4-2-3-1 (Playmaker) Formation
by Ummon Karpe
The 4-2-3-1 is popular in Spanish clubs. It is evolved from the 4-4-2, but has the outside midfielders play as outside attacking midfielders, or wingers, and has one of the strikers play as an attacking midfielder, or playmaker. The formation combines the wide play of the 4-4-2 with the central playmaker of the 4-4-2 diamond formation. ST LAM CAM RAM CDM CDM LD CD CD DR GK The defensive line: This is quite similar to the 4-4-2, with left/right defenders, and two central defenders. The midfield: This is the heart of the 4-2-3-1 formation. It has two center defensive mids, a central attacking mid (the playmaker), and left/right attacking mids (the wingers). The wingers must work hard, tracking back to help defend, and then running up to attack. The playmaker must have good vision and passing skills to create scoring chances by play the ball up to the wingers or striker. The center defensive mids will support the attacking mids and striker during attacks, but will hang back to be ready to defend against a counter-attack. Because of the high number of midfielders, the 4-2-3-1 is good at maintaining possession. The striker: The striker is usually a strong player with good dribbling skills, so he can hold on to the ball while the wingers and playmaker come up to support him. Because there is only one striker, the 4-2-3-1 is considered a defensive formation. Nevertheless, the 3 attacking mids combined with the striker can be quite effective at generating scoring chances. Contrast with total soccer: The 4-2-3-1 is a relatively static formation, with each player having a unique role and players rarely switching places. This is the opposite of total soccer, where players are expected to be versatile and switch places with each other to help create chances. |
