Modern442FormationTheory

ByHumanAfazeli
Background
Duringthedominanceof 352formationinthefootballarena,442wasitsonly
rival.ArrigoSacchiofMilanbroughtnewaversionof442totheworldoffootball
onthelate80s.Theearlyshiftfromthe352to442startedafterEuro92.Many
teamsinSerieAofItalystartedusingthemodern442systemastheItalianNational
Teamwasusingitatthesametime.
AfterWC94,themodern442becametheworldwidedominantformation.
Differentversionsofithavebeenutilizeduptopresenttimesaccordingtoteams
strategiesandplayers.
DifferentPartsofField
Beforegoingthroughtheoreticalaspectsofthe442,letsturnourattentiontoa
basicfeatureoffootball,i.e.fielddivisions.
Asillustratedinfigure1parta,afootballfieldisdividedinto3partsinwidth,and3
differentpartsinlengthinpartb.
Inparta,thedefensive1/3isthemostimportantpartindefense.Allofthe
defensiveprincipalsmustbecommittedinthisarea.Themiddle1/3istheareathe
cornerstonesofattackingareestablished.Herethemidfieldersmustprovide
aggressivecoverageforthedefendinglines.Theattacking1/3isthepartinwhicha
teammayparticularlycommittooffensiveprincipals.
Attacking1/3
Defensive1/3
Middle1/3
Parta:3partsinwidth
Right1/3
Left1/3
Middle
1/3
Partb:3partsinlength
Figure 1
The1/3sinpartb,areoftwokindsnamelycentralandlaterals.Thecentralpartis
thefirstpartthatmustbecoveredbydefendersduringthedefense.Lateralpartsare
ofsecondimportance.Inattacking,afterthecentralpartiscapturedbyattackers,the
lateralpartstoareutilizedtocreatecracksamongdefendersoftheoppositionwho
aredefendinginthecentral1/3.Alsothelateral1/3isusedforcrossingintothebox
whenthereisnogapamongthedefenders.
Mixingaandbup,figure2isconcocted.Asitisillustrated,9equalzonescanbe
seen.
TheoreticalBasisof442versus352
Thetheoreticalbasesofnew442havebeenestablishedregarding9zonesinfigure
2.Formingthesebases,twoaspectsfollowedtoreducethedisadvantagesofthe352
whilegainingtheadvantagesofit.
Thefirstaspectistofillallzonesinthefigureupduringattacks.Themore,the
better.Thesecondoneistobecoveredduringthedefenseandtobesupportedin
attacks.Thesetwoimportantaspectsledexpertstothemodern442.
Asitcanbeseeninfigure3,thetypical442coversmorezonesthan352.The
wingmidfielderscanbeseentohavemoresupportinthe442.
352 fills5partsoffield 442fills7partsoffield
Bycombiningpartsa&boffigure1,
9zonescanberevealed
Figure 2
Figure 3
Infigure3,oneextraareaofsupportcanbeseenfromthebackforwingersin442
(i.e.4areas)while352provides3areasassupports.
Thedetailshavebeenfullyexpressedinthefollowingtable.
Formation Totalcovered
zones
Totalplayersonlateral1/3s Totalplayerson
lengthymid1/3
Totalplayerson
defending1/3
Totalplayerson
widemid1/3
Totalplayerson
attacking1/3
352 5 2 8 3 5 2
442 7 4 6 4 4 2
LineByLineAnalysis
Inthispart,Linebylineanalysis,generalideasofformation,playersrolesin
defenseandoffensewillbebrieflydescribed.Itisalsoclearthatplayersrolesshould
bedeterminedbythecoachduetoopponentssystemsanddifferentvariationsofthe
formation.
Letsturnourattentiontothestandard442.Asitcanbeseeninfigure3,three
linescanbedistinguishedintheformation.Eachlinesdutiesareoftwokinds,
defendingandattacking.
q Defenders
Theyareoftwokinds.Lateralsandcentrals
Laterals:
Attackingduties:Asithasshowninfigure4,lateraldefendersarefreetomove
forwarduptoattacking1/3ofrival.
Defendingduties:Theyshouldrecovertotheirproperplacesduetothe
concentrationprinciplesoffootball.
