NFL Fan tries to learn Tiki-Taka in Football ⚽️

[@libanfarah1853]

Nice to see you try to understand the tactical aspects of football, and if you have any questions we are always in the comments trynna help a potential new fan. 👍

[@TwofourA]

Just farted oops never mind my pants are soggy and brown help

[@doritoloco1031]

@@TwofourA 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😐😐😐😐😐😐😐😐

[@TwofourA]

@@doritoloco1031 i blame jhus bro he peer pressured E

[@bk2active]

@@TwofourA dont bring my guy j hus into this

[@kevinobrien9495]

Yes, you described the concept of pressing exactly. In basketball you will often see double teams which may not happen as often in football but the idea of pressing is closing down the space on the ball. As for a striker they are the player who is most forward and central who's specialty is putting the ball in the net.

[@defeatstatistics7413]

In football, you tend to target the double-ups on particularly dangerous players, like wingers or playmakers. It does happen, but not often.

[@jurgnobs1308]

@@defeatstatistics7413 it's a very heavy "investment" due to the larger distances in football/soccer

[@surferec]

Not only that but you have to consider the "offside rule" so you place you defenders up the field just bellow the center line cutting the field in half. The risk is that a fast striker (likes Cristiano and Mbappe) could break this with long passes and the striker runnng the field from the center line

[@rashomon351]

the definition of a striker is a bit misleading. A striker is a player whose *position* in the teams tactical line-up is at the most forward. It's not the player who just happens to be most forward at that current moment.

[@TheKirbyT]

Man, you jumped into the deep end of trying to learn soccer tactics.

[@JohnUtaka_]

Football*

[@vfxfate]

*Football

[@Stringer13ell]

Foot*ball

[@erichirsch9268]

Yea this is really high level shit. I've played soccer for over 30 years and been a Barca fan for about 15 years and I'm still learning this stuff.

[@JohnSmithAprilMay]

@@JohnUtaka_ *Association football

[@Lord-Cyrus]

Yeah, you definitely should watch a video about the basics of positions in football. Watching highlights and tactics explainers after that will be much more worthwhile!

[@guittadabe5214]

Stikers are the players whose role is to score. It's the last of the 3 digits in a team's strategy. If a team plays 4-4-2, that means that apart from the goalie, the team is playing with 4 defenders, (first number), 4 midfielders (second number), and 2 strikers (last number). Other common strategies are 4-3-3 (mentioned in the video), and 4-5-1 (extremely defensive, relying on counter-attacks).

[@HawX192]

nowadays a 4-5-1 turns into a 4-3-3 when attacking so wouldnt say extremely defensive but yes, agree with what you said.

[@adancastaneda6962]

The 4-5-1 is a double edged sword, while in theory it's extremely defensive in play its as offensive as a 4-3-3 because you pass from 6 defensive players to 6 offensive players. Same happens with a 5-3-2 that also gives you a up to 7 offensive players of your defensive laterals join in attack. Modern football is way more offensive even if in paper it looks like you go all out defensive.

[@careyfreeman5056]

3-5-2 or 3-4-3 more common than 4-5-1 from what I've seen. Also, 4-2-3-1 seems to be the new 4-4-2. . . at least in England.

[@VascoQuental]

The strikers are the centre-forwards. Usually they´re tall and strong as they physically compete against the central defenders who are always big boys. Haaland, Levandowski, Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic are a few examples. There are also mobile strikers which are usually smaller, faster and more technical than the first type I mentioned. Rather than holding the markers(defenders) with physical strength, the mobile strikers outrun the defenders or dribble them. In modern football, these lighter-faster strikers are usually adapted to play behind a stronger striker and are called ´second-forwards´ or ´false 9s´. Messi now plays as a false 9, even though he started as a right winger. I hope I explained well. Regarding the formations you mentioned, it´s slightly outdated nowadays, as a 4-3-3 can be easily mistaken for a 4-5-1, all depending if the wingers are helping with pressing. So, in a 4-3-3, usually only the centre-forward is a striker. The other 2 are the wingers. You can however play with 3 real strikers in a 4-3-3.

[@cocapable8330]

I dont comment on KZbin so often man, but I can’t resist to tell how I appreciate your effort to learn something new. That’s is so inspiring especially with your honest reaction when you don’t fully understand a concept.

[@dariogutierrez6716]

I really like your approach to this. If you realize, that video was done by TIFO, a channel I recommended. Grasping the theory and then watching it happen is a good idea, do just that! One thing to understand is positions. In smaller sports (as in way smaller courts, like basketball) positions are relative to what's happening. So if you are defending someone, you are a defender, if you take the ball and attack, you are suddenly an attacker. Not necessarily the case in football, where positions are, well, positional. An striker refers to an attacking player that stays in advanced places on the pitch and who's primary role is scoring goals. The most basic positions are goalkeeper (you know that one) defenders, midfielder and attackers or strikers. There's a lot of roles but you will learn the details as you keep exploring the sport. Good luck!

[@WKogut]

Striker (or center forward, often referred to as number 9, since it's the shirt number most associated with CFs) is usually the most advanced position on the pitch, but when you use false nine instead of a classic striker, he drops deeper and isn't just the executor, but more of a facilitator

[@rodrigos7070]

Exactly! I'll add they're usually the goalscorers

[@weedo4269]

Examples of strikers are benzema, lewandoski and haalland

[@colachofcb]

@@weedo4269 Benzema is more of a second striker or false nine since he is very technical, has great vision and drops deep to help with the buildup. But yes, now that he is older and the main striker at Real Madrid he is playing more as a classic striker

[@ivanpetrov5185]

@@rodrigos7070 Still strikers should be number 10 and 11. Number 9 not only scores, but creates opportunities for 10 and 11 therefore is not considered a pure striker.

[@BlackCornflake]

Not sure how entertaining this would be for a KZbin reaction but MitsosJR has a KZbin channel and a playlist called football basics. I think you’d enjoy it, he explains and breaks down tactical aspects of football in a similar way that I hear coaches speak about tactics. Enjoying hearing your perspective in these videos!

