For my team I use a 3 2 1 formation with overlapping fullbacks (wingbacks) This is mainly because I have insanely fast and fit players that hardly ever get caught on the break and forwards that love to drive at players and are unbelievable at 1v1s. So in attack it goes to 1 2 3, sweeper, two midfielders, two wide players and one striker. I tried a 2 3 1 but i noticed that it slowed our game down, my tactics are to break lines as quickly as possible and overload. I'd say we're more of a good passing team that are constantly looking to counter as quick as possible.
Sounds like a great team! Not an easy formation to make work if you don’t have the right personnel so it sounds like you have the perfect squad for it!
@@CatalanSoccer TBH it did take 4 months to get right. I find that the sweeper and a good GK was fundamental in getting the system to work. Mainly because it's the least attractive position. To overcome this I asked if the parents can praise the boys in defence as much as the others in assisting and scoring goals. Sweeper needs to stay disciplined and alert at all times, also he needs to be vocal and help organise the shape and call for help if he's senses danger. GK needs to be good at distribution and have a good range of passing. The wide players and midfielders naturally wanted to run up and down the pitch all game, so just needed encouragement to stay in shape. Striker just needs to keep looking for the ball and listen for instructions (man on, time, etc...) I think the most important element is to have a team that want to work for each other because this system requires trust and hard work. But essentially the players determined the shape and tactics rather than it being my preferred choice.
We formed a 7 aside team just a month back. The team consists of big belly or out of shape players (including me). After 5 games, with no coordination, and no formation, thought of getting a few tips. This is the first video i came across and thank you Catalan. Hope we play a little better, to keep ourselves motivated and get fitter too. Cheers everyone
I like to use a 2-3-1 formation. I think it's a hybrid formation, because of the wingers as they can help defending, as well as take on more attacking positions up on the pitch. I also like this formation, because of the CM, as it works as a bridge between the defenders and the attacking players.
Fábio Rita that’s the same or similar formation i plan on using. I entered a 7aside tournament starting next month in march. I plan to have 2 CBs and 2 fullbacks who can support the midfield. Along with a CM/CAM and the striker. I want the CB’s to stay tucked in and force the opposition out wide in case of counterattacks while the fullbacks can cover the length of the pitch to not only defend, but to whip in crosses and have a shot or two Essentially i wanna use the 2-3-1 for attacking and controlling the ball while dropping back and using a 2-2-1-1 for defending. Then we can counterattack ourselves
@@anthonylong9067 I like fast midfielders, specially those who play out in the flanks, because they can cover the space in a box-to-box fashion and also because I can out-number the opposition players both when defending and attacking. It is somehow similar to yours, yes, but I see it more in 4-1-1 formation, when defending and in a 2-1-3 when attacking.
@@aleaiactaest8354 yes, it is a good strategy too, if I want to drag a defender with my striker to open a new space to allow one of the wingers to go to the central corridor.
2-2-2 is exactly as you explain it, perfect starter and most conservative strategy for a balanced formation, especially when new players need to know each other Easier to assign play pairs and subs - later it can progress to the diamond formation. Thank you for all the effort and knowledge that goes into a quality channel!
I really liked the 2-1-3 formation. It's solid. The wingers can drop back as midfielders too as the opposition starts the counter attack. The other midfielder can play as defensive centre midfield pushing the ball forward and pressing at the same time.
When I’m captain for a 7 a side, we play a 3-2-1 but with adaptable midfielders instead of defenders. We have a back 3 but the full backs don’t come forward too much unless they’re in possession and need to make a pass, as soon as they’ve passed it off, they drop back into defence. We don’t have our middle man/CB come forward because he’s useless on the ball but his strengths are intimidating opponents into losing the ball. I’m one of the two midfielders. I play on the left. But we chop and change between the two midfielders and the striker while attacking. On attack, the midfielders go wide and forward to score goals and make runs. Our striker doesn’t score a lot but he has good positioning and a high assist rate. On defence, we track back to help the defence. The striker also drops back a bit to receive the ball, when he receives the ball in the middle, he holds it and gives it to one of the midfielders and runs up. This is highly effective on both ends of the ball for us before anyone doubts us, we’ve conceded 3 in 10, and scored 13 in 10, so it works, I’ve been developing and adapting this 3-2-1 for ages. It can almost sound like a 3-0-3 on paper when attacking but most of the time it ends up being a 3-1-2 on attack and then it reverts to the standard 3-2-1 on the defensive end. When we take the lead, we get the two midfielders to drop back and get everyone but the striker behind the ball to defend. If anyone reads this, thank you, I just thought I’d share my experiences. :)
I like playing with a Xmas tree 3-2-1 that, when you are on the attack, becomes a 2-3-1, with one of the wing defenders coming up and the two centers moving to the other side to make room
Hi Ben! Thank you for sharing this video,I coach an U10’s team and like to play the first formation you showed,at times over the past couple of years I have found our central midfielder has been isolated when we’ve lost possession,after watching your video last week I asked my wide players to tuck in when we don’t have possession and it’s worked so well that my players not only won their first league game of the season 3-0 but also went on to win their first ever tournament that same afternoon having previously finished runners up in 3 other tournaments,so just want to thank you for helping us get over the line,it’s much appreciated mate,wishing you all the best with everything in the future. Jason ⚽️🏆🤝
Off to Stockholm Cup with my U11 team which is 7v7 tournament , here in Finland we play 8v8, so this is helpful sorting out and tweaking formations. Thanks team.
