 in attack and maybe even a
3-4-3 if the now single holding midfielder decides
to drop between the two center backs. It is a lot of
transitioning in the teams positioning and needs to be donequickly
and intelligently to work, but it could solve the problems any
formation has by being more fluid. If you
lose the ball you can press cause you are in a sort of 4-3-3
formation now anyway. If you cant win the ball
back immediately by pressing then your holding midfielder that
moved forward can now drop back next to yoursecond holding
midfielder and your team can defend in a 4-2-3-1. Most problems can
be solved with intelligent
movement and fluidity, it is when teams become too static that
they start having these sort of positional
problems that Holland was having. Being too static can slow down
ball circulation and make your team becomevery predictable.
Attacking or Defensive formations?One thing everyone should
remember is that no formation is more attacking or defensive than
the other. In
the end what decides that is the attitude of the players you
have. Barcelona play a 4-6-0 and everyone agreesthat they are a
very aggressive and offensive team. Scotland played a 4-6-0 and sat
very deep and defended.
Roma played a 4-6-0 with Totti as a False 9 and played counter
attacking football! Ultimately it is you and
your players attitude on and off the ball that decides whetheror
not you have an attacking team or a defensiveteam, not just their
positioning in a formation on the field, even though some
formations may have more players
positioned defensively than others.