[@camfrance10]

MitsosJR's channel is top class

[@forestfan7974]

"Number Nine" - viewers should know that the original English numbering system on shirts for players was based on position. (and a 2-3-5 formation). So the goalie was "1" , the left and right full backs were "2" and "3" - the midfield trio was "4","5", and "6", the winger on the left was "7", the inside forward (L) was "8", the center forward wore a "9" shirt, the inside forward (R) was "10" and the winger on that side was "11". Nobody plays this formation anymore but the central striker has still been described by this original shirt "Number Nine". So a "false nine" is a forward who pretends to be the spearhead but actually drops back to receive passes...

[@SeanDaNerd]

Another thing that’s different between American and world football, is the meaning of “deep.” In American football, you go deep when you go further into your opponent’s defense. In world football, you go deep when you go closer towards your own goal.

[@jonathanhill4366]

To me the biggest similarity to tiki-taka in American football tactics would be found in how receiver routes are schemed to draw defenders away from portions of the field so that one receiver is isolated, open and easier to pass to. Soccer players will move to open spaces to force defenders to make decisions that will open up one or more easy passing lanes for themselves or other players. That is really the point of the false nine striker in particular.

[@danielramos2243]

I think you understood the concept of tikitaka pretty well. And yes, strikers are the players at the top of the forward lines who are the target guys expected to take the ball and score (or wait for a pass and be in the right position to score). Nonetheless, they are expected to be the main target for scoring goals. One thing I wanna explain is 4-3-3. So formations are numbered this way: defense-midfield-offense. So 4-3-3 means there's 4 defenders, 3 midfielders, a 3 forwards. Formations get more complicated as more lines are added to either the defense, midfield, or forward positions, but that's the gist. Happy to see you're enjoying the sport, tifo is a good channel for learning more about tactics and strategy.

[@Michael-st9ky]

3-1-2-2-2 😮

[@catchnkill]

@@Michael-st9ky Is it a 4-4-2?

[@hansoerteras3983]

@@catchnkill 3-5-2. 3 defenders, one on the 6 (defensive midfielder), 2 8s (central midfielder), 2 strikers and 2 wingers. In this formation, one or both winger will probably play left/right back while opponent is in posession.

[@erichirsch9268]

Yea and Barca kinda play a 4-3-3 but really play a 4-1-2-3

[@rod6722]

I'll add that most football fans obsess way too much about the specific numbers in a formation, it's becoming less and less relevant in modern football as players are becoming more and more versatile. Defenders (and even goalkeepers) are expected to have good technical ability and forwards are expected to be the first defenders in a high pressing style of play. Most top teams in modern football tend to attack in a 2-3-5 or 3-2-5 attacking shape (no matter if the starting formation is a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 3-4-3, or something else), with the goal of stretching the opposition's defence by occupying the full width of the pitch (wings, half-spaces, and center).

[@elxicoplayboi5517]

Striker = The player who is supposed to score most goals. Tipically people who are very good at shooting the ball with strenght and accuracy (Cristiano Ronaldo for example) Defender = They play mostly in the back of the field (near their goalkeeper) and try to steal the ball when the other team is attacking. As the name says, they are supposed to defend. Midfielder = As the name says, they play in the middle of the field, between the striker (most offensive position) an the defenders (most defensive position) They are the one who are in charge to move the ball around and create goal opportunities by passing the ball strategically, dribbling and assisting the striker. They can score goals if they have the chance to do it and they can also have a more defensive role in some situations.

[@thelardxd]

I can recommend you to watch Ted Lasso TV series. It's about to an American Football coach come to Engilish Premiere Leauge trying to lead a soccer team.

[@Stonbreas]

Yeah Jadon Sudeikis was awesome! Snatched The Emmys

[@krasmazov009]

You understand the basics of it. Just to help, the striker aka the 9 usually plays like the tip of the spear. False 9 strategies have the striker play little back for the purpose of opening more space. A lot of strikers do this now more than any other time in football. Johan Cruyff which is the father of Total Football was considered one of the first big examples of what a false 9 could do with Netherlands. So the incorporation of the false 9 tactic into tiki taka is just a natural fit.

[@victorgarcia3642]

dude, brazillian subscriber here, so nice to see your journey learning about the sport, after diving into barcelona's highlights you could react to historical zidane and ronaldo's real madrid 3x champions league titles in a row, the midfielders were nicknamed bermuda's triangle due to the ability to pierce through pressing systems using rapid transition over prized possesion. love the content

[@kevinmccallister2646]

Watching someone genuinely try to come to grips with the tactical side of the game using elements from other invasion games is very refreshing. Please keep it up! You’ve got a new subscriber 👍🏾

[@shallriseunnoticd.1602]

Another great style of play is the Gegen pressing, it has revolutionised Liverpool's status in the recent years. It is the "heavy metal" style of playing football where the defence line is very high up the pitch and the ball is quickly won within 10 seconds of being lost from possession by 3 to 4 players pressing an opponent player. You can see Tikitaka vs Gegen pressing in the matches of Liverpool vs Manchester city , its one of the most high profile matches in the footballing world.

[@emilioa008]

I admire your humble and open minded approach toward footbal/soccer. Keep putting out your content, we're all for it!

[@feeenz]

It's so much fun to see your passion for strategy and not just the flashy dribblings and cool goals. Much love!

[@5star1z]

It’s outdated nowadays since big clubs know how to defend against it but before it was very hard to stop it.

[@Renjiro91]

Striker is basically the attacker position. They are mirrored by the opposing team's defenders. A false nine is a term used for a central striker who drops deeper and sits between the opponent's defender/midfielder line instead of pushing forward. This creates a space around the player to start attacking situations, albeit further from the opposing goal.

[@cadzon92]

Once you watch a full game you will see how sort of slow it is and how hard it is to break through a defensive line. The highlights you are seeing are not happening to often. When you follow a team for months and they score a really important goal, makes the moment special. I just wanted to say, dont expect to see this kind of play all the time abd it might feel slow and boring before you are really into it.

[@Carlos.Grande]

There is no mention of Luis Aragones at all!! He is the one who kicked in the tikitaka which guardiola later benefited from. Before Luis, rijkaard and others rarely lined together iniesta and xavi let alone played tikitaka

[@guillermomendoza1398]

you should do a continuation reacting a video like: Beautiful Tiki-Taka Plays That Can't Be Repeated In Football! to see tiki taka in action!