Coaching my first year of U8 football in a fun-based rec league. I plan to stick with the 222 at the beginning and add in more complexity as the season wears on. Sadly, five of our first seven practices this spring have been canceled and the other two were moved indoors due to rain when I was on vacation. I haven't even met my team yet! lol
Wow! Not the perfect start! But coaching logs is a marathon not a sprint buddy. You’ll have lots of time to develop them, make new memories and build some great relationships with the players! If you ever need any advice along your journey. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
My personal fav is 3-1-2 In attack this turns into 1-3-2 and it can be really attack minded The vital requirements, though, are fast wingers for the return when the ball is lost and a midfielder like Kante - the midfielder needs to help the wingers press the opposing attackers wide, and at the same time help the centerback with the middle so coverage is crucial for the midfielder
Yes you’re so right! We love and fluid formations like that! The ability to go from defence to attack by moving defenders into midfield is such a huge part of the modern game! Thanks for your feedback bro! We appreciate your support 👊🏻
Hi ! I like your 3-2-1 formation. But i gonna change the wings a little bit and the midfields. So its like this - 1 center back / 1 defensive midfield in front of the center back / 1 midfield who is responsible for the construction of the game and to support the back of the striker / 2 wings who do the entire line so the wings has to have smartness and stamina / 1 striker who plays with no fix position near to the centre back of the rivals so the striker can go a little bit near to the wings or midfield to help on the defensive work and get some ball on the attacking work. Cumps.
3-2-1 For this tactic i thought revert it when attacking but the midfielders attacking and 2 defenders play as midfielders so they don´t have to run so much
We love that Joel, another alternative is allow the wing backs to push forwards but ask a central player to hold back behind the ball to offer cover. Similar to how a CDM plays.
Thanks Kristopher! To work on the formations themselves, it’s best to play small sided games with the units. So the shape and players of your defensive unit (for example a back 3) play a game where they are against an opposing team and highlight their shape, where they need to play to find a way forward and how to play out from the back. If you run some sessions for your defence, then next your midfield shape then your attackers. Each session should focus on the unit and players within that unit. Try not to coach all the elements of the formation at once as it can be very tough to do all at once!
2-1-1-2 attack who dynamically move to a 2-3-1 to defend using hot and cold transitions, it helps understanding of sideways movement across the pitch to cover and when 9v9 comes in bolt one on in the centre at the back and one in front of the 2 who move wider
Thank you for the video very useful but what about this formation. Basically there is st ( striker ), (cf) centre foward. Midfield. 2 mid can play right mid and left mid/ mid. Defender. 2 defender ( midfielders can help too ). Thanks again for the video
Great choice, the transition from one shape to another when losing possession can be a tough one to get right but if you are clear with the players roles and responsibilities, you will do great with that!! 👍🏻 keep up the great work!
Played 2-2-2 formation. Attacking transition it's a joy to play. So much support going forward. But in defensive transition, it's a big risk as there is so much space in the centre and we got hit on the counter. This formation is very hard to get the balance between offensive and defensive transitions.
Absolutely, we find that to minimise defensive transition difficulties, one of the midfield 2 can Anchor as a CDM, staying behind the ball in attacking phases and ensuring some extra man power to stop counter attacks!