Centrals:
Attackingduties:Thecentraldefendersarethefirstattackingelementofateam.
Previously,themostimportantattackingplayerswereamongthemidfielderswhere
theycreatedanyoffensivemovement.Atthemoment,duetolackofspaceandtime
inthemidfield,defendersareconsideredasabigassetincreatingoffenses.
Amongdefenders,centralshavemoreimportantrolesduringtheactionasthe
creaters,thanlateralswhoarejustparticipants.Centralsdefinethedirectionofthe
offense.
Figure5
Thedefenderstrytousewidthofthepitchtoformanoffense.The
grayarrowsshowthedirectionoftheirmovement
Grayarrowsshowtheattackingpathwhilethebluesshow
defendingpath
Figure4
Defendingduties:Theirdefendingdutiesvaryregardingthedefendingsystem.The
movingpathcanbeseeninfigure6,foraflatsystemandasweepersystem.
q Midfielders:
Themidfieldersareoftwokinds,asarethedefenders(i.e.lateralsandcentrals).
Centrals:
Attackingduties:Usually,oneofthecentralmidfieldersisthearchitectof
aggressionsonthepitchwhiletheotheronesupportshim.Asitcanbeseeninfigure
7,thesetwoplayersshouldsupplementeachothersactions.
Asithasbeenillustratedinfigure7,thecentraldefender(lightblue)definesthe
directionofmovementbypassingtheballforlateraldefenders(darkblues)orcentral
midfielders.Centralmidfielders(i.e.redandgray)havedifferentduties.Theredis
responsibleforwideorlongwideballstothewings(usually40or50meterspasses),
whilethegrayonesresponsibiltyispassingballthroughthegapsbetweenthe
defendersoftheopponent(usuallyby20or30meterpasses).
Figure6
Flatsystem:theyperformconcentrationwhile
theygetneartoeachother.Bluearrowsshowthe
directions
Sweepersystem:oneofthecentralstriestostop
(actingasastopper)theattacker(redtriangle)
whiletheotheroneiscoveringhim(sweeping)
Figure7
Blacktriangle:opponentdefenders Lightbluecircle:centraldefender
Bluecircles:lateraldefenders RedandGraycircles:centralmidfielders
Arrows:movingdirection Lines:passingdirections
Defendingduties:Thedefendingdutieshavebeenshowninfigure8.Oneofthem
shouldengagetheopposingplayerwhocarriestheball,toachieveenoughtimefor
hisdefenderstogetintotheirpositions(delayprincipleindefense).Theotherone
shouldcoverthecriticalspacebetweenthecentraldefendersasyoucanseeinfigure
8.
Laterals:
Lateralmidfieldersin 442shouldtrytoassistbothcentralmidfieldersandlateral
defenders.
Attackingduties:Asitcanbeseeninfigure9,lateralmidfielderstendtomoveover
intocentral1/3ofthepitchcreating,enoughroomforlateraldefenderstomoveon.
Theyalsohelpcentralmidfieldersbysupportingthemormovingintotheopposing
defenders'gaps.Inthiscasetheyarealsoassistingstrikers.
Insometeamstheyareresponsibleforcrossingtheballintothebox.Inothersthey
shouldactasastrikerwhenoneofthestrikersisinacrossingsituation.Thissituation
willbediscussedinattackingdutiesofstrikers.
Defendingduties:Themostimportantresponsibilityoflateralmidfieldersisto
coverthelateral1/3partofthepitch.Heretheyhelplateraldefendersbycovering
Centralmidfielder(gray)trystoengageopponentplayer(blacktriangle)togainmore
timeforhisdefenders.Thedefensivemidfielder(red)coversthecriticalspace
(redtriangle)betweencentraldefenders(darkblues).
Figure8
Thelateralmidfieldersmovefromtheirclassicalpositions(hollow circles)to
thecenterofpitchwhilelateraldefenders(darkblues)aremovingontothe
attacking1/3.Lateralmidfieldersalsousegapsbetweenthedefenders(black
triangles)toattackortocross.Arrowsshowthepathsanddirections.
Figure9
thespacebetweenthecentralandlateraldefenders.Thesituationisshowninfigure
10.
