THE LB - LEFT BACK CB- CENTER BACK LDM - LEFT DEFENSIVE MID RDM - RIGHT DEFENSIVE MID

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1 LB - LEFT BACK CB- CENTER BACK LDM - LEFT DEFENSIVE MID RDM - RIGHT DEFENSIVE MID CAM - CENTRAL ATTACKING MID LW - LEFT WINTER RW - RIGHT WINGER ST - STRIKER THE 4-3-3

2 LB - LEFT BACK left wing of the pitch. His main goal is to push attackers wide and to contain them. Needs to make sure the ball does not get out of the flanks if the opposition have it on the flanks. Primary defensive strategy is containment, which means he doesn t rush into a tackle, but contains the attacker so that he has nowhere to go and no one to play the ball to. RDM - RIGHT DEFEN- SIVE MID Primarily a defender but also a midfielder. His main responsibility is to win the ball in midfield and distribute it upfield to his teammates. In defense, he needs to run back to help the defenders in the middle of the pitch. In attack, he is still a ball winner. A defensive mid goes for the tackle whenever possible and tries to win the ball for his team. ST - STRIKER Scores goals. Moves around to find the gaps in the defense and the passes from his CAM, RW or defensive mids. RB - RIGHT BACK right wing of the pitch. His main goal is to push attackers wide and to contain them. Needs to make sure the ball does not get out of the flanks if the opposition have it on the flanks. Primary defensive strategy is containment, which means he doesn t rush into a tackle, but contains the attacker so that he has nowhere to go and no one to play the ball to. CAM - CENTRAL AT- TACKING MID Primarily an attacker and playmaker. He is the center of midfield and orchestrates the attack. He is at a crucial point in the field so that he has as many passes open as possible. That being said, the CAM can and should make attacking runs and take shots whenever necessary. Where he makes his run, depends on where the other forwards have left open space for the CAM to exploit. CB - CENTER BACK central area of the defending box. His main goal is to make sure that the ball does not get into the box. Although he should contain when necessary, a center back should tackle and challenge for the ball and win the tackles to clear the ball upfield to his teammates. Communication between the two center backs is crucial and necessary. LW - LEFT WINGER Primarily an attacker. The left winger plays far wide and up the pitch on the left side. When nearing the goal, the LW makes runs to cut into the middle and create an angle for him to shoot on goal. If he is guarded, the LW should continiue making a foward run and then make a cut-back pass to the middle of the box where a CAM or a LDM in an offensive spot can pick up the pass and take a shot outside the box. LDM - LEFT DEFENSIVE MID Primarily a defender but also a midfielder. His main responsibility is to win the ball in midfield and distribute it upfield to his teammates. In defense, he needs to run back to help the defenders in the middle of the pitch. In attack, he is still a ball winner. A defensive mid goes for the tackle whenever possible and tries to win the ball for his team. RW - RIGHT WINGER Primarily an attacker. The right winger plays far wide and up the pitch on the right side. Unlike the left winger, his main job is supplying passes to the middle of the box rather than cutting in and making runs to score himself. It is important that he knows where his teammates are at all times in order to play the perfect pass when he is being guarded and the defense have left open gaps.

