Formations. What are they? What do they mean? Why so many numbers? And so forth. As part of a series I'm going to be doing on this blog explaining some of the ins and outs of soccer to new fans, let's ...

Since the innovation of the flat 4 in the late 1980’s, most professional and international teams have adopted the system as part of their standard tactics. In its most common evolution, the flat 4 is ...

Throughout the world, soccer strategy is a hot topic of conversation. There’s debate about employing a 4-3-3 versus the 4-2-3-1 or the trendy 3-5-2; playing possession soccer or absorbing pressure and ...

With the semifinals of Euro 2012 set to begin later today, the time for intense tactical analysis has arrived. Much of the talk has been dominated by the usual questions. Which team will win? How do ...

Playing a formation consisting of three central defenders has long been perceived as taboo by your average soccer fan. While fillips of overseas influences have creeped into the English game and ...

An automated analysis by Disney Research Pittsburgh of team formations used during an entire season of professional soccer provides further evidence that visiting teams are less successful than home ...

Formations, formations, formations. Everyone loves to talk formations. Both in real life and in fantasy. In fantasy soccer, actually, formations are more important even than in real life. They can ...