Last season, I had 8 very good very experienced players on my 7v7 rec team (12-14 years old). We tried the 2-2-2 formation and it was very successful. The thing about the 2-2-2 was that it constantly changed depending on what was happening on the field....but I had the players that could pull this off. For example, when our forwards were at the opponents goal, one midfielder moved up and we attacked with 3....2 out wide and one in front of goal. The other midfield stayed back to be an option if we had to pass back. He was also in position for counter attacks up the middle. The two defensive players actually pushed up far enough that they became CDM's and helped out on attacks. If one received the ball and pushed forward, the midfielder knew to drop back and cover defense. If the defensive player pushed far enough forward, a striker would drop back into the midfield spot so that we weren't exposed in the middle. We almost never lost shape or got caught out of position. If we were defending in front of our goal, the two mids would drop back to form a 4 man defensive line. One striker stayed back in the middle while the other came back about halfway to be the "pass to" option if we got the ball back. As soon as we did, everyone immediately got back into the 2-2-2 in order to move the ball up field before changing into the attacking 2-1-3 formation. So to sum it all up, we defended with a 4-1-1, transitioned both ways with a 2-2-2 and attacked with a 2-1-3. The teams we played maintained their same formation throughout the game and were not equipped to handle our extra defense and extra attackers. I love the 2-2-2 but again, you have to have the right players to play it well.
daveyelian Sounds like a really strong team! The problem that most people have is that seven aside football is often introduced as young as eight years old, so playing these advanced systems and roles can be way beyond kids of that age! Like you said it takes real football understanding to play those positions so well! Thanks for the comments buddy, really appreciate the support.
What do you think of a 2-1-1-2 formation? 2 defenders, 1 cdm, 1 cam, 2 forwards who play very wide like wingers. What do you think? Worried about building from back shape(s) and having 2 defenders who cannot join the attack.
It’s a good formation from a defensive point of view with two centre backs and a CDM. I do worry though how you’d get enough bodies forward AND not be left open to a counter attack. Also with your attackers playing very wide, your central threat may be limited, if your CAM doesn’t get into the box you could find your team a little light upfront!
I've been using the 2-1-3 formation, it's given me some good results and some bad ones. I still need some help with implementing it. What drills would be good to improve factors and how could I give more guidance
Sounds like your players are starting to find their feet in that formation which is great! One of the main factors is how they respond when they recover possession and when they lose possession. Check out this drill which is really good for training transitions! The Perfect Warm-Up for a Fast Start in Matches! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-J_sO8d13vRA.html
Abilash Davies 3-1-2 is similar to the 2-3-1. Central midfielder needs to cover a lot of yards. Your back three have to operate with fullbacks to add width to you attacks but it can be a really effective formation for the right team!
Yes you said right the central midfielder needs to cover several yards but if the full backs are more of attacking players then it could create great support and the midfielder could play somewhat defensive.
My team plays 3-1-2 formation. We always try to play the game at one side. Like if we are playing at the right side, the right striker would comes down to the right midfield position for the support of the central midfielder and the right fullback would be playing defensive and the left fullback would be above the midfield position and the left striker would be the lone striker. Then either the lone striker would cut inside for a through ball or we mainly go for a long ball for the left fullback which will be mainly nearby at the left end of the box, then a simple low cross to the striker or the fullback would go for the finish.
Depends on your style of play and system! Three at the back gives you cover if one defender is out of position or if a defender has being part of an attacking move. With a back two you can often end up in 1v1s with attackers against a single defender. A back two does give you more attacking options though and if you prefer playing a more attacking style, you may want more players in midfield than defence!
@@CatalanSoccer is there anything player-related that can benefit a formation more than others? like pacy attackers, pacy defenders, people who can find long passes and so on
It’s standard across all formations to assume the goalkeeper is part of the shape, but starting every single formation with the number 1 becomes pointless as they all have a goalkeeper be default. So in football goalkeepers are not referred to in formations. Thanks
@@CatalanSoccerI know the reasons why - there's no reason we can't highlight the importance of the position by including it in the formation shape, let's try to break mould and lead by example by educating people?
2-2-2 is not a good formation and it shouldn't be recommended. It's awful shape without natural width. IMO 3-2-1, 3-1-2 and 2-3-1 are usable formations.
2-2-2 like all formations has strengths and weaknesses. What it lacks in width it gives teams compactness and solidity down the spine of the team. 2-2-2 is used very often in grassroots football, especially for teams that lack pace and therefore struggle to exploit wide areas. We understand your point though, there’s a definite lack of width compared to some other formations. Thanks for the feedback 😁
Closed mindset on display here, every formation has its advantages and disadvantages. This could be a good formation in grassroots if you have mixed levels of development, partner up more experienced players with lesser developed players so lesser developed players are not isolated.
it's true tho, a good formation needs length and width in order to occupy as much space. And also the 2-2-2 doesnt form any triangles so its really hard to keep possession
I have a question. I just left a reply to another comment on how my team played the 2-2-2 last season. In that reply, i mentioned that I had all experienced players. We are just starting this year's rec season now and it's going to be a little more difficult. I have a couple of inexperienced players on my team. So my question is, where do you "hide" those players when you put them in the game. I'm thinking of playing a 3-2-1 this season mainly because one of the other teams has a lot of speed so I'm planning on not giving up too much space in the middle. So when I put one or both of the guys in to play, do I put them up front as a striker as not to weaken the defense and rely on my midfield to lead attacks? Or do I place him at midfield and hope the defense can slow down attacks on his side? Or do i put him on defense, in the middle, between 2 experienced backs. Keep in mind, both of these players are not only inexperienced but they are also very slow (in other words....a little on the heavy side). Any suggestions?