3 ATTACKING POSITIONS AND RUNS DEFENDING POSITIONS AND RUNS

4 Barcelona and Arsenal both employ the attacking formation and are two of the most attractive teams to watch in world soccer. The formation works best when a team is going forward and attempting to win a match, rather than simply trying to contain the opposition. However, the respective managers of Barcelona and Arsenal, Josep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger, do their best to ensure there are enough players defending when their teams are on the back foot. The attacking formation is used by many clubs in world soccer, but rarely with such devastating effect as the two Spanish and English sides. Here we look at how it works from an attacking standpoint. The Central Striker The formation relies on an out-and-out striker to play in the center of the front three, capable of holding the ball up and bringing the two players on either side of him into the play. In Barcelona s case this is often David Villa, while Robin van Persie undertakes the role for Arsenal. Their other main function is to be on the end of chances created. Wide Attackers Offensive midfielders on either side of the striker are instructed to use their pace to get at full-backs and cross the ball in for the central striker and advancing midfielders. It is important that these wide players have the skill and technique needed to beat opposing defenders. In Barcelona s Lionel Messi and Arsenal s Andrey Arshavin - we have two prime exponents of this art. Often you will see these types of players cut inside and run at the central defenders, regularly playing quick passing exchanges with teammates before getting into the penalty area and releasing a shot. Messi, for example, plays on the right of the central striker but being left-footed he loves to cut inside before shooting or passing. While it is the central striker s job to score goals, these players are also expected to weigh in. Defensive Midfielder The three midfielders perform different defensive and offensive roles. At the centre, often playing just in front of the four defenders, there is a defensive midfielder whose job it is to break up opposition attacks before releasing the ball to teammates. Sergio Busquets or Javier Mascherano perform this role for Barcelona, and it is Alex Song s responsibility in the Arsenal team. Neither score many goals, but their role in the team should not be understated as their teammates can attack in the knowledge that they have a dependable tackling midfielder behind them. All-Round Midfielders There are two players flanking the defensive midfielder whose duty it is both to defend and attack. These box-to-box midfielders should be getting into the opposition s penalty area regularly with the aim of finishing off the chances created by the wide attacking players. It is also their job to construct attacking moves once they have received the ball from one of the four defenders or defensive midfielder. For these roles to be carried out well, such players need to have superb passing abilities, like Barcelona s Xavi Hernandez and Arsenal s Jack Wilshere. Other Responsibilities Of the six players we have looked at in this formation, you will see five regularly going forward, but they must also be mindful of their other responsibilities. A team cannot always be on the attack, and when you see Arsenal under pressure from the opposition, it is not uncommon to witness their formation switch to a as the wide midfielders drop deeper to win the ball back.

5 Attack With this tactic, you have more option of attack because of the extra man forward. Both left and right forwards can be used to stretch the defence to open up for the center striker. Alternatively, you can also have the central midfielders attack through the center and force them to defend more centrally, then using your wide players to go behind the defence to create openings. Either way, you will always have enough attackers to improvise. When counter-attacking, it is always to be quick and to attack with pace. Catch the opponents off gaurd with 3 forwards. When on the counter, try to stay wide and keep the defence stretched. This will make it harder for the opponent as they have to track your players while at the same time, try to keep a tight defence. Defence This tactical play has a weakened defence compared to others. This is because you have one less person to defend. It is always important to play a defensive midfielder, someone to pick up loose balls in midfield and act as another defender in front of the back four defenders. Try to keep a tight defence and try to stay closer together. This makes it harder for opponents to get past you. When you get a chance, hit them with a counter-attack as you will always be ready for it with 3 attackers waiting. The was a development of the 4-2-4, and was played by the Brazilian national team in the 1962 World Cup. The extra player in midfield allowed a stronger defense, and the midfield could be staggered for different effects. The three midfielders normally play closely together to protect the defense, and move laterally across the field as a coordinated unit. The three forwards split across the field to spread the attack, and are expected to tackle back. When used from the start of a game, this formation is widely regarded as encouraging defensive play, and should not be confused with the practice of modifying a by bringing on an extra forward to replace a midfield player when behind in the latter stages of a game. A staggered involving a defensive midfielder (usually numbered 4 or 6) and two attacking midfielders (numbered 8 and 10) was commonplace in Italy, Argentina and Uruguay during the 1960s and 1970s. The Italian variety of was simply a modification of WM, by converting one of the two wing-halves to a libero (sweeper), whereas the Argentine and Uruguayan formations were derived from and retained the notional attacking centrehalf. The national team which made this famous was the Dutch team of the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, even though the team won neither. In club football, the team that brought this formation to the forefront was the famous Ajax Amsterdam team of the early 1970s, which won three European Cups with Johan Cruyff. Chelsea have used this formation to great effect under José Mourinho in the time he has been at the club. While getting his team to constantly press the opposition when defending, he also likes the two wingers to come back to create a formation. At the 2006 FIFA World Cup Spain played a variation of without wingers. The three strikers would interchange positions and run the channels like a regular striker would.