Football Positions -
The History Of Tactics, Positions & Formations

Football positions may or may not have changed over the years, but the names certainly have. You ask a 15 year old today if he knew where a three quarter back played on a football pitch and he would think you'd got your sports mixed up. Here we explain all the football positions and tactics from when football began.

In the early days, football was very attack minded, and as such, many football teams played with a 1-2-7 formation (one defender, two midfielders and seven attackers!). The one defender was known as the three quarter back, and he was supported by two half-backs from midfield, In attack, the seven forwards were split into two wing forwards on either side of the football pitch and three centre forwards. There were some variations on this. though. As most midfielders then had to be excellent passers of the ball, a tactic brought in from the Scottish players, Preston North End won the championship in 1888 by introducing a more defensive 2-3-5 formation (two defenders, three mid-fielders and five attackers), which most other clubs started to emulate over the next 40 years.

One of the half-backs was brought back into defence, making the two defenders full backs as opposed to three quarter backs. Their main job was to mark their opponents' inside forwards and stop any short passes in midfield. Added to that, two forwards were brought back into midfield as half-backs to mark the opposition's wingers, thus trying to cut down their pace threat. The remaining half-back became a centre-back, who would drift from defence to attack as he saw fit. This left two wingers up front (outside-right and outside-left), along with two inside-forwards (inside-right and inside-left) and a centre-forward.

Up until the 1920s, an attacking player was only offside if there were less than three players closer to their goal line than the attacker. This is why it was reasonably safe to play just one or two in defence. The offside rule was changed to needing two opposing players between the attacker and the goalline for him to be onside. This then made it easier for attackers to score against the two-man defences. Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman then introduced a system that utilised three defenders as opposed to the usual two. This system was complemented by a strict man-marking regime, whereby the centre-back, who had now retreated to the centre of the three man defence, would stick as close to the opposing centre-forward as possible, while the full-backs, who had moved further wide to accommodate the centre-back, would mark the wingers. This left two mid-fielders in a slightly less advanced position than before to act as wing halves who would have the dual

responsibility of loosely marking the inside forwards and providing the forwards with the ball. This was helped by the slight withdrawal of the inside forwards from the front line. Chapman's formation was referred to as the M-W formation due to its appearance on the field with all the players in their described positions.

In 1958, Brazil won their first of five World Cups with a flat back four system they had developed. Two centre-backs would mark the inside-forwards runs from deep, while the wider full-backs would not only cut out the threat of the opposing wingers but also provide width on the counter-attack. The relative lack of numbers in the middle of the park meant a creative presence was required, and for the Brazilians, that presence was provided in the form of their dazzling midfielder Didi.

The advent of the Italian system came soon after, and was a more defensive variation on the Brazilians' 4-2-4 system. Two forwards were withdrawn to leave just two up front, and an extra midfielder was added to bolster the midfield. However, the major tactical innovation with this formation was the floating sweeper, often referred to in Italian as a "libero", or "free man". While the four main defenders would have the task of strict man-marking the opposition forwards, the libero would act as a sponge, mopping up any attacks that might happen to get through the tight defence. Franz Beckenbauer of Bayern Munich gave the position a more attacking role and played a major part as captain of the West Germany side that won the World Cup in 1974 and came third in 1970.

Meanwhile, the English had also developed a tactical formation that lay somewhere between a 4-2-4, a 4-4-2 and a 4-3-3. The flat back four that had become so popular remained intact, but the midfield was a free-flowing unit with players given license to attack as the scenario saw fit. In defence, using the 1966 World Cup side as an example, Martin Peters, Bobby Charlton and Alan Ball would all stay back to counter the opposition attack. However, in attack they had two options: Peters and Ball could charge forward, creating problems for the opposition out wide with their pace and crossing ability, creating a 4-2-4 formation; or Charlton could burst through the middle of the strike partnership of Roger Hunt and Geoff Hurst and overload the centre of the opposition defence, providing either an extra man in the box or an effective long-shot alternative. The unsung hero of Alf Ramsey's England side was Nobby Stiles, who was the midfield linchpin, whom the team relied on in defence when Charlton surged forward in support of the strikers.

The mid- to late-1970s saw the coming of the Dutch "Total Football" scheme. While not burdened with a specific, rigid formation, the system relied on extremely versatile players who were able to fill in at any position the circumstances of the game required them to. One such player was the legendary Johan Cruijff, who epitomised the Total Football ideology by being able to play in almost every outfield position going. A major criticism of this style of play was that, for the Dutch national side, it never yielded a major trophy, but it did help them to reach two consecutive World Cup finals (1974 and 1978), which is no mean feat. The argument is somewhat negated by the fact that the Ajax side that Cruijff played in won three consecutive European Cup titles in the 1970s.

The last major tactical evolution occurred in the late 1980s/early 1990s, when the Milan side played with a variation on the 4-4-2 formation. This formation relied extensively on the four defenders' ability to work as a unit in order to spring the offside trap on slower attackers, as well as the stamina of the midfielders who would be expected to pressurise the opposition as soon as they gained possession of the ball. In attack, the team would play short-passes within the midfield, using their crisp passing and dynamic movement to open up holes in the defence and create attacking opportunities.

These days, the 4-4-2 formation is very much the predominant tactic in world football. However, this does vary from country to country, such as in the Netherlands, where the 4-3-3 formation is favoured, and even division to division within some countries. Some teams prefer a more defensive option, packing the defence in a 5-3-2 formation, while others will exploit the opposition's defensive incapability by deploying their speedy wing-backs in a 3-5-2 formation. Other formations, such as 4-5-1, 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1, etc., do exist, but the 4-4-2 formation remains the dominant tactic.