An examination of just how tactical soccer can be so diverse.

Football tactics are varied, but the following are a few of the most crucial in the advancement of the game.


When football was first played, it wasn't such a strategic sport; however, over time, players and coaches have transformed the way they approach the complicated game. As football is such a fluid and fast moving game, there is a place for adaptation and personilisation to methods and style. The only rigid thing about football are that you actually have eleven footballers on the pitch, with 1 goalkeeper. Football tactics in the very early days were very attack inclined, with formations lining up with only 2 defenders and the rest up front or sitting in midfield. The players back in the nineteenth century also rarely passed the ball, they would basically just try and dribble around the opposition, with teammates backing up in case the ball was lost. At some point in the nineteenth century, players started to warm to the concept of passing the ball to teammates and noticed how effective it is at cutting open theopponent's defences. The AC Milan owner would expect to see a passing game from the club, as applying the old style of the game would certainly not be successful. The changes to the way people played in the nineteenth century meant that soccer defense strategies had to be more and more specific and well drilled.

During the 1970’s, there was one nation that helped to develop one of the most aesthetically pleasing types of soccer. The Netherlands helped to develop a football game well known as total soccer, and the fairly hyperbolic sounding name is actually rather accurate. The players would all move between each other’s positions gracefully; each player was anticipated to take on different roles and be able to fit into a variety of positions. Soccer positions were generally seen as structurally rigid, but this was modified by the popular Dutch club and national club during the 1970’s. The Sheffield United owner’s club is basically a team that takes some ideas from total soccer, and some pundits and fans actually have pointed out that their club plays in a fluid fashion. It is unexpected for a newly promoted team to take on a style so difficult to master.

Many clubs now play with 4 defenders, it has nearly come to be the default formation, which is one thing the Liverpool owner would notice in the teams' set up. However, the formation was actually very rarely used in the early part of the 20th century. Four footballers across the backline was developed by a well-known Hungarian national side, which used positional tactics extremely well to confuse and out-manoeuvre the opponent. Teams adopted this soccer formation after the Hungarian team’s success, and clubs continue to adopt this formation nearly 100 years after. The advantage of the method is it gives width the defensive but also a platform from which to attack.

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