How to beat the 3-5-2 using the 4-4-2

From Moltomanager

Today's breakdown will be on the famous and very popular 3-5-2. 3 defenders, 5 midfielders, 2 attackers. It is a formation i run into with increasing regularity at the club and high school level.I confess i am a 4-4-2 guy. Footballs most balanced formation is easy to teach from in short amounts of training time. Just a few weeks ago i got into a passionate debate with another a fellow staff member at our club. What ensued was a fantastic 1 hour didactical debate on the merits of 3-5-2 and why he feels its king.

First off many and not all 3-5-2 advocates will argue that you only need to defend with one more defender then is attacking you. So the 3 defenders in the 3-5-2 are more then capable of handling the 2 attackers in the 4-4-2 and the 4-5-1. Two of the most common formations in football.

The 3-5-2 can be played three basic ways. In a zonal system, a zonal system with man to man marking with a sweeper and of course straight man to man with a sweeper. I am going to touch briefly on the strength's of this great formation and its weakness.



In the straight man to man 3-5-2 which i am seeing in less frequency to the zonal system the two central defenders will mark the two attacking forwards while the libero (freeman or sweeper) are not allocated any marking responsibilities and is instead asked to clean up for his two defenders while also having the freedom to charge forward into attack when his side regains possession.



Straight man to man defending is too difficult to employ at the youth and high school level.To accomplish such defending you need physically strong players with speed and great ability. Rare at our level. The simple rule to employ when deciding to play zone or man is this.If your bigger faster and stronger.Play man and overwhelm your opponent.If your neither of those things play zone and defend collectively. 11 as 1. Some coaches don't know the difference and pay dearly for their ignorance. Me in my early 20's.



The weakness for me of the 3 defender system in the 3-5-2 is the lack of cover the system provides compared to the 4 defenders in the 4-4-2. In the 3-5-2 the defenders must always stay on their feet,remain between the attackers and the goal and avoid giving the center forwards time and space to turn to goal. With average athletes that can be a daunting demand of young players at your level. If your Germany circa 1970 till present not so much.(See the Kaiser, Franz Beckenbaur)



What gives me the shakes most about the 3-5-2 is the wing back play.5 midfielders out numbers the 4 midfielders by 1 in the 4-4-2 and by 2 players versus the 4-3-3. Fantastic stuff right. True, but its those exact wing backs that give me pause if i am employing the 3-5-2. The wingbacks will asked to play forward to provide attacking width for the formation, this tactic leaves major swaths of the perimeter behind them for my forwards to run into to receive the ball.

Remember the three defenders playing in a zonal system will be asked to protect the penalty area leaving the edge of the box to the corner flag open for easy ball retrieval. A tactic i use very frequently against the 3-5-2 with great success.


Last year my girls went 3-1 against 3-5-2 teams.By simply asking my Attacking mid to play long balls into the corner for my outside midfielders to run onto or one of my forwards to play with an overlapping left or right back we overstressed the back three defenders in the 3-5-2. Forcing them to turn their backs to their own midfield and play blind.

By also outnumbering the opposition in the corners 3-2 and 3-1 we made life very difficult for 3-5-2 teams to work their way out of danger when possession was regained. While also creating simple combinations of tic tac toe play between one of our forwards and an outside mid and an overlapping fullback. Giving the opposition a longer field to play out of.

Look at the above photo and you can see corner flag to penalty area space that can be exploited.

When watching your favorite team play or national side play do they play a 3-5-2? Do you see the strengths and weaknesses of the formation?

end of part 1......to be continued

Sven does funny without the puppetry

Sven Goran shows some personality.By the by the shorts have to go.Or maybe its 1977 again and i didnt get the memo.

With the imminent firing of Siena's Marco Giampaolo we must ask did he forget how to coach over the summer?

An adage in coaching i used to hear often about any manger who's team began to falter after a good season was "He became dumb over night" Referring to a coach or manager who led a side to great results one year but followed it up with disastrous results the following year. Many may be thinking this about Marco Giampaolo who only a few weeks ago received a ringing endorsement from Don Fabio Cappello.Cappelo said of Giampaolo that he is one of Italy's new generation of talents.

Since those kind words Giampaolo's Sienna have lost their seventh match of the young Serie A season. Now according to reports out of Italy Giampaolo sits ready to be fired today.So what happened? How does a young manager with such promise become dumb over night?

First off no manager is dumb at the elite level it can just seem that way sometimes.His ability to manage people can always be questioned but we can assume that to climb the professional ladder each man with a "A" Licence is not unqualified or an impostor. Personally i will always feel that a managers is only as good as his Jon's and Joe's and to an important extent also his X's and O's. But without the talent success is almost impossible.

