Tactical Devices in football

The profit or the loss of a match of Football does not depend only on the skill of the players to handle the balloon. The Football being a Sport of team, the questions of collective Intelligence are paramount. The exit of a match is also and especially related to the aspect Tactique of the play. The positioning of the players on the ground, the phases of play repeated with the Drive, and, generally, the capacity of the eleven players to practice a Football homogeneous and coherent enter for a very great part the results of the team. It is perhaps because the Football does not require only skill, a force or resistance, but as a comprehension subtle of the strategic options favorable to the team, sometimes called “intelligence of play” or “clearness”, as it became one of the most popular Sport S through planet. The tactical device recovers the placement of the players the ones compared to the others and the synchronization of their actions, which are orchestrated starting from the bench of key by the Entraîneur or the Sélectionneur.

Positioning of the players

Very quickly, at the beginning of the play, it proved that the tactics consisting in for all the players moving towards the balloon were a losing strategy: since only one player can have the control of the ball, the others are not used for nothing or even obstruct it. The partners of the carrier of ball must be distributed on the ground so as to offer to him the maximum of possibilities of master keys, while remaining ready to defend their camp in the event of loss of ball.

Certain players, from their physical or intellectual qualities, are ready to go to mark goals, or on the contrary show a great effectiveness of recovery of ball. It is thus logical to assign the first to the offensive tasks, and the seconds with the defensive tasks. Necessarily, the attackers will be placed near the unfavourable goal, and the defenders near their own goal, so as to prevent the access to the unfavourable attackers of them. However, the rule of the off-side, while avoiding creating two groups of players, each one in front of a goal, imposes on the ones and the others to move on the ground according to the actions of play. A player who cannot ensure of the permanent return tickets during 90 minutes, the connection between the lines of attack and defense is ensured by the medium grounds. Defense, medium ground and attack are constant concepts during the evolution of the tactical devices, which all are based on this model in three lines. One calls tactic the whole of the choices of play taken by the player during the three principal moments of the play: possession of the balloon, possession of the balloon by the adversary, change of possession. The tactics imply the alternative; the length of the sequences of play in football leads the player to meet a large variety of situation of offensive/defensive sequences.

The goalkeeper

The role of the goalkeeper evolved/moved recently in the direction of a participation increased in the play (in particular in the revival and the interventions apart from surface). The guard is thus, because of his positioning on the ground, a crucial factor on the tactical aspect of the play of his team (cover in defensive phase, choice of the revivals in offensive phase).

Defense

The defenders are usually solid and rigorous players, whose principal task consists in disturbing, or ideally to prevent, the play of the unfavourable attack. The balloon can be recovered following a duel gained by a defender (individual action) or by a destabilization of the adversaries by a collective strategy (interception, provocation of a off-side, etc). Qualities necessary for a good defender are thus coolness, the concentration and the intelligence of play, in particular in the placement. For a long time, one could estimate that the defenders being “destructors” of play, that they did not have to show particular technical capabilities. It is not currently any more the case, because they are brought to take part in offensive tasks.

A line of defense usually consists of four players, more rarely three or five. Defense with four “typical” includes/understands two side backs, which evolve/move each one on a side, and two center backs. The side backs, from their position, must often face balloons launched in the depth, because they do not have a fellow-member in their back. Modern football forces to them to cover increasingly long distances. One thus saw appearing side defenders as ready to overflow as their adversaries of formerly, the wingers, who them tend to disappear. As for the central defenders, traditionally, they are differentiated in “hitchkiker” and “libéro”. The libéro is the player of field which plays low on the ground, and is discharged from any individual marking. He is regarded as the “owner” of the defensive animation, which gives the tactical instructions: placement, assembled for off-side. It is also the last recourse among the players of field, coming to compensate one of its overflowed partners, or anticipating a trajectory to intercept the balloon. It is a station which requires a great intelligence of play. The hitchkiker is the player specifically charged to neutralize the center-forward. More and more, tactical differentiation between these two roles grows blurred, within the framework of “defense on line”: the four defenders play on same level, when their team does not have the balloon. Hitchkiker and libéro then indicate rather individual characteristics.

