There are numerous philosophies and styles of football, and this short article will discuss a few of the most famous.
So many clubs now play with four defenders, it has almost become the default formation, which is one thing the Liverpool owner would notice in the teams' set up. However, the formation was actually very rarely used in the early part of the 20th century. Four footballers across the backline was developed by a renowned Hungarian national side, which used positional tactics incredibly well to confuse and out-manoeuvre the opponent. Clubs adopted this soccer formation following the Hungarian team’s success, and teams continue to adopt this formation nearly 100 years after. The benefit of the system is it gives width the defensive but also a platform from which to attack.
When football was first played, it wasn't such a tactical sport; that said, in time, players and coaches have altered the way they approach the complicated game. As soccer is such a fluid and fast moving game, there is a place for variation and customisation to approaches and style. The only inflexible thing about soccer are that you have eleven players on the pitch, with 1 goalkeeper. Football tactics in the very early days were quite attack oriented, with formations lining up with just 2 defenders and the rest upfront or sitting in midfield. The footballers back in the 19th century also almost never passed the ball, they would usually just try and dribble around the opponent, with team mates backing up in case the ball was lost. At some point in the nineteenth century, footballers begun to warm to the concept of passing the ball to teammates and realised how effective it can be at cutting open theopposition's defences. The AC Milan owner would anticipate to see a passing game from the club, as applying the old style of the game would certainly not be successful. The variations to the way people played in the 19th century meant that soccer defense strategies had to be more and more defined and well trained.
During the 1970’s, there was one nation that helped to develop one of the most aesthetically pleasing styles of soccer. The Netherlands helped to develop a football game well known as total football, and the fairly hyperbolic sounding name is in fact very accurate. The footballers would all move between each other’s positions seamlessly; each player was anticipated to take on different functions and be able to fit into a variety of positions. Soccer positions were normally seen as structurally rigid, but this was modified by the well-known Dutch club and national club during the 1970’s. The Sheffield United owner’s club is essentially a team that takes some inspiration from total soccer, and some pundits and fans actually have pointed out that their club plays in a fluid fashion. It is surprising for a newly promoted club to take on a style so difficult to master.