Football Tactics 3-5-2


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3-1-4-2
3-2-3-2
3-2-4-1
3-3-1-3
3-3-3-1
3-4-1-2
3-4-2-1
3-4-3
3-5-1-1

3-5-2

4-1-2-3
4-1-3-2
4-1-4-1
4-2-1-3
4-2-2-2
4-2-3-1
4-3-1-2
4-3-2-1
4-3-3
4-4-1-1
4-4-2
4-5-1
5-3-2
5-4-1

For practical reasons
4-4-2 diamond
is represented
4-3-1-2
or
4-1-3-2


Numbering Systems

3-5-2 formation
GK - Goalkeeper
DF - Defenders:
    RB - Right-back
    SW - Sweeper
    CB - Centre-back
    LB - Left-back
MF - Midfielders:
    RM - Right-midfield
    LM - Left-midfield
    CM - Central Midfielders
        DM - Defensive midfielder
        BX - Box-to-Box CM
        AM - Attacking midfielder
FW - Forwards:
    RW - Right-wing
    ST - Striker
    LW - Left-wing

01-Jan-07 17:19
guest 190.18.111.149
Used by coach Bilardo for his Argentina World Cup champions 1986:
Pumpido;
Cucciufo,Brown,Ruggeri;
Giusti,Enrique,Batista,Burruchaga,Olarticoechea;
Maradona,Valdano
11-Jul-07 06:09
riostrioff
offensive modification of 5-3-2
20-Jun-08 23:08
guest 192.88.165.35
Can be effectively represented as an attacking 3-2-3-2, a medium defensive 3-3-2-2, or a complex 3-4-1-2. The latter brings safer overlapping from the outside midfielders compared to overlappling from a flat-back-4.

It would be interesting to attack any representation of the 3-5-2 with a 4-3-3, 4-1-2-3, or 4-2-1-3 which would force the 3-5-2 to drop a midfielder into a fullback role or risk playing man defense.

Hal Lin
23-Sep-08 21:43
guest 82.143.237.88
That s just mathematically. It needn t be reality, as 4-3-3, 4-1-2-3, or 4-2-1-3 all face problems vs 3-5-2 the two wing-forwards don t drop down into midfield when not in ball possession.

Therefore, the argument is not necessarily valid


/esegel
31-Dec-08 08:38
guest 213.17.180.250
This is tactics of polish national team in years 1994-2000.
23-Jan-09 12:28
neenerface
this formation relies heavily on the left and right fullbacks/midfielders. they have to play as wing-backs and work twice as hard to both defend and attack.

the formation also works best against an opposition team using 2 strikers, as the use of 3 CBs allow two of them to man-mark the forwards and the third to pick up any attacking midfielder. the 3-5-2 is much weaker against teams using a lone striker, as the third defender becomes redundant and easily overwhelmed.

Because lone strikers are becoming more and more common, as well as the increasing pace of modern football which has made it almost impossible to find wing-backs with enough stamina to last a full game, there has been a huge decline in the popularity of this formation. However, teams such as Napoli have successfully adapted it into a defensive, counter-attacking tactic to great effect.
15-Jun-09 15:41
guest 94.253.152.163
Favorite tactic of Blazevic Croatia. 3 strong fullbacks, Stanic on right, Jarni left. The midfield, Asanovic,Prosinecki and captain Boban. Strikers, Suker and Boksic.
15-Oct-09 10:15
guest 85.81.0.6
3-5-2 fit into the idea of youth football where they have to be challenge man to man.
04-Apr-10 17:50
GaryU17 s Coach
GBNorthamptonshire
A great system for playing total football at youth level. Three player at the back need to be competent as well as strong with good vision. Left & right midfield effectively are your wing backs. A big responsibility is placed on these to defend when not in possession and to provide quick pace and support in attack. Must be supremely fit and need plenty of fluids throughout the game. Central midfield will require skill, good first touch and vision for the cutting pass. The two forwards biggest responsibility is to defend from the front and close and deny space. There will be plenty of opportunity to score goals with this system. Above all the team must all work really hard but if you add the skill factor it is possible to adopt this system and enjoy total football.
30-Aug-10 07:09
guest 83.253.59.157
Ciro Blazevic used this formation as coach of Bosnia too. According to him, he invented this formation long time ago. But take that with a grain of salt because... well it´s Ciro smile
As said, the key is to have strong and fast RM & LM, they need to work really hard as they are practically covering two positions each. It´s 5-3-2 when defending and 3-5-2 when in possession. This formation can be good for counter attacks as it can easily transform from defending to attacking. But it can get too defensive against a team that uses wide forwards and/or have a lot of possession. It´s a bit oldfashioned and outdated, not a lot of teams use it.
11-Oct-10 21:06
guest 86.151.132.15
i have read this football book called inverting the pyramid: the history of football tactics, and in one of the pages it had an Brazilian coach said, this formation could go out of existance by using a 4-5-1 converting in a 4-3-3. By the WB or WM going back for th opposite wingers. Which leaves u with 3 both in the M and leaves u with 3 CB with the 1 ST. and 4D with 2A which 1 full back and push up.
30-Dec-10 14:49
guest 86.147.188.179
i play 11 aside with u/12 youth and the 3-5-2 works well if you have 2 fit wingbacks as desribed above. We lost our r/s wingback pre season who was fit as a fiddle and would work up and down.Not being unable to replace the player properly we have come unstuck and have let many goals in when the oposing left mid breaks down the line pulling one of my 3 defenders across leaving 2v2 in the middle against their strikers.
22-Mar-11 18:38
Football freak
SESkane Lan
Hi
In the first comment here it says :
Used by coach Bilardo for his Argentina World Cup champions 1986:
Pumpido;
Cucciufo,Brown,Ruggeri;
Giusti,Enrique,Batista,Burruchaga,Olarticoechea;
Maradona,Valdano


