A Coach’s Guide to the 4-3-3 A Tactical Overview of the System Including Training Sessions, Variations and Functional Exercises by Michele Tossani Published by WORLD CLASS COACHING First Printing April, 2012 WORLD CLASS COACHING 3404 W 122 Terr Leawood, KS 66209 (913) 402-0330 All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Edited by Tom Mura Cover Design by P2 Creative ©WORLD CLASS COACHING Page | 2 A Coach’s Guild to the 4-3-3 Table of Contents Page 4 Introduction Page 7 Formation Page 10 Player Responsibilities Page 10 Center Backs Page 11 Outside Backs Page 13 Midfield Trio Page 18 Attackers Page 22 Defensive Phase Page 41 The Offensive Phase – How the Best Coaches Run the 4-3-3 Page 53 The Czech Way Page 58 The 4-3-3 Around Europe Page 62 In Depth Look at Offensive Movements Page 76 Transition Phase Page 84 How to Train the 4-3-3 ©WORLD CLASS COACHING Page | 3 A Coach’s Guild to the 4-3-3 INTRODUCTION The Brazilian National Team under Aymoré Moreira in 1962 was one of the first top tier teams to use the 4-3-3 formation. It was a variation from the 4-2-4 previously employed by the Brazilians. Subsequently other great teams have made this configuration famous. Most know the 4-3-3 formation was utilized by the fathers of the modern soccer era: the members of the Holland National Team at the 1974 and 1978 World Cups. The 4-3-3 was also utilized by Dutch club teams during the European Cups throughout the 1970s. At the 1978 World Cup, the winning champions of Argentina were lined up in a 4-3-3 formation by Coach Luis Cesar Playersotti. His aggressive 4-3-3 style was modelled after the Dutch 4-3-3 configuration. He employed Mario Kempes up top with Americo Gallego as the holding midfielder in front of the back four. Johan Cruyff was insistent on using a 4-3-3 formation, pointing out that a triangle will beat a line. Cruyff’s style is based on the creation of triangles. The biggest factor in 2000s soccer has been the switch from a 4-4- 2 formation to configurations with a lone forward. Both the 4-2-3- 1 and 4-3-3 formations focus on three central midfielders and have become the most utilized patterns in the modern era. The increased utilization of 4-3-3 formations is due to the difficulty in finding a defensive solution against the 4-3-3. Playing a 4-3-3 formation against a 4-4-2 formation gives you the advantage of having an extra man in the middle and allows your team to more easily dominate possession against a team playing with just two central midfielders. “Look, if I have a triangle in the midfield – Claude Makelele behind and two others just in front – I will always have an advantage against a pure 4-4-2 where the central midfielders are side by side. That’s because I will always have an extra man. It starts with ©WORLD CLASS COACHING Page | 4 A Coach’s Guild to the 4-3-3 Makelele who is between the lines. If nobody comes to him, he can see the whole pitch and has time. If he gets closed down, it means one of the two other central midfielders is open. If they are closed down and the other team’s wingers come inside to help, it means there is space now for us on the flank, either for our own wingers or for our full-backs. There is nothing a pure 4-4-2 can do to stop things.”1 This is Josè Mourinho’s way of thinking. However, he once said that his 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 configurations are not so different regarding the players’ positions and the process of building triangles. Also the principles of play are similar. Mourinho, at FC Porto, changed his original formation because the original formation was becoming automated and known by the opposing players; he opted to build another configuration to use during the same campaign or even the same game. With many attackers able to play as a lone forward, the consequence was the common use of a 4-3-3 formation. This configuration gives a coach the ability to change the attacking wingers and to have better coverage in the middle with three central midfielders. The 4-3-3 formation provides the opportunity to run a pro-active offensive game. This configuration lines up balanced lines throughout the whole pitch, creating triangles of players pivotal for position play. Every line is covered with almost 3 players. But how is this pattern utilized in today? Who are the most famous coaches employing this system? What kind of 4-3-3 can you see? That part of the team strategy depends on players’ skills, coach’s preferences, and the team’s tradition. “I've always said that Porto had a system base, and has an established pattern that passes by a set of principles governing 1 G. Vialli, G. Marcotti, The Italian Job, Oscar Mondadori, pp. 159-160, Milano, 2007. ©WORLD CLASS COACHING Page | 5 A Coach’s Guild to the 4-3-3 the tactical organization. The configuration of the team, games, and players, will sometimes force us to reposition the players so it seems as if they are playing another system. But the important thing is that the model does not change, but is becoming stronger and more stable. Regardless of the system, it is important that players act in accordance with our principles to defend and to attack," said former Porto’s head coach Jesualdo Ferreira2. This book takes a look into the best 4-3-3s and provides some drills to train for its use. 2 A. Dias, O modelo de jogo enquanto referencial orientador da tomada de decisão do jogador de futebol: estudo da congruência da transição defesa-ataque da equipa de FC Porto a partir das perspectivas do treinador Jesualdo Ferreira e do jogador Lucho González, FADEUP, 2009 ©WORLD CLASS COACHING Page | 6 A Coach’s Guild to the 4-3-3 I -- THE FORMATION The 4-3-3 pattern is one of the most utilized formations in recent seasons. The defense starts with a four man back line. The midfield is lined up in a triangular arrangement. The attackers are lined up with a center forward and two strikers, one on each side; the strikers can be close or spread out, depending on the coach’s preference. ©WORLD CLASS COACHING Page | 7 A Coach’s Guild to the 4-3-3 Some coaches, such as Barcelona’s head coach Pep Guardiola, are asking for more ball control and passing. Other coaches want less ball retention in order to get to the goal quickly. Playing a high-tempo offensive style makes it harder to defend against, even for a team with great defensive organization. The formation, with three forward up front, is an offensive choice. The ball has to be played quickly up to the forwards to achieve the objective of leading the game into the opposition's field as soon as possible. The 4-3-3 is naturally suited to creating player triangles which makes it easier for the team to build up passes. The 4-3-3 main objective is to make the field bigger, in both width and depth, to create an imbalance for the rival team. ©WORLD CLASS COACHING Page | 8 A Coach’s Guild to the 4-3-3 Teams that won matches or tournaments playing soccer with this this configuration were: • Brazil National Team, winners 1962 FIFA World Cup • Juventus F.C., Serie A, winners 1994/95 and UEFA Champions League Winners 1995/96 • Rosenborg B.K. of Norway, 3-in-a-row league wins • Chelsea FC and Barcelona’s latest seasons • Teams coached by Czech Zdeněk Zeman ©WORLD CLASS COACHING Page | 9 A Coach’s Guild to the 4-3-3 Player Responsibilities Center backs The defensive back line in a 4-3-3 formation is primarily responsible for covering space in their zones and then for marking rival players in this area. The sequence at which a defender has to pay attention is: ball position – teammates’ positions – rivals’ positions. Central backs and outside backs obviously have different duties. The central backs have to cover the depth and they have to be able to cover each rival player as needed according to the ball position: Often the center backs are tall and large but this can also work with a pair formed by a tall and large center back playing alongside a small and fast one such as FC Porto did in the 1990’s with the couple formed by Fernando Couto and Aloisio. The first one gave the team size and strength; the second tactical knowledge and speed. ©WORLD CLASS COACHING Page | 10 A Coach’s Guild to the 4-3-3 One of the two center backs must have sweeper ability; he has the duty of leading the defensive back four, calling for the offside trap if the team utilizes that function. The center backs must balance the team, allowing one or both of the outside backs to push forward in the attacking phase. The center backs need to read the situation of ball/open and ball/covered, calling for the back line to collapse back or to push forward.