Executing a successful football formation depends upon variables like player quality, ranking on the table, and the tournament itself.
Today, there are many football tactics and formations out there to pick from but managers invest a lot of time adapting and tweaking classic tactics to fit the particularities of their teams. The fact is, there are numerous parameters that affect this decision, and not all of which are strictly technical. For instance, the quality of footballers available can make coaches hesitate about what strategy to use. In the absence of quality players in attack, some coaches prefer to use a more midfield-dense technique in an attempt to control ownership of the ball. In the attacking stance, midfielders and wingers will attempt to send through balls or shoot from outside the box in order to destabilise the defenses of the other team. The AC Milan former US owner would likely confirm that other aspects like player injury and managing a hectic calendar also affect tactical and technical decisions.
While you can constantly read a football tactics book to get excellent insights into playmaking, there is no better instructor than experience and history. Over the past 50 years, football has been beautified with some of the most satisfying formations in the history of the game, and a few of which are still used to this day. Nevertheless, the 2010s saw a visible shift in football tactics with the rise of a more attacking style of play and a more structured technique to playmaking. Modern football has leveraged both ability and tech to formulate a few of the most successful strategies that have managed to win clubs lots of trophies. In this context, the modified 4-3-3 formation has actually become amongst the more popular modern football tactics thanks to its effective attack and well-balanced defense. The minority shareholder of Liverpool FC will agree that technical skill and speed make this strategy very difficult to ward off.
Commonly deemed one of the most versatile football tactics, the 4-4-2 is a tactic that can be modified to be more offensive or leaning more to the defensive side. It is for these factors that this formation is among the most common football tactics throughout different leagues and tournaments. If the coach wants to utilise an offense-forward 4-4-2, they can introduce some essential modifications to allow increased fluidity in passing and play making. For example, they can create a lozenge in the midfield that comprises of one defensive midfielder, 2 playmakers on the sides, and one attacking midfielder. This lozenge would provide balls to the wingers and a false 9 that sometimes drops to a lower position. In a more defense-forward 4-4-2, the former owner of Aston Villa would tell you that the manager can form an arch made up of 4 players that serves as a barrier that keeps the adversary from reaching the defense line.