Formations
1. “Of the four semi-finalists, only Uruguay played in a formation that resembled 4-4-2, although the position occupied by Diego Forlan merits further examination. Although he was in principle a striker, he mostly played in an advanced midfield position, behind the team’s main striker, Luis Suarez. In effect, Forlan had a free role and was always looking to keep play moving before driving forward.”
2. “The Netherlands, Germany and Spain all used a 4-2-3-1 formation, but even so they all interpreted this system in their own way.”
3. “To sum up, it is fair to say that the most successful teams at this World Cup all stayed true to their basic tactical formations. Although they did make minor adjustments whenever necessary, such as when Uruguay brought on a third striker, Sebastian Abreu in their quarter-final, as a general rule they did not stray too far from their beliefs.”
Strategy
4. “Teams were successful if they started a game with a set strategy but were able to adapt during the match. It was interesting to see Brazil, an experienced and well-drilled team, lose their focus after the Netherlands’ equaliser in the quarter-final as they were unable to adapt.”
5. “An increasing number of teams are now able to adapt their tactics according to the state of play and the scoreline.”
Attacking
6. “In modern football, it is difficult to get in behind the opposition defence, as teams are often very compact at the back with eight or nine players behind the ball. That is why teams now need outstanding individual players who can make their mark in one-on-on situations down the centre of the pitch, but particularly down the wings, there they can drive as far as the opponent’s goalline to create space that often does not exist down the centre of the pitch.”
7. “Balls played in behind the defence from the centre created a significant number of goals (31) and chances, mainly because the weaker teams did not stagger their defence, which meant they were easier to bypass.”
8. “Successful teams were also able to switch quickly between defence and attack. Counter-attacks were successful if teams could bypass the midfield quickly and make accurate, well-timed final passes.”
Defending
9. “Most of the teams had compact defences and used a zonal marking policy, but could switch to man-marking if necessary. This is a general trend in international football at the moment. Nevertheless, there were some relatively significant differences in terms of how the teams interpreted this tactic. Teams such as Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Spain and Ghana had very powerful defenders, but they also received support from the midfield and from one of the strikers (when they played with two men upfront.) This enabled these teams to switch quickly between defence and attack.”
10. “There were two main tactics to gain or regain possession. Teams such as Algeria, Uruguay, Portugal and Switzerland lay in wait in their own half of the pitch before launching quick counter-attacks to catch opponents off-guard. Other teams, such as Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Chile aggressively tried to win the ball back in the opponent’s half of the pitch, or close to the halfway line at the latest. This tactic prevented opponents from building attacks as they were not given time to construct moves.”
11. “Players who slide in only put their own team at risk. Defenders need to stay on their feet and try to win the ball back with controlled aggression without clattering into opponents.”
12. “In 46 of the 64 games, the team that opened the scoring also went on to win the match. As there were also six goalless draws and another eight matches in which the team that conceded first came back to equalise, this meant that there were only four matches in which a team came back to win after conceding the first goal. The psychological effect of a lead was undoubtedly why teams wanted to avoid falling behind at all costs, and why they generally played it safe by making sure their defence was solid.”
Cohesion
13. “Successful teams work together when on the attack, but they also try to stay compact and defend as a unit too. Playing in this manner means that players have to have high levels of fitness and stamina. It should also be mentioned that full-backs have an extremely important role to play in this regard. Not only do they have to operate well in defence, they also have to be able to switch quickly into attacking mode. This position is extremely important in modern football as all successful teams have excellent full-backs or wing-backs.”
14. “The teams that were particularly successful were those with excellent technique and passing. They also worked hard to regain possession after losing the ball, showing a high level of aggression. Argentina did not do this during their quarter-final against Germany, for example.”
15. “The best and most successful teams have a number of excellent substitutes who are the equal of their team-mates on the pitch.”
Cambio titolo
Rispondi con Citazione
Rex y2r
, un ritorno di grande impatto del catenaccio (o, come lo chiama Mourinho, densità difensiva, anche se, a dirla tutta, la densità difensiva è di per sè un'altra cosa, fatta vedere anche all'andata contro il Barça, ma vabè) in un grande palcoscenico come una semifinale di Champions (non ricordo, in tempi recentissimi, una squadra che gioca difendendosi per 90 minuti e che concede un'azione da gol al minuto al proprio avversario).
..manca solo il libero dietro la difesa e bon
