A Coach Asks
I am a JV coach for a girls soccer team. The girls
are brand new to soccer. Not only teaching them the basics I have
to teach them how to execute a 4-4-2 formation. Can you offer any
suggestions on materials? Is there info available that lays out
the 4-4-2 and illustrates what each position needs to do on an
individual basis as well as in a group basis in conjunction with the
surrounding players?
Some Suggestions
A comprehensive answer would require a book, but we'll keep it short
here in Part I.
There are many different ways to play out of any systems of play.
From a kick-off arrangement of players that looks like 4-4-2, nearly
anything is possible. For example, by simply pushing a center
midfielder forward into an attacking role, the 4-4-2 can be played like a
4-3-3. Alternatively, by playing the screen (stopper) into midfield,
the 4-4-2 can look and play like a 3-5-2. So, as important as the
starting arrangement of players might seem, the starting arrangement at
kick-off is not as important as
- how the ball is played out of the back
- how the players work together to create space
- where space is created and used
- which spaces are attacked
- where the ball is played in attack
- what types of attacking are employed
- how the players work together to control space
- which spaces are defended and which are not defended
- how the players defend near the ball
- how the players defend away from the ball
- how the players reorganize in defense when a defender is beaten
It can be said that nearly anything that you would like to accomplish
with a 4-4-2 could also be accomplished with a 4-3-3 or 3-5-2, but some
things are more or less difficult with this system of play.
Assumptions
OK, now we are off the hook with this caveat. Lets plow ahead and
assume that your team
- currently plays 4-3-3
- will play a classic 4-4-2 with two strikers working together
- will use two marking backs, a stopper and sweeper
- will deploy two center mids who have equal responsibility for
attacking and defending (instead of designating a defending mid and an
attacking mid)
Key Differences between 4-3-3 and 4-4-2
- There is little difference at the back in defending, except
that in a 4-4-2, one of the center midfielders can drop back into the
space outside the D to pressure the ball and to help stop outside
shooting, and still leave a center midfielder free as a target to
receive the ball when possession is regained.
- Playing the ball out of the back is slightly different in
several ways from a 4-3-3 because there is an extra center midfielder,
making it possible for one center midfielder to check back to the ball
coming up from the central defender and still leave a center
midfielder at home. Alternatively, it is possible for both
center midfielders to make check runs toward the ball, at different
angles, or for one to check to the ball and one to provide support for
the outside midfielder.
In a 4-4-2, a defender can still play a ball forward to a wide wing
midfielder as in a 4-3-3. After turning, the wing midfielder in
a 4-3-3 sees a forward straight ahead along the wing, one in the
center working back from the penalty spot, and a forward wide on the
other side of the field. However, when the 4-4-2 wing mid
(outside midfielder) turns, the mid will see two strikers working out
of the penalty area and a center midfielder close by available for
combination play. The support and passing angles are very
different.
In the 4-4-2, a wall pass with the center midfielder, or a ping off one
of the two strikers checking back from the penalty area, both can be
used to play the wing midfielder into space in front of the 18 a little
more easily than with a 4-3-3. In the 4-3-3, the nearest forward
to the wing midfielder (on the same side), needs to make a run to either
hold the defender on the wing midfielder's side back near the 18, or to
pull that defender out of the space.
Midfielder to Striker Play works differently in a 4-4-2. From
center midfield, two strikers checking back from the penalty area, back to
goal, looks a lot different than three forwards running hips to
goal. The 4-4-2 is a little more inviting in terms of bringing an
attacking midfielder into the final third than a 4-3-3 in the sense that a
ping off the striker checking back starts a very nice three player
combination with the second striker being available and the
"pinged" striker spinning out, opening hips, and getting back
into the attack immediately after dropping the ball. With a 4-3-3, a
ping off the center forward really creates just a 2v1 off the drop pass
from the ping, provided the center forward spins out and turns hips either
to goal or open to the ball.
The 4-4-2 also invites the diagonal ball to a wing midfielder moving
forward after an initial ping off a striker. In the 4-3-3, the
forward nearest the ball played in will have to make a run to create space
and to get rid of the nearest marking back, who might otherwise step up to
win the ball played in for the wing midfielder.
Strikers work together a different way in a 4-4-2.
Many coaches teach 4-3-3 play with the front players as
"forwards", playing mostly hips to goal. Crosses in a
4-3-3 usually come not from a wing midfielder coming forward, as in a
4-4-2, but from an outside forward. With three strikers,
stretching the defenders to create 3 separate 1v1 situations is a
usual tactic, and is accomplished by keeping distance between strikers
in attack. In a 4-4-2, the strikers play more back to goal, work
together to alternate check runs back to the ball, and generally stay
within 10-15 yards (combination play range). They attack
together in a 4-4-2.
Note that strikers in a 4-4-2 separate to cover throw-ins and to
defend corner kicks. In each case, at least one striker stays up
as far as possible, either to the last defender or half-way line, to
hold a marking back and central defender out of our defending half,
and to give us a target up front to whom we can pass when possession
is regained.
Part II will cover a few more of the differences, then we'll get on to
training specific to the 4-4-2.
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