The Italian League is Weird. Here's Why

What's the Best Formation?
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What formation a team choses to play is becoming an increasingly talked about topic in the world of football. How a manager places his 11 players on the pitch can seemingly have a huge impact on how a team performs, But how much does it actually matter? Well for today’s video we’re going to be taking a look at the statistics behind all the formations used in the Premier league, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 so we can officially answer the question, What is the Best formation?
So far this season 19 different formations have featured in Europe’s top 5 leagues, with some managers choosing to switch up their formation every week, such as Augsburg in Germany, who have used 7 different formations in their first 8 matches of the season. The formations have varied from the classic 4-3-3 to rather modern systems such as the 3-2-4-1. But which formation is the most popular?
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[@nobodyasks-js5tq]

can you do a video explaining the difference among the football styles played in the top 5 leagues?

[@FootballMeta]

That could be very interesting, thanks for the suggestion

[@prodigyalex1741]

@@FootballMeta Yea I would love to see that

[@timidstein888]

Love to see that.

[@julius3428]

Why not watch for yourself?

[@mumindanmallam]

@@julius3428 why not shut up?!

[@PineConeShamanGaming]

The reason why the 3-5-2 and the 3-4-2-1 variant are so popular in Italy is none other than Gasperini, he's been wildly overperforming with Genoa first and then Atalanta for years. Also you can easily trace a lineage of coaches who worked under him and then went on to be successful, for example Ivan Juric (Torino, Verona). Now you have Sottil with Udinese again overperforming with a 3-5-2 and he is also a Gasperini admirer. If you watch the games you will see that each team interpret the formation very differently depending on the key players which are the fullbacks. Teams with very fast and hard working fullbacks will switch to 5-3-2 during non-possession and to 3-3-4 on counter-attacks, some teams have a more offensive fullback and a more defensive one or one fullback who is good at attacking the goal and another who is good at crosses.

[@zzdahaewae]

really interesting insight about tracing the lineage

[@superdemmy1038]

This is mostly false. You didn't even reference conte who is the most successful proponent of 352.

[@PineConeShamanGaming]

@@superdemmy1038 Ok let me elaborate, I think Conte is a great coach. In absolute terms more successful than Gasperini. In relative terms it is very debatable: Conte achieved success with big clubs, Gasperini took an eternal midfield/relegation team in Atalanta and made it a powerhouse both in nationally and internationally. In terms of influence I don't think it's close, the only big teams that use 3-5-2 are the ones directly touched by Conte: Inter and sometimes Juventus. Roma also uses a 3-5-2 variant but Mourinho eventually settled on it more out of necessity than an actual vision. In smaller teams the 3-5-2 spread like wildfire because it is seen as good bet for weaker teams. You have quite a few coaches directly or indirectly influenced by Gasperini: Juric, Tudor, Sottil, Palladino. Also a few coaches who rely on the tradional defensive interpretation like Mazzarri and Mihailovic.

[@pogbacr3748]

@@PineConeShamanGaming I remind you that Conte took the very first Juventus to the victory with a quite mediocre team and he overperformed with Italan team at EURO 16 with a team way less competitive compared to the nowadays Italian national.

[@ROUGE28]

Conte? Allegri? Inzaghi? They all used/use the 3-5-2

[@ChangingCrisis]

Antonio Conte's Juventus team was one of my favourite teams to watch. At a time when 2 men upfront was getting phased out he found a way to make it work, Lichtsteiner and Asamoah were incredibly hard working and did the job of 2 players. So much so they were substituted often. I also love to see the extra man in defence whilst in possession. There was always an option for a pass. Great channel mate

[@danielvalverde4955]

I think that formations are misleading in modern football. They are really only starting positions. I would focus more on roles since players will rotate on and off the ball and managers switch formations during the game to counter opposition tactics.

[@anthony4616]

Really great and interesting video. I knew the 3-5-2 is popular in the serie a, as I watch a lot of games but these statistics are showing that it is even more than I tought. But one thing is missing imo, I know it is really hard to analyse it, but a lot of these formations can change when the team is in posession. The 4-2-3-1 for example can be a 3-4-3 in posession or a 3-3-3-1 etc. Would be interesting to see these statistics with the attacking formations. Still amazingly done!