During most of the XXe century, defense by individual marking was dominating: each defender, except for the libéro, sees himself allotting an attacker that it will follow everywhere in order to obstruct his play. Although effective and simple to apply, this tactical option shows weaknesses however. If a defender is beaten, which is highly likely very to arrive during a match, the attacker which it marked only finds and thus profits from a great liberty of action. Moreover, the defenders “with marking” cannot take part in the remainder of the play, with the risk to move away too much from their appointed adversary. Lastly, the defensive tactics depend primarily on the number of unfavourable attackers, with the result that on final, the diagram of play is imposed by the opposing team which will be able to then exploit her strong points.

Henceforth, the large majority of the teams practices a defense called “in zone”, much more flexible than individual marking. Each defender covers part of the ground, and it will defend against the adversary which is there. Defense in zone of the first times was rigid, the players tracing of the mental lines to delimit places of the ground where they did not go. Little by little, the trainers taught a defense in zone integrating the advantages of individual defense. The defenders are then brought to move in block according to the position of the balloon and the adversaries. Right back is found with the marking of the player on the right on a particular action, the central defender right on the second on the right, and so on. The permutations are possible, but only at the moments when a lull in the play allows it. In the event of under-number, the carrier of the balloon is the first player concerned, and it (S) player (S) it (S) more distant (S) from the balloon is/are left (S) free (S). Although very effective, defense in zone is particularly difficult to practice, because it requires more coordination, of concentration, clearness and intuition of the play that individual marking. The collective drive of a defense thus consists in cultivating the automatisms. This is why much of trainers, once they found their four (or three or five) defenders, balk to change some.

Medium ground

The medium ground is perhaps the line of play which proposes the most different tactical options. One can have two, three, four even five medium grounds, according to the selected device and the possession of the balloon and the adversary. Traditionally, a medium ground must be enduring, it is the player who traverses the most way during a part. It is perhaps besides only the characteristic commune in the mediums, which can show completely different aptitudes in addition.

The role of medium ground is to carry out the connection between defense and the attack. After the recovery of the ball, the mediums must transmit it to the attackers under the best possible conditions. Conversely, they must obstruct the development of the unfavourable play not to complicate the task of the defenders. It is frequent to intend large tacticians to affirm that a match is gained or loses itself in the middle of ground.

The offensive medium grounds have a role of attacker, but their position remains in withdrawal. They must be able to serve as the balloons of goals to the offensive players, and to sometimes mark some them same. The most famous players is most of the time offensive mediums, it is for example the case of Diego Maradona, Michel Platini or Zinedine Zidane. It is also the station which allows the best expression of its technical potential.

The defensive mediums are them defenders advanced on the ground. They must prevent the construction of the unfavourable play, before even as the ball is not transmitted to the attackers. A recovery of ball in the middle of ground is much more interesting than in defense, since there is nothing any more but half of the way to make to the attackers, which makes it possible to start often decisive counter-attacks.

Of course, there exists a continuity between the offensive defensive mediums and mediums, each player having to be placed on the ground according to its specific qualities and of what it is able to bring to the tactical device of the team. Often, several defensive mediums can compensate for a weakness in defense (for example a defense with three players), and conversely, mediums playing very high can completely replace the attack.

In addition to the endurance, the spirit of anticipation, technical qualities, a good defensive medium must have other fundamental qualities to positively manage all the balls recovered without any risk or danger.

In a defensive configuration:

In the zone of the defensive medium, it has priorities according to the cases, to release themselves from its camp or to exploit a recovered ball:

  • If it is not obstructed, it must:
    • to control on its side and never in front of him,
    • then to pass in priority to the side back on its side;
    • if that one is charged, it must then give on the winger a little more far from the side nearest;
    • if it is impossible in these two cases, it progresses in diagonal in free space towards the corridor to serve the winger nearest or…
    • if it is not possible, it swivels on its ball -- (of side of key and never of side of axis) to give behind to its support (libero or another player which supports) or with the guard which releases or which changes wing;
  • if these solutions are not possible because of the steam pressing of the adversaries, it releases then further, but always on the wing on its side because before must then appeal to help it to get rid of this vicious ball in an attempt at against in-depth rapid.
  • if he judges in advance that all these solutions would be impossible, he should not even carry out the 1st control but rather further release, because the priority in this case is in the purely defensive role.

