Villarreal’s 4-2-2-2 – The new way forward in football? – La Liga
In the 2010-2011 La Liga season all the focus was piled upon the Barcelona – http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Real-c30728 Madrid rivalry. The giants of Spanish football went head to head for the league title as well as for a berth in the UEFA Champions League final.
In the end it was http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ronaldo-c31734 went on an unprecedented goal scoring run for Los Blancos.
Real Madrid finished the season with a Copa Del Rey title whilst Barcelona were also triumphant in the UEFA Champions League as well as the La Liga. This surge of success for the top two teams in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011 has meant that little attention
has been paid by the mainstream media towards Villarreal’s rise towards yet another UEFA Champions League place. Villarreal ended the season in the 4th place spot in La Liga, something that guarantees a UEFA Champions League qualification place
for the upcoming 2011-2012 season.
However their real success lay in their 4-2-2-2 system which was applied at El Madrigal stadium by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Manuel-c23383 Pellegrini, their
Chilean manager used this system to a great effect. It was a simple case of four at the back protected by two defensive minded midfielders. In the final third of the field, Villarreal deployed two strikers under Pellegrini and in central midfield two
interiores.
Whilst the term interiores appears to an architectural one on the face of it, in footballing context it means two offensive midfielders who are quite versatile in nature. The 4-2-2-2 formation worked to a great effect
for Villarreal under Pellegrini and now under http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Carlos-c8346 Garrido’s team got to the semi-finals of the Europa League only to lose out to the eventual winners, Porto. However
their spectacular style of play has been assisted by the dynamism of their formation.
4-2-2-2 formation’s success depends on the width provided by the two wing backs from the back and the creativity provided by the two
interiores in central midfielder. The wing backs can play it smart and keep it compact at the back which allows the
interiores to drift out-wide and act as inverted wingers. This compels either the opposition’s wing back to close them down in wide positions or the opposition’s central midfielders to track them towards their wide positions.
In both the situations, the 4-2-2-2 functions perfectly. If the opposition’s full backs close down the
interiores then strikers can shift their runs out wide and exploit the space in behind these full backs. If the central midfielders track them then the two defensive midfielders have a clear sight of the two strikers and can play the ball directly
to them. Villarreal worked this strategy perfectly as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nilmar-c28044 and Rossi’s fantastic movement allowed their
interiores i.e. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bruno-Soriano-c8158 kept it tight at the back by providing the Villarreal back four with sufficient protection.
When the likes of Capdevila and Angel Lopez provided their front men with width for Villarreal, Senna and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bruno-c8098 dropped into wing back positions to retain a four man defensive shield at the back. Something that was integral to
Villarreal’s success in the Europa League as well as the La Liga. Next season when Carlos Garrido’s team take the field in the UEFA Champions League, it will be interesting to see whether they will be able to make an impact at the biggest stage of European
football with their 4-2-2-2 magic.
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