Interesting thing here is that Napoli (also with Maradona) used this formation when they won the Serie A 1986/1987 and again in 1989/1990.

Many teams have tried this formation with out any luck. I think the trick in this formation is to have one outstanding playmaker and the three defenders don´t go high on the pitch when attacking.
18-May-11 17:01
guest 75.60.216.134
Played it as a 3-2-3-2. Unbelievably effective if
the team is disciplined. Team must maintain proper vertical spacing to prevent counters and to allow for their own rapid upfield attack. Didn t work well for crashing everybody into the box, but rather drawing the opposing team out and quickly short passing your way in behind them. (In other words we stretch the defense vertically more than horizontally, which is the opposite of the standard 4-4-2).
16-Aug-11 18:25
Fábio Pinhão
BRRio de Janeiro
Let s not forget that Brazil s Scolari won 2002 World Cup with a 3-5-2 formation. Cafu and Roberto Carlos were the 2 wings who had to both attack and defend thoroughly. Edmilson brilliantly played a quasi-sweeper role during the tournament side-by-side Lucio and Juan, who were the strong central backs.
24-Aug-11 22:57
podger
IELouth
if you have 3 good centre halves they ll be able to handle 2 v 2...but your 3rd centre half shouldnt head out to the wing to close down the winger...the centre halves should stick rigidly to the width of the box.. therefore ensuring if a ball does come into the centre from the winger you have a box full of centre halves to clear it
02-Sep-11 01:18
guest 77.101.99.144
Disagree slightly with the previous post. I play 3- 5-2 with my under 13 s team. But i play with a holding midfielder. If 1 of the CBs goes across to cover, the holding midfielder drops and acts as a centre back. Then u still have your 3 central defenders. We win a lot of games by high scores as we hit teams on the break really quick.But in order to do this you need quick and visionary midfielders/forwards. Interesting!!!!
05-Dec-11 17:46
danmarce
Liga de Quito (Ecuador) won 4 continental titles in CONMEBOL using this formation. 2008 Copa Libertadores, 2009 Recopa, 2009 Copa Sudamericana, 2010 Recopa.

With the right players you can convert this formation to a 5-3-2 if you need it.
18-Jan-12 05:25
guest 99.96.71.238
a good soccer formation i used this stragedy at my team made it to the playoff , more local team are using 3-5-2 to have more power at central field less defenders and more attacking.
22-Jan-12 04:23
joe
GBCambridgeshire
i m currently playing this strategy but with a twist. i m playing 3 CB s one a central defender (stopper) one cover one ball playing. two wide midfielders playing support duty. one DM playing defensive duty. Two AMC s one playing trequista attack and one as an attacking mid support. finally two strikers playing advanced forward. team philosophy is rigid, strategy is control. closing down press more, width 3/4 of the bar, short passing, defensive line pushed up.


enjoy
09-Jul-12 20:28
Hal
USTexas
Italy tied Spain with this formation in group play at Euro 2012. Maggio and I think Giaccherini were the wide wing players in the midfield. IIRC Maggio was injured or otherwise not eligible for the knockout stage and the finals and went to four in the back. I used 3-5-2 without the creative wings with U13 girls when we didn t have any subs to split the midfield into holding and attacking and limit over exhausting them while still being able to attack.
22-Aug-12 15:13
trequartista
DEBayern
udine used this formation some time ago quite similar to juves scudetto winning team this year, juve switched to a 3-5-2 for some matches.

