The Guardian has a great piece today looking at the re-emergence of the five man back-line with a special look at Rangers use of a 5-1-3-1 in the Champions League. The tactic has evolved as a reaction to a couple of things. First of all the clear difference in talent between Rangers and the rest of its Champions League group, but also in a general way as a push back against what has been a nearly decade long preference for attacking football.
As the article points out Jose Mourinho’s Inter’s win at the Nou Camp last year was perhaps the perfect employment of a five man back line and “reactive” tactic. Inter is the champions of Europe. Barca is pretty.
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The sports world is a copycat place. We can expect more and more clubs to employ this type of style. Some will call it anti-football, others will call it smart but only one thing is sure – it is up to the next Special One to counter the current tactical trend.
Rangers’ 5-1-3-1 dares teams to grow impatient and put near useless balls into the box. With five or more blue strips waiting the ball tends to zip straight back out. A couple times a game one of the few Rangers playing in an attacking position manage to run onto those clearances and a counter is born. God help the superior team if they score on one.
It would seem to me that the way to beat a team playing five at the back is with crisp, directly piercing passing. None of this fancy stuff 40-yards from goal, but rather quick passes that attack the middle of the defensive line, whilst keeping the ball on the ground. When you pack the box you lack flexibility and if space is made between the central defenders the whole plan goes to hell.
A question to those that coach: how would you go about breaking down Rangers’ 5-1-3-1 or similar tactics?
It’s the tactics, stupid is a weekly column looking at the tactical side of the game. It appears every Wednesday and guest columnists are encouraged. Contact Duane Rollins or Ben Rycroft through this page if you are interested in contributing. Please indicate your involvement in the game and what you would like to write about.