[@FootballMeta]

Of course, this is limited in the sense that it only accounts for the "official" line-up of the match. I'll definitely try and figure out how to better track the changes

[@anthony4616]

@@FootballMeta That would be so good! Keep up the good work man! Also, I hope they will change these "official" line ups in the future. I think they should use the "attacking formation" instead, it is way more fitting for the modern football imo.

[@ammenz]

True, for example in Serie A players like Cuadrado or Dumfries can often swap between side defender, side midfielder or offensive winger in the same match depending on the situation.

[@AIfactos1]

Mls uses 352 also I think

[@ay613]

That happens a lot in football even at lower levels. The team i play for (amateur county level) we play a 4-2-3-1 but in our attacking phase it's a 3-3-3-1 where usually me the RB has to stay back in a quasi back 3 whilst the other fullback pushes. Arsenal do this a lot.

[@alessiocioni8692]

First of all, great video. Regarding serie A, as an Italian living abroad, my comments are: 1) 352 has been extremely popular for 20 years especially within weaker teams, its interpretation has always been a very defensive one, and Conte was seen as a revolution right because he was able to give a new sense to this formation 2) 433 is still seen as THE FUTURE. Serie A became great with 442, for 15 years or so it seemed impossible to play with a different formation (famously, Ancelotti did not want Baggio at Parma as he thought he would not be able to fit his 442 having chiesa and crespo already upfront; of course, a smart man as Ancelotti now regrets his decision), when Barcelona came up with their 433 we were all ecstatic, and basically, after over 10 years, we are still there, sarri's 433 is still seen as something from a different planet 3) 4231 is seen as a tool of the past, and I am very surprised that Milan uses it (and won with it). In Italy, it is still linked to Real Madrid's galacticos and Mourinho's inter. In 2010, after inter's treble, this formation was so highly regarded that Lippi felt forced to play with it at the world cup, using Marchisio as Snaijder: it was a disaster, and i believe it has had a bad reputation since then. Surprisingly, even Mourinho's Roma is not using it, even if he would have on paper the perfect players for it. With all this said, your analysis is very interesting as it shows one little detail among the many that shows why now serie a is the least innovative league of all, an extremely sad end for the League that had been at the top of the pyramid for basically 40 years.

[@danielhackett1581]

It was Zola that Ancelotti didn't want, not Baggio

[@flaviolanciano7409]

@@danielhackett1581 no mate, was Baggio.

[@danielhackett1581]

@@flaviolanciano7409 no mate.. was zola. Ancelotti sold zola to Chelsea, Baggio never player under ancelotti

[@flaviolanciano7409]

@@danielhackett1581 you missed the point. Baggio never played for Ancelotti. Parma's board was about to buy him, but Ancelotti said "no, I have no place for him on the pitch". We are way over zola at this point ☺️

[@flaviolanciano7409]

@@danielhackett1581 by the way, was 11 back then, and a huuuuge Parma supporter. Imagine my disappointing

[@tadano-kunn]

True. Even in Fifa, I also use the 3-5-2 formation. For me it's more balanced where the midfield can adjust quickly depending on the scenario.

[@mrclean6637]

4-3-1-2 on fifa is clear

[@abdullaloko5807]

i have problem with this analysis as team nowadays use 2-3 formations in the game like Arsenal it is 4231 on paper but attacking with 235 or 325 similarly they def in 4141 or 5212 ( like the last game vs Liverpool) but great videos keep it up

[@FootballMeta]

I agree it only accounts for initial formations. Not sure how I could track the changes for every team, but I'll see what I can find 🤔

[@paulie-g]

@@FootballMeta Not easily. Heatmaps, especially if you have access to heatmaps in possession and out, would be the best way.

[@fmwilliam7248]

3-5-2 is a common tactic within the Catenaccio style of play. They typically invert into a 5-3-2 when defending. Great video!

[@hommofroggy5727]

Such BS.

[@farhi411]

That's true, in defend the wing-backs would also help defending making the formation went to 5-3-2. While counter-attacking, those wing-backs will go high to help the midfield making the formation changing to 3-5-2

[@hommofroggy5727]

@@farhi411 That is disregarding zonal or 1v1 pressuring or traps and triggers. Over simplifying the defensive phase of football. 3 man defense is just having 1 man as a safety net to defend your shoulders nothing more nothing less. It is just an interpretation.