For Marco Giampaolo the losses over the summer of Juan Zuniga and Houssine Kharja should be seen as a primary reason for Sienna's dire troubles. Give him some talent and we discover Giampaolo is not dumb anymore. Whats left for a manager who looses talent but cant adequately replace his losses?

Sienna are not a disorganized side.Giampaolo's strength is his ability to defend building stout well organized sides with high levels of concentration. Was it an issue of motivation? Its hard to sell your players on the idea of victory as the losses pile up. Did Sienna loose its conviction? Put that in the same category as motivation. Did Sienna loose its team Harmony? When you loose your better players and the winning stops the finger pointing starts.Winning solves all problems, so was it as simple as tactical naivete? Again all systems of play work better when a manager has the men to execute the orders. Not all soldiers are created equal. Even Fabio Capello has failed.Odd to say with all his success.

The curse of Italian football is the penchance to panic and replace managers too quickly. The blessing of Italian football is most of those same fired men will be given other chances to get better at their craft and make right. I expect the same for Marco Giampaolo.I know he didn't get dumb overnight.

Why substitutions are made so late in games

My son asked me why managers wait so late to make all three substitutions in games. Great question.

Its quite simple really.A manager will make the appropriate change to strengthen his or her side.Replacing a weakening player for a stronger player. A Good manager will try to exploit a tactical weakness he or she may may see in an opponent.Conversely a substitution will be made to strengthen a side who may be exploited.

But one of the biggest reasons a manager will save his changes for so late is because if all three allowed substitutions are made too early in the game, say at the 50 minute mark or 60 minute mark and one of his players gets hurt then that team will be forced to play a man down for the remainder of the contest. No manager wants to get caught in such a scenario. So its a matter of rationing your players out while balancing out any tactical ambition you hoped to gain from changing a player. Too Early you run a risk of being caught short handed.Too late and any ambition of changing the face of a game could be wasted.

Dedicating time

I am constantly torn as to what subject matter or theme belongs on moltocalcio and what doesnt. Between Roma and Gli Azzuri i constantly debate what theme or identity my blog should develop. Like me my blog has a meandering quality that would make a clown on a zig zag bike proud. I can go tactics to sometimes gossip to irresponsible speculation. See anything i have written about Rosella Sensi and the imminent sale of AS Roma that never seems to come about. Making the sale of Roma the most perpetually imminent football deal that will never happen.

What i would like to be doing that gives me less pause and more control is talking tactics. I can spend hours talking about a formation and the millions of ways to bring out its best based on talent and circumstance. This past week after winning our league title ( I was only an assistant on that side) i had the priviledge to talk to a few college coaches about our tactical philosophies. We spent two hours just looking at the 4-4-2 and ways it is the best and worst of formations.Factors are innumerable. That conversation above all reminded me that what i love best about football is the infinite ways it can be played.

So i will be dedicating more time to my other blog Moltomanager. At Moltomanager i will try to create a didactal heaven for those like me who love the game but desire more how our favorite sides won or lost. For me its about sharpening my skills and continuing to learn. I hope as many people will add their insights and views to make all of us who love football better fans and better coaches. In the end someone always has a better wheel.

I will post to moltocalcio often borrowing from Moltomanager.Bear with me.I am not trying to cut corners. Just can do so much.

Thanks Pep

Why Cassano wont make the team

Antonio Cassano will not make the national side as long Marcello Lippi is in charge of Italy.I hope i am worng, at 27 this is Cassano's last hurrah.For Lippi past is prologue and Cassano's history precedes him and he is now forever defined as the crazy one who pulls underwear over his own head.My words not necessarily the medias.But who are we kidding.

Antonio Cassano is brilliant,currently he has Sampdoria in first place in the Serie A. But Marcello Lippi has made up his mind that Cassano is too mercurial to allow into a locker room for such a high profile and very short tournament. What Cassano can offer as a play maker and goal scorer is out weighed by the idea that at any moment he can upset the apple cart and send the locker room into a tizzy.

Sampdoria's great play and Antonio's new found peace of mind will not dissuade Lippi. Ironically the better Cassano behaves the more the media will tout him to Lippi.Thus continuing to agitate the Italian manager and provide the same distraction to Lippi despite not even being on the roster. Cassano in his own absence will be the story in Italy and thus the distraction.The effects have even forced one time Roma teammate Danielle De Rossi to chime in this week saying;

"He [Cassano] is amongst all the Italian attackers who has the most talent, and the most fun," the Lupi midfielder was reported as saying on Gazzetta Dello Sport.

