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4-3-3
The 4-3-3 formation has become the default choice for managers and coaches across the globe, thanks to the many things you can do with it - tactically speaking, that is.
4-3-3 can easily convert into a 4-5-1 when the wingers or wide forwards drop back either to defend or as part of a manager’s stingy plans to shut up shop by converting them into wide midfielders on a “permanent” basis. Variations of these two systems can be described as cross-overs between the two: 4-1-4-1 and the V-midfielded 4-1-2-3 spring to mind.
The 4-3-3 gives so many tactical options, strategies and playing styles to the man or woman at the helm: you can play a short passing game based on possession and patient build-up play from the back; go direct out to the wings; play the old-fashioned long ball game; press high up the pitch; and drop deep to defend before counter-attacking.
In short, is there anything that the all-singing, all-dancing 4-3-3 cannot do?!
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METHODICAL, CAUTIOUS AND WHIRL-INTENTIONED BEGINNINGS
Like any other formation or tactic in the game, there’s some ambiguity regarding how 4-3-3 came into existence.
It’s thought that the roots of 4-3-3 can be traced back to the 1930s and the forward-thinking ideas emanating from the grey matters of Vittorio Pozzo; Hugo Meisl; and Karl Rappan somewhere in the centre of Europe – Italy, Austria and Switzerland to be respectively more precise.
2-3-5 was the go-to formation in world football at the time. But Pozzo and Meisl decided to tinker with the 2-3-5 and, after a bit of head scratching, came up with the brainwave to take the two inside forwards from either side of the centre-forward and move them between the midfield and attack to become attacking midfielders. Doing this could give the midfield more cover defensively. But the attacking midfielders also had space to receive the ball or have space ahead to run into after winning it. Once the ball was in attacking areas, the forwards and two attacking midfielders could zig-zag the ball along the ground to retain possession and find an opening.
After bringing back two forwards, the result was a 2-3-2-3 formation or W-W shape, known as the method or Metodo in Italy. W-W could have also stood for win-win, as the Azzurri won the 1934 and 1938 World Cups with the 2-3-2-3 system. The 1934 success was played out in front of home crowds and Mr Fascism himself, Benito Mussolini. While Austria and Meisl had nothing tangible to show for their efforts, their method of playing the 2-3-2-3 would have been a joy to watch with an interchanging of positions between the attacking midfielders and the forwards that would become known as the Danubian Whirl. Austria’s Mattias Sindelar – the slight of physique centre-forward, nicknamed Der Papierne (Paper Man) because of his tall, thin figure – would drop deeper to allow the two attacking midfielders to run into the space that Sindelar vacated.
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2-3-2-3 with 1930s Italy and Austria – same formation, but different ways of playing it.
Now you might think: "Hang on a minute, that isn't a 4-3-3!" And you would be right. But you are about to see how it might resemble an attacking shape commonly seen with the modern-day 4-3-3.
Imagine that the left and right central midfielders in a 4-3-3 have advanced into the attacking midfield, and the full-backs have inverted into the middle to find themselves alongside the remaining central midfielder. This resembles how Manchester City, under Pep Guardiola, have played the 4-3-3.
(It should be noted that the left and central midfielder are playing in defensive midfield positions, reflecting that their role included marking the opponent’s wingers when defending)
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Alternatively, you can imagine that the full-backs have gone right up, and the wingers or wide forwards have gone inside to huddle up to the centre-forward or striker. This is perhaps the most common way the best users of the 4-3-3 try to attack.
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Now you can see the 4-3-3 in the 2-3-2-3!
Meanwhile, across the Alps and into Switzerland, another defensive system was being invented by Karl Rappan, which he most famously used on the international stage with Switzerland during the 1930s.
Now Rappan’s sweeper system was not quite 4-3-3 (more so than the Pozzo and Meisl attempts, mind you), and it does look a bit all over the place. But it did allow Switzerland to record their best World Cup finishes at the World Cup.
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Karl Rappan's 4-3-3 sweeper system as used with Switzerland during the 1930s.
When defending, the left and right central midfielders dropped wide and into defence to mark the opponent wingers, similar to the roles of the left and right central midfielder in the 2-3-5 formation. Once the left and right central midfielders were in place, Switzerland would have a man advantage defensively because of the sweeper. This left a problem for opponents: if the left or right central midfielder tried to get up to even the numbers, they left themselves vulnerable to a Swiss counter-attack down the vacated flank.
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ADOPTION IN SOUTH AMERICA
At the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, Uruguay would take inspiration from the Swiss and silence Brazil – the hosts – in their backyard on the way to winning the World Cup.
During the final game and decider of the 1950 World Cup in Brazil (a match dubbed by Brazilians as Maracanazo), the Uruguayans had a sweeper behind a back three with three midfielders and three attackers, creating a 1-3-3-3.
Uruguay was expected to lose the final match against Brazil. Therefore, according to much revered tactical historian Jonathan Wilson, coach Juan López decided something more radical was needed in response to the challenge.
Having watched Switzerland hold the Brazilians to a 2-2 draw in the group stage, López decided to move away from the 2-3-5 to something more defensive. He took two central midfielders away from midfield to join the centre-backs to make four defenders. One of the two original defenders from the 2-3-5 would become the sweeper. The two inside forwards on either side of the centre-forward dropped into midfield to give the remaining central midfielder a bit of company, leaving the remaining three up front. The midfield dropped deeper and goal-side of Brazil’s two attacking midfielders, giving Uruguay a defensive two-man advantage.
