4 – 4 – 2 SYSTEM
1. The disposal of players with the respective distances
2. Active zone (of force) and passive zone (dead/neutral)
3. Short and tight team – during the defensive phase, defending starts from the attackers, they are covered by midfielders, who, in their turn, are covered by the defense line
4. Original position and attacking position
5. Couples, tandems and triangles (tierces) of players
6. Defenders’ positioning, in order to concomitantly perform coverage for the team-mate against the opponent and marking the direct opponent
7. Diagonals and defensive coverage – is done by disposing the 4 defenders according to the position of the ball and of the colleagues.
Line coverage
Double line coverage
Triple line coverage
8. Pressing – simultaneous action of more players, from one or two compartments or of the whole team, having as a goal, the limitation of time and space of the opponent and implicitly, recovering the ball
Pressure – individual action having as a goal reducing the space and time of the ball-carrying opponent.
If the whole team exercises pressing, this has as a consequence applying the offside trap.
Favourable pressing situations:
– When the opponent receives a high pass (aerial trajectory)
– When the opponent receives the ball with his back against the goal
– When the pass is incorrect (slow, long, imprecise)
– When the take-over of the ball is wrong
– When the ball is transmitted laterally
Pressing can be exercised from the limit of the opponents’ penalty area, from the opposing third or from the team’s own half. The area wherefrom we initiate the pressing depends on 3 factors:
– Characteristics of the attackers
– Physical condition of the team
– The opponents’ value (explanations)
9. The offside-trap
It is important that one of the central defenders command coming out for the offside trap to the whole defense line
The offside tactics is used in the following particular situations:
– Defensive equality or numeric inferiority
– Ball kicked away towards the central area after a deep launch or cross
– When the opposing attacker, back towards the goal, passes backwards