Thursday, August 23, 2007

Soccer formations - how to choose one

As a coach it is important to select a soccer formation that uses the strengths of your squad. Many coaches get caught up in the complexities of the different formations and what they mean. At a more advanced level, then there are plenty of subtleties but for most of us coaching juniors and even league teams, the choice is usually driven by the players available to you. At the top levels of the game, coaches can determine tactics for specific opponents but again they usually look to their internal strength.

So what do you do?

You need to assess the individual capabilities of your players. Are your best players mainly defenders or do you have an abundance of start strikers? Does you midfield fizz with great play-makers or do you have a couple of really strong tacklers? What ever the answer will shape the way you play.

So if you have three great strikers, then you need to have a more attack minded formation such as 4-3-3. On the other hand,if you have say two great tacklers, one skillful playmaker in midfield and only one good striker, then a 4-5-1 formation would suit you more. This way you get the best out of your resources.

Here is an interesting piece about Freddie Adu and how choosing the right formation for your players is so important. Adu didn't feel that he was able to play to his best because of the position he was asked to play in.

"At DC, Christian Gomez was one of the best playmakers in the league, but coach Peter Nowak wanted to get Adu on the field anyway so Adu needed to learn how to play out wide in a 3-5-2, a position with immense defensive responsibility as well."

He has now moved to Benfica in Portugal where their formation should suit him better.

"Benfica often plays with a diamond midfield or a 4-2-2-2; both formations would allow Adu to play the type of central attacking role where he is most comfortable."

Learning about soccer formations is a subtle art and needs constant attention. Share your successes with us so other coaches can improve their games too.

Thanks

Dave

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