Football/Soccer Session (Advanced): 4-3-3 Upright Triangle System Explained (General, Attacking & Defending)

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Name:	Braxton Rathod
City:	Saint Louis
Country:	United States of America
Membership:	Adult Member
Sport:	Football/Soccer

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Description

The purpose of this is not to retain every bit of information, but to understand why we do the things that we do in training & our coaching points.

This is what we are working towards within our system and our style of play.

This is another great resource if you wish to learn a bit more about the system and what professional teams use it. https://www.coachesvoice.com/cv/4-3-3-football-tactics-explained-formation-liverpool-klopp-barcelona....

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4-3-3 System - General

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4-3-3 System - General

4-3-3 System

The 4-3-3 is an ideal system to learn because of its tactical flexibility. Minor adjustments in positioning and mentality easily allow the system to become a more defensive 4-5-1, or a more attacking 4-2-4. These adjustments are easier to make in the 4-3-3, than in most other systems.

Players that are familiar with the basic concepts of every line in the system, both in attack and defense, will be smarter and better prepared to make quick decisions during matches.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4-3-3 System - Defense

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4-3-3 System - Defense

Diagram shows back 4 responsibilities

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4-3-3 System - Midfield

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4-3-3 System - Midfield

Diagram shows 6/8/10 responsibilities

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4-3-3 System - Front 3

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4-3-3 System - Front 3

Diagram shows front 3 responsbilities
**To make this easier to understand for all 3 lines, I have limited the movement. As you will see from the attacking and defending sections, later on in this document, there are many runs that can be made by the midfield 3 and front 3 outside (especially) of these highlighted zones.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4-3-3 In Defense (Back 4)

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4-3-3 In Defense (Back 4)

4-3-3 In Defense

Defensivee Play of the Back Four:

Combination Man/Zone
Defending in a 4-3-3 should be done primarily with zonal defending.
Players are not solely responsible for marking an individual opponent but instead are responsible for filling areas of space and marking any opponents in those spaces.
Zonal defending allows the team to keep a better defensive shape, and reduces some of the physical demands of man-marking.
Because the 4-3-3 does not have outside midfielders, the back four must not play with a sweeper-stopper system.
Instead, the two center backs are always staggered depending on where the ball is.
If the ball is on the left, the right center back is deeper than the left center back.
Playing with 2 centerbacks will allow the outside backs to step into wide spaces more effectively defensively to address the weakness within the system.
**Inside the penalty box, the system switches to purely man-to-man marking. Proximity to the goal does not allow for space to zone.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4-3-3 in Defense (Midfield 3)

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4-3-3 in Defense (Midfield 3)

4-3-3 in Defense

Defensive Play of the Midfield Three:

The midfield three will also function under zonal principles, however, this group must be much more aggressive and attack the ball on defense.
The work rate of the three midfield players is going to determine if this system works.
These three players are primarily responsible for the middle vertical third of the field—the area between the sides of the penalty boxes.
Wide space must normally be covered by outside backs and wingers.
The outside midfielders will be pinched in, so that the midfield works as a tight triangle wherever they go on the field.
If the midfielders get stretched too wide, the team will get beaten up that middle, as the central midfielder will constantly be numbers down defensively.
In the attacking and midfield thirds of the field, this group should force the ball centrally, where the team will have numbers up most of the time.
Forcing the ball inside will reduce space for attackers to play in, and is uncomfortable for most outside backs. Also, turnovers in this area create natural counter-attack opportunities.
One midfield player must always be in the “hole” in front of the center backs. **This player is most important to prevent counters up the middle of the field, and to “protect” the center backs. This player acts partially as a screen, preventing balls in to the feet of center forwards.

Coordination Between the Backs and Midfield:

The inherent defensive weakness in the 4-3-3 is the lack of outside midfielders.
If this outside midfield space is not defended appropriately, the team will have major difficulties.
If our wing backs are able to cover wide areas properly, our midfield 3 should not be stretched wide.
**Good communication between the defense and midfield is required for this to happen successfully.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4-3-3 in Attack

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4-3-3 in Attack

4-3-3 General Attacking Concepts:

Attacking width will come from the 3 forwards and the outside backs. The midfield triangle will primarily remain in the center of the field to penetrate centrally, distribute wide, and prevent counterattacks.
The outside backs must be technically competent to attack space on the wings, and must be tactically aware of when and how to overlap into the attack. If the strong side winger pinches in, for example, this is a great opportunity to attack that space and overlap.
These wingbacks should be considered credible weapons in the buildup and in penetration.
The midfield must play quickly wide or forward to relieve pressure.
One attacking midfielder will be responsible for late runs into the box on wide services, while the deeper midfielders will be responsible for sealing space behind the ball.
The center forward will always be responsible for attacking the near post on crosses.
The weak side winger will be responsible for far post runs.
Players coming from deeper on the field will fill all other spaces.
The first option upon winning possession is always to one of the forward players—either a penetrating ball into space behind the defense, or a ball forward to feet.
The forward three should always be pushing the defensive line as far back as possible.

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4-3-3 in Attack (Back 4)

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4-3-3 in Attack (Back 4)

4-3-3 in Attack (Back 4):

Center Backs

Center backs move up to join the attack, while holding a line so that if we do lose possession, we aren't completely vulnerable to a breakaway.
Rarely will center backs move past the halfway circle on the opponent's side. **only during long periods of sustained possession in the opponent's half.
Focus on finding the midfielders while building up, especially if we are numbers up in the middle of the field.
The center backs position themselves to allow the deepest lying midfielder to drop into the hole to help facilitate the build-up.

Wing Backs

Wing backs push forward providing width in the build-up and attack.
If wing backs move forward, the deeper lying midfielder will sit in rather than making forward runs.
This is to cover the wing back's vacated space if we do lose possession and our attack breaks down - this helps to deny a counterattack. (diagram)

Football/Soccer Session Plan Drill (Colour): 4-3-3 in Attack (Starting Positions of Front 3)

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4-3-3 in Attack (Starting Positions of Front 3)

4-3-3 in Attack - Starting Positions of the Forward Three:

When the ball is on the side

The ball side (strong side) winger should always stretch the field as wide as possible.
The center forward should stretch the field as high as possible.
The weak side winger will pinch in 15 – 25 yards in order to create another threat behind the defense, and to give the center forward a teammate to play in combination with.

When the ball is central

All forwards should push as high as possible, and the wingers should be as wide as possible, back to sideline.
All players should look to make runs back to receive the ball at their feet, or diagonally to be played in behind.

Movement Options of the Front Three

There should always be at least one run checking back to the ball.
This run can come from the ball side (strong side) winger, the center forward, or both players.
**Other runs should occur in coordination with this run to use space created by defenders pulled out of position.
A particularly dangerous run comes from the attacking center midfielder recreating length by moving past the center forward when the center forward checks back to the ball. (diagram)
The most dangerous ball is always one played behind the defense, so one run should always look to attack or exploit this space.

When the wingers receive the ball wide

When a winger receives a ball in a wide position, they must look to attack their defender with speed when possible.
Several options will be available, such as combining with other forwards or playing through balls behind the defense.
In the attacking third, the winger should be confident to beat his mark 1 v 1.

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