"But if we look at goals, those that already represent Italy internationally score more than him,"

Suzy Campanale of football italia is exactly correct when she writes that "The Coach is playing a rather dangerous game with Cassano and the media. The more the newspapers ask about the Bari Vecchia starlet, the less likely he is to call him."

What De Rossi should be talking about is what Italy will have to deal with this weekend.But instead De Rossi finds himself chiming in defence of his manager talking about a player that will have no impact on the pitch this weekend.

I am a fan of Antonio Cassano he is definitely troubled and because of that he gets my empathy and great sympathy, i hope as a human being he can find his center and just be happier or at least balanced emotionally. Cassano has payed a heavy price for his inability to control himself. Antonio Cassano would also make Italy more dangerous.His ability to distribute the ball and keen vision would create space for everyone thus making Italy more dangerous in the attack.

But the bottom line is despite his best effort's in a world cup year to be a good citizen Antonio Cassano's absence will continue to be the distraction Lippi will not want to deal with. And the better he play's and behaves the greater a distraction he will be to the Azzurri.

Something has to give and Lippi will have to make an important decision soon.Whether he is on the team or off the team Cassano is very distracting. Now the question becomes where will he be less destructive. I am hoping in a blue jersey.

Roma less sexy but more functional

Today was my first sight of Roma under Claudio Ranieri.The first thing that struck me about the new Roma was a desire to defend. Out went the champagne football in came the six pack.Collectively Roma look solid in the 4-4-2.They now defend in numbers and at times today looked strong doing so.The sight was almost startling.Roma are not as dangerous in attack now but they are far more reliable defensivley. Simplicity of attitude along with form and function are now the Roma and Ranieri way.

Yet despite Ranieri's desire to simplify Roma's movements and add numbers to defence Napoli did manage to strike first. Ezekial Lavezzi was fantastic in his effort to pivot and fight off pressure,the Argentinian turned and scored a low screamer right under the outstretched Labont who came in to replace the injured Bertagnoli.

The only familiar pattern from the past that continues in the present is Francesco Totti who scored twice today.The first off of a Vucinic pass to Perrotta that deflected to Totti.And the Second Totti hammered home from the edge of the penalty area.

Roma have thrown away the sexy curves and paint job and decided to become a plain but very functional automobile.They don't seem capable of their old football under the pragmatic and demanding Ranieri. But that's ok. Results matter in our world.Despite the lack of sexiness.

Jose Mourinho is now the petulant one

Petulance cant be defined as moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, esp. over some trifling annoyance: a petulant toss of the head.

Synonyms:irritable, peevish, fretful, pettish, touchy.

I used to think and feel that Jose Mourinho played the role of an arrogant if not petulant child in order to befuddle his opponents to the point of distraction. While at the same time focusing the attention on him to spare his players the pressure of an upcoming important match.What i am now seeing out of the Special one is a real petulance that must come from a wearing to the bone of constantly having to maintain the image he has created for himself as master psychologist.

Fatigue is wearing the special one down and his real humanity is beginning to crack the surface.So much so that i don't feel Jose Mourinho can tell when he is being calculating and irreverent and when he is truly showing the wear of his profession.

Yesterday after Inter lost to Sampdoria Mourinho was questioned about his inability to handle Gigi Del Neri Sides.Last season Del Neri's Atalanta side also defeated Inter3-1. Mourinho's response was petulant if not grossly inaccurate.Mourinho said of Gigi Del Neri

“Is he my bete noir?” the Special One was asked by journalists after finally ending his media silence.
“He can’t be, I became European Champion with Porto, I left, he replaced me and was sacked after 15 days.”
By the by a bete noire is a detested person; "he is an anathema to me"

Mourinho obviously feels that despite loosing twice to lesser sides managed by Del Neri,Gigi cant be held in his class.

Jose Mourinho seems incapable of being happy in his own skin.His World view is anchored in the notion that for a man like him to be excellent at something it must be a journey of one. Mourinho reminds me of many people i know. For these people to function in this world their success must come at the expense of someone else. Its seems impossible for some people to feel successful in this world unless they stand alone atop a mountain.

For Mourinho swallowing his pride and allowing himself the opportunity to loose and not feel he has been beaten by a lesser man would be a much healthier experience.And one that may add years to his career. In the elite ranks their are probably ten managers world wide that are breathing the thinnest of air.(FergusonCapello,Hiddink,Lippi) and there is another generation on its way up (Guardiola,Gasperini,Moyes) Your not alone Jose.Your still great but your not alone.Quit wearing yourself out defending a title that no one man can hold.At least not forever.

