Introduction
In the world of football, tactics and formations play a crucial role in a team’s success. Managers are constantly innovating and experimenting to find the perfect system that maximizes their team’s strengths and exploits their opponents’ weaknesses. One such mastermind is Pep Guardiola, renowned for his tactical brilliance and innovative approach to the game. Guardiola’s triumph in the Premier League showcased his mastery of the 3-2-2-3 formation, a revolutionary system that combines elements of both old and new tactics.
How Pep Guardiola used similar formation during his Bayern Munich days
During his time at Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola continued to utilize a similar formation that maximized the midfield strength and creativity of his team. In this system, Guardiola took the concept to the next level by making certain positional adjustments to enhance the team’s attacking potential and control of the midfield.
The Striker’s Role: Guardiola deployed Robert Lewandowski, who joined Bayern in his second season, in a deep-lying role. Lewandowski would often drop back and join the midfield, serving as a link between the midfield and attack, and initiating attacks when necessary. This strategic positioning added an extra dimension to Bayern’s build-up play.
Inverted Wingers: The wingers, typically Arjen Robben and/or Franck Ribery, played a significant role in Guardiola’s system. Instead of staying wide, they constantly cut inside, providing more depth in the midfield. This inward movement allowed them to combine with the central midfielders and create numerical superiority in the middle of the pitch.
Midfield Control: Guardiola relied on a midfield trio consisting of a defensive midfielder (often Xabi Alonso) and two central midfielders (such as Thiago, Thomas Muller, Arturo Vidal, or Javi Martinez). This combination provided excellent control over the midfield, dictating the tempo of the game and facilitating effective ball circulation.
Inverted Fullbacks: Guardiola’s masterpiece in this system was the implementation of inverted fullbacks, namely David Alaba and Philipp Lahm. These intelligent and versatile fullbacks would position themselves inside, next to Alonso, during the build-up phase, rather than venturing forward like traditional fullbacks. This positioning allowed them to contribute to the midfield dominance, provide passing options, and create additional layers of midfield strength.
The Impact: This formation created a scenario where the midfield was heavily congested with Bayern players. While in reality, the two centre-backs wouldn’t remain deep and watch eight players crowd the midfield, the players instinctively sought to take up these positions. This resulted in numerous passing options and constant probing of the opponent’s defense until an opening was found.
The Significance of Inverted Fullbacks: Guardiola’s utilization of inverted fullbacks was a groundbreaking move. It gave Bayern Munich an extra layer of midfield strength that no other team in the world possessed. The positional intelligence and creativity of Alaba and Lahm, combined with their ability to sit inside and contribute to the midfield, added a unique dimension to Bayern’s play. The recognition of this strategy by Football Manager, where inverted fullbacks became a prominent feature in the game, highlights the impact and success of Guardiola’s tactical innovation.
Pep Guardiola Build-Up Play in the 3-2-2-3 Formation
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City typically play out from the back in a 3-2-2-3 formation, also known as a 3-4-3 or a 3-4-2-1. Their build-up strategy focuses on maintaining possession and creating numerical superiority in the defensive and midfield zones to progress the ball up the pitch.
In this formation, the three centre-backs play a crucial role in the build-up phase. They spread out across the backline, with one central defender positioned deeper and the other two positioned wider. The goalkeeper would have the ball making it a back 4 with 2 deep midfielders ahead of the 4 defenders, this would allow Guardiola’s team to have an overload in their half. The central midfielder, often a deep-lying playmaker or a holding midfielder, drops between the centre-backs to provide a passing option and facilitate the initial build-up.
The two wing-backs push high up the pitch, offering width and stretching the opposition’s defensive line. They provide additional passing options for the centre-backs and create overloads on the flanks. The wing-backs often stay wide and higher up the pitch, ready to receive the ball and initiate attacking moves.
The two central midfielders, known as the double pivot, position themselves just in front of the centre-backs. They move laterally to provide passing options and create triangles with the centre-backs and the central midfielder. Their role is to receive the ball, retain possession, and distribute it to more advanced players.
The two attacking midfielders, often referred to as the inside forwards, operate in the half-spaces between the central midfield and the forwards. They have the freedom to roam, find spaces between the lines, and link up with the forwards. Their movement and positioning aim to create openings and exploit gaps in the opposition’s defence.