It worked a treat, sending them to a 2-1 win and World Cup triumph.
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Uruguay’s 4-3-3 sweeper system versus the W-M of Brazil (who played in white during the final game). Note the two-man advantage of Uruguay when their midfield drops back behind Brazil’s attacking midfielders.
Ironically, this paved the way for Brazil to taste success with 4-3-3. Brazil played a 4-2-4 during the 1958 World Cup, but 4-2-4 would become 4-3-3 when one of the wing-dwelling, touch-line hugging attackers dropped back to defend. The hard-running and hard-working Mario Zagallo (a left-winger) would kindly come back to bolster the midfield during defending before becoming a left-winger again when attacking. Brazil would repeat their 1958 World Cup success in Chile four years later with the same approach.
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You might notice that Zagallo happens (excuse the present tense) to be playing on the flank next to arguably the greatest footballer of all time. This was a typical set-up by Brazil during their back-to-back successes on the world stage and would have had two functions:
The magical and glorious attacking abilities of Pelé would have been balanced and covered by Zagallo's work rate and running. At the same time, space could be opened up on the left for Pelé to receive the ball in that area and attack the goal or create something from there.
FROM METHOD TO METHOD-IN-THE-MADNESS
The 4-3-3 continued to increase in popularity through the 1960s into the 1970s but was still seen as a more defensive choice against the 4-2-4 formation that was the default at the time. It was (possibly) Ajax that gave us the modern-day attacking line-up in a 4-3-3. They had two flying Dutchmen on the wings ( playing as attacking midfielders rather than forwards). Ahead of them would be a striker. The Amsterdam outfit won three successive European Cups in 1971, 1972 and 1973 by playing this way.
The spacing out of the three attackers gave way for Total Football destruction, allowing midfield runners to get forward into attacking areas and full-backs to get into the final third.
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Total Football enabled the Cruyff-inspired Dutch to reach the final of the World Cup twice in 1974 and 1978, although they had to settle for silver medals once they got there. It’s often argued that the Dutch team of the 1970s were the best side never to win a World Cup.
The Netherlands played a 1-3-3-3 (or 4-3-3 with sweeper) for most of the 1974 World Cup in Germany. During the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, the Dutch did use other formations, but they did use 4-3-3 at times in that tournament too.
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Dutch Total Football with the 4-3-3 sweeper system. Arrows represent the basic movements only because to try and illustrate the total fluidity of the Total Football philosophy would create a scribbled mess that an infant would be proud of!
For the rest of the 1970s and through the 1980s and 1990s, the 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 had the tactical limelight, while the 4-3-3 would continue to be used from time to time. Tactical advances throughout the game’s history have typically been defensive, so it’s no surprise that some teams converted 4-3-3 into a 4-1-4-1 or outright 4-5-1, particularly in Europe when they needed to be cautious and defend a lead from the first leg of a tie in European cup competition (for example). The wingers had more defensive responsibilities (as had been displayed by Total Football), and the man right in the middle of the 4-3-3 would eventually become an outright defensive midfielder. By the turn of the 21st Century and into the 2000s, the 4-3-3 had become the 4-1-2-3 we know today.
OPENING A PACKET OF BUSQUETS
Towards the end of the first decade of the 21st Century (a bit of a tongue-twisting mouthful!), Barcelona demonstrated the flexibility that having a defensive midfielder in a 4-3-3 could and can provide. This was part of their dizzying Tiki-Taka style of one-touch short passes that racked up the pass count and sent opponents into a spin.
Pep Guardiola instructed defensive midfielder, Sergio Busquets, to drop between the centre-backs once Barcelona had secured possession with the goalkeeper or one of the defenders. Barca could then have the ball all to themselves at the back whilst building out from the goalkeeper or playing out of defence. The "Busquets" role is represented in Football Manager by the half-back role.
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Once the ball went to the rest of the midfielders, Sergio could get back up to join the rotating triangular merry-go-round of passing and movement in the centre.
Defensive midfielders can also drop as a defensive measure to cover a centre-back pulled away by a striker, or maybe the DMC has to cover both by filling the gap between them. However, this is more difficult for managers to achieve with the current tactical options available in Football Manager. Without direct instructions to drop deep when defending, you are banking on having a DMC with the awareness of danger (indicated by solid ratings in anticipation, concentration and positioning) to do this.
Alternatively, you can make things more permanent by changing from 4-1-2-3 to 5-2-3, demonstrating the tactical flexibility on offer. You might want to do this to give you a spare man at the back against two strikers, but playing through the midfield will be more difficult. In that case, a move like this would be more defensive and facilitate a more direct, counter-attacking game down the wings.
The half-back wasn’t the only impression that Guardiola made on the 4-3-3 …
POSITIONAL PLAY
Once Guardiola packed his bags and left for Manchester City, he introduced what could be described as an evolution to the Dutch philosophy of Total Football – positional play.
In a 4-3-3, you can spread your players evenly across the five vertical spaces on the pitch. This allows for equal coverage of the whole width of the pitch when building up play. There is an added bonus of providing depth thanks to having four or even five horizontal layers of your team in any given move.
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Despite positional play being a more advanced concept, you don’t need to give out a load of fancy roles for this to work. The 4-1-2-3 variant of the 4-3-3 should be enough to give you the positional play you desire, even if you decide to use simple roles.
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