[@matteomelis8326]

Catenaccio doesn't exist anymore, ee don't play like that in Italy no more.

[@pacificdrop0267]

seria a is not a defensive league wdym look at the stats if you dont watch

[@l.breckon6012]

This video just popped up in my recommenced. Impressed at how informative it is. You've just found yourself a new subscriber. 👍

[@denismortell5483]

In serie A I think the goalsx90 stat may be a little skewed. Being the most popular formation how many games were played where it was 352vs352? This would naturally inflate the goals scored stat while also double counting and defeating the goals conceded. Been a while since I’ve done some statistical inference but I think it would be cool to maybe dive into 352 vs other formations rather than against itself. Loved the vid btw!

[@hommofroggy5727]

Probably because Italian coaches don't care much about some numbers written in a table. Formations are fluid, you start with X formation and interpret the game depending on the opposition and your strengths. Italian coaches have core concepts of football, which is what matters more.

[@samuelschonenberger]

I like this Meta perspective of the landscape Very different approach to analyzing games and teams individually like everyone else does

[@FootballMeta]

Thanks Man, yeah I've always been curious about this, I was surprised there was barely any information on this

[@salvatoredipalma2742]

Vero, è un modulo ancora molto utilizzato in Italia, è l'erede della zona mista cioè il modulo per eccellenza degli anni 80

[@thearab59]

Man City used the classic 2-3-5 for (most of a) game recently. Barca often used this formation, (in reality if not theory) when Pep played and managed there. I look forward to hearing him say, "Yes, it's 2-3-5". Recent talk about "Number 6"s or "Number 8"s also harks back to the half backs and inside forwards of the 2-3-5 era.

[@palmik61]

As an italian, the main reasons behind this are probably the defensive strategy which almost never relies on pressing but on positional defending. So, in general, having one more defender can help you. The other main reason, imo, is the lack of dribbling ability in offensive player. In serie A we don't have a lot of dribbling men (Leao, Deulofeu, Kvara and fews other) so probably managers prefer to attack slowly with a consolidated play construction and in that sense having another man when starting the play from your zone is a plus. This is what I can say based on my experience.

[@THEmajnik]

Would love to see you analyze Arsenal and how they switch formations during the game

[@DD-vp7fz]

Lovely analysis and visuals!🙌

[@itamarerez763]

I love the graphics on this video, keep doing amazing job

[@FootballMeta]

Thank you bro 🙌🏻

[@MarceloDinoYT]

Great video. I know all the information won’t be out there but it would be intriguing to compare this to a different era. 2005 for example where 4-4-2 was the dominant choice.

[@frafrafrafrafra]

Very good video, and perfect Italian pronunciation, you got a sub

[@FootballMeta]

Grazie bello

[@xaviball2911]

To play the 433 formation you need a quality team(especially midfielders), this is the reason many teams do not play with this formation.

[@MahaXad]

Yes, and the stats favour 433, because the richer clubs tend to use them. Better squad, better stats.

[@xaviball2911]

@@MahaXad now Barcelona doesn't have a better DM still they're playing 433 and with the latest results, i hate it.

[@FootballDrawn]

Brilliant video, as always ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽

[@djbowen76]

1. I think you should include some xG statistics in addition to actual goals scored 2. With the prevalence of 3-back systems in Italy, I think it's sort of a snowball effect. Once a few good teams use 3 at the back, they can overcrowd the midfield and control games and the only way to match up with that is to also go 3 at the back In one of Wenger's last few seasons, he went away from his famous 4-3-3 to use 3 at the back to compete with Conte at Chelsea.

[@gerardowilhelm6184]

All teams have two systems during a game, in possession and defending. Please make a video showing mostg used system in possesion and defending. As an example, yesterday Barcelona used 4-5-1 defenging vs Inter and 3-4-3 in possesion.

[@panxinator644]

I still like 4-3-3 and I would say it is my favourite for sure, you have good attack with to wingers and a good striker, and at the back the security of having 4 defences with a right back and a left back allowing the team to have some backup in the attack like Valencia does with Gayà and Lato in the left and Thierry Correia in the right.