[@guillermomendoza1398]

btw the basic idea of the "false nine" is to have a striker (usually the one that plays deeper into rival's defense) going to the midfield, that force the rivals defenders to make a decision: either follow the striker to midfield leaving their defensive position (and creating holes in the defense that wingers can take advantage from) or stay in position and aloud the "false nine" be open and receive the ball alone, simple idea but with a guy like Messi as false nine and Neymar as winger is a lose lose situation very often.

[@deeznoots6241]

Ironically one of the early innovators of tiki taka was Burnley, a club now mostly known for playing pretty much the exact opposite sort of football

[@joswayreyes9665]

Really appreciate how much you are respectful of the game

[@gildedgems]

I am two weeks late, but as an American who only really loves the sport of football (compared to other sports), I'm thrilled that you're learning more about it. Although you've really jumped in the deep end lmfao... I understand tiki-taka, but if you asked me to explain it, I absolutely could not. It's one of the more complicated, if not the most complicated play styles in football.

[@zsht]

This is a great way to introduce yourself to the game. American sports are deeply analysed and statistised, and I think because of the often low scorelines people may wrongly assume Football isn't as tactically rich. Start with learning player position names/roles, then learn the common formations. I'm very impressed how quickly you picked up the general idea of tiki-taka without basic foundational knowledge. Welcome to the beautiful game friend!

[@jdj8168]

since you liked teamwork and passing, you should react to a tikitaka in action video or a passing video

[@GarkKahn]

Basic positions in football Goalkeeper: Protects the goal and is expected to remain there (though some can surprise you) Defender: Remains nearby their own goal and unless they're specialized in attacking most of the time aren't expected to go beyond their own half of the pitch Midfielder: Plays in the middle of the field and varying on their respective playstyles they are in most cases the first line of defense or the playmakers Striker: Main attackers, play around the rival goal in order to score, so most of the top scorers are from this position That was the basic, now for intermediate level know that every position has many different variations depending on the player and team styles

[@VillaFanDan92]

On the thing you mentioned about "strikers" To put it very simply, there are 4 basic positions players can take up in football: Goalkeeper (obviously) Defender (the last line of defence, attempting to protect the goalkeeper from incoming shots) Midfielder (The people in the middle whose job is to transition between defense and attack) Striker (The people at the front whose job it is to score goals and create goalscoring opportunities) It's much more complicated than that, as there are tonnes of subcategories. There are even things like "wingbacks" who are wide defenders who are expecting to contribute heavily to attacking scenarios. But those are the basics. To go back to the video, the "False 9" that it is describing there, is the tactic of having a striker move back and play in positions on the pitch that would traditionally be for the midfielders. Doing midfielder's work in creating space and building attacks. With the ultimate aim of having the team attack in great numbers with midfielders and strikers together, to try and overwhelm the opposition defence. The name "False 9" come from the fact that the "centre forward" (Your front and centre striker who you would traditionally rely on to score most of the team's goals) would traditionally wear the number 9 on the back of their shirt. Although not everyone follows those traditions these days, it's not like in rugby where the shirt number is mandated, players can choose whatever shirt number they want. But the phrase still sticks around and when watching videos about tactics you might still hear people refer to a "number 10" or a "number 6" instead of their specific position which again is a reference to this traditional way of having shirt numbers. Sorry for going on so long. Hope that made sense.

[@TheMightyHams]

When he mentioned "4-3-3", this is an easy way of describing the team's formation. In simplistic terms, it means: 4 defenders, 3 midfielders, 3 attackers, and the goalkeeper is never included as their position is always the same regardless of formation. 4-3-3 is definitely one of the most common ones, but you can see weirder formations such as 4-3-2-1, which means 4 defenders, 3 holding midfielders (midfielders that tend not to advance forward with the attack), 2 attacking midfielders (midfielders who follow and support the attack), and a striker/attacker. Basically though it's just a way of describing what the team's formation looks like from a top-down view. Positions on the field: - Goalkeeper: Person in goal - Central Defender(s): Defenders who take up position in-front of the goal - Left/Right Back: Defenders who are positioned towards the sides of the pitch - Left/Right Wing Back: Same as above, except will usually travel forward with the attack to support * Defenders can be referred to as full-backs or wing-backs to differentiate between the two examples above Central/Left/Right Midfielder(s): Take up the middle of the pitch (at their respective sides), are instrumental in feeding passes to the attack and managing the flow and pace of the game Central Defensive Midfielder: Midfielder who supports the defence, tends to stay near the half-way line and drops back to defend Central Attacking Midfielder: Midfielder who supports the attack, tends to travel into the opposition's half when attacking Wide Midfielder/Winger: Takes up position at the edges of the pitch and will try to run the ball down the wings Centre forward/Striker: Attacker who stays in-front of the goal. Will usually try to keep close to the goal and receive passes into the box. Left/Right forward: Attacker who sits to either side of the goal Left/Right Wing(ers): Attackers who utilize the full width of the pitch, and will often try to either cut inside or play a cross into the central attacker. * Striker/Forward/Attacker are terms that most people use interchangeably, through striker is usually the centre forward. When the video referred to positions such as "false 9", it's basically a centre forward who will drop back to receive passes with the aim of disrupting the oppositions formation by drawing the defending players out of position. The "9" part is due to certain positions on the pitch having their own number, where the centre forward has the number 9. It's a "false 9" because the number 9 is moving into "false" positions.

[@user-qx6ri2bf4o]

You should watch an explanation of the basic terms of football. Positions, moves and all before trying to understand strategies.

[@lukasw689]

I didn’t know Quinton Reviews was a football coach

[@DavidWilliams-nm5jv]

Pressing as a concept in Soccer is particularly effective because it's so much harder to control the ball with just your feet. You see a LOT of top teams do pressing at some level (all the time, once the ball crosses halfway, or on a bad pass - too fast or slightly inaccurate - which means the player getting the ball will be under extra pressure). The downside, of course, as with pressing in basketball is that you push more players forward and if the other team can keep possession, they have more room for a quick attack.

[@Chivamemo]

its great to see someone who is really interested in learning the sport.

[@GarkKahn]

Basically a striker is the player positioned in the opposing area and is expected to be a goalscorer, meanwhile this false nine is a recent variation of that position where he's supposed to remain a little behind of the most common position to participate in the playmaking process before scoring

[@thelardxd]

i also recommend you to learn gegenpressing it's simply like antithesis of tiki taka

[@rafidog]

Id say the true antithesis to tiki-taka and total football is the eternal catenaccio, gegenpressing is just a variant of the pressing used in tiki-taka but where you try to score immediately rather than keep the possession.

