The Evolution Of Modern Day Football Tactics

If you were to watch a football match from 20 years ago, it would look so different! A bit chaotic if you ask us. While many factors contribute to that, tactics are arguably the number one factor. The way coaches were back then, is not the same way they are now. We now have coaches like Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Mikel Arteta, and several others, and one thing they all have in common is their organized tactics.

In short, football has undergone a very major evolution in recent years. Unlike old times when players ran purposelessly around the field, now, there is great emphasis on positional play and discipline in adhering to coaches' instructions.

Here today, we will be reviewing specific areas where modern-day football tactics have undergone evolution. Stay with us, it's gonna be fun!

Former State of Football Tactics

Before we dive into what modern football tactics look like, it is only right that we look at how it used to be, isn't it? Well, the earlier years of football had less structure, so it was not uncommon to see teams playing formations like 2-3-5. Most top teams used to prioritize attack over defense as their goal was to 'outscore' their opponent

Back then, there was no link, bridge, or good chemistry between players as we see today. It was simple - defenders, stop opposition attacks (almost by any means necessary); attackers, score as many goals as possible!

Talking about the former state of football tactics is a whole discussion on its own. For now, our focus is on modern football, so let’s look at some of the ‘trends’ in modern football.

Winning the Ball Higher Up The Pitch

Build-up play where teams start their sequence from the goalkeeper to the defender is beautiful. But now, teams are fond of pressing high up the pitch and counter-press intensively.

Pressing high has two advantages:

• Greatly disrupt the opposing team’s build-up play
• Force turnovers from opponents to create goal-scoring opportunities

Contrary to what most people think, not only the strikers and other attackers engage in high-pressing. It has to be collective and coordinated for it to work as planned. This means the midfielders will also push higher to support the press. Defenders will also push forward to set up a form of offside trap.

Increased Full-Backs Involvement

Before now, full-backs were primarily to defend and make little to no contributions offensively. However, it is a different ball game now. Modern-day football full-backs now have offensive duties that involve providing more attacking width, as well as making overlapping runs to launch in crosses to target men.

Now, a lot of teams focus on out-wide tactics to maximize their fullbacks and force the opposition to retreat.

Flexible Formations

Back in the day, if a team set out to play 4-4-2 for a game, you would see the formation structure all through the game. Things were very rigid and players stuck to their formations diligently with little concern for what was happening outside their position.

In modern formation, formation is very fluid and players can engage in different transitions depending on the phase of the game they are in. We've seen coaches like Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta implement different formations, depending on whether the team is in or out of possession.

Performance Metrics

If you knew how much in-depth analysis goes on behind the scenes, you'd be surprised. The staff now tracks player movements, patterns, and several other metrics to facilitate tactics and decision-making. While fans have access to several of them to improve betting decisions on the 1xBet app, a lot of them remain a 'behind-the-scenes' craft. These performance metrics are vital in improving players by telling them what they are doing right or wrong in each game.

Intensity and Balanced Energy Levels

With tactics revolving around intensive pressing, players faced the difficulty of maintaining balanced energy levels for 90 minutes. After all, you can't make more than five substitutions (used to be three), in competitive matches. So, coaches placed more emphasis on player fitness and conditioning to maintain high intensity for full matches.

Wrap Up

Without a doubt, football tactics have gone through very significant growth and changes over the years. Now, every sequence is well-planned through monitoring and analysis of several metrics. Is it for better or worse? We will let you be the decider of that. What we know is that players and coaches are adapting; if you don't like the new movement, there is not so much you can do about it. Just learn to enjoy the game!