To the uninitiated, soccer formations might sound complicated. But with the help of a few practical examples, you can learn about the 4-4-2 formation right up to the more obscure ones at the other end of the scale.
A soccer formation is the way that the coach arranges his eleven players on the field. Generally these rotate around the four cardinal soccer positions for football formations: goalkeeper, defense, midfield, and attack. The formations given in numbers are simply the number of defenders, midfielders, and attackers in the line-up. (There's no need to provide the 1 at the start for a goalkeeper as it's pretty much a given that every team needs one goalie!)
Formations make a difference as they can cancel out what the opposition coach has planned, as well as serve the strengths of your own soccer team. For example, if you have three great forwards, you might try a 4-3-3, or if you have some very fast, fit, small players, you can attack up the wings in a 4-4-2.
With that in mind, we'll take a look at some of the popular soccer formations below. …show more content…
This classic formation grew popular in the mid-to-late 20th century and features four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards. Within this there is variance, but generally the players who are in the middle are more defensive while the creativity comes from out wide. Tall, commanding centre-backs can pass the ball to swift full-backs, who play at either side of the defensive 'four', and they will in turn feed the 'wingers' ahead of them, while the central midfielders will play the simple passes and also tackle the opposition. Up front are two strikers whose job it is to hold the ball up and wait for support, or simply to put it in the back of the
A soccer formation is the way that the coach arranges his eleven players on the field. Generally these rotate around the four cardinal soccer positions for football formations: goalkeeper, defense, midfield, and attack. The formations given in numbers are simply the number of defenders, midfielders, and attackers in the line-up. (There's no need to provide the 1 at the start for a goalkeeper as it's pretty much a given that every team needs one goalie!)
Formations make a difference as they can cancel out what the opposition coach has planned, as well as serve the strengths of your own soccer team. For example, if you have three great forwards, you might try a 4-3-3, or if you have some very fast, fit, small players, you can attack up the wings in a 4-4-2.
With that in mind, we'll take a look at some of the popular soccer formations below. …show more content…
This classic formation grew popular in the mid-to-late 20th century and features four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards. Within this there is variance, but generally the players who are in the middle are more defensive while the creativity comes from out wide. Tall, commanding centre-backs can pass the ball to swift full-backs, who play at either side of the defensive 'four', and they will in turn feed the 'wingers' ahead of them, while the central midfielders will play the simple passes and also tackle the opposition. Up front are two strikers whose job it is to hold the ball up and wait for support, or simply to put it in the back of the