Not having a structure or enough organisation in the game of 6-a-side
is going to immediately kill your team’s chances of being successful on
a regular basis. Whilst the best 6-a-side teams don’t apply a formation
too rigidly (more on what the best teams actually use at the bottom of
the article), not having any formation at all is just going to make you
look like cannon-fodder to other teams, instead of the contenders you
should be.
Much of the game of 6-a-side is reliant on the skill of your players,
but a good proportion of your success is going to come from experience,
good organisation, and playing the percentages.
That’s where it is absolutely vital to think about the 6-a-side
tactics and formation that you and your team are going to use. Good
tactics can transform any ramshackle band of misfits into a competitive
team that other sides will fear!
The key principles – whatever your formation
Exactly which of the formations below is going to be the best for
your team will depend on a lot of factors: who you are playing against;
what sort of players are in your squad; and your fitness levels.
However, bear in mind that whatever formation you come up with, there
needs to be 2 very
simple principles behind it:
- Somebody has to be committed to attacking – you
need someone to provide an attacking outlet and relieve the pressure
from the defense. Remember, playing with depth is as important as
playing with width (you can find loads more detail about this important
point in our article on having a dedicated attacker, the “pivot”).
- Somebody has to be committed to defending – we’ve covered in a previous article how important it is going to be to have someone staying back, or in other words a “last man“.
That might sound a bit like stating the obvious, but it’s common to
see teams playing with either nobody attacking, or more often nobody
defending. If you play against a good team and neglect either of these
principles, you’re going to find it very difficult indeed.
The good news as far as designing your new formation goes, is that as
there are only five outfield players, there are only a limited number
of ways to arrange your team – so start by considering the following
formations:
2-2-1 Formation
The 2-2-1 formation is a good starting point to consider for
6-a-side. It’s exactly half of the more common 4-4-2 formation that you
see in 11-a-side, and offers a similar balance.
Pros:
+ Two defenders are assigned, giving a good stable defensive base, which the team can build on.
+ The midfielders are able to support the defense, whilst also having responsibility to join the attack.
Cons:
– The midfielders need to be able to keep a balance between attacking
and maintaining a defensive line. If they’re split then this could
become more like a 2-0-3, which could result in some chaotic end-to-end
action.
1-3-1 Formation
One of the most popular
5-a-side formations is
the 1-2-1, as it gives teams the maximum flexibility between defense
and attack. This is the 6-a-side variation of that. The formation
commits one player to solely focus on attacking, and one to be the main
defender (or
last man), but then the three in the middle can shift their focus as the game requires. It’s a very dynamic formation.
Pros:
+ Allows the 3 middle players to switch between defense and attack as the game requires.
+ The 3 midfielders have the potential to provide lots of attacking
support to the front player and to vary the person attacking each time.
Cons:
– Players seem naturally inclined to attack, and if the middle 3
don’t get the balance right then there is a risk that the defense is
exposed.
– It requires a little more man-to-man marking than the 2-2-1 system,
but not necessarily a negative thing as long as everyone is prepared to
muck in with their defensive responsibility.
3-1-1 Formation
This is really just a more defensive version of the 1-3-1. It will be
of more use to teams who like to sit back and defend, then play on the
counter attack, which can be a very effective strategy for 6-a-side if
you’ve got the players to do it.
Pros:
+ Lots of defensive cover
+ Good for teams who like to play on the counter-attack with one or both
of the wing-back defenders exploding forward to join the attacks.
Cons:
– Some teams might find this a little too defensive to play all the time
– It needs a lot of coordination between the wing-backs, not to mention a
lot of fitness to join the attacks but still provide enough cover
defensively.
– Really just a variant of the 1-3-1, which offers a bit more flexibility.
2-1-2 Formation
This is the only formation we’ve featured that has more than 1 in
attack. If you’ve got a great pair of attacking players and want to get
them working together then you might consider this, but there’s a risk
that it leaves the rest of the team struggling on their own with the
defensive duties.
Pros:
+ Two players in attack gives the possibility of a good front
partnership being formed and gives lots of attacking outlets to the rest
of the team
+ Makes for lots of end-to-end play
+ A decent alternative if you’re trying to accommodate two excellent attackers
Cons:
– Playing 2 in attack can be quite risky if neither of those players is going to track-back.
– The midfielder is expected to bridge the gap between both defense and
attack, which could be challenging if he’s outnumbered in the middle.
– This will only work with two very good attackers who are able to make things happen, and they will need good service.
What do the best teams use?
Choosing any of the above formations is a good start but if you apply
it too rigidly then it probably isn’t going to work well. 6-a-side is a
fast paced game and players ideally should be comfortable in filling in
any role at any time – for instance, if your most defensive player goes
forward then somebody else is going to have to cover for him. It’s the
same if your striker is up against a defender who is comfortable running
forward with the ball; he might have to track him all the way back to
the edge of his own area.
Picking a formation should give you a rough idea of where each player
should play and help everyone understand their responsibility on the
pitch, but it shouldn’t be something that teams should obsess over. If a
player gets dragged out of position then that might be fine, depending
on the circumstances. The idea of the formation isn’t to put a
straitjacket on the shape of the team, it’s just to give a basic
structure, focus and balance to the play.
In fact, the best teams use a mix between these formations, as a
couple of them tweeted us (if you’re not following us on twitter
already, do so now
@5asidecom) when we asked them which formations they use.