[@unfoldingmatches]

Very interesting! Just subscribed! Can you do special analys on the Serie A teams this season? You can choose in which area the research will be made in ⚽️

[@matteoenricocattaneo]

This is a stereotype...if you see Atalanta, (and Gasperini used 352 way before Conte who began his career with a 424), Udinese, Verona last year, Torino, they play really an attacking football, so it is not a question to defend.

[@tpsam]

Last season or it was during covid season series a was the highest scoring league

[@notyourfriend1634]

Fantastic video thank you

[@tzimhoni226]

On 3-5-2 formation the wide midfilelders also can be used as wide defenderce and that provide high efficiency but requires LB/LM and RB/RM with high pace and stamina.

[@hkmarhk]

Interesting video, but I think looking at formation alone is not enough because players move out of their position in different phases of the game. Yes, you can start with a 4-2-3-1. But once the game starts your full back may drift into the middle your 8 may move up. The formation becomes 3-2-4-1. During the attack phase your midfielders may make runs into the box your full back may make overlapping run and the formation will be like 2-3-5.

[@Bagster321]

I like using a 3-3-3-1 or 3-6-1 from Guus Hiddink's 2006 Australia side. 3-6-1 is in FIFA terms essentially a 3-4-2-1 with two CAMs rather than outright forwards and two CDMs. The 3-3-3-1 is essentially a 3-4-3 where the wing backs invert and defend in a line with the CDM, a 10 and wingers in the attacking line behind the striker.

[@Kyle_Apgar]

I've always been a fan of the 4-3-3 as it can morph into a 4-2-3-1 as the game speed dictates. Having a CAM that can sit at the top of the box or make a run in towards goal allows you a mix of 4 attacking players that push opponents back allowing the other midfielders to push forward to reset plays without a huge risk of being easily beaten on a counter. The biggest denominator of good 4-3-3's are wingers that will drop back to play some defense then have the speed to make a quick counter run once the ball is won back. A big issue I've seen from teams that run this is the wingers not supporting the full backs on defensive duties or the counter attack slowing down to a more possession style of play allowing opposing teams time to regroup on defense closing down the attack. 4-3-3's become easy to defend if the fall into a possession style so teams have to be ready to push quickly on takeaways to benefit the most from the formation.

[@thenapoleanbuonappetito]

These are interesting stats, thanks for compiling.

[@spikyd8267]

In my opinion, many formations are dangerous, but what matter the most is how you handle it on the pitch and examples are so many, like City - Chelsea the UCL final, Chelsea playing 3 4 2 1 in the perfect way OR compare Guardiola's present 4 3 3 with the 4 3 3 from Barcelona era... Not the formation is important as long as you adapt and learn fast the opponent strategy and exploit the formation to get benefits on attacking and adapt the defensive based on opponent attacking strategy, the most wired thing is OH Leuven team from belgium where they play 3 4 2 1 and on goal kick, the LF and RF are both comming into the 6m box to receive the ball.... so, the answer of your question "What is the most dangerous formation ?" I can really tell that any formation, absolutely every single one is dangerous as long as all players are focused only on the game and all players are in great form and have chemestry between them... City lost UCL final against Chelsea but City won both games in PL league next year :) or the last UCL semi final City vs Real, compare City crazy tactics with 1000 passes to score 1 goal vs Real tactics, pass to benzema and win

[@daanishdan318]

great video. I think your Conte theory has merit. To extend it further, it would be interesting to see the relationship between the leaders and say the leaders (winners vs top 4) in each of the leagues. I remember 3 at the back being briefly in the vogue when Conte stormed to the PL title with Chelsea.

[@dusanminic2688]

Excellent video

[@dragangalic3199]

Sub done 😉 Ty for this .