Any contrary attempt with these techniques could only be regrettably fatal for him and its team (Recall: bad controls of Boban and Jarni exploited by Lilian Thuram - 2 to 1 for the France at the time of the World 1998; of Cordoba in the eliminatory of the world 2006 against the Uruguay… and the cases are very numerous to quote).

In addition to physical shape and the endurance which a recuperator must have to exert steam pressing or to contribute to recovery, it must also be a technician to be able to contribute to the orientation of the offensives and to assume a constructive role.

In an offensive configuration, its ideal position is the continuous support close to the partners operating the offensive, in order to create the excess which makes pressure on the adversary (offensive steam pressing).

The case of a loss of ball: thanks to this steam pressing, recovery is easy.

  • When it receives like support, the ball of a partner, it plays it on the dissociated player (preferably on the wing nearest…).
  • And if it receives or recovers a ball only in the axial medium, it must advance in diagonal towards the side where it is possible to conduct an attack placed…
  • If it does not find anybody, it centers behind the adversaries making him obstacle, on an offensive medium or an attacker of point who must make call in free space (generally in transversal or diagonal on the side, if the off-side is broken by a false position of an unfavourable defender.)
  • And if this solution is not possible, it gives on a defender in support - following the example defensive medium - for to air the play by preserving the ball.
  • Which defender who reads the play well, chooses the corridor most favorable for the construction of an offensive attempt (attacks placed).

With two recuperators mediums:

The attack

The role of an attacker is perhaps most beautiful with football, the attacker is that which marks the goals. An ideal attacker must be sharp, opportunist and good in against one. A certain proportion of failures is forgiven to him in the condition which it concretizes some of its occasions.

Certain attackers can have an excentric situation on the ground, it is for example the case of the wingers in the attacks with three or four players. Their role is then to work around by the sides unfavourable defense, in order to address centers in front of the goal to the axial attackers, or center-forwards. The latter must concretize the master keys and transform them of goals. The center-forward is the player who touches less balloons in a team, that also which is supervised the most by the defenders.

It is frequent that during the offensive phases, the medium grounds come to be integrated into the line of attack. It is all the more true in the modern football, which tended to reduce the number of attackers to two, even only one. It is of course not possible to be effective with an attacker against four defenders, and such a device imposes a supported support of the remainder of the team.

The mixture of the roles

Currently, each player present on the ground must take part in the collective whatever the phase of play. Thus, an attacker must try to disturb the unfavourable play when it does not have the ball, by a steam pressing which is all the more effective as it is collective. Conversely, a defender can come to bring the excess during the offensive phases. The medium grounds can be integrated into the lines of attack or defense according to the circumstances, so that the tactical device can radically change during the part. Capacity of adaptation of the tactical device, according to the circumstances (marked or boxed goal, change of player in the opposing team, expulsion or wound…) is often determining today. Consequently, the versatility of a player is an appreciable asset that a good trainer will be able to use when he considers it necessary. Thus, of many professional players are able to play several stations, and they are particularly required by the large clubs.

Tactical evolution

At the beginning, football was played 10 front, today, it is played 10 behind . It is generally thought that this sentence was written there is little, but it dates in fact from the Années 1950! Thus, it will be advisable here to twist the neck with certain stereotypes.

The first tactical revolution was to pass from the “dribbling” to the “passing” between 1860 and 1880. Before this date, the play consisted especially with dribbler of recluse the adversaries which were presented, while then it is discovered that a well thought master key can put in difficulty a whole defense. The continuous improvement of the quality of the balloons and the grounds will contribute to anchor the master key in the culture of football. In front of this revolution, the legislator retorted by the rule of the off-side which prevented the center-forwards from camping in front of the unfavourable goal. Before the years 1920, one not needed two (a defender and the guard, for example) but three players between the line of goal and the player who received a master key. The center-forward was to then have still solids qualities of dribbles in order to conclude an action. This period was the golden age of “number 9”.

