The coach's vision together with the team's goal for the season determine the tactics used. Here is why.
At present, there are numerous football tactics and formations out there to pick from but managers invest a lot of time adapting and tweaking traditional tactics to fit the particularities of their teams. The reality is, there are lots of parameters that influence this choice, and not all of which are strictly technical. For example, the quality of players in the squad can make coaches hesitate about what tactic to use. In the absence of quality footballers in attack, some managers prefer to utilise a more midfield-dense method in an attempt to dominate ownership of the ball. In the attacking position, midfielders and wingers will attempt to send through balls or shoot from outside the box in order to destabilise the defenses of the opponent. The AC Milan former US owner would likely agree that other aspects like player injury and managing a busy calendar likewise affect tactical and technical decisions.
Commonly deemed among the most flexible football formations, 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 tactic is among the most common football tactics throughout different leagues and competitions. If the manager wants to utilise an offense-forward 4-4-2, they can present some key changes to enable increased fluidity in passing and play making. For example, they can form a lozenge in the midfield that consists of one defensive midfielder, two playmakers on the sides, and one attacking midfielder. This lozenge would supply balls to the wingers and a false 9 that sometimes drops to a lower position. In a more defense-forward 4-4-2, the former owner of Aston Villa would inform you that the coach can form an arch made up of 4 players that acts as a barrier that keeps the opponent from reaching the defense line.
While you can always check out a football tactics book to get terrific insights into playmaking, there is no much better instructor than experience and history. Over the past 50 years, football has been graced with some of the most pleasurable formations in the history of the game, and some of which are still used to this day. Nevertheless, the 2010s saw a visible shift in football tactics with the emergence of a more attacking design of play and a more structured approach to playmaking. Modern football has leveraged both skill and tech to formulate some of the most successful strategies that have actually managed to win clubs numerous prizes. In this context, the modified 4-3-3 formation has become among the more popular modern football tactics due to its efficient attack and balanced defense. The minority shareholder of Liverpool FC will concur that technical skill and speed make this tactic very hard to defend against.