Tag
Tactics
Tactics
69 definitions
Two defensive midfielders sitting in front of the back line. It gives more protection than a single holder and lets full-backs and wingers push up knowing there's cover. Usually one is a destroyer and one is better on the ball. Standard in 4-2-3-1 setups and still common when teams want defensive balance.
Chelsea's 2012 Champions League triumph featured the double pivot of Mikel and Ramires - their tireless work shielding the defense allowed Mata and Drogba to focus on attacking, providing the balance that frustrated Barcelona's possession game.
Robbie
Jan 20, 2026
The cue that tells a team to immediately press after losing the ball rather than drop back. Common triggers: a heavy touch by the opponent, the ball going to a player facing their own goal, or a bouncing loose ball. The whole team has to recognize the trigger and react together within seconds. Get it right and you win the ball back in a dangerous area. Miss it and you're scrambling.
Liverpool's counterpressing trigger against the ball bouncing loose is drilled into every player - the moment possession becomes uncertain, three or four players converge instantly, often winning the ball back before the opponent can even control it.
Robbie
Jan 20, 2026
Creating numerical advantage in a specific area of the pitch. Three attackers against two defenders is an overload. You move players into zones to outnumber the opposition, then exploit the spare man. Guardiola teams overload the half-spaces constantly; wide overloads involve full-backs and wingers combining; central overloads pack the middle of the pitch. The spare man should always be free if you work the ball quickly enough.
Manchester City create overloads everywhere. Three players on the right combine, the defense shifts, and suddenly the left side has two City players against one defender. The overload creates the chance.
Robbie
Jan 19, 2026
An unbroken chain of passes before the ball is lost. Sequences can be long (tiki-taka style) or short (direct football). Teams are judged on how many long sequences they produce and what they do with them. A 15-pass sequence that ends with a sideways ball is different from one that ends with a shot. The quality of the sequence's endpoint matters as much as the length.
Spain's winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final came from a long possession sequence - patient passing, movement off the ball, and eventually Iniesta arriving to finish. The sequence itself was the tactic.
Robbie
Jan 19, 2026
Italian term for a midfielder who drifts into the half-space between central and wide areas. Not quite a central midfielder, not quite a winger. They make runs into channels, receive between the lines, and provide width when wingers cut inside. Gündoğan under Guardiola played this way - nominally central but constantly drifting wide and arriving late in the box.
Ilkay Gündoğan exemplified the mezzala role under Guardiola at Manchester City - nominally a central midfielder, he would drift into the left half-space, arriving late in the box to score important goals while also contributing to build-up play.
Robbie
Jan 18, 2026