[@filipcz2560]

Amazing video

[@jazzinho_futebol]

Also I feel the 433 is the best formation cause it hits the most targets and is therefore the most stable

[@Negriux]

Serie A is the most competitive league right now, the managers mainly use some variations of 3-5-2, except M. Sarri, M, Allegrri and most notably right now L. Spalletti (the SSC Napoli manager), Spalletti knows how to use his team to perfection (especially in the UCL), Sarri is doing a good job at Lazio and Allegrri is good, but he doesnt know how to use his good (on paper) Juventus side

[@jaswinderkaur7546]

Milan also don‘t use the 3-5-2 , they play with a 4-2-3-1. Their Style of play is more intense and aggressive too.

[@dhurghamsalah7920]

I wished if you illustrated these statistics with the addition of home and away because it could facilitate if it was used attackingly or defensively as you know a formation like 352 could have a variety of shapes based on the roles of the wingers

[@FootballMeta]

Home and away could be a great addition🤔, thanks!

[@JC-qe9be]

This is an interesting analysis, in my opinion there are (surprisingly) no ultra defensive teams in serie a this year, even the sides from serie b seem to be trying to play their own brand of football instead of just sitting back and hoping for counter attacks. This seems to be a trend in Italy, evidenced by newly promoted sides in previous years like Empoli, Venezia and Spezia. And on top of that the teams who play negative "catenaccio" football like Genoa were recently relegated.

[@hennman1965]

I started with a 442, tried a 433, switched to a 4231 last season, then a 3142 this season...high school level...just all depends on skill and ability of my players...be willing to adapt...

[@alexcrowley9493]

Italians like to play more centrally and less wide, so they use formations with 3 central midfielders, lie 433, 352, 4312.

[@serjorahmormont6124]

Nice descriptives to understand the leagues! However, little can be said here about causality. There is a huge confounding variable here. 4-3-3 is often the most favoured playing style by top contenders in a league. So then naturally the statistics will gear towards high performance for that playing style.

[@pouyajamali4545]

Would you please have a deep dive video about 3-5-2 formation

[@GNMbg]

in 2020-21 Serie A was the league with highest goals per game, in 2019-20 it was 2nd behind the Bundesliga... i am wondering why is it in last place this season so far

[@sfigatto_0167]

Hot, you can’t start at mid August for a world cup

[@nert-13]

As far as success and winning percentage goes, have you considered that the best teams tend to play certain systems, and not that the systems make the teams the best? Perform a causality test to see if the worst teams play certain systems because they need to maximize results, with a 442 being their most viable tactic (i.e. burnley and west brom in years past, bottom laliga teams)

[@fjmtv3122]

It's because Italian football is defence focused. Albanian national team manager is a Italian and he uses a 352 formation

[@benchwarmersfm]

Great video but the data nerd in me is screaming at the data sample size. Please do this video at the end of this year, it will be interesting to see the results. Great job.

[@rizkyrivalhamid3324]

This video is very clever 💯

[@jakesimpson5233]

It would be interesting to compare these stats with a w-d-l stat to see if these formations are evenly distributed across the league or if the higher ranking formations just happen to be the ones being used by the better teams in the leagues

[@utsavdewan9835]

Simeone has been the most consistent with his 10-0-0

[@FanofAslan]

I wonder what formations are best at OPPOSING the various formations? Statistically, which formation best negates a 4231, a 433, a 3241 etc.?

[@gregorio5543]

I think a lot of it has to do with the style the Italians do compared elsewhere. It's different. A lot of Italian coaches don't like 2 man midfields it's fundamental to their tactics to have at least 3 midfielders

[@stammerchelsportshighlight3809]

This is interesting but I have to say many different formations are basically the same as each other and also there are plenty of teams/managers that shift around their formation throughout the game depending on many factors; so with this in mind I wonder how exactly they determine all these statistics because it seems tough to keep accurate

[@FootballMeta]

Yeah of course this just looks at the starting line ups as they are announced, it would be interesting to see how the fluidity of these lineups could change a game, not sure how to analyse that though lol

[@danthelongman]

This is a silly question, to ask which is the best formation... It is like asking which is better, scissors, papers or stone. They all counter each other.

[@spirestocksnotification6710]

But when to use one over the other especially when going up against a certain opponent is key

[@danthelongman]

@@spirestocksnotification6710 exactly.

[@joaovfm]

Could you explain how do you define the lining formation? My team in Brasil, Palmeiras, plays different styles in the same game, I.e. when having the ball it is a type of 3124 and without the ball is 5131 but it depends a lot

[@PETROVICGAMES]

What a video! Tifo level content.

