I mean a proper Brazilian 4-2-2-2, you know using 4 central midfielders and 2 strikers. Like what Villarreal played above not a 4-4-2 with the wide men push forward playing as left/right attacking midfielder cutting inside or a narrow 4-2-3-1 where the central attacking midfielder is set to make forwards runs 'often' linking up with the central striker regularly... no I want to be able to field 4 central midfielders, with the goal of having the the 2 more advanced CM's set to roam often, be very creative and interchanging positions regularly during the match ... just generally be very hard to mark.
Here it is in action..... a very good description.
The now Malaga CF manager was a firm believer in his Brazilian style 4-2-2-2. The attacking midfielders, also known as the interiores, played very narrow and looked to form a creative spine in the middle of the field – while the full-backs provided the width. This blueprint changed under interim manager Ernesto Valverde who looked to press higher. The implementation of such strategy failed and Villarreal subsequently dropped to the terrifying depths of the Relegation zone. As the Blue Öyster Cult once sang, “Oh no, they say he’s got to go.”
In regards to marking, or should I say the problems I look to create for the opposition in regards to marking.
What was commonplace however was that the Atletico central midfielders attempted to close down Senna or Bruno, which left huge gaps in-front of the central defence for Cani and Cazorla to move in to. There was always an easy pass to play for them to link midfield with attack. This inevitably sucks in the full-backs, which then leaves acres of space open for the full-backs to wander into. The flexibility and ability to move the opposition defence around is what makes the interiores such a valuable position in this system. This space creation for the full-backs led to the second goal, a Giuseppe Rossi masterpiece, but founded in the forward-thinking left-back, Juan Capdevilla.
The success of this system relies fundamentally on the talents of the full-backs and the interiores. It is these players who are the ones who have the potential to change the dynamic of the attack and the organisation of the defence. The full-backs are fundamental space creators in this system, as they can stop the opposition defence becoming too narrow and restricting the space for the interiores and strikers to work with.
So is it a case of having quality attacking midfielders who high mental stats for decisions, off the ball and creativity and also have quality attacking fullbacks - to create spaces for your attacking central midfielders (they can stop the opposition defence becoming too narrow and restricting the space for the interiores and strikers to work with.) - that make this system really tick?
Right now the defensive side of things is pretty good, not fantastic because I've conceded 3 goals in 1 match twice but I've won a handful of matches 1-0 - so apart from those 2 games where I conceded 6 goals, my defensive record is pretty **** good ......... I'm struggling to score goals tho, is that because my fullbacks aren't doing their job in regards to stopping the opposition defence becoming too narrow and restricting the space for the interiores and strikers to work with? ..... that would make sense as keeping possession of the ball is a fight sometimes, is that because the opposition defence becoming too narrow and restricting the space for the interiores and strikers to work with? ..... or my attacking central midfield's stats in - decisions, off the ball and creativity - aren't high enough, in short they aren't good enough to work in tight areas of the pitch, make the right decisions etc etc?