While football teams have always pressed their opponents to some degree or another, the modern game has seen the sophistication of this tactic and the evolution of more organised, collective pressing. Nowadays, the overwhelming majority of top flight teams adopt some...

While few sides deploy man marking in open play in the modern age, this remains a common and arguably preferable tactic when defending set pieces. In fact, the debate between man and zonal marking continues to rage at all levels of football, with each offering...

Earlier in this series, we discussed the best defensive strategies when playing against a team in a 3-5-2 shape. However, the 3-4-3 is arguably a more contemporary and popular iteration of the 3-5-2 formation, with this having been deployed by great managers like...

Pressing is now arguably the most studied and talked about tactical concept in the sport of football, having entered the mainstream since the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp in the Premier League some eight or nine years ago. Nowadays, the ability to...

Football has evolved through numerous tactical phases over the years, from the simplistic, attack-laden formations of the early 20th century to the Italian-inspired and highly organised ‘Catenaccio’ system that was incredibly defensive and helped Inter Milan win...

If the iconic 4-4-2 formation is synonymous with the previous generation of English football, it’s the 4-3-3 shape that defines modern-day football. This has been deployed with distinction by managers like Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Erik Ten Hag, for example,...

While it’s fair to say that the low defensive block is no longer in vogue, it has been effectively deployed by successful coaches throughout the 21st century. Two of the tactics main supporters are Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone, with the latter’s defence-minded and...

Nowadays, the combination of a technical director and head coach is commonplace in football, with this particular model proving highly successful for clubs like Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. This is a far cry from the 1990s, which saw a number of...

People almost talk about the iconic 4-4-2 formation with a sense of nostalgia, with this having become less commonplace in an age where midfield dominance and the deployment of fluid attacking lines take precedence. However, this shape has enjoyed something of a...

Pretty much all of Europe’s leading sides now adopt some form of high pressing game, from EPL giants like Liverpool and Manchester City to Bayern Munich and Xavi’s Barcelona team. Of course, this philosophy was a direct response to the threat posed by low defensive...

Tactical trends in football tend to be cyclical, with the notion of playing with three at the back once again in vogue at elite level. Certainly, managers like Thomas Tuchel (primarily with Chelsea) and PSG’s Christophe Galtier have deployed a 3-5-2 formation or...

Back in 2012, the FA voted through a number of major changes to how youth football was structured in England, in order to place a greater emphasis on the development of technical skills rather than winning in the short-term. Of the 778 votes cast in total, some 87%...

In recent times, the so-called “high press” has become synonymous with the world’s leading coaches, including pioneers in this respect such as Ralf Rangnick, Mauricio Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel. While this is highly rewarding and capable...

While many have talked about the demise of the classic 4-4-2 formation, this is a misconception that doesn’t accurately reveal the nature of football’s tactical evolution since the 1990s. More specifically, while we’ve seen well-resourced teams with creative attacking...

The Most Important Coaching Principles in Youth Football The ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho has achieved many things in his time as an elite level coach, but outside of his on-field accomplishments, he also arguably ushered in the age of the ‘superstar’ coach. Prior to...