Theyalsoprovidecoveragetothecentralmidfielders.Asitwasmentionedbefore,
morefightinginthemidfieldisacrucialelementintoday'sfootball.
q Strikers
Possibleformationsforstrikershavebeendescribedinthe352formationarticle.
Inthispartwetrytostudythesituationinwhichtwostrikersarearrangedascentral
forwards.Thisformationisthemostcommonforattackers.
Attackingduties:Attackingdutiesofstrikersvaryduetothecoachsideas.
Normally,strikersshouldusethegapsbetweendefenders'forpositioning.In some
teams,theyareresponsibleforusingthecrossingareainordertocross.Inthiscase,
thelateralmidfielderactsasastrikertoscore.Thesituationhasbeenshowninfigure
11,partc.
Lateralmidfieldersbackofffromattackingposition(hollowcircles)to
defendingposition(graycircles)tocoverthegapbetweencentralandlateral
defenders(graytriangles).Theyalsohelpcentralmidfieldersinthefights.
Bluearrowsshowthepaths.
Figure10
Figure11
Standardpositioningfortwocentralstrikers(graycircles)
against4defenders(blacktriangles).Thebluelinesshowthe
directionofmidfielder(bluecircle)passesandgrayarrows
showthemovingdirectionsofstrikerstousethem.
a
Thestriker(blue)movestocrossingarea(graypart)from
itsstandardposition(hollowcircle)tocross.Second
striker(anotherblue)movestothefirstpost.Right
midfielder(green)movestosecondpost.Leftmidfielder
(red)movesintotheboxtosupportcrosser.Leftdefender
(black)movesuptoattacking1/3tosupportcrosser
c
Somecoachespreferthecentraldefenders'gaptobeused.The
midfielder(blue)passestheballforstrikers(grays)into2
angels.Thebluelinesshowthepassesdirections.Arrowsshow
themovingdirectionsofstrikers.
b
Itiseasytofindtheimportanceofgettingadvantagesingapsamongthedefenders
duringtheoffense,andcoveringthemindefense.
Defendingduties:Asmentionedbefore,defendersarefirstattackerswhenthey
capturetheball.Bythesametoken,strikersarefirstdefenderswhentheballislost.
Theyshouldengagetheopponentstobuyenoughtimeforteammatestoreposition.
Mostofthefamousstrikers(MarcoVanBastenorJurgenKlinsmann)havebeenofa
greathelpinbuyingtheirdefensestime.
ThedifferencebetweenModernandOld442
The442hasbeenmodifiedduringthedominanceof 352.Theoriststriedtocover
theweakpointsof442inordertousetheadvantagesofitastheyfaced
disadvantagesof352.Inthispartthedifferencesofmodernandold442shave
beenbrieflydiscussed.
Themainideaofthestandardformofoldthe442hasbeenbasedonoverlapson
lateralsides.Duringthistime,therewasoneortwopreparedpatternsbeing
developed,inordertoscoreinthecenter.Intheold442,lateraldefenderswere
responsibleforcrossingtheballintotheboxafteroverlaps.Inthemodern442,just
theoppositehappens,asthecrossesaremadebystrikersorlateralmidfielders.The
differenceshavebeenillustratedinfigure12.
Previouspartsofthisarticlehavedealtwiththetheoreticalbasisofthenew442.As
pointedout,manyothervariationsarepossibleforeachpart.
HumanAfazeliisworkingfortheIranSoccerFederationEducationalDepartmentastheheadofa
projecttoimprovethetacticalknowledgeofcoachesintheAzadeganLeague(Professional).He
willbewritingsomefuturearticleswhichwillpostedontheOSYSAwebsitewhenavailable.
Old442.Lateraldefendersmovetocrossingzonestocross
intoboxaftertheypasstheballtomidfielders.Lateral
midfieldersmovetothecenterofthepitchtoprovideenough
roomfordefendersmovesandpasstheballintocrossingzones.
Linesshowpassingball.Arrowsshowmovingdirections.
a
Lateraldefendersmoveuptoattacking1/3ofthepitch.Lateral
midfieldersmovetothecenterofthepitchtoassistcentral
midfieldersandstrikers.Strikersmovetocrossingzonesto
crosstheballintothebox.Arrowsshowthemovingdirections.
b