Understanding Three Football Tactics Used in Themed Video Games

Football has changed in recent years. It has become far more tactical. It wasn’t long ago when practically every team played 4-4-2. Now there are new strategies, tactics and jargon everywhere you look. Whether you are hoping to become a master of FIFA, want to increase your knowledge of the beautiful game, help with your football betting , or simply want to understand what the commentator is going on about, here is a comprehensive guide to show you what they actually mean.

The Press

Pressing is perhaps the most popular, or at least the most used of the “new” terms in football. But how new is it, and what does it actually mean? To answer the second of those first, it is simply the act of the team without the ball, putting pressure on the team with it. Years ago it was simply called closing down, and though the principles are the same, the way teams do it today is a lot more regimented.

Pressing is always best done as a team as opposed to by an individual. It is also crucial where on the pitch you do it. Pressing high up the pitch, preventing a team passing out of from the back and forcing them to kick long and hopefully lose possession is something you will see many of the top domestic and international teams doing. Jurgen Klopp often gets credited with making it such a crucial part of a team’s armoury but its origins come from way before the Liverpool manager sat in his first dugout.

False Number 9

This is something that more and more of Europe’s top clubs adopt, Pep Guardiola particularly being an advocate of the tactic. Traditionally, the player with the number 9 on his back was the centre forward, the man the team would get the ball to in and around the penalty area in order to score the majority of their goals.

A false number 9 usually comes into play when a team plays a 4-3-3 formation, with three attacking players. The middle of those, as opposed to being the furthest player up, will instead play in the spaces between the opposition’s defence and their midfield. This creates confusion, and hopefully hesitation, which in turn creates further space and opportunities for the number 9 himself to exploit or his teammates.

Overload

The most complex of the strategies we will tackle here, but even this, when put in basic terms is incredibly simple. An overload is merely a position where one team has more players than the opposition. Usually, this will occur on the wings and can be a very potent tactic. Again, it is one used extensively by Guardiola and his teams. In order to do it effectively, the team has to work as one and be very fluid in their positional responsibilities.

More often than not, it will be employed by wingbacks or wide midfield players pushing up and doubling up with the player in front of them. In this way, the defensive fullback will be outnumbered, and it is easier to pass through the opposition’s defence.

This tactic does come with its own jeopardy, however, as of course, both teams have the same number of players on the pitch. So if the attacking team loses possession, if the team who have just won the ball are able to move it quickly enough, they will have their own overload in another area of the pitch. Things can get more complicated when the tactic is used to create isolation on the opposite side of the pitch from where the overloading is being carried out.

There are many more, and there are bound to be developments of these soon enough as well as whole new ones being used to give a team that tiny advantage that could make all the difference. If FIFA is your thing though, adopting these tactics will certainly help you understand what is going on, and hopefully turn defeats into wins.