• important is that there is no old fashioned striker upfront, u need 2 dynamic forwards like vucinic or e.g. quagliarella to fill the gaps and interact with the two wingbacks, also one forward needs to be confident in dropping deep to provide linking-up play for the midfield and cary some playmaking on his shoulders.

• interesting is the the playmakers role/position in such a formation, i think its better to play it with a pirlo-role like juve has it, two allrounders beside him like marchisio and vidal to get in the physical play and box-to-box abilities to provide help for the two strikers upfront.

• the left and right CBs need to have a certain amount of speed for this formation, a slower defender can play the central part
its not necessary for the central defender to play an offensive libero role coz he has the playmaker infront of him

and off course the wingbacks are important
09-Aug-13 04:34
guest 69.58.115.129
I have been using this formation with lots of success for years with my youth teams, I like the versatility in which the 3-5-2 can be transformed into a 5-3-2 or 3-2-3-2. I took a lot of repetitions at practice to get it right, but when you do, it runs like a well oiled machine.

Midfield players particularly must be skilled and/or fit with great vision.
13-Jan-14 15:22
guest 75.99.155.2
I love the 3-5-2 for my youth teams, but I play it as a 3-2-3-2. I found this to be the easiest transition from the small-sided 8v8 game. In essence, I kept the same small-sided formation but just added a line of defenders. With a 3-2-3-2 there are triangles all over the field so you create lots of 2v1 situations. The two Defensive Midfielders should be strong tacklers and be able to quickly distribute the ball. The three Midfielders need to be skilled as they are your playmakers. If I have two fast forwards, I play them side-by-side. If I have a very skilled forward then I tend to play him withdrawn a bit.

SS GAME:
----RB----LB----
RM----CM----LM
----ST----ST----

FULL SIDED:
RB----CB----LB
---DM--DM---
RM---CM---LM
---ST----ST---
21-Jan-14 16:08
guest 204.39.94.9
I do not plan to run it making the wingers get up and down the field. I would rotate the central mids to the outside (as a weak side defender)and have the winger then rotate to the center.
11-Feb-15 03:08
guest 192.103.180.181
Like previous poster, I run it as a 3-2-3-2 so that I basically have 3 defenders, 2 stoppers, 3 mids, and 2 strikers. This allowed us to control the center of the field better and using 2 stoppers gives me pressure on the ball from left or right. As someone pointed out, one of them can attack ball and the other drop back to form a 4 defender line if needed. When we previously ran a 4-4-2, both center mids tried to push up (everyone wants to score, right?) and neither would be more defensive center mid. With the 3-2-3-2, if forces the issue. I do think you need some speed in the back line to defeat through balls and good outside mids with endurance. We took 2nd place with this lineup last season. This season, personnel issues are pushing more towards a 4-4-2, but we aren t generating the scores that we did with the 3-2-3-2.
29-May-15 16:07
guest 113.199.254.251
I use the 3-1-4-2 version with 1-CDM & 2-CM.
CDM should be Combatitive for regaining posession & should have good vision of the game for possession & distribution of the ball.
And the 2-CM should take the attacking duties while wingback should be work-horses for the formation and provide necessary width.
1-Striker should drop to the midfield to receive the ball while the other should pressure the backline.
3-defenders should be well co-ordinated & pacey with only 10-15 yards between them or less.
Had quite success with it. Unless the opposition uses 3-forwards or more, like the 4-3-3 or formations with a lot of width in it, you can believe me this is a lot better formation for Midfield-Posession if you dont have very good incisive Winger-Forwards.
. -Prasoon Shrestha
16-Jul-15 17:50
guest 93.137.146.243
For 3-5-2 you should to play offensive,with a high pressing. You need a great experienced keeper,3 fullbacks,and these 2 from the flanks should have a high speed and a great slide tackle,and the central should be like a gate. I d opte for one defensive midfildier,a kind of a brain for the team,2 wingers woth a huge speed,and they should take the game on their foots,2 offensive midfildiers with a great shot and speed,and 2 strikers to form a duel,strikers should have speed and shot.
01-Jul-22 03:55
guest 102.23.96.16
A very balanced formationtongue
Can transition to 5-7 at the back if you need to hold a result...
The midfield determines if you ll win or lose
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