Football Tactics: 11 of the Most Famous Football Tactics

soccer tactics

Football tactics are a scientific method known to everyone who loves football from past to present and that makes this sport beautiful. This scientific method has its origins in the 19th century. It can also be defined as the integration of football, which dates back to the end of the century and has the role of the backbone of sports today, with the mind.

One of the most important parts of football, which is also called foot ball and continues to exist by developing like everything else, is definitely football tactics. Considering the history of sports, it is an undeniable fact that the most widely played and followed sport today is football.

As such, the modernization of football itself is not just about the architectural modernization of the stadiums hosting the matches or the visibility of the clubs in the media. Football also draws attention as one of the centers where tactics clash and even the slightest geometric calculation can gain superiority over the opponent.


What is the Difference Between Tactics and Formation Terms in Football?

football lineups

Almost everyone who is closely or remotely related to football has heard of the concepts of formation and tactics. So much so that these terms are now used interchangeably because they are used so much. But it should be noted that there is a considerable difference between tactics and formation in football.

Many times, while clicking on a headline on the Internet or chatting with our friends about football, we have come across the parallel use of the two terms. When we talk about football tactics, we often talk about a system. A system that players depend on and obey.

The system determined by the coach and the technical team determines the role of each player and, more importantly, their mission on the field. The line-up is the structure that we call parcelling the field from past to present, in which the teams are divided into defense, midfield and attack.

In this sense, for example, the tactic or system used by a team in a 3-4-3 formation can completely reverse the roles of the players in this formation. In this sense, we can easily say that formation is a set of tactics, and tactic is a settlement for formation.


A Brief History of Football

It is very difficult to make a definite comment about the origin of football played on the fields whose width is 45*90 and 90*120 in dimensions modernly. Although it is a factual reality that it developed in England and spread all over the world from there, we now know that football was played much earlier. It should be noted though that this sport first earned its historic mission in England.

In terms of its origin, the extreme similarity of the game to football, which was called ‘episkiros’ by the people in Ancient Greece and there was no rule, draws attention. At the same time, it is claimed that the game called cuju, played in military camps in preparation for war in China, is scientifically the ancestor of football.

So, what do we know about the scientific side of football, which has survived to the present day and still maintains its popularity in the world? You can find the answer to this question by reviewing our list below. Here is a list of all the tactics used in football from the past to the present that we have prepared for you:


1) Above All There Was One School: The Danubian School

Danubian School

We are going back to the early years of traditional football, much before the industrial identity of football today. To those years when, so to speak, everyone fell in love with football and economic income did not come first. The Danubian School is just 20. It appears as a preferred system at a time when football was on the rise at the beginning of the century and was adopted by large masses.

We can also say that 2-3-5 (Pyramid), which has brought various successes in terms of its origin and is among the first formations, is put on the field as a system. It can be said that in the football tactics teaching of the Danubian School, there is a teaching based on short passes in the Pyramid lineup before it and enabling personal skill. The Danubian School is of great importance in the origin of the historical rise of Eastern European football.


2) The Legacy of Today’s Systems: Metodo

Methodo football tactics

The systematic continuation of Danubian, Metodo is a tactical formation consisting of the 2-3-5 system. In this system, unlike 2-3-5, two of the attacking players are pulled back, resulting in a system like 2-3-2-3. The driving force behind the emergence of this system is undoubtedly the defense deficits.

Developed in counter attacks and against a systematic passing game, Metodo is a system that brought success to the Italian national team throughout the 1930s. Today, it can be said that it is among the first period examples of football tactics preferred by various coaches and applied without giving up.

This system also means that a multiple attack turns into a multiple defense line in a short time. It is possible to say that Metodo has survived until today, with the increase of both defensive and offensive aspects of 2 players recruited from the offensive quintet.


3) An Effective Weapon Among Football Tactics: WM Tactic

wm tactic

The WM Tactic is among the systemic integrations that enable us to best understand the importance of the wingers and the midfield in football. WM is specially composed of 2 defensive and 5 offensive line conversions. According to this system, while 2 attack turns into 3 fixed attack; The 5 attack has a structure that is divided into two.

We can say that the WM Tactic takes its name from the letters that emerge from the integrity it creates between the offensive and defensive lines. We can talk about the golden ratio formed by the attack and defense of the team, which is parceled into the field as 3-2-2-3 in reverse.

According to this golden ratio, the middle area consists of 4 people; These 4 people have a mission that helps defense and attack when appropriate. We can say that it is a tactic that will be well known to those who are familiar with Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) or any game of Fifa.


4) The Irresistible Toughness of the Offense: The Verrou Tactic

Verrou's tactic

It is an undeniable fact that Italians have made many contributions to football. Among the contributions of Italians to football are the culture of the audience, football stars, legendary coaches, as well as various football systems. The Verrou Tactic is among these systems.

Among the football tactics, Verrou, which is among the attack-oriented systems as of its origin, means that almost all of the team plays close to the opponent’s penalty area. It is a football tactic that consists of 7 players taking an offensive position, although 3 players other than the goalkeeper play defensively.

