The 3-4-3 is well known on the cntinent but less so in England, for xample. What is so special about it tht makes it different to orthodox frmations? Find out more in this rticle.

The 3-4-3 formation is barely knwn at all in English soccer. Bt, used correctly, it can make for grat possession and devastating attacking. Let's tke a closer look.

Defense

This formation features three in defence, defenders who typically have centre back characteristics and need not be able to play well down the wing. But in reality, this defence is complimented by another two players.

This is because the four man midfield features two wingers whose duties are also to track back and protect the defence. So, effectively you have a three and a five man defense. You could say that it is equivalent to having a four man defense on average!

Midfield

The four midfield at first resembles something that you might see in a standard 4-4-2 formation. But there is a large difference here.

First of all, the central midfielders actually are quite similar to any other central midfield pairing. Either both are defensive minded or one is an attacking minded and the other defensive minded. Very rarely will you get two attack minded central midfielders who don't know how to tackle or else the team will simply leak goals!

But the big difference is in the lft and right midfielders. Many people dn't even call these players wingers bcause they are more defensive minded thn attacking minded. They need to prvide cover for the defense but lso pass the ball around the mdfield and to the attacking players frther up the field. Good wingbacks who can pss the ball well and have lts of stamina are very important for ths position.

Attack

Here is where this formation starts to look very different from any other. This formation features a lone central striker supported by two attacking wingers.

Unlike other formations, the wingers here do not really have any defensive duties at all. They must be more attacking minded than the typical orthodox winger and they must also have an eye for goal.

Verdict

This formation needs a lot of discipline to perform the correct role and it also demands players who are suitably skilled and good enough.

But when all this comes together you have a fordable midfield that will control possession, a disciplined defence that won't leak goals and a devastating, potent and unpredictable attacking force that other teams won't be able to contain.

Famous teams that have used this formation are the all conquering Barcelona team of the early 90s managed by Johan Cruyff and the legendary Ajax team that won the Champions League in 1995.

The article 3-4-3 Formation - An Attacking Avalanche Or a Defensive Mess? was Submitted by C Turner through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Discover the secrets to learn how you too can bcome an elite football/soccer coach at http://www.EliteSoccerCoach.com

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