[@fvnievelt]

How do you define what formation a team is using? There is an ultra-thin line between a 4-3-3 and a 4-5-1, or between a line of 3 defenders and a line of 5. Furthermore, there is a huge difference between what a manager plans and what actually happens on the pitch, such as wingers helping de fullbacks close to their box, or defensive midfielders joining the atack as a second stricker. Also usually you have asymmetric formations that are hard to define (e.g. an attacking right fullback joins the midfield, almost as a winger, while a more defensive-minded left fullback stays back, turning a 4-3-3 into a 3-4-3 when in possession)

[@benjaminmarks9604]

I love the 3 5 2 depending how you make it move it’s like a more sophisticated version of the 4 3 3

[@damianspence]

I'd love to know which formations are most useful against which other formations. For example, is the 4-3-3 particularly effective against 3-4-2-1 or maybe other 4-3-3 formations?

[@FootballMeta]

Currently working on a way to analyse this, might be quite time consuming haha

[@Car_NitroWrestling]

Wow Could you do a spurs analysis keep up the great work

[@rigo2989]

With 3-4-2-1 you can cover properly the ground, having balance in defending and in attacking side. With the right players is the best!

[@xluckyluke]

love the visuals how are they done?

[@mohamedabdelkader8665]

Awesome to watch Football Meta .

[@FootballMeta]

Thanks bro 🙌🏻

[@mohamedabdelkader8665]

@@FootballMeta Do you think Liverpool has started to play with Formation 4-2-3-1 or klopp a bit reluctant to move to other formations ?today vs Rangers played 4-3-3 and won 7/1.

[@SurfingGravity]

Surely there's a hilarious blooper reel behind this video, cannot imagine getting all those formations right on the first try

[@petertaylor1260]

interesting analysis but I have to say I don't think we can draw very strong conclusions from this data set. Having see how formations are often codified erroneously it's hard to trust the accuracy of this data and, beyond that, what formation are the best teams even playing these days? City and Arsenal both sort of play 433, but in defence it's more like 4231/442 or sometimes 4141 depending on pressing structures. Once the team is building up the 433 shape is clear before becoming something more like 235 during sustained pressure. Analysing football on the basis of how the broadcaster arranges the player icons before the match is becoming less relevant I would argue.

[@uncleseekx]

Well in La Liga the 4-3-3 has high win rate thanks to Real and Barca

[@alex164]

My opinion is that the prevalence of the 352 in Italy is down to a significantly higher emphasis on tactics and adaptability, as well as an appreciation of cantennacio. The 352 creates defensive stability by forming with three central defenders to occupy attackers, with wingbacks trained to determine when to defend and when to attack. The wingbacks are usually the critical component of a successful 352, as they’re asked to be both fullbacks and wingers. The three-man midfield facilitates two central banks of three for attackers to break down, but can then shift to support forwards I often see a deep-lying forward (often even a typical winger) playing off a central striker in order to link midfield and attack, while the full-backs shuttle up the flanks I personally love the formation, and it seems so well-suited to Serie A, though not everywhere else, which is certainly curious

[@NastyCupid]

I don't care much for statistics, but you may have touched upon the reason I like Serie A matches the most 🙂

[@innocentgoitseone3715]

Italian football being more defensive and tactical

[@yurisimon7581]

Can u make a video about 9v9 tactics?

[@ahmedyounes229]

can we consider the most dangerous formation to the formation that small teams play against top teams, I mean high winrate formation that has been used from lower when they are facing top teams, and that means this information is dangerous to play against for the top teams, and we can consider the opposite with "what is the highest formation's winrate that top teams use against low teams

[@hadisotudeh]

How do you collect/record formation? What is the methodology behind that?

[@jonasrung5648]

could you do something like that for the worldcup too? would be awesome to see what formation is the best

[@FootballMeta]

Great suggestion, will do

[@aubreydebruyn84]

Do formations change, during the games and does it matter if a team is in or out possession?