Upfront, the striker leads the attacking line, supported by two wingers who operate in wider positions. The wingers have the ability to cut inside and create goal-scoring opportunities or stretch the defence by staying wide. They are crucial in providing width, creating chances, and scoring goals.
In terms of playing out from the back, Manchester City prioritizes short passes and quick ball circulation. The centre-backs and the central midfielder often exchange short passes to draw opposition players out of position and create passing lanes. The wing-backs and central midfielders offer options for short passes, while the attacking midfielders and forwards make runs to receive through balls or play off quick combinations.
The objective is to progress the ball through controlled possession, break lines of pressure, and create numerical advantages in different areas of the pitch. By effectively playing out from the back in this manner, Manchester City aims to dictate the tempo of the game, create attacking opportunities, and dominate possession.
Old System brought Back To Life
The W-M formation is a tactical approach in football that originated in the early 20th century. It consists of four lines or units, with a back line of three defenders behind two half-backs. The two inside forwards provide support to a front three, forming a 3-2-2-3 shape.
The name “W-M” comes from the two shapes or letters formed when lines are drawn between each member of the back five and the front five players. One shape resembles a “W,” while the other looks like an “M.”
This formation gained popularity after the Football Association modified the offside law, requiring only two defenders to play an opponent onside instead of three. This change made it easier for attackers to remain onside, leading teams to commit more players forward for attacking purposes. The W-M formation was introduced as a response to counteract the increased attacking numbers.
Although teams no longer line up in a traditional W-M shape, modern variations of the formation are still utilized. For instance, teams may switch to a modified W-M when in possession. This is commonly seen when transitioning from a 3-4-3 formation, with wing-backs pushing high and the two attacking midfielders dropping into midfield, away from the striker.
Another way to form a W-M in the modern game is through a 4-3-3 structure, where one of the full-backs moves into midfield, creating a double pivot. The two central midfielders then push forward to support the front three, resulting in a 3-2-2-3 shape.
Several teams and managers have employed the W-M formation with success. Herbert Chapman’s Arsenal side in the 1930s is often credited as one of the most effective users of the early version of the W-M system. Chapman positioned the center-half from the 2-3-5 formation between the two full-backs to form a back three, with the half-backs narrowing ahead of them. The inside forward pair withdrew slightly, supporting a front three. Arsenal achieved significant success during that period, winning the FA Cup in 1930 and securing the First Division title in 1930/31 and 1932/33.
Pep Guardiola, both at Manchester City and Bayern Munich, has also employed variations of the W-M formation. For example, at Bayern, the full-backs occasionally moved into pivot roles, while the single pivot dropped into the backline to create a back three. At City, Guardiola has utilized a traditional midfielder, such as Fernandinho, at centre-back in a back four, with the player transitioning into a second pivot during the build-up. In both cases, the full-backs formed part of the back three.
Thomas Tuchel, currently the manager of Chelsea, often converts his starting 3-4-3 shape into a W-M structure during possession. The wing-backs push high, sometimes even ahead of the centre-forward, while the inside forwards operate ahead of the double pivot. Unlike Guardiola’s teams, Tuchel’s players maintain their positions, requiring no rotations to form the three-man backline.
Roberto Martínez, the manager of the Belgium national team, has also utilized a similar structure during the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020. The team’s 3-4-3 shape includes two narrow attacking midfielders supporting the lone striker, with the wing-backs dropping back to slightly modify the structure of the front line in the W-M shape.
Playing with a W-M formation offers several benefits. The modern version allows for overloading central midfield areas, creating a four-player box that can control the middle of the pitch. The front three can also pin back the opposing backline, providing a free player and opportunities for overloads in
What Guardiola whats to do is create overloads in certain area of the pitch to take advantage of the overload, most teams play 4-3-3 so with the goalkeeper apart of the build up play, there would be an overload of players, one of them can push up to attack to overload the attacking half of the pitch, this would allow Man City to have an extra player in a certain area.
Formations will always be forever changing, from 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 to 3-5-2, all these are to counter for the opponent and create overloads or exploit the weakness in the formation.
Catch you in the next one.