After the reform of the off-side of the years 1920 (2 players for the off-side, and either 3), the facts of the case change, and Herbert Chapman develops a tactic revolutionary, known as in “WM” which enables him to collect the trophies with Portsmouth then with Arsenal. The ACE Cannes was one of the first French clubs to adopt this tactic as of 1931. The WM reigned as an absolute master until in 1953 and the famous defeat of the English in residence vis-a-vis the Hungarian. Indeed of many trainers tried to find a parade to the WM, the solution will come from Hungary and the Budapest Honvéd with Gusztáv Sebes. This last applied a tactic based on the permutations during the play - what was not done at the time -, indeed before center moved back by proposing a race of support and left room to the rise of the two offensive mediums what involved an excess compared to the adversary. The Hungarians were the first estimated that a player could exceed his role. These innovative principles for the time supported the passage to 4-2-4. The Brésiliens adopted this formula of the 4-2-4 and made it evolve/move gradually into 4-3-3 during the years 1960, this positioning will remain majority until the years 1970.

In parallel of this history of the offensive tactics, there exists also a defensive school. Swiss bolt set up as of the years 1930 is the model of all the concretes (French) and others Catenaccio (Italian) which takes over after the Second world war. In France, the formations which apply these strategies quasi religieusement are Lyon, Strasbourg and especially Bordeaux, the impregnable fortress .

The rise to power of creative medium grounds to the manner of Cruyff, Platini and others Maradona required a new defensive adaptation, but in this field, all, or almost, had already been tested. In fact, the tacticians never found really parade to control such players. Since the years 1980, however, the tendency is clearly with the defensive, and the old debate which opposed a long time holding them of the play open (Nantes or Rheims, for example) to those of defensive realism (Bordeaux or Lyon, in particular) is obsolete. The play with Nantes is nothing any more but one dream, while the Of Gironde ones of Bordeaux and other OL do not practice any more the play closed the their aïeux ones. With the speed of the transfers of players, the tactical cultures are less the fact of clubs than trainers, of which most known and most durable with the high level preferences for such or such diagram develop. One notes in fact a certain tactical levelling, mainly because of the development of a new terribly effective weapon in tactic: video images.

A long time fatherland of the tactic, the Italy gives up these old crazes recently. In England, tactical culture forever really be of setting, and it will be necessary to wait the years 1960 to see the English giving up the old WM definitively. Today, of many English professional clubs still do not have tactical meetings with the programme of their preparation of before-match… But the arrival of foreign trainers is changing gives it.

The evolution towards always more defensive players seems today to have reached its limits. Defenses with five never had the dimension, and to go down in lower part from three or four players to offensive vocation (mediums and attackers), as in a great number of current teams, seems against-productive. The stress is laid on the versatility and the tightening of the lines, often summarized in the expression of “block-team”, which ends to a contraction of times and space available for the adversary. Defensive animation is standardized around fundamental invariable (participation of the ten players of field, replacement, reasoned steam pressing of the attackers, defense in zone and line). Is offensive animation the ground of more than experiments, of creativity (one, two or three attackers? offset leaders of play or a central leader?), giving to the strategists football of the wire with retordre for the years to come.

4-4-2

The 4-4-2 (four defenders, four medium grounds, 2 attackers) is one of the traditional diagrams of current football. Defense with four generally evolves/moves on line. The medium ground is usually composed of two central mediums. Those support the attacker at the time of possession of ball, and have a function of first defenders in the event of loss of ball. The two side mediums play a part of wingers. The Hungarian in the years 1950 or the Netherlands in the years 1970, for example, pushed this tactic with two wingers very offensive at the point to have a system of 4-2-4 (two medium grounds and four attackers) in phase of attack, to return to one 4-4-2 after the loss of the balloon.

This tactic allows also the application of the Catenaccio , or defensive double drapes. Operative medium ground on line in its own half of ground like a first line of defense. Four defenders, on line also, operating almost in their surface of réparation.
Another possible formation of the medium ground is called in English (diamond), or 4-1-2-1-2. It implies a medium ground placed in front of defense, two mediums which relay the ball, and an offensive medium, placed just behind the two attackers.

4-3-3

The 4-3-3 (four defenders, three medium grounds and three attackers) is a more offensive version of 4-4-2. If defense often evolves/moves on line as for the 4-4-2, the medium ground changes function. It is often with more defensive vocation, and must forward the ball quickly to the attack. This one is generally made up of an attacker of point and two side. The profile of the players composing it is the following: a traditional defense with preferably of side offensive, three medium grounds with an important volume of play (to mitigate the absence of the fourth element), two wingers fast and good centring devices and an attacker of point preferably athletic and equipped with a good play of head. It is this organization which made it possible England to be world champion in 1966.

