Primarily, wingbacks however have often been most effectively used as part of a 3-5-2 side and as a counter (if there is one) to the fantastictiki-takafootball played by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and the Spanish National side of circa 2010. More recently Gareth Southgate used wingbacks ...
Soccer tactics are often discussed in terms of national style. The Italians have theircatenaccio, the Spanish their tiki-taka. Both developed out of defensive need — catenaccio is famously considered “the right of the weak” to destroy the game and make it unplayable by locking down the...
Spain has "Tiki-Taka," featuring short, intricate passing to find the right moment for a penetrative pass that opens up the backline for a goal attempt. The Netherlands are known for "Total Football," where players are adaptable to any position or role on the field. Italy embraced the "C...
To understand what a false 9 is, let’s go into the history of the traditional number 9 position in soccer. Initially,numberswere assigned for a team based on the position you were going to play for the upcoming match. A goalkeeper was number 1, defenders wore lower numbers (2-5), mid...
For this reason you need to practice how to read quick passes and use collective judgment to decide when to deploy the offside trap. Timing and working together is absolutely crucial but if you practice together often enough you can even spring this on the tiki-taka style football of the rec...
consistently produce chances. Instead, the statistics seem to support an approach more in line with the artfultiki-takastyle exemplified most notably by FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team. In soccer, data and aesthetics are not mutually exclusive, just as they aren’t in any other sport...
The most extreme example of this intricate passing and high pressing style is known astiki-takaand was famously used by the Barcelona side led by Pep Guardiola. In four years at the club he won an incredible 14 trophies including two Champions Leagues as Barcelona dominated at club level. Thi...