[@aturboford1]

Tifos videos on football history and tactics are unmatched. Great source for stuff like that if you plan on diving deeper into other football philosophies. They did a great video analyzing how Bayern Munich broke Barcelonas tiki taka play in the 2013 Champions League

[@chasegamez6313]

To clear your doubt about what a striker is I’ll explain the common positions to you. The most basic positions are: 1. Goalkeeper: You know this player by now, the one that has to save the shots to stop goals from happening. 2. Center backs: The players that conform the center of the defensive line and their sole focus is to defend and prevent atttacks. They sit in front of the goalkeeper and also help stop shots and chances in general, they share most of the defensive responsibility of a team with the goalkeeper. 3. Left back and right back: They play right next to the center backs in the wide area of the field, they typically rotate between having defensive and offensive duties. 4. Midfielders: There can be defensive midfielders which sit only a bit farther up than the center backs and are focused on covering areas and working as an extra member of defense but they also typically help start attacks so they need to be good at passing. There’s also balanced midfielders or box to box midfielders, which sit in the very middle of the field and have both offensive and defensive duties but have high responsibility for passing and creating chances for the team to score. And then there are attacking midfielders which usually sit higher up in the field to work as a more direct option for creating goals, so they don’t have many defensive duties. 5. Wingers: These are the other players that play really wide on on the left and right side of the field, they play much higher than the left back and right back and focus mostly on being a direct option to create goal scoring chances alongside the midfielders. 6. Striker: This player usually sits the farthest up the pitch and is the one in charge of scoring, wingers and midfielders typically look to pass the ball to this player. Usually the striker plays between the other team’s defenders cause the striker is actively trying to look for a way to get past them in order to have a good goal scoring chance. The difference from the striker in the video is that he stays a bit lower than usual so defenders have to move in order to mark him. It’s called false nine cause nine is the number with which you identify the striker, and with this play style the striker is also helping with chance creation instead of always being the player to only take shots. Normal strikers aren’t always that good at passing but false nines have to be able to pass the ball nicely to work correctly. I’m aware this was a long explanation but if you read it all I hope it helps you understand a bit better what you see in videos and what every player is doing 😅

[@joe_omama]

Cool vid, as a Liverpool fan I’d love to see you learn about gegenpressing, the signature style of Jurgen Klopp and other German managers.

[@graemefletcher652]

The Tifo videos are really good for explaining tactical systems but you do need the basics for a lot of them.

[@hatakegon5922]

Tifo and Tifo irl are probably the best channels to learn about tactics and strategy in football.

[@El_nAVs]

6:15 the striker (or as we know, the 9) is the player that goes between the 2 central blockers to pivot the ball or drag marks, and because of his position in the field, he is the player that has the better position to score, the original positioning of the number 9 is between the 2 central blokers, the false 9 in the other hand dont want to get between the 2 central blockers, instead of that he want to go a little bit back of them to recive the ball and make offensive passes and move around the area to drag marks or get in position to shoot the ball, he dont want to recive the ball and try to get the chanse of scoring by the mistake of the central blockers like a traditional 9, he wants to participate in the offensive creation in that position

[@mik-ws3zw]

I would recommend the football meta for more information on formations, and explanations of some concepts, tactics, movements off the ball, and what plans of attack defense are.

[@afrofantom6631]

Luke is a total voetball conniseur himself. One ofmy fave things to do is just explain soccer tactics to my steelers supporting buddy and he picks it up with no issue, vice versa; learning about the nfl and wondering how those tactics could go from gridiron football to assoc football is intriguing

[@da_pawz]

Nice to see you do it. It rem me how I exchanged knowledge with my friend who know NFL. FYI, Striker is the forward position in football, In traditional formation and more common tactics, ST is the main goal scorer so the ST rarely move back and always stay in the front, the mildfielder also would try to supply the ST with the best pass because usually the ST has the best stat for scoring the goal (like good shooting, positioning or header). With False 9, there's no traditional ST, so in Total Football and as far as I know also in Tiki-Taka, any player in the zone, by the right moment and right time could be the goal scorer.

[@1998Cebola]

Tifo (the channel that made the first video) is by far the best tactics channel lm youtube. Their channels and podcast are a never ending source of great analysis, pumping out hours of material every week.

[@DouglasDeLima82]

Dude, for someone new in this game, you have a pretty good understanding already. Cheers from Brazil!

[@ultrademigod]

A striker is an attacking player who usually either scores goals or lays the ball off for others to score. They tend play around the oppositions goal, but a false number 9 is a striker who drops back towards the midfield to get the ball or draw defenders to them, which creates space for other to score.

[@Jocorsha]

Maybe you already had it by now, but in case you don't, here are a few explanations about the false 9 : So a striker (usually refered as the 9) is basically the most attack oriented player in the team. Traditionally, the idea was to ask the striker the be as close as possibe to the opponents goal (as much as is allowed by the offside rule), so that in case of counter attack, it is possible to send long passes and hope for a good run of your striker. To do so, the 9s are mostly on the same line as the opponent defenders. The idea of a false 9 is to change a little bit the responsibilities od strikers : instead of having him on the same line as the opponents defense and putting constant pressure on that defense, he is between the defenders and the middfields of the opponents team, creating the problems for the defense that are mentioned in the video. This is great for posession based strategies, but there are dowside to it, like the fact that you might lack that pressure over the opponents defense.

[@kieranbennett7453]

2:58 i find it so interesting that what you said here is an exact parallel to one of mourinho’s (a famous coach in football) coaching philosophys. He says that when you have the ball you are more likely to make mistakes, so having the ball less is more effective. As with any strategy, there is no true answer in a skill based sport, but it shows the wide variety in approach.

[@Sonareklipse]

There is a Tifo video called "How football actually works." I would recommend it if you have not seen it already. This was a more intermediate video, but it does give some insight into the depth of the tactical well in football.

[@greygodkae_]

A striker = main attacker(s). Pressing is more like a continues attack or putting pressure on the defense continuously. No delay in build up.

