All Soccer Formations

This book takes an in-depth look at nine of the most popular modern soccer formations used today. Each formation is explained in all the phases of the game, and ready to use training sessions are provided for teaching the formations. It does no good to teach defending shape in a low-block, if you ignore training defending in the middle, and attacking thirds of the field. If you teach attacking in the attacking third, but neglect to teach the build-up play from the back, what are you really teaching? If you are a ball possession oriented team, the coach should understand that it takes between 15-25 passes to transition from building up the attack, to complete attacking organization shape, in the attacking 1/3. This means the team must be instructed on how the overall shape will change during the 15-25 pass build up, and how the team shape will transition and change if the ball is lost. The coach must teach the formation in all the phases of play, the players should understand the formation, the game model and their exact responsibility in all phases of play. Ultimately, formations are simply starting points, it is up to the coach to create the game model and tactics, filling in all the blanks. Formations serve as the general structure, like an Artists blank canvas, as the bulk of the work is yet to come. The old saying, "the devil is in the details," couldn't be more true, especially when speaking about formations. Hopefully this book will provide you with some valuable ideas when it comes to coaching formations, and you can take those ideas to become a more effective coach. The major European soccer leagues, used around 17 different formations, in the 2017-2018 season. The leagues with the widest variety of formations were, the German Bundesliga, and the Italian Serie A, using 15 different formations each. The most conservative league was the French Ligue 1, with just 9 formations used. By far, the most popular formations used were, the 4-4-2 (22% of all games), 4-2-3-1 (21% of all games) and the 4-3-3 (13% of all games). A four-person defense was featured in 75% of all formations, while a three-person defense was featured in 19% of formations.

"An outstanding work the [soccer] book of the decade." -- Sunday Business Post Inverting the Pyramid is a pioneering soccer book that chronicles the evolution of soccer tactics and the lives of the itinerant coaching geniuses who have spread their distinctive styles across the globe. Through Jonathan Wilson's brilliant historical detective work we learn how the South Americans shrugged off the British colonial order to add their own finesse to the game; how the Europeans harnessed individual technique and built it into a team structure; how the game once featured five forwards up front, while now a lone striker is not uncommon. Inverting the Pyramid provides a definitive understanding of the tactical genius of modern-day Barcelona, for the first time showing how their style of play developed from Dutch "Total Football," which itself was an evolution of the Scottish passing game invented by Queens Park in the 1870s and taken on by Tottenham Hotspur in the 1930s. Inverting the Pyramid has been called the "Big Daddy" (Zonal Marking) of soccer tactics books; it is essential for any coach, fan, player, or fantasy manager of the beautiful game.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the terms, principles & strategies of modern soccer & the roles of all players in both the defensive & offensive phases.In his discussion of offense, the author addresses the role of the player with the ball & his various options as well as the players without the ball & their necessary supporting movements. Defensively, the role of the player defending the man in possession is analyzed as well as the organization of the defenders not marking the ball. The concepts of depth, penetration & encompassing movements on offense & forcing, covering & marking on defense are explained & clearly diagrammed. This is a valuable coaching reference for both new & experienced coaches. :

The 3-5-2 is a very dynamic and flexible system; it can be an ultra-attacking formation or solid defensive formation depending on how it is deployed. In attack the 3-5-2 is numerically strong in the midfield and comes with the benefit of two strikers. Creating width in the attack is never a problem with two wingers and strikers that could also run the channels. The formation is naturally set-up to encourage movement off the ball with the interchanging of positions when in possession; the interchanging of positions and movement off the ball allows different players the opportunity to fill different spaces, making the 3-5-2 more dynamic and difficult for the opponent to predict and deal with. In the modern game I personally find many advantages to playing the 3-5-2 formation, due to its fluid attacking potential and less focus on keeping numbers back. The defensive side of the 3-5-2 presents the formations biggest challenges, yet it can also be seen as a strength if the players understand how to form a back four or five in the correct situations. With only three defenders in the back, covering space in deep wide areas must be addressed and dealt with effectively. In order to offset the possible defensive weakness that come with three players not being able to cover the entire width of the field, the coach must choose player personnel and more importantly the formations tactics wisely. In this book I will cover multiple ways the 3-5-2 can be played to maximize its strengths, while turning the formations possible negatives into positives. When breaking down and analyzing any formation, it is important to note that the difference between formations is about 10 yards in player positioning. You can make an argument that most formations are similar and difficult to identify once the game has started. The transition from defending to attacking and attacking to defending creates totally new shapes from the original formation. The game of soccer is a free-flowing game but inside that flow there must be a structure which drives individual and team decisions. The coach is the one who will lay out the important tactical guidelines for the execution of the formation, so it is important to note that the same formation can be carried out in many different ways, depending on the coach. Tactics that will influence the way the formation played include things like setting a line of restraint, establishing a line of confrontation, identifying pressing zones, outlining counter-attacking areas, realizing when to press or drop-off, addressing the overall style of soccer to be played, player personnel, work load, location of the game, weather conditions, field conditions and much more. All these factors will directly influence the way a formation is played.

A collection defensive and offensive soccer strategies.

A GROUND BREAKING FIRST IN SOCCER, this book identifies and describes all the 512 possible 10 man geometrical formations available for play. It is quirky, revealing and inspiring! Delve in and explore the various shapes, their hidden character and analytical meaning. An absolute must see for coaches, players and football savants!

Aimed primarily at intermediate and advanced coaches, this book examines the principle formations used in modern soccer and the need to fully understand them all if one is to adapt to game situations using counter-active tactics. The authors discuss such offensive topics as support, width, penetration, mobility and improvisation. Defensively, they provide insight into depth, delay, concentration, team balance, cover and restraint. Chapters include: Three Man Defense, Four Man Defense, One Forward System, Two Forward System, Three Forward System Well organized and clearly written, this is an outstanding coaching book.

This book is a comprehensive resource for coaching the 4-3-3 formation at all levels. The level of detail will help you emulate how top coaches, such as Pep Guardiola, Maurizio Sarri and Jürgen Klopp use the 4-3-3 to great success. It will enable you to see all the solutions, in order to optimise your team's tactical awareness and performance.