Although Bayer Leverkusen’s treble charge and 51-match unbeaten run was ended by an inspired Atalanta side in the Europa League final, Xabi Alonso’s men have since added the DFB-Pokal to their historic Bundesliga triumph. ‌ This league and cup double has propelled...

The tactics deployed by elite football teams tend to influence the low-tier and grassroot levels of the sport. ‌ Recently, the success of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City has encouraged coaches to create position and possession-based systems, which require a certain...

Much of the recent criticism of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revolved around a perceived lack of team identity, with his side at times appearing to press high and simultaneously maintain a relatively low defensive block. ‌ Ultimately, the definition and...

While pressing has always been a part of football (at all levels pf the game too), it has arguably gained increased tactical importance in top flight leagues around the world during the previous decade. As players have become fitter, they’ve also become more adept at...

In many ways, football’s incredible history has been at least partially shaped by tactical trends and innovations. ‌ From Hungary’s iconic 3–2–3–2 formation and deployment of a deep-lying forward in the 1950s to the emergence of the iconic 4-4-2 shape midway through...

The UK is widely considered to be the home of football, and this is borne out by the fact that the 10 oldest football clubs in the world all herald from either England, Scotland or Wales. Of course, several of these clubs have laid claim to being the oldest football...

Whether you’re enjoying a simple kickabout in your garden or an experienced Premier League footballer, it’s crucial that you play with the right size balls that also have the correct air pressurisation. This can help to optimise the experience of playing football...

Given the tribal and emotive nature of football, it should come as no surprise that the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and its associated technology has become a hot and often controversial talking point. However, many fans remain unsure about VAR and how it works,...

While most tactical setups that we see deployed in modern football are variations of the classic 3-5-2 or 4-4-2 shapes, each tend to be increasingly defined and dictate relatively specific roles to individual players. Take the 4-1-4-1 shape, for example, which has...

Ever since Sky Sports commissioned Opta to track Premier League team and player data ahead of the 1996/97 season, fans and pundits have been more tactically aware and more likely to use relatively technical terms. These include “passing through the lines”, which...

When coaching forums and discussions reference counterattacking, most of the focus is on how to execute this tactic rather than defend against it. However, counterattacking can be a devastating style of play, and one that’s particularly effective against offensive...

The tactical side of football is always evolving, although it can be argued that such trends tend to be circular in nature. For example, it wasn’t too long ago that players like Lionel Messi and even Kevin De Bruyne (briefly) were being successfully deployed as...

In days gone by, football managers like Sir Kenny Dalglish Sir Alex Ferguson were omnipotent at their respective football clubs, taking responsibility for everything from the organisation of the first team and handling player contracts to liaising with the canteen...

It seems that virtually every football side is playing with so-called “inverted fullbacks” in the modern game, with this representing one of the most significant tactical developments in recent times. This also continues the ongoing evolution of the fullback, who were...

Historically, counterattacking has been one of the great equalisers in football, enabling ordinary and largely unfancied sides to achieve unlikely successes. The Greece side that won the 2004 European Championship in Portugal built their success on a solid defensive...

If there’s one tactical trend that continues to dominate football, it’s the use of an increasingly compact defensive block. This applies to both high and low defensive blocks too, as teams look to squeeze the central areas of the pitch and optimise their chances of...

There’s no doubt that modern football teams are adopting increasingly compact blocks when in and out of possession, regardless of whether this is deep in nature or high up the pitch. This was in evidence during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where sides like...

Recency bias is something that often distorts football analysis, with records achieved prior to 1992 and the advent of the Premier League often disregarded by younger fans. Similarly, currently players and managers are often afforded reverential and disproportionate...

While football teams have always pressed their opponents to some degree or another, the modern game has seen the sophistication of this tactic and the evolution of more organised, collective pressing. Nowadays, the overwhelming majority of top flight teams adopt some...

While few sides deploy man marking in open play in the modern age, this remains a common and arguably preferable tactic when defending set pieces. In fact, the debate between man and zonal marking continues to rage at all levels of football, with each offering...

Earlier in this series, we discussed the best defensive strategies when playing against a team in a 3-5-2 shape. However, the 3-4-3 is arguably a more contemporary and popular iteration of the 3-5-2 formation, with this having been deployed by great managers like...

Pressing is now arguably the most studied and talked about tactical concept in the sport of football, having entered the mainstream since the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp in the Premier League some eight or nine years ago. Nowadays, the ability to...

Football has evolved through numerous tactical phases over the years, from the simplistic, attack-laden formations of the early 20th century to the Italian-inspired and highly organised ‘Catenaccio’ system that was incredibly defensive and helped Inter Milan win...

If the iconic 4-4-2 formation is synonymous with the previous generation of English football, it’s the 4-3-3 shape that defines modern-day football. This has been deployed with distinction by managers like Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Erik Ten Hag, for example,...

While it’s fair to say that the low defensive block is no longer in vogue, it has been effectively deployed by successful coaches throughout the 21st century. Two of the tactics main supporters are Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone, with the latter’s defence-minded and...

Nowadays, the combination of a technical director and head coach is commonplace in football, with this particular model proving highly successful for clubs like Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. This is a far cry from the 1990s, which saw a number of...

People almost talk about the iconic 4-4-2 formation with a sense of nostalgia, with this having become less commonplace in an age where midfield dominance and the deployment of fluid attacking lines take precedence. However, this shape has enjoyed something of a...

Pretty much all of Europe’s leading sides now adopt some form of high pressing game, from EPL giants like Liverpool and Manchester City to Bayern Munich and Xavi’s Barcelona team. Of course, this philosophy was a direct response to the threat posed by low defensive...

Tactical trends in football tend to be cyclical, with the notion of playing with three at the back once again in vogue at elite level. Certainly, managers like Thomas Tuchel (primarily with Chelsea) and PSG’s Christophe Galtier have deployed a 3-5-2 formation or...

Back in 2012, the FA voted through a number of major changes to how youth football was structured in England, in order to place a greater emphasis on the development of technical skills rather than winning in the short-term. Of the 778 votes cast in total, some 87%...