Fabio Capello

England qualified for South Africa 2010 today with a resounding 5-1 win over Croatia. A side cursed by always missing a key player in its drive for a world cup spot.Last year Croatia missed Eduardo and today they missed Tottenham's Luca Modric. Glaring omissions for the Croatians.But this England side are much different then the 2007 side that lost so painfully to those same Croatians. That group was led by the unafairly maligned stumble Steve McLaren.

In eight world Cup qualifying games England played eight games and won every one. They scored 31 goals and only allowed five. As a Roma fan i have always been keenly aware of Capello's brilliance. He simply is amazing.And Roma haven't been the same since he's left.

In 1994 Capello took A Milan to the Champions league final and destroyed favoured Barcelona.It was then that i woke up to the power of Capello.Since then he has won countless trophies most notably for my beloved AS Roma in 2001-01. Put simply he is a winner.

Italy are within one point of Qualifying for South Africa and i feel Italy are in supreme hands with Marcello Lippi in charge. But i do wonder aloud if Italy would have sought out Capello after 2006 instead of Roberto Donadoni how much of England's history and even Italy's could be drastically different. Its silly to theorize what has never happened.So instead i will quote some English dailies who are thrilled with Capello.

From the Times online So much for the impossible job. So much for the Lampard-Gerrard conundrum. So much for English football’s crisis of confidence. This was one of those rare nights when hope and glory made an appearance at Wembley — a testament to a team's spectacular transformation under the management of Fabio Capello.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic on his time as a player at Juventus.As Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic said of Capello when they worked together at Juventus: "He gets the team to play the way he wants it to play and you don't need to ask any questions. You know he is doing the right thing for the team and the team responds to that."

David Beckham to the NY times."What Fabio Capello has brought back into the squad and also back into the nation, is the belief," Beckham told reporters at England's team hotel.

Tony Cascarino Times online.Genius at work: Fabio Capello turns wallies into world-beaters

These comments are stark and contrast so sharply from 2007. Will England win the World cup? If Spain and Brazil stumble England can be as good a bet as anyone. Why not. They have a man in charge that's simply knows how to win.

The tinkerman is really the repairman

Claudio Ranieri's recent arrival to Roma brings home a native son and player. In many ways the universe seemed to have planned this out perfectly for the Tinkerman. Ranieri's unceremonious if not rude firing by Juventus last season with only two games to go seemed so incongruous it that it now appears had to be done for Ranieri to be allowed to return home. They say the lord works in mysterious ways and for Roma and Ranieri this may have been a perfect confluence of events that was designed from the point of his firing to restore Roma to its former glory.

The fact that Juventus fired the Roman born manager and then directly contributed to his return to Rome by embarrassing the Giallorossi this past Sunday has me feeling everything is perfectly symmetrical in its order and design.Remember the universe is shaped like a football. Click here for that one. So as a Roma fan here are the three reason i feel Roma are well served by Ranieri's return.

Ranieri will provide a fresh voice and perspective.He is experienced and a native son.He played for Roma though very sparingly he wore the colors as a fan and a player.So no one can question his passion for the city or the side.That helps with the supporters and i feel makes an immediate impact on his players.

Ranieri will immediately solidify the back.Roma will no longer exhibit the top heavy characteristics of an attacking side that Spalletti had built with flare and aggression.The reverse should happen under Ranieri who will return a working balance to Roma's play.Pragmatism will return to the Olimpico.

Ranieri has succeeded almost every where he has gone in levelling a clubs decline and redirecting it upward.In 23 years as a manager Ranieri's faults seem to be he cant seem to jump the final hurdle. But no one an question the tinkerman should really be known as the repairman.If anyone has mastered working with shrinking sides or side unable to spend at the time of his arr rival it's Claudio Ranieri. Ranieri will take these current Roman lemons and make lemonade.

A fresh perspective,pragmatism and 23 years of leading sides out of danger and bringing them to the heights of recognition are what Claudio Ranieri does best. Besides that he is imminently likable. I am no longer in panic mode. In many ways i will miss Spalletti.No one can dare say Roma were a boring side.Spalletti's passion for attractive attacking football will always be recognized and admired by me. But something happened to his scheme when Amontino Mancini left for Inter.Roma lost its width and became a side easier to defend off two axis's instead of three with Mancini. Then the infighting and Spalletti's inability to regain the club house planted the seeds of his demise.The past ten months seemed to have been a maintenance of a side instead of its growth and prosperity. I will miss Luciano Spalletti but i am pleased with Ranieri's arrival.

Forza Roma repairman