There are numerous philosophies and styles of football, and this short article will discuss a few of the most famous.
During the 1970’s, there was one country that helped to develop one of the most visually pleasing styles of football. The Netherlands helped to establish a soccer style known as total soccer, and the rather hyperbolic sounding name is actually very accurate. The footballers would all move between each other’s positions seamlessly; each player was expected to take on different functions and be able to fit into all sorts of positions. Soccer positions were typically seen as structurally rigid, but this was changed by the popular Dutch club and national club during the 1970’s. The Sheffield United owner’s team is actually a team that takes some inspiration from total soccer, and some pundits and fans actually have pointed out that their team plays in a fluid fashion. It is surprising for a newly promoted team to take on a style so difficult to master.
When soccer was initially played, it was not such a tactical sport; that said, in time, footballers and managers actually have transformed the way they tackle the complex game. As soccer is such a fluid and fast moving game, there is a place for variation and customisation to methods and style. The only strict thing about soccer are that you actually have eleven players on the pitch, with one goalkeeper. Football tactics in the early days were quite attack inclined, with formations lining up with just 2 defenders and the rest up front or sitting in midfield. The players back in the 19th century also rarely passed the ball, they would basically just try and dribble around the opposition, 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 team mates and realised how effective it is at cutting open theopposition's defences. The AC Milan owner would expect to see a passing game from the team, as applying the old style of the game would definitely not do well. The changes to the way people played in the 19th century meant that soccer defense strategies had to be more and more defined and well trained.
Various clubs now play with four defenders, it has almost become the default formation, which is something the Liverpool owner would notice in the clubs' set up. Having said that, the formation was actually really infrequently used in the early part of the 20th century. Four footballers across the backline was developed by a famous Hungarian national side, which used positional tactics exceptionally well to confuse and out-manoeuvre the opposition. Clubs adopted this soccer formation immediately after the Hungarian team’s success, and clubs continue to adopt this formation almost 100 years after. The benefit of the system is it gives width the defensive but also a platform from which to attack.