[@danielfersbeanto7942]

The difference of pressing in football vs basketball is the pitch size and it create a whole different setup. But the principal yes it is the same

[@SarahCharles92]

Some basics that will help you digest these videos more easily: Football (Soccer), from a tactical point of view, is a sport that can be broken up into multiple levels of complexity (1) Basic formation (2) Roles within a formation (3) traditional "numbers" for players, and (4) phases of a single play. 1. Basic formation is usually described in number form such as "4-4-2", "4-2-3-1", or "5-3-2". Each football team has 11 players, with 1 goalie guaranteed. The other 10 players, however, could be organised in any number of ways. The way we tend to describe these formations tends to be from the perspective of the team's goalkeeper. This number description is a rough estimate/outline of how the team is being organised. The first number describes the number of "defenders" (i.e., players that will tend to stay in their own half, to try and stop the opposing teams from getting clear chances on goal). This is the first number because these are the players closest to the goalkeeper. As we are describing the formation from the perspective of the goalkeeper, they are the first number. The final number (the players furthest away from your own team's goalkeeper) describes the number of "strikers" or "attackers" the team is tactically trying to play (i.e., players whose main aim is to get the ball and attack the other team's goal to try and score). The middle number(s) describe the number of "midfielders" (i.e., players whose main aims are to aid in the transition between attack and defence, or provide extra assistance to the attack or the defence depending on the phase of play). Oftentimes, these formations only provide three numbers (e.g., "4-3-3" like in the video you watched here on Tika-Taka), as most people mainly care about the number of defenders-midfielders-strikers, respectively. However, more recently, some people have dissected formations a little more to allow for four numbers (e.g., "4-2-3-1"), to differentiate between the defensive-minded midfielders and the attacking-minded ones. In the 4-2-3-1 example, you have 4 defenders, 2 defensive midfielders, 3 attacking midfielders and 1 out-and-out striker who will likely be the team's main goal-scorer. 2. The roles within a formation is more of a descriptor of the exact role someone is likely to play throughout the game. For example, just saying someone is a one of the 4 "defenders" in a 4-4-2 fomration isn't that informative beyond surface level information. However, knowing someone is a Centre-Back (CB), you know that they will be playing not just as a defender (at the back), but also in the centre of the pitch. Whereas a Left-Back (LB) will play on the left side of the pitch, and is often left-footed. Whereas a right-back (RB) will play at on the right of the pitch. You might hear the term "Wing-back", which suggests that the is not just purely defensive, but will also make runs down the wings (the edges of the pitch) to assist in attacking phases of play. Antonio Conte, for example, is a mangager who LOVES using Wing-Backs instead of dedicated Right- or Left-Backs. These might be described as RWB or LWB depending on which side of the pitch they are on. In midfield, you can get the same distinction. You can have Right- or Left-Wingers (RW/LW), Central Defensive Midfielders (CDM - whose main focus is to control the centre of the pitch and aid the defense), Central Attacking Midfielders (CAM - whose main focus is to carry the ball toward the strikers to assist in the attack), Central Midfielders (CM - who tend to be a good mix of skills). And up front you might have Centre-Forwards (CF). So, in a 4-4-2, you might be able to further describe the formation as the specigic positions: LB, CB,CB,RB - LW,CDM,CAM,RW - CF-CF 3. Now that you understand these positions, you can understand what the "numbers" are for players. Once again, we can return to concept of being from the perspective of the goalkeeper. The tradtional description of the numbers came about in the UK many decades ago back when 2-3-5 was played. As most goalkeepers are right-footed/right-handed they looked from right to left to count the numbers, and went based on who was closest to them. From a goalkeeper's perspective, no one is more important than themselves, so they are number 1. Then the right-sided defender was number 2, and the left-sided defender was number 3. The person next closest to the goal keeper was the central midfielder (we know the diagonal is further away than the straight line), so they were number 4, and then the right-sided midfielder was number 5 and the left-sided midfielder was number 6. Then the 5 attackers were given numbers 7-11 from right to left, with number 9 being the most central attacking player. Awkwardly, these numbers kind of just stuck, even though formations have evolved over time. So, you now have weird numbers dotted around the pitch. However, importantly, This is where the concept of a "number 9" as the main attacking player comes from. SO, when you see, in this video, they talk about a "false 9", they are saying that the player who is playing in what would traditionally be the most attacking role (number 9) may actually not be the most attacking player. They may, instead, drop deeper toward their defence to create space for the other attacking players around them. Messi is a great example of this, as is, strangely, Harry Kane on occasion. Both of them score increidble numbers of goals (making them definitely attacking players)... yet you still might see them dropping deep to find space between the other team's defence and midfield to pick the ball up and make great passes to lead to other players scoring instead of themselves (called an "Assist"). Some people might talk about tactics using these traditional numbers - as you saw in this video. 4. Phases of play is the level of tactical planning that you might be more familiar with as someone with an American Football background. This is having formations shift depending on if you are attacking or defending, or having specific plans/plays on how to run a set-piece (e.g., where a defender might still be attacking the other team's goal for a corner or free kick). This is the kind of tactics that managers will vary the most on, and will also often have assistant coaches help with specific types of play (e.g., having a free kick coach). For example, some managers might like for their players to keep to their specific formation throughout the game. Whereas others might like their team to be 5-3-2 when defending, but swap to a 3-5-2 when attacking (where two defenders, usually the wing-backs, switch to being attacking wingers)

[@lukaslesniak1415]

4-3-3 is a pretty popular formation. 4 defenders (2 central, 2 on the flanks), 3 midfielders (1 defensive, 2 further up), 3 attackers (2 wide players called wingers, 1 central called the striker). Usually, you want your striker to be as close as possible to the opponent's goal so he can get the ball in scoring positions: they are usually posted up on top of the opponent's last line of defence. That's where the false nine idea is unique. The striker drops a bit deeper and kind of acts like an extra midfielder centrally. If a defender follows him, there is a gap in the opponent's line and space to exploit for the wingers. If no one follows him, you end up outnumbering the opponent in midfield, making it easier to string together passes centrally and work dangerous areas.

[@fabiorodriguez4207]

Check out the Argentina goal in 2006 against Serbia Montenegro by Esteban Cambiasso. It took like 26 consecutive passes to complete the goal.

[@__dane__]

Possessional play can kind of be thought of like a Zone Offense in basketball. Recent soccer tactics has a huge focus on off-ball play (when you don't have possession). A striker is a forward player who generally plays in the middle of the pitch (the field) and is your primary goal scorer.