[@inst4rmin.x4_onYT]

Yes and yes ;D

[@Bodhi.01]

Could make a video about the benefits of pressing or not pressing

[@gm2407]

4-2-3-1 I find to be very boring as a system. It is not that much different to a 4-4-2 if you consider that both central midfielders stay back, the wingers go forward and invert and one striker drops deep into midfield. But truely most 4 at the back systems can be flexible into each other just with a couple of players changing the a role slightly. 3 at the back formations can also blend into each other as well. Unless Johan Cruyff is your manager switching between 3 and 4 at the back constantly seems a lot harder based on personel. Also the only reason to keep changing is to catch the other team out on not knowing what they should be doing to counter whatever a new system is throwing at them. Expecting the WM system to come back any season soon.

[@inst4rmin.x4_onYT]

Most systems/formations are fluid in game, as they should be, depending on ball possession and pressing tendencies

[@joelsletten3386]

433 has and always will be my favorite formation. So versitile, so dynamic, and unpredictable A defender shielding the defence with two free 8s being able to take up attacking roles creating a 3-2-5 in attack. And 4-4-2 in defence

[@danielfrohlich6362]

433 can be awesome but I feel that you really need great players especially on offense to make it work, the number 8s are the key for creating, otherwise the no 9 can be a bit lonely up there, for me I always liked 3-5-2 the most especially if you have good wing backs, gives you more options even with mediocre players while the defense can be rock solid with this extra man in the back, it always worked the most for my fav Club and can make opponents struggle who are not that used to 3/5 in the back

[@nojoda87]

There is a problem when you explain your data: you need to exclude games between teams with the same formation so you can measure how each formation perfoms against another.

[@LuisLopez-wq2rk]

433 is played by city, this formation is not that popular in enland, so city affect the numbers greatly, also barca uses 433 and they have only sufferd 1 goal in liga, that is also affecting your result. In football especially holding general winrates is not that accurate imo, mainly because of the wage gap.

[@ericafram2076]

I think the 3-2-4-1 formation is quite dangerous

[@marianchicago4002]

This is high over generalization, top teams especially will often play different formations when in and out of possession, then you have to adjust for halves and if the score is tied, leading or trailing the game.

[@FootballMeta]

For sure, this video was purely to look at starting formations and if there are any interesting correlations, there are always thousands of other factors to consider during a match

[@roberto-maddaloni]

What if a team has an offensive and defensive formation in the same game? It doesn’t sound like you took this into account although some big teams defend with 4 in the back, only to attack with 3 in the back in an adjusted formation?

[@FootballMeta]

Sure, teams can change formation during the match depending on the situation, I'm not sure how to include something like that in this research that wouldn't make it extremely time consuming haha

[@lucabalbinot6475]

The 352 is the most versatile scheme. It allows players to rotate pretty efficiently and occupy all areas of the pitch. A tacticaly minded league like serie A likes it for this reason, it's flexible, you can adapt to the opponent withou changing the overall scheme. It may be a difensive scheme but it can also be extremely offensive, take Inter and Atalanta as an example, so I donato think it is user in Italy necause of difensive attitude. Please nota that this attitude is changing a lot and Italian football is adapting to a more offensive attitude.

[@sudeshbhandari745]

Do video on bundesliga teams

[@kanielclarence7295]

Best formation 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 in my opinion.

[@YoungKolivon451]

4231 is my fav even if it does come third I have played with in on the pitch and in fifa and honestly I win a lot but I also do lose I honestly like the 433 but I don't at the same time but whenever I think of soccer and the 11 v 11 game I always think of 433 first ngl. It makes a lot of sense why these three are at the top. 433 is really good for pressing and just overall being flexible because of how much you can move and pivot the midfield not to mention you can move your fullbacks if you need to as well. I also love the 3421 my schools Varsity girls played this time around this year they were region champs and they made it to the Quarter Finals before being knocked out. The boys made it to the semis with 433(I didn't play soccer for the team my freshman year aka this year I am going to this coming year as a sophmore.). 4231 is just amazing I LOVE HOW IT WORKS you just have amazing balance and it isn't a negative shape like the 4141. It has a solid back line of 4 and 2 CDM\HMs protecting the back line so it makes it tough to get through that and it is AMAZING on the counterattack espcially speaking from experience as a CAM and being a really fast guy who runs a 12.34 100m time in track IT WORKS SO WELL if someone messed up a corner and we get posession back I fly down the field and make a goal irl or in fifa I also love it cus you can keep posession relatively easliy and get a lot of crosses into the box from Wingers and just pray your striker is like that :)

