The coach's vision together with the team's objective for the season determine the tactics used. Here is why.
Nowadays, there are lots of football tactics and formations out there to choose from however coaches invest a lot of time adapting and tweaking traditional tactics to fit the particularities of their clubs. The truth is, there are numerous criteria that affect this decision, and not all of which are strictly technical. For instance, the quality of footballers in the squad can make coaches think twice about what tactic to use. In the absence of quality footballers in attack, some managers prefer to use a more midfield-dense technique in an effort to control ownership of the ball. In the attacking stance, midfielders and wingers will try to send through balls or shoot from outside area in order to destabilise the defenses of the other team. The AC Milan former US owner would likely agree that other factors like player injury and managing a busy calendar likewise affect tactical and technical choices.
Widely considered one of the most versatile football tactics, the 4-4-2 is a strategy that can be fine-tuned to be more offensive or leaning more to the defensive side. It is for these reasons that this formation is amongst the most common football tactics across various leagues and tournaments. If the coach wishes to employ an offensive 4-4-2, they can introduce some essential changes to allow increased fluidity in passing and play building. For instance, they can make a lozenge in the midfield that consists of one defensive midfielder, 2 playmakers on the sides, and one attacking midfielder. This lozenge would provide balls to the wingers and a false nine that periodically drops to a lower position. In a more defense-forward 4-4-2, the former owner of Aston Villa would tell you that the manager can create an arch composed of 4 players that acts as a barrier that keeps the opponent from reaching the defense line.
While you can always read a football tactics book to get fantastic insights into playmaking, there is no better teacher than experience and history. Over the past 50 years, football has been enhanced with some of the most pleasurable formations in the history of the sport, and some of which are still utilised to this day. Nevertheless, the 2010s saw a visible shift in football tactics with the emergence of a more attacking style of play and a more structured method to playmaking. Modern football has leveraged both skill and tech to develop some of the most successful tactics that have managed to win top sides many prizes. In this context, the modified 4-3-3 tactic has actually ended up being amongst the more popular modern football tactics owing to its efficient attack and balanced defense. The minority shareholder of Liverpool FC will agree that technical skill and speed make this tactic very tough to ward off.