It was a hot summer day and the sun was shining brightly. The field was impeccably well maintained. With a determined look, the coach began to explain about the formations while holding a whiteboard in his hands and, with a marker pen, began to draw the lines of the field.
"I want everyone to pay close attention. Football is a tactical game, and each formation has its advantages and disadvantages," he said, as he drew the 4-4-2 lines in the board.
"This is the formation we play in most of our games, with four defenders, four midfielders and two attackers. It is a formation that allows us to cover the field well, have a lot of presence in the midfield and still keep two dangerous players in the front. But it can also be vulnerable to quick attacks from the sides, so..." Then he drew the lines of 3-5-2.
"For this game, I decided that this will be our formation."
"It's more offensive, with three defenders, five midfielders and two attackers. It's a formation that gives us more control in midfield and allows us to put more pressure on the opposing team, but it can also leave the defense exposed if we don't know how to organize well."
I and the rest of the players were listening attentively, observing the lines the coach made on the board and trying to assimilate the information. The technician, noticing this, continued his explanation.
"But the formation itself is not everything. We also need a well-defined style of play. We need to know when to press, when to mark from closer range, when to attack from the flanks and when to keep possession of the ball. All of this is essential for us to be successful on the field."
The players looked at each other, nodding their heads in agreement. They knew that strategy was essential for the team to win that match.
"So, let's train this formation very well. Let's do our best to put it into practice during the match. Together, we can achieve victory", concluded the coach, putting away the whiteboard and heading to the field to start training.
...
My mind was filled with a nostalgic memory, and thanks to that, I discovered a way to play against this ultra-defensive team.
I closed my eyes and concentrated as much as I could. As soon as I took a deep breath, I started mentally chatting with my teammates.
"I don't know if this will work, but let's go."
"Guys, our opponents are playing in a 5-2-2-1 formation, with five defenders in the back line, two midfielders protecting the defense and two players positioned as wingers, in addition to the lone striker up front. This formation is very solid, but not impossible to overcome."
"We need to think of ways to break it up. So let's start by moving the ball quickly, let's play 3-5-2."
As soon as I finished speaking, the remaining players on the field began to move and positioned themselves as I directed.
The red team kicked off, but soon lost possession of the ball after some ineffective exchanges of passes. Apparently, the team's intention was just to defend themselves.
One of my team's defenders played the ball to me, I had my back to the offensive zone, but as soon as I received the pass, one of the midfielders pulled up behind me and put pressure on me.
His foot came up from behind, disarming me and stealing the ball before I could react in time.
"Damn it!"
I fell to the ground after pressure from the defender, but I got up quickly and positioned myself to score.
"Press up!" I screamed, and immediately my teammates started advancing the lines aiming to steal the ball.
I did the same, but as soon as I ran forward, the red team player who had the ball positioned himself and made a throw to our side.
"What?!" I thought, looking back and seeing that the opposing winger was advanced and received the ball unmarked.
He dominated the ball and crossed low to the edge of the area, the striker who was alone in the attack received the pass and shot with precision into the goalkeeper's left corner.
The ball hit the post and went to the bottom line.
My heart was racing and I realized that I ended up falling into the opposing team's trap.
In fact, the starting formation was 5-2-2-1, but only when they didn't have the ball.
Initially, I thought their intention was just to defend, but as soon as they regained possession, the formation changed to 3-4-3.
The "defenders" on the sides waited for our team to advance the lines to press and recover the ball and as soon as the gap appeared they advanced quickly, becoming wingers.
The two midfielders in front of the defense became midfielders and only one of the advanced midfielders continued in his starting position.
As soon as the opposing midfielder got possession of the ball after one of the midfielders disarmed me, he made a long throw to the Right Winger who ended up catching our defense off guard and managed to make a clear throw to the attacker.
"A precise, fast and very vertical attack..."
"Only teams with a lot of training can complete plays with so much movement with this absurd precision."
My mouth moved into an excited smile, I positioned myself waiting for the goalkeeper's shot.
"This is so much fun!"