[@miguelporras8366]

3 men defence is very common in Italy... Conte set the new trend with Juventus and brought it to England during his tenure in Chelsea. But his approach is way more simple than what it meets the eye. Compact defence, tight defensive lines, low pressure and lightning counterattack. Gasperini and Juric are far more dynamic in their offensive approach than Conte, and rely on high and intense pressing, as well as man marking in open spaces. Sottil style is also an offspring of Gasperini. Mazzarri, the first italian tactician to trademark 3-5-2, plays like Conte. Anyway, formations change during the games, according to the phase...

[@rizu4575]

The best formation is to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the players you have, also by considering the enemy team.

[@SP-df1nm]

Gasperini and Mazzari made it famous well before conte started coaching.

[@1996dimitris]

The formation as we know it is nothing more than a view of the team's XI. It all depends on the tactics and the way that players are used. For example, let's take the 4-3-3. In offence, it can be a 2-3-5 or 3-2-5, it can be 4-1-4-1 if the wingers get back in line with the two cm, it can be a 4-5-1 if the wingers get in straight line with the two cm and the cdm, it can be a 3-4-3 if the cdm becomes a third cb, it can be a 4-2-3-1 if one cm plays higher like a cam or it can be a 4-4-2 (or 4-2-4) if he plays even higher (of course there are a lot of other ways that those formations can be seen). So for me, the most dangerous formation is the one that your players can fit into.

[@biswaroopmukherjee7450]

LOL 433 is used as frequently in Serie A as a 352. Milan play a 4231 always. Also, you say Serie A teams don't use a 4321. Well the difference between a 4321 and a 433 is often open to interpretation, and depends on how someone sees a player play versus what it says on the teamsheet. Sorry but further research and disclaimers are needed in this video

[@henryreturns1397]

More reasons why 3-5-2 is more popular in Serie A and they even use it in Champions league games : - It make the right and left backs be more offensive since the extra center back helps them cover more ground - You dont need wingers or inverted wingers , you have the “Right and Left wing backs” that acts more of a support on defensive and offensive - Working it out correctly , you strike a good balance between attacking and defending since if you over commit , any counter attack can be devastating and if you attack you have enough people going forward and enough to cover - Also this works very well when opponents try to play vertical and from the middle , meaning that ball recovery , interceptions and anticipating the rival is easier. - Furthermore this can be morph to other formations in the video such as the 3-4-2-1 , 5-3-2 , and the 3-4-3

[@Likwidl]

Great video, would like to see these stats in the champions league or stratified by top half vs bottom half of the table. I think certain formations can hide some players’ deficiencies. 4-3-3 is a superior formation when the 3-3 are exceptional players. Also has the 4-4-2 become completely obsolete? I would love to see a team dominate playing 4-4-fookin-2

[@FootballMeta]

4-4-2 has about a 6.9% use rate in Europe, so pretty low considering how popular it was just a few years ago. It would be very interesting to see champions League and bottom Vs top, I'll add that to the database, thanks 🙏

[@Likwidl]

@@FootballMeta looking forward to watch that video! I like how you’re using data to make sense of the beautiful game. A caveat I can think of is some teams would field a certain formation on paper but play a different one in practice. I think this was common with many 4-4-2’s back in the day where they would morph into a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. It would be interesting to see how well player starting position correlates with their heat map by the end of the match.

[@FootballMeta]

@@Likwidl wow that's such a good idea haha thanks

[@danjf1]

Does anyone know the avg gpg in Primeira Liga?

[@DanielSmith-ur1yr]

Really enjoying learning about basic characteristics of each formation and what differences occur due to unique managerial/player types. Would it be possible to do a video on the 3331/3313 formation. This is a system that seems to have very little information available in comparison to more popular styles. :)

[@FootballMeta]

Will do, eventually I'll try and cover every formation 🙌🏻

[@dqcwksjakznanashdjxj83]

Italian formations are maybe less offensive, but more effective in defense And game control?