[@lostinveda]

respect your openmindedness. Yes football is awesome and addictive given its simplicity. hope you enjoy watching and learning

[@gustavoordonio6857]

a nine is the player who usually plays in the middle of the two center backs, the player who plays closest to the opponent goal and is there mainly to score goals

[@dhoom-z7221]

The actual best way to try and get into football, is to get behind a team. For me i asked my friend what team scores the most goals, a glass cannon, and he told me watch bayern munich and I'm a fan of that team since 6 months ago or so. Follow a team, watch their matches, it will feel like love for a family when you get into it more and more. Watch their legendary moments, their best players, their new signed players and so on and on and on.

[@DHW3008]

Glad to see someone trying to understand the tactical side and appreciate the tactics as opposed to reacting to the same old videos as everyone else. If you want to understand tactics and have some time, I'd recommend trying Football Manager.

[@okb_rtr]

Glad that you find Tifo Football, another recommended channel for football knowledge is Football Made Simple

[@A1Sessions-s8j]

Yo as a player and lover of the sport it’s refreshing to see that you’re trying to understand the game. When you do, you’ll probably be able to incorporate some play styles to your coaching style.

[@Hieillua]

A striker basically is THE goal scoring specialist. His main mission is to score goals. He classically stand at the top of the pitch (field) and waits to receive the ball so he can score. That's the basic classic explanation of a striker. But that has also changed throughout the years. Strikers became more dynamic and do more things on the pitch. In Messi's case, he didn't just stand up front but also dropped back without the ball. Pulling defenders away with him, which creates space for other players in his team to run into those spaces. But if they don't follow him, he is free to receive the ball, to pass, shoot, make a dribble etc. And thats a false 9. A classic number 9 just stays up front. A false 9 also does playmaking, drops back and passes the ball around.

[@kaydanso613]

Attempt at scoring and scoring in itself are strike actions but natural strikers are those that are mainly placed in the top end zones of the opposing team to initiate and finish attack. Usually 9,7,11. 9 being the main striker with 7 and 11 being attacking wingers.

[@saifabidalbloushi]

I appreciate people tryna understand the tactics pov of any sport, let alone football, cuz ik 50+ people who watch football regularly but aren't interested in tactics whatsoever. They watch they're favourite teams every week but cant explain simple formations or player roles.

[@MartijnHover]

"Total football" was developed by Ajax Amsterdam and the Dutch national team in the early 70s, with Johan Cruijff as its most prominent example. Before that, a football team was divided into defenders, midfielders and attackers. In total football, the lines between these parts of a team became blurred and defenders could become attackers and attackers could function as defenders. Ajax Amsterdam once played a league game (admittedly when the season was almost over and their tilte had been secured) with Johan Cruijff in goal and their goalie as an attacking player. Johan Cruijff was famous for his sometimes mystifying aphorisms. A famous one was: "As long as you have the ball, the other team can't score." Which is of course where the emphasis on "possession" comes in.

[@joaquingr887]

An explanation on what a Striker is: In the 4-3-3 formation like the one showcased in the video you watched, the 4 players in the back are the Defenders, the 3 in the middle are the Midfielders and the 3 at the front are the Forwards. The Center-forward is commonly known as a Striker. They play at the center of the attack and receive the ball to score. A Striker can also be called a Nine, hence the term used in the video of a "false nine" referring to a "false striker". There's also another Forward position commonly referred to as a Ten. Picture it this way, the Ten is the type of Forward player who makes the plays and sends passes to the Nine (Striker) so they can score. The names of Nine and Ten used to refer to the number a player wore in their shirt (Diego Maradona wore number 10 and he also played in the position of a Ten, meaning that he created plays as well as scored), but it is mostly used as a tactical identification of the role of a player in the field, regardless of the number of his shirt, like Messi who wears the number 10 on his shirt but he plays more as a Nine in the field. Another example is Cristiano Ronaldo who wears 7 but he plays mostly as a Ten. So, the Nine and Ten positions in Soccer are pretty much a quick way to identify a certain type of player in the field rather than a true description of the position, meaning that you can use any Forward player you want as a Ten to create plays and anyone as a Nine to score. While watching Soccer, you may hear the narrators or analysts describing how a team is using one or two Nines, or how they need to add a Ten to attack and they may not be talking about changing players in the field but moving them around, for example moving one of your Wingers (Forwards who play on the outside) closer to the goal as a second Nine and advance your Central Midfielder as a Ten. A quick way to identify them while watching a game, a Nine will always play in front of the goal, if you see 2 players in that area that means the they are attacking with 2 Nines. And the Ten is commonly a player who plays behind a Nine. You can watch some Messi highlights to see how a Nine plays, specially when he played with Barcelona FC, also Pele and Hugo Sanchez played as a Nines (strikers). If you want to see how a Ten plays, look for Cristiano Ronaldo or Maradona, both of them are good examples of a Ten. Just remember that those positions are movable, meaning that you can see Messi playing sometimes as a Ten in the back, or Cristiano Ronaldo playing forward as a Nine. It depends on the scheme the team is using in the game, for example, Messi with the National team of Argentina plays more in the position of a Ten.

[@animebatz8045]

Nice to see the progress in the channel, keep it up 🎉!

[@gamerperspectiv]

You found THE channel! Such good videos about the sport

[@jonblackburn7634]

Your summation at the end was spot on.

[@garathminis5108]

