3-4-3 Formation

If you’d asked me ten years ago which formation I would use on my team, there would have only been one option: the 4-4-2 diamond. That diamond would have had Jamison Olave and Nat Borchers on the back line. Kyle Beckerman would be the super-active defensive midfielder. Javier Morales would have been at the point of the diamond controlling the attack. My view of the world of soccer may have been somewhat biased and limited by a certain team that played a beautiful game of possession-based soccer.



Here I am many years and hundreds (thousands?) of soccer games later, and thankfully my understanding of formation has increased. Form should follow function, and not the other way around. We are not a cup-winning MLS team. We are 12-year-olds on a full-sized field for the first time. Therefore, our formation this year is based on careful consideration of both the type of soccer that I want our team to play, and the type of opponents that we’re likely to face.

That consideration brings us the the 3-4-3; 3 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 3 forwards.

Why the 3-4-3

I like to score goals, and having three forwards should give us lots of opportunity to do so. These three forwards will spend much of their time very high up the field. They should help us create many opportunities to break down a defense with quality passes, crosses, and through balls. They should give us more opportunity to go 1v1 with defenders to move into the scoring zone. Overall, we should have more shots on goal and more goals.



Four midfielders gives us offensive width right where we need it. Utilizing width in the middle third will help us to unbalance the opponents defense and allow us to create numbers up situations on which we can capitalize and score. The attacking midfielder will be free to move forward into the attack to increase our ability to move the ball around the scoring zone.

Furthermore, this combination of 4 midfielders and 3 forwards will serve to encourage overlapping runs and position switching, which we will talk about later.

The 3-4-3 is also a very strong defense against central attacks. Our forwards and attacking midfielders will be available to press and defend very high up the field, hopefully tackling or intercepting the ball before it crosses into our defensive half. However, if the ball does make it to our side of the field, we’ll have a defensive midfielder and THREE center backs to intervene!

Weaknesses of the 3-4-3?

We don’t get to put 3 players on our front line without making sacrifices in other areas of the field. However, I think these sacrifices are minimized at this level due to the age and skill level of our opponents.

The obvious concern is that we will be vulnerable on defense due to the fact that we’ll only have 3 players on our back line. I actually don’t think this is going to be true for two reasons. First, the majority of teams that we’ve faced in the past tend to attack more centrally. Rather than weakening our defense, the use of three full backs will be ideal against exactly this type of attack.

Second, the few teams that do try to work the ball up the flanks and cross it in will be limited by their ability to provide quality crosses. I’ve yet to see a team at this level that provides consistent crosses from the outside to beyond the far post. Not only can we easily defend this portion of the field with three defenders, it should also simplify the process by giving our defenders more specific and limited responsibilities.

Will It Work

Yes! But, we have work to do. Primarily, we must have fast and athletic defenders who are both willing and able to cover a greater portion of the field. Our defenders will be shifting from side to side more than any other team working with a 4 player back line. Our defense line will often be pressed up as high as possible, which means our defenders will be running back and forth A LOT!

Our midfielders must be disciplined. This means knowing where they should be, what their responsibilities are in every situation, and having the individual skill to fulfil their role both offensively and defensively.

We will need to communicate! I honestly think this is one of the hardest skills for young girls to develop on the field (ironic, eh?). I want to be the loudest team in the league.

Summary

Strengths
Forwards are always high and wide.
Four midfielders provide width.
Attacking midfielder allowed to move forward into the attack.
Encourages overlapping runs and position switching.
Strong defense against central attacks.

Weaknesses
Awards space down the flanks
Limits ability to play balls in the flanks in the attacking and defending third

Requirements
Fast and athletic defenders to cover the length and width of the field.
Disciplined midfielders
Forwards with the ability to beat defenders off of the dribble and to provide quality crosses.
Effective communication

What are your thoughts? Can we/Should we do this? I know this is a fairly brief intro, but what have I missed? What else do we need to think about?