You probably are aware of formation names such as 3-5-2 or 4-2-3-1, but just throwing three or four numbers with dashes between them doesn't mean you 've set up a proper formation. To do this, there is a certain series of rules to follow and decisions to make.
Decision 1: How many positions do I want my centre of defence to have?
Rules: The centre of defence must contain either two or three positions. At least one of them has to be a stopper position, while not more than one libero and not more than one semilibero is allowed. You 'll not get some kind of ban or something if you don't follow these rules, but damn sure you will get punishment from the sport itself.
Note: Stopper positions can only be played by stoppers. We often see TV teams use attacking wingers in stopper positions (like Huub Stevens' PAOK did with Tzavellas), but it does nothing good for the said teams' defending - hence the ridiculous goals seen every matchday on TV. Generally, the centre of defence is not an area for risks.
Decision 2: How many positions do I want my axis to have?
Rules: The smallest number of axis midfielder positions has to be three. At least one of them has to be a defensive midfielder position, while not more than one mid-defender and not more than one central midfielder is allowed. If you want to completely strangle the axis, you can use five or maybe six of them, depending on the rest of your formation.
Note: The mid-defender position can very well be played by a libero or a semilibero. Remember this when deciding what players to take for the bench. Stoppers can stand well in defensive midfielder positions if your pick for defence is patience instead of pressing. A mid-defender cannot exchange positions with a defensive or central midfielder. A defensive midfielder on the other hand can stand well in the central midfielder position when a stiffer performance is required. Putting though central midfielders at the base of the axis is one of the worst ideas ever presented in the sport. See the mess of this season's PAOK with Mauricio, Shakhov and now Oliveira playing at the base and you 'll see what I mean. Don't be fooled by PAOK's position in the league, as they win without convincing with their performance. They played much better with Fernando Santos at their steering wheel, but were not as lucky and favoured as they are now. The truth about their current level can be seen in how they did against Benfica, Vidi and BATE (1-4, 0-2 and 1-3 respectively). Their only good matches so far in this season are a 2-0 win against the trashy Panathinaikos and a 3-1 win against a very wrongly set Olympiacos (Guilherme alone on the base, against four mid-attackers? Fortounis and Natcho in front of him and with no defensive duties? Why not Guilherme and Camara with Guerrero just in front of them and a mid-attacker on top?). Even in their 1-4 win in Belarus, PAOK played worse than BATE.
Decision 3: How many players do I want each flank to have?
Rules: Each flank of the formation can have either one or two players. The first and mandatory one of them is either a side defender or a back-half (the former is mandatory if there isn't a third player in the centre of defence). The second position, if opted for, can be for a back-half or a fullback. If this second position is for a fullback, the first position has to be for a side defender, not a back-half.
Note: Side defender positions can be played by stoppers, if actual side defenders are not available. The use of attacking wingers (or even strikers) in these positions is destined to result in ridiculous gaps, easy for the opposition to take advantage of. Look at how empty Olympiacos' right flank is any time Torossidis plays there - it is because Torossidis is an attacking winger, not a defender. Moving on to back-half positions: these can be played by side defenders or defensive midfielders, or stoppers in extreme cases. Lastly, fullback positions can be played by back-halves, side defenders, defensive midfielders, or (yeah, you guessed it) stoppers.
Decision 4: How many positions do I want the top of my formation to consist of?
Rules: The top can either be single or double. Only up to one striker position is allowed (this means at least one mid-attacker position has to exist in the formation).
Note: Top positions may be declared as strikers or mid-attackers, but can also be played by players with central midfielder, defensive midfielder or stopper characteristics.
All these guidelines mean you can actually use eight stoppers and two semiliberos and consider your formation as a 4-3-3. Positions depend on player characteristics, this doesn't make the two topics the same with each other. So, if you don't feel sure you 've understood this post, read it again till you get it. If on the other hand you 're going to tell me something like "Your rules are too strict", my answer is no, the sport is "too strict". Here I 'm just respecting what an area each player has to cover. In my own experience, as we play on a 70x110m pitch, the average area per player (minus the goalkeeper) is 770 square metres, which is about 10 average houses. (This doesn't take into account how the areas of some positions enter each other, so the actual area a football player has to cover is even larger than that! Try preventing a ball from passing an area that size for two halves of 45+ minutes each...)
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