Nice video. Here are some basic positions for you. Bear in mind, a position in soccer is the role your coach gives you.The rules do not limit you to it, so a defender is allowed to score goals from any position, while a striker can tackle while his team is defending. So positions are simply roles. Defensive positions: Central Back, stands in frontbof his goal, usually the last line of defence. A team usually has 2 such players , sometimes even 3. Prerequisites are strenght ,speed, height. Right/Left back. A defender that defends his wide side of the pitch,near the sideline. Helps the central back on defence, helps the midfield on the offence by making forward runs without the ball to draw off the opposition. Prerequisites: Speed, stamina,dribbling skill, pasding the ball. Winged back. A more offensive version of the above Defensive midfielder. Either a bulldog type of a player, that tackles,jumps and fights for the ball, or a creative player (a quarterback of sorts) that helps his team build up the attack right after the ball is won. Prerequisites: Stamina,strenght and jumping plus tackling for the bulldog type, or stamina, technical ability,dribbling, passing ,vision and creativity for the "quarterback" type. Central midfielder: a jack of all trades. Helps the team by performing any task needed from passing ,dribbling , long range shots to pressing,tackling etc. A team that can dominate via midfield often breaks the opposition. Prerequisites: Staming,strenght,tackling,passing,shooting, dribbling . Attacking Midfielder The offensive version of the above. Often less physical, more on the creative side. Prerequisites same as above and dribbling as well. Right/Left midfielder. A midfielder with the skills of a Back. Striker/ Central forward. A player how's primary job is to score. Traditionally would move without the ball amongst the defenders while waiting for a pass or a cross from a wing. Less used nowadays. Either tall and strong or small and fast. Winger An aggressive,fast version of a right/left midfielder. Excellent dribbling, shooting and passing skills are a must here . Second striker= false ni ne.instead of eating for a pass or a cross in the middle of the opposing defence, this attacker drops back to help out create plays and to lure any player who's job is to guard him away from the guards natural position. Thus the trick creates space , as the video shows. Prerequisites: superior ball control, dribbling, passing,shooting. Often times this position is filled by the best players on the team.

[@netking767]

Bloody beautiful to watch! Glad you're learning

[@tmdsg8]

U really need to understand the rules and basic postions of players (a Striker is the player furthest in the field and he is normally responsible for making the goals)

[@albertgilmoreno5664]

You got it surprisignly good! Congrats! Some notes that may help: A stricker is a player that use to be the closest to the rival goal, and it once he gets the ball it usually "strikes" with a single touch (because he has no time for more touches) trying to score. Historically strickers use to use the number 9 in their uniform, so "number nine" and "stricker" are the same concept. But sometimes there are more than one stricker.. so the number reference may be confusing... The "false nine" (or false-stricker) is the idea to move the stricker(s) away from the rival's goal for two reasons: 1) to help teammates to keep possession with more players in the middle of the field (ofering more passing oportunities), and to tempt the defenders to also move away from the goal so there is more space in the final defensive line for other players (like the wings that can also stricke starting in a position close to the corner and moving to the center taking advantatge of the freed space). The false-nine idea matches perfectly with the total-football (tiki-taka) strategy. Also note that the total-football idea is kind of the opposite of the more classical football style with way less passing, with long passes similar to american football, with fast wings running to get that initial long pass, dribling to reach good positions between the goal and the corner so they can do a second and final pass to the stricker to score.

[@ryanflood635]

Watch Spain’s recent game with Costa rica for absolute peak tiki taka football. It can make it a little boring if the opponents are not very good but man it’s absolute art when it’s played well.

[@just_a_yokai1103]

a traditional striker is usually a player that waits in the oppositions box to receive the ball and they have a excellent sense for scoring goals, they can be quite tall and physical to compete against the defenders a false nine is usually smaller and better at passing and movements with the ball

[@demonhacker4385]

Hey man, I really like your videos, you are really interested and real in your reactions unlike most of the youtubers. You earned a subscriber, sir! You should react to videos of European vs American football fans too, to se what the passion here in europe is all about! Btw Welcome to the world of REAL football ;)

[@oPlains]

It’s probably been explained already but each number is usually tied to a position. This means the goalie is 1, LeftBack is 2, center backs are 4 and 5, and RightBack is 3. Center midfielders can be 6-8 and your Left and Right Wingers can be 10 and 11 while your striker can be 9 So using a 4-3-3 formation It would look like this: 11 (LW) --- 9 (ST)--- 10(RW) | | | --6(CM)-7(CM)-8(CM -- | | | 2(LB)-4(CB) -5(CB) -3(RB) | | 1(GK) Basically each number is assigned to a role, the lower the number the more defensive minded the player is supposed to be. Some Fullbacks (LB and RB) can be used as wingers while on the attack and some Wingers can be used as full backs when playing defensive but that really just comes down to certain tactics.

[@oPlains]

Also, the formations always start from the defensive to offense. So if you wanted 5 defenders, 3 Cm and 2 ST it would be 5-3-2.

[@SHRD]

Well tifo is one of the best in describing the tactical bits of football and as a Rollball tactician myself I also learn from the football tactics and basketball tactics so these are like my go-to videos

[@austinfu2102]

A striker is the player whose job is primarily striking the goal. Traditionally, it's a position like a wide receiver in American football, strikers are the one players in possession of the ball (could be anyone, but since they have the ball they function like a quarter back) will always be looking for and delivering the ball to. Nowadays, the strikers will also function as a pivot point for the team. Other than striking the goal, they will also fight the defenders for the ball, knock it back to his teammates, usually the attacking midfielder or sometimes the forward pressing defensive midfielder (Could be the influence from tiki-taka). The strikers traditionally wears the jersey with the number 9 on, therefore, they will also be referred to as Number 9. A fouls-9 is therefore a player who positioned in the striker's place, but instead of striking the goal, they drop back to the mid-field and help the development there.

[@fabiorodriguez4207]

Before they called this Tiki taka, we called it toque toque in Colombia in the 90’s. We just trusted the skill of our players on our capacity to constantly keep the ball. It worked great against fast powerful teams that relied in long passes. They tended to look confused and didn’t know how to react to it. It’s a lot like basketball teams that move the ball a lot.

[@pseudonym9215]

Striker/center forward is someone whose default position is closest to opponent goal, or the player at the tip of the attacking end. There are usually one or two strikers on the pitch depending on the formation. The primary objective of the striker is receive the ball and shoot for goal or strike the ball. In 4-3-3 ,A striker's de facto jersey number is 9 ( starts with goal keeper being number 1 and so on, but player can choose what number they want), so when the number 9 drops to mid filed he/she becomes a false 9.

[@shammyma9930]

you are right about pressing being similar to basketball. However you should always remember when talking about football: control of the ball is way way more difficult than in basketball because you have to control the ball with your feet. So pressing is in some ways a lot easier. Its also what made Tiki Taka so succesfull in that Barca team the video talks about. Most players were technical enough to maintain possesion no matter the skill of the opponents press (again the level of control over the ball needed for this is something extremely important in football).

[@fernandogalindo767]

The false nine is the equivalent of a mobile center/ big man in basketball. A typical striker (highest attacker up and typically a target person) will stay high to keep defenses stretched as much as possible. Similar to how a center stays in the post. However a false nine is when the striker have a lot more movement (big just towards opposing goal) and creates questions for the defenders of what to do. If they stay tight to the striker then spaces open up behind them. If they let the striker go into the space they have time to receive and pass to others. Similar to if a center comes up to the top of the key on a pick and roll while another guard cuts to the basket.