As a result of the emergence of Verrou’s defensive weaknesses over the years, we can say that a combination of defensive and offensive tactic emerged.


5) An Offensive and Defensive Attitude: Total Football

total football

Total Football is among the systems that maintain its existence like a ghost among football tactics. If a ghost is lurking in football, it is undoubtedly none other than a few schools led by total football. It is possible to encounter total football in football academies, amateur or professional clubs, or in any astroturf match.

It is the method of spreading the entire field when the ball belongs to you, and narrowing the field to the opponent when you lose the ball. Let’s not forget that this tactic has brought countless successes to many coaches and teams in football.

Today, although we witness that total football is applied in certain periods of destiny matches, it should be noted that it is not a football tactic applied in all matches. It is also very important to stick to this system in the first period of the success of Barcelona’s legendary coach Pep Guardiola .


6) What Are Football Tactics For? Stun the Opponent and Control the Flow of the Game: Tiki Taka

tiki taka soccer tactics

Tiki Taka is among the systems that are a continuation of the Total Football system. The main idea in Tiki Taka is to control the ball and make mistakes to the opponent. However, it should be said that Tiki Taka also has a significant difference. It is a tactical system that broke away from the Total Football school and started by the legend of world football history, Johan Cruyff.

Today, Pep Guardiola, who has achieved numerous successes in teams such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, continues to follow Cruyff. In Tiki Taka, there is a system for ball control as well as ball loss. In fact, it can be said that the loss of the ball is a system on how to regain the ball.

The ball possession, which lasts for minutes, is expected to reach its peak and score a goal after the opponent makes a mistake. In a ball loss, just like in basketball, control of the ball is expected within seconds with a coordinated attack of all players.


7) “There is no line defense, there is line defense”: The Catenaccio Tactic

The Catenaccio Tactic

Among the football tactics, we can say Catenaccio without thinking about the one that most angers the opponent and the audience. In this tactic, where every moment of the game is based on defense, tying the hands of the opponent draws attention as the primary plan.

A goal is achieved as a result of planned counter-attacks. This football tactic, which became a hit in the 1960s and has almost disappeared today, is the name of a system that helps to bring down even the most aggressive attacks in history.


8) One of Us, All of us for Defense: Parking Bus

bus towing

If you’ve ever watched any of Jose Mourinho’s or Diego Simeone’s matches, you know more or less what the term bus pull means as a system. (Based on Mourinho’s career outside of Real Madrid) We can also call it another name for turning 90 minutes into hell on the opponent.

While doing this, it is also important to play a defense-oriented game, not an attack-oriented one. Bus Pulling system also means that players who pile up to the goal line, when appropriate, defend the entire game instead of seeing a goal in their goal.

Although it is thought to be a plan that is ostracized by most football fans and makes the game ugly, it is obvious that football is still the system that best restrains the offensive side. Let them pass, let them do it, after all, we can say that there is a thought that there is a bus in the castle.


9) Conditioning Must Have: Body Crush

body crush

Undoubtedly, every sport expects a high level of fitness. Since football is one of the sports where fitness is important, it should come as no surprise that a system based entirely on fitness is not possible. Among football tactics, Body Crush appears many times, especially in World Cups or European Cups. We’ve all come across an Eastern European team that plays hard and fresh.

We can say that this system, where the physical power is above everything else, has a middle name, whether it is physics, we can handle the rest somehow. The reason for this may be that football is seen as a sport that requires staying active for the entire 90 minutes. It is a fact that in this system where talent alone is not enough, athletics is more preferred.


10) An Inexhaustible Tradition Among Football Tactics: Kick and Rush

kick and rush

To talk about an inexhaustible tradition among football tactics, we will see Kick and Rush directly. It is the football system that emerged in England and is still mostly used in this country today. It is among the football tactics that are applied regardless of the in-game formation. It is also the system where the concept of diagonal pass is most common.

The moment the ball is snatched from the opponent, it also means starting a new attack by kicking the ball to the opposite wing by the fullbacks. In moments when the game is blocked, the guards try to develop a sudden attack by sending the ball to the player on the opposite wing. Although we often see it in England, the diagonal passes of football legend Roberto Carlos with Brazil and Real Madrid are legendary.


11) Today, When Football Tactics are Said, It Comes to Mind: GegenPressing

gegenpressing soccer tactics

It is the rare system that Jürgen Klopp , today’s football and success monster, added to his football legacy. Just as defense is above everything in Bus Pulling and Catenaccio, offense is at the heart of everything in GegenPressing. A game without offense is coded as a plan far from success.

He made this football tactic memorable with the game he played first in Borussia Dortmund and then in Liverpool. Apart from Jürgen Klopp, it is certain that the perception of the German football school based on attack and pressing played a major role in the emergence of this football tactic.

In this system, which almost turns the traditional attacking understanding of football upside down, while the fake nine replaces the predatory striker, it is noteworthy that athletic and talented attackers are preferred.


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Kategoriler: Strategy

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