At the official beginning of football, almost 150 years ago, in England, coaches realized that it was necessary to bring order to the game, choose strategies and positions on the field. They played in a 2-3-5 formation, with two defenders, three midfielders and five forwards.
The midfielder, called “center-half”, was the organizer, thinker, who initiated offensive plays with excellent passes. Today, the central midfielders, heirs of the central midfielders, shine brightly, such as Vitinha, from PSG and the Portuguese national team, and Zubimendi, from Arsenal and the Spanish national team. Things come and go with different names.
Unfortunately, for decades, Brazilian football did the opposite. He divided the midfield between defensive midfielders and attacking midfielders. The midfielders, team conductors, disappeared. This has been changing, slowly.
The WM, 3-2-2-3, emerged in Europe, in the 1920s, with the Englishman Herbert Chapman and was brought to Brazil by the Hungarian Dori Kruschner, hired by Flamengo in 1937. The arrival of this and other foreign coaches was important for the development of Brazilian football, something similar to what recently occurred in the country after the 7-1.
From WM came the 4-2-4, a tactic used by the English in winning the 1966 World Cup. The teams played with four defenders, two in midfield and four in attack. On the drawing board, it is the tactical design in use by the current Brazilian team.
In the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups, Brazil innovated by dropping a winger to form a 4-3-3 formation, with three in midfield. Hence the 4-3-3 with two open wingers, used today by several teams and national teams around the world.
Over the decades, a large number of tactical variations have emerged with the presence of three defenders, two wingers, two midfielders, pairs of attackers in the center and many others. Paulo Vinicius Coelho (PVC) and other sports journalists detailed all the strategies and tactical designs in books.
In 1974, Rinus Michels, coach of the Netherlands, enchanted the world with his pressure marking all over the pitch. For various reasons, other coaches did not follow this innovation, until at the beginning of this century Pep Guardiola used it with great success at Barcelona. Today, almost all teams and national teams in the world use pressure marking from the goalkeeper’s ball.
In addition to this innovation, there have been major changes in the way we play, such as compaction, block attack and defense, high intensity, alternating short passes from the goalkeeper with quick transitions from defense to attack and other details. Football has improved.
There is no single ideal way to play. Great coaches are those who know how to alternate tactical schemes and strategies according to the opponent and the quality and characteristics of the players. Carlo Ancelotti has already declared that he has no philosophy, that his team will play according to the moment.
To form a great team it is necessary to combine individual and collective talent, discipline, tactics and excellent physical and emotional conditions. What would the team be like without the star and vice versa, the goal without the pass, the inspiration without the perspiration, the technique without the emotion, the reality without the dream?
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