[@paulchilds1893]

Really enjoyed watching this video, it's great to see you learn about the tactics and nuance of the game. If you're interested about learning about one of the other specific tactical systems used by one of the most highly - rated managers in the game, TIFO also made a video about "Gegenpressing", which was/is the tactical system used by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool (Liverpool's tactics have adapted a little since then but the video still holds up).

[@careyfreeman5056]

Gegenpressing = Pressing style in Basketball. Think UK under Pitino, UF under Donovan, etc. Press from the inbound pass and try to create havoc and turnovers.

[@andrasszabo1570]

@@careyfreeman5056 Gegenpressing is not pressing when two opposition players pass each other the ball. But rather pressing when you've just lost the ball, an opposition player has just gained possession over it, and this is the crucial part, the other team is transforming from their defending mindset and positions into their attack. If you regain the ball quickly, you can make devastating counter-attacks by passing or running into the space just vacated by the opponents' players who were running up the pitch because they thought their team has the ball.

[@careyfreeman5056]

@@andrasszabo1570 Obviously, we're talking about 5 men vs. 11, but it's pretty much the same concept. Just relentless pressure on the other team (when they are in possession) starting at the baseline. The idea is to force turnovers and get easy buckets. Usually paired with a fast-break mentality on offense.

[@andrasszabo1570]

@@careyfreeman5056 Still not the same thing, and not because it's a different sport. It's not just pressing with a foreign name. It's pressing in a specific situation. And it's not even relentless. If the initial pressure doesn't work, teams employing it often go back to a mid-block shape and only start pressing again when certain "pressing traps" are sprung. And like I explained, pairing Gegenpressing "with a fast-break mentality on offense" isn't just usual and incidental, but rather the two things go hand in hand together. The whole point of counterpressing is breaking into the space that the defense has just vacated.

[@careyfreeman5056]

@@andrasszabo1570 Whatever. You're splitting hairs. Either way, it's a pressing focused philosophy. I've watched Liverpool and I've seen UK under Pitino and there are a lot of similarities. What you're saying would just be an obvious requirement to a pressing system in basketball. Because of the pace and scoring, nobody is going to parse out "in possession" or "out of possession" in basketball. If you're pressing, it is assumed you are out of possession. And that last point (easy buckets) is exactly what a full-count press is designed to do, which is why it's usually pared with a fast-break offense.

[@Zitolos]

Basically think of the prime spurs from a decade ago , Kerr shows videos of barca doing this too. You should definitely look at a overall team passing video to see how the evolution of the concept is done with other countries philosophies. French and Italian coaches have made contributions with different formations

[@MarcEricLaneGlobal]

I think what you're missing about the False 9 is that it's a play on a Traditional 9 - historically a striker with the "9" shirt was a big strong guy, whose job it was to stay in and around the opponent's box or half, win headers, and help the team transition from defense to attack. In basketball, imagine if Shaquille O'Neal's job was to - on a counter - receive a long ball, then hold/defend it, before giving it away to a faster player to go score. That's a Traditional 9. The False 9 plays on this concept - instead of having a big dude to win balls with his physicality, a False 9 is a small fast player who drops deep (literally moves away from the opponent's goal) to come meet the ball. This can do two things: (1) it can pull a defender out of position who's trying to press or mark him, leaving a gap that another player can exploit, and (2) if he's not followed, give him the freedom to turn around and run at the defense at speed, or find a pass to a teammate.

[@rodrigos7070]

Tifo is sucha great source of info! Loving these videos. So happy you won't miss the world cup. Enjoy the beautiful game

[@sthompson12132]

would love to see you watch more tifo videos…as an american who has gotten way too into soccer over the last decade much of what i’ve learned about the tactics and politics of the sport i’ve learned from their videos

[@paulschauder3565]

Total Football comes from the Netherlands and Johan Cruyff - it was all about fluidity, possession and defending from the front. Cruyff brought that philosophy to Barcelona first as player then as coach and finally as technical director. Tiki taka is the next level expanding on the fluidity and creating attacking patterns by exploiting space created by your movement

[@Jari-95]

Ja, maar kijk: “in principe is dat logisch” (His favorite line of dialogue)

[@DenUitvreter]

It comes from Rinus Michels, who also brought it to Barcelona first. Cruijff, as a false 9, was important in that but the not it's maker.

[@apa5749]

if you still don't understand what a "false 9" is, you have to know that traditionally, in football, the player numbers from 1-11 actually show the positions they are playing. for example, 1 is the goalkeeper, 2 and 3 are the right and left back respectively, 6 and 8 are central midfielders (usually the number 8 has more of an offensive role, behind the strikers), 4 and 5 are centre backs, 7 and 11 are the right and left wings, respectively. then, the number 9 and 10 are strikers with the player number 9 who goes in the front who would mainly have the responsibility to beat the opponents defense and score. so a "false 9" is a striker who doesn't play like a "true 9" because other attackers can be the number 9 in certain situations. today, not many teams give players the numbers based on their positions anymore (maybe except for some positions). a centre back can get number 6 jersey or whatever the number that the team want to give him. an example is Asamoah Gyan, a Ghanaian striker who wears the number 3 when playing for the national team or in most of the clubs he play for. then again i have yet to see a team where the number 1 shirt is worn by a player who isn't a goalkeeper.

[@Writeous0ne]

the false 9 part, its basically dropping deeper to pull a defender out of position which creates space behind them, like a decoy in basketball, the decoy brings a defensive player with him then another player exploits the space made from moving the defender.. also like screening but more positional than physical

[@dannyp-ufc8883]

Thiery Henry once moved out of his allocated position set by guardiola and as a result scored to put them 1-0 ahead just before half time. He was substituted before the 2nd half.

[@juvecro]

3:20 That's exactly what it is. If you have the ball, opponent can't score. You move it around and slowly (in terms of patietly getting it forward, not the frequency of passing) get it close to goal and finish up with a quick play to score.

[@golfer435]

Sounds very similar to a princeton offense in basketball. Off the ball movement is the key in that offense as it is designed to create free shots and driving lanes with backdoor cuts and baseline passes.