Thanks Dave, tricky situation this one. I think it depends on your objectives. If you objective is simply to give the team the best chance of winning, you will find that players on the edge of the game as the smallest weakness. Often weaker players in a squad are put out wide as full backs, wingers or wide strikers. If they lose the ball, they will do so in the least dangerous areas of the pitch. Maybe try a wide position but with a strong and experienced player playing inside them. Left wing with a good centre mid next to them. Right fullback with a strong CB to cover him, that kind of thing usually works about the best you can make it. Playing as a lone striker, I’d worry your team will struggle to create enough chances going forward with out throwing lots of bodies forward and being exposed to counter attacks! Does that help?
@@CatalanSoccer It does help and thanks for the advice. I was thinking that they might be more "safe" between two good players but your logic of placing them on the wing next to a stronger player in the middle makes more sense. And I just want to be clear that as a coach, my main objective is for players to improve but that takes time. As I mentioned, this is a recreation team not a competitive team. A lot of kids sign up because they want to try soccer for the first time. Other sign up because they want to play with their friends and others sign up because they play competetively and our rec league takes place during their off-season so this keeps them in practice. Each team is divided up as equally as possible by age, experience and skill. We get 2 weeks to practice (which translates to an hour a night for 2 or 3 nights each week) before the season begins. As you know, 6 hours is not enough time to teach kids who have never played soccer how to dribble, pass, shoot, and defend...much less formations and the role of each player in a particular formation as well as different formations. Another factor we have to contend with is overweight, out of shape kids. I'm not being judgemental but it is a factor. Again, 6 hours of practice will not shed 10 or 15 pounds nor turn any kid into a marathon runner. In my first meeting with my new team each season, I tell my kids that we might win some games and we might lose some games and that's OK with me and even if we lose every game this season, I'll be OK with it as long as each and every player becomes a better player than when we started. That is my overall group objective. But, I have an objective for each game and that is to try to win. Afterall, that is the objective of every type of competition whether it's a soccer game, baseball game, debate team or a spelling bee at school. So, while I don't place winning over player development, I do want to at least see my players put in the effort to try to win. I don't teach that winning is important but I do teach that having a winning attitude is important. One thing I tell all my kids every year is that I never get upset over losing a game but I might get a little upset if I see you not trying. So I expect to see effort on their part. As a coach, my job is to use the best strategy to put the kids in the best position to acheive the objective of winning and that's the reason for my question . We have a few very strong players, we have a few that can play soccer but they only play for fun and then we have some that, for the time being, have no experience and very little skill. I honestly have a couple of players who don't make the connection of "Hey, the other team is running at me with the ball. I should try to go get the ball". And that, too, was a reason for my question. They will all get equal playing time. No one sits on the bench. But I do want to put them in a place on the field, where if they don't or can't perform well, it hurts the whole team (but to contradict myself one of my favorite things to do is let everyone play every position throughout the season). I have seen teams in the past that put all their "bad" players on defense and their good players in attack positions. When they get scored on, the attackers bash the defenders. I heard kids say "the reason we lost is because our defense sucks". I won't stand for that kind of talk from my team. But, again, that's why I want to find the best spot on the field for a player that, for lack of a better term, doesn't play well. I apologize for the long comment but I don't want anyone thinking that I'm one of those "win at all cost" coaches. I really do have the best interest of the kids at heart.
Love that mentality! Winning is a massive part of football, and all sports but like you said, especially for kids new to the game we have a responsibility to put enjoyment first! Keep up the great work buddy! ❤️⚽️
What about 3..3 Please, I play a football tournament and we have qualified for the second round.... But I don't have professional players except for the center defender.... As for the others, they are normal..... And we will face a strong team in the second round, please give me a game plan to play with
We play a 3-3. We tried to switch to 2-3-1, but we can't get our middies to play both sides of the ball. Too much running, I guess. Maybe we'll try the 2-1-3. I should be able to find a couple of kids willing to field a single mid-field position properly.
It’s difficult Shannon unless you have the players who can cover enough ground! It’s a very long way for them to try and cover attacking and defending!
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