Most football fans would’ve come across “Brexit Tackles” and “The 4-4-2, 90+3, 1-0 win from a corner with your CB slotting it in” memes. These are commonly associated with the 4-4-2 system.
This system has drastically changed throughout history. It was most famously used by Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan where they stayed compact in defense and pressed off the ball but played along the wings on the ball.
The use of this formation further proliferated when it was put in place by Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. However, in recent seasons, the use of this formation has dropped off. Why is that ?
Before we understand why this system has become more obsolete recently, let us try to examine the structure and goal of this system:
4-4-2 was one of the earliest systems in football and it was put in place to create a strong defensive unit that extended across key areas on the pitch. This formation did acquire a variety of variations but the base idea was to put in place a disciplined footballing model that wouldn’t give off any signs of vulnerability defensively. It consists of 2 lone holding strikers up top, often being physical to hold off opposition defensive players or providing the finishing touch on counter attacks. This is coupled with 2 wider players who play in a midfield like zone, often having the freedom to either drop back or push higher up and has 2 central midfielders who act as pivots. It has a standard 4 at the back like most teams.
However, the use of this rigid formation has dropped off recently due to various reasons. As the saying goes, midfields win you games. In a 4-4-2, since there are only two players centrally acting as pivots, they often find themselves outnumbered in the center of the pitch against opposition teams, most of whom operate with 3 in the middle of the park. This central overload by the opposition and inability of the 4-4-2 system to counter this makes central progression of the ball much harder and makes it easy for the opposition to win the ball back given the 3v2 situation.
Another reason is its structure. This poses twin-problems: Not only does it allow the opposition to work through defensive lines, it also doesn’t accommodate for passing options. Since the players occupy set roles which are simple in nature, there is an exodus of space that is not being utilized. Moreover, Since the system only has 2 layers of defense, it’s easier for the opposition to break through the lines as compared to a more staggered formation.
Moreover, the lack of discipline along the wings with the wingers often pushing up means that the 2 central pivots are often isolated and have the daunting task of winning the entire central area.
However, in spite of all these problems, there are teams like Atletico Madrid and Juventus who have shown success under this model. Why is that exactly ?
When played properly, the 4-4-2 system has its benefits. The simplicity of the roles in this system serve as 2 faces of the same coin. The phases of play in this system are extremely simple given the nature of the roles. Moreover, the 4 in the midfield allows the midfield to play a role in both attacking and defensive phases.
The one striking feature of this system, however, is the low block. The 4-4-2 low block is one of the hardest blocks to break down in football. It congests the box making it hard for the opposition to create space and ultimately drive attacking outputs. Moreover, another advantage of the 4-4-2 system is the fact that it covers the most space across the pitch in comparison to any other formation.
In terms of attack, the 4-4-2 is very simple in outlook. A wing back often overlaps the wider midfield players and puts in crosses for the two strikers waiting in the box to bury it in the net. Moreover, given the fact that they have 2 strikers up top, it creates more passing options on the counter attack which can prove to be fruitful. These counter attacks are often the main source of goals for low block teams that aren’t as good as their table top counterparts.
To summarize all that has been explained in this article, the 4-4-2 is a very simple football formation offering stability to a team playing it at a high level and has various features that make it solid. However, with the shift towards modern day tactics(as explained in one of the earlier articles) this way of playing has become rather obsolete and is not used as much in the modern day game as the various disadvantages that the system carries, outweigh the advantages it offers a team.