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5 most used formations in Europe

Tactics form an integral part of football and it is no surprise that many of the systems have become synonymous with many celebrated teams over the years. For Instance, Arigo Sacchis 4-4-2 with Milan,Barcelonas tiki taka inspired 4-3-3 played an important role in the popularity of these formations. Here we take a look at the five most used formations in Europe and pay close attention to the characteristics of each.

#1 4-4-2

This formation was most widely used across Europe especially in England during the 90’s. Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United team achieved much success using this formation. However, it was made most famous by AC Milan under Arrigo Sacchi and subsequently Fabio Capello when they dominated Europe, winning three European Cups, two Intercontinental cups and three European Supercups.

This system makes use of a normal back-four, two central midfielders, two wingers and two strikers. The two central midfielders usually consist of one holding midfielder while the other is required to go forward at every opportunity to help the strikers. However, as Manchester United have shown, the wide men play a very important role in this system. The two wingers move up the flanks to attack and they also assist the full-backs defensively.

United’s long list of celebrated wingers showcases their importance in this formation. The two strikers are required to play together and create chances on goal. They can be similar players or a combination of  two different types. One of the strikers can be a target man who can hold up the ball while bringing the other skilful, swift striker into play to create goal scoring chances.

It is now widely observed that the 4-4-2 is being slowly discarded at the highest level. The dearth of quality box-to-box midfielders like Scholes and Gerrard may be one of the reasons, but also the fact that the current trend of specialist midfielders like the holding midfielder, passing midfielders and creative number 10’s each have their own role and specific areas to operate.

However, it is still one of the most used formations and it was employed by Simeone’s La Liga winning Atletico side.

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