Tactics and Formations used in Football

In the very early days of football attack was the name of the game. Teams would typically play with 2 wide men, an inside right, an inside left, and a centre-forward. Skillful and tricky players would take up the wide rolls supplying the crosses for typically big and tall centre forwards to get on the end of. Such approaches to the game must have been easy on the eye with results often ending 11-7 or the like.

As time progressed however and with foreign influences different approaches were being developed. The Italians would go on to develop the more defensive approach, which we know so well today with a bank of four another bank of fours then two strikers. This approach, having produced a fair degree of success, would go on, in a small amount of time, to become adopted as the international standard.

Foreign coaches were still bringing fresh approaches though and an early Hungarian team would bring the world the first example of