4-2-4

This formation (four defenders, two medium grounds and four attackers) is rather not very widespread like basic training from the weakness of its medium ground. It is more often a version of the 4-4-2 in phase of attack, or formation used at the end of the part (by replacement of medium grounds by attackers) by a team which must absolutely mark. A team led to the score in a match of cut, for example.

Most of the time, it summarizes with one 4-4-2 offensive, with two attackers taking charges the corridors with them and supporting the two center-forwards. This formation was popularized following the exploit of the national team of Hungary which chooses this 4-2-4 to counter the famous WM of the English. This tactical choice enabled them to make fall England for the first time of its history with Wembley.

5-3-2

This formation with defensive vocation is based normally on a defense with three, of which one of the players can take the role of Libéro. The additional side defenders come to support the medium ground.

3-5-2

This formation is slightly more offensive than 5-3-2. Instead of reinforcing defense by two players who come to support the medium ground, one tries to create the excess in the middle of ground with two players with more offensive vocation.

There exist nevertheless alternatives with the center even of this system. If the principle remains the same one (to gain the battle of the medium and thus to make sure the control of the balloon), there are two principal versions: the offensive version, with two recuperators evolving/moving in front of the defense and a trio of animation in support of the two attackers; and the defensive version, made up of a line of four recuperators in front of defense and only one axial leader behind the two attackers.

5-4-1 and 4-5-1

These two absolutely defensive formations are generally developed during the course of the match by teams having already marked sufficient goals, or then wanting at all costs to avoid the defeat and operative in counter-attack. In the case of the 5-4-1, one often finds a defense with four with a Libéro. One can however see in the 4-5-1 of the possibilities of attacks. That depends on the orientation of the medium ground (cf.3-5-2), if the medium is in its “offensive” configuration, one can deduce a will from it to put all the offensive system at the service of single attacking, who would find oneself thus better constant. There is all the same a defect with this composition: a counter-attack little amongst other things to bring the balloon in the feet of the attacker of point which is only found with 30 meters of the goal having to await the reinforcement of one or two players to continue the projection what, of course, makes him waste time, time which is used by defense to position itself back. It can be very effective all the same when the attacker is a fast player, therefore only (e.g.: in extreme cases of the off-side) on a major master key or at least specifies by another player.

A strategy increasingly used is an alternative of the 4-5-1, the 4-2-3-1, in which one of the three mediums plays the part of offensive medium. It was the tactics mainly used by Raymond Domenech at the time of the world cup 2006; this tactic is also that with which the Olympique Lyonese conquered his 6 titles of champion of France.

The libéro terms and “posts 6-station 10”

The libéro terms and “poste6 - poste10” is spirit to disappear in the modern foot. For the libéro , the last player of the team right in front of the gatekeeper, is replaced by two central defenders with a tactic of defense on line, except play or steam pressing, i.e. a defense a little higher, a little more far from the gatekeeper. He is still in the regional levels (sometimes) and especially at the departmental level, where very often the tactical lack of culture, required to apply defense on line, of the players obliges the trainer to put a libéro to reduce the disagreements between the two axial defenders. For the item 6 , a player right in front of the libéro is also antiquated, one replaces it by the defensive medium term which varies according to the adopted tactics, it can be a defensive medium, it can be two defensive mediums like the case of France with two defensive mediums Makélélé and Vieira. In the same way, item 10 which is another axis right in front of item 6 and is sometimes a medium of the two center-forwards, just behind, replaced by the term offensive medium and the number of this last also varies according to the tactics adopted like the case of Brazil (seleçao) with two offensive mediums Kakà and Ronaldinho. In fusion of these the last two terms, one speaks about player who supports two at the same time offensive and defensive roles, one speaks in this term about a relay runner-recuperator, this term is created because it is with this axis which depends the relai with the attackers and defenders thus with this place also which exists much the recovery of ball.

Reference

  • Benigni, A. and Al - Football. - Paris: Editions De Vecchi, 1999. - 403 p. - ISBN 2-7328-6739-X. - Dewey Dimension: 796.334 F687 1999. - ( diagrams of play since the origins , pages 271-278).

External bonds

http://www.entraineurdefoot.com/lattore.html
http://www.soccer-trainer.fr ----

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