Video: Johan Cruyff explains how best to use a diamond formation in midfield

The football world has been in mourning ever since news of Johan Cruyff’s death broke on Thursday. The Dutch legend had been fighting a losing battle with lung cancer and passed away at the age of 68 in Barcelona – his adopted home.

The man was a genius in football tactics and is widely regarded as the pioneer of Total Football and other innovations such as the tandem penalty and the Cruyff Turn that left defenders for dead with one swift move. While his arrival at Barcelona reinvigorated the club, leading them to a La Liga title, it was his return as a manager that helped them conquer Europe as well.

In this video, Cruyff explains the diamond formation he employed and how best to use the players to avoid being overrun on the wings or on the counter-attack. The 4-4-2 diamond formation that most teams employed was vulnerable against opponents who had pace on the wings. 

Instead, Cruyff’s formation saw two wide forwards with the striker dropping deep – sort of like a false nine. Ring any bells? Cruyff explains that he wouldn’t play the diamond if he had a world class striker to lead the line since he is more effective inside the box. 

The key is to play the forwards out wide so that a midfielder does not have to step out and break the diamond to defend the wings and thereby lose a passing option in midfield. The forwards were tasked with tracking back so the full-backs were not exposed or drawn out to stretch the defence if they were up against two strikers in a 4-4-2. 

This diamond formation was what Pep Guardiola perfected with Sergio Busquets at the base, Andres Iniesta and Xavi on either side and Lionel Messi dropping deep to complete the diamond while wide forwards such as Pedro and David Villa stretched defences.