4 3 3. These are not trivial numbers. Football experts know that it is a game system, a basic order on the pitch. And that's about an offensive variant.
Roughly speaking: 4 defenders, 3 Midfielders and 3 strikers. The origin of this formation can be found in the Netherlands. Trainer Rinus Michels established his game idea at Ajax Amsterdam in the 1970s.
What should go down in soccer history as “Voetbal Totaal” was developed by the soccer teacher together with his playing center forward Johan Cruyff. With this 4-3-3 tactic, Ajax won the European Cup of National Champions three times in a row from 1971 to 1973.
The system is still firmly anchored in Dutch soccer today. When bond coach Frank De Boer, who has since retired, deviated from this traditional game idea, he was met with enormous opposition.
Continuation of the “soccer total
What was transported after the move from Michels to FC Barcelona and later continued by coach Cruyff has many sequels today. One man who has continued to perfect “total soccer” is Pep Guardiola.
The recipe for success known as “tiki-taka” is based on the former 4-3-3 tactic from the Netherlands. The principle: All players should be able to play any position. Even the “Voetbal Totaal” from the 1970s was a development of earlier offensive playing styles.
Star striker Ferenc Puskas once described the Hungarian game philosophy of the “golden eleven” from 1950 to 1954 as “total soccer.” And in Austria, too, coach Ernst Happel (later Dutch bond coach at the 1978 World Cup) listened to the idea.
What distinguishes the 4-3-3 in “Voetbal Totaal” from previous variants is pressing. While it used to be possible again and again to dribble 50 meters across the field without being seriously attacked, the soccer total ended such solo runs a la Franz Beckenbauer out of defense.
The new idea: space cover instead of man covering. From now on, the defensive chains continued to increase when the opponent had possession of the ball and the players pushed themselves closer together. As a result, the ball leading opponent was put under increasing pressure, the time to think things through was reduced and the mispass rate increased.
Jürgen Klopp's success story
The topic of pressing reached a new dimension when a young Mainz coach took to the big soccer stage: Jürgen Klopp. According to his own statement, he is an advocate of “heavy metal soccer.” Since the successes with Borussia Dortmund, no soccer journalist has been able to avoid the differences between pressing and counterpressing.
A new, attractive soccer style conquered the whole of Europe with BVB and FC Liverpool. The basic rules for Klopp's game idea: 4-3-3. Influenced by his former Mainz coach Wolfgang Frank, the German soccer instructor implemented his tactical ideas for the first time at Rheinhessen. It was the beginning of a never-ending success story:
The Bundesliga promotion with 1. FSV Mainz 05, two championship titles and a DFB Cup victory with Borussia Dortmund, a Champions League victory and the long-awaited championship with FC Liverpool. The list is getting longer and longer.
The idea behind Klopp's victory: full-throttle soccer, even when the opponent has the ball. The basic idea of Klopp pressing is to isolate the player leading the ball (ideally one of the two central defenders*inside) by delivering the playing stations close to the ball. If the pass provoked by the offensive is then made, pressing is triggered.
In most cases, this is a cross pass between the two central defenders or a back pass; the dribbling of the ball leader could also be a “trigger”. When implemented optimally, the attack then captures the ball in the dangerous zone without having to combine itself there.
On the tactics board, Klopp's idea of pressing and counterpressing works as follows:
In the front line, wing-strikers run the centre-backs*The interior, which has previously received the first passport, is arc-shaped. On the one hand, this is intended to exert pressure and, on the other hand, to deliver the passport to the external defenders. The other two strikers in the 4-3-3 system are based on their opponents, usually the second centre-back and the defensive midfielder.
Behind the first line, the two “eights” and the more defensive central “sixes” are formed. The midfield line is based on the interfaces of the three leading attackers and ensures that the center is closed in a space-oriented manner, but not without delivering the immediate pass routes.
The aim is to steer the opponent's game inwards, where the center forward and the three-way midfield have already heavily densified the spaces. The only easier options left for the ball leaders are either the high pass into the depths or the shift to the full-backs. When it comes to the pass in the outer lane, this once again serves as a pressing trigger. As a result, the team is now trying to isolate the full-back.
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Klopp's counterpressing follows the same model as pressing. With the difference that this is tackled immediately after losing your own ball. If the opposing team captures the ball in their own third on an orderly defensive and goes into the shift game, i.e. focuses on an orderly offensive, there is a high chance that they will lose order on their own defensive.
This requires players to position themselves proactively in the Klopp system, even when they have their own ball. Here, the 4-3-3 line-up can also be converted into a 4-1-2-1-2, which returns to the original basic order after losing the ball. Klopp once aptly formulated his thoughts on this counterpressing principle:
“Think of the passes you have to play to get a ten into the position where it can play a brilliant pass. With counterpressing, you can recapture the ball closer to the goal. It's just one more pass to a big opportunity.
The best playmaker is counterpressing, the best moment to capture the ball is right after losing your own ball. And that is why counterpressing is so important.” Both pressing and counterpressing can of course be carried out in all parts of the team. A distinction is made between attack, midfield and defensive pressing.
Depending on the level of the playing field at which pressing is practiced: at the opponent's sixteen, on the middle line or in your own half of the game.
Regardless of where the pressing is currently taking place, the right players (types) are needed to implement it. A fast front row is very important, including tactically skilled and courageous defenders who have a certain basic speed.
When the strikers push forward, the last row moves forward and thus naturally reveals space in their backs, whereupon any long balls from the opponent must be intercepted. Fitness is a decisive point, but this should be a prerequisite for every professional. It's more about stamina and inner attitude than physical strength, explained Klopp's assistant coach Peter Krawietz once in the “Kicker.”
Things that the players already bring with them or that a type of trainer like Klopp forcefully conveys to his protégés. And this is considered to be the world coach's biggest strength in 2019 and 2020 anyway.
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