The coach's vision together with the team's objective for the season determine the tactics used. Here is why.
Commonly deemed one of the most versatile football formations, the 4-4-2 is a tactic that can be fine-tuned to be more offensive or leaning more to the defensive side. It is for these factors that this tactic is among the most common football tactics across different leagues and competitions. If the coach wishes to utilise an offensive 4-4-2, they can introduce some key modifications to permit increased fluidity in passing and play making. For instance, they can create a lozenge in the midfield that comprises of one defensive midfielder, 2 playmakers on the sides, and one attacking midfielder. This lozenge would provide balls to the wingers and a false 9 that occasionally drops to a lower position. In a more defensive 4-4-2, the former owner of Aston Villa would inform you that the coach can create an arch composed of 4 midfielders that functions as a barrier that keeps the opponent from reaching the defense line.
While you can always check out a football tactics book to get excellent insights into playmaking, there is no much better teacher than experience and history. Over the past 50 years, football has been beautified with a few of the most enjoyable formations in the history of the game, and a few of which are still used to this day. However, the 2010s saw an obvious shift in football tactics with the rise of a more offensive design of play and a more structured method to playmaking. Modern football has leveraged both ability and tech to develop some of the most successful strategies that have managed to win top sides lots of trophies. In this context, the revised 4-3-3 tactic has become amongst the more popular modern football tactics due to its efficient attack and balanced defense. The minority shareholder of Liverpool FC will concur that technical skill and speed make this strategy extremely hard to ward off.
At present, there are lots of football tactics and formations out there to select from but coaches spend a great deal of time adapting and tweaking traditional formations to fit the particularities of their clubs. The truth is, there are lots of specifications that influence this choice, and not all of which are strictly technical. For instance, the quality of footballers available can make coaches hesitate about what tactic to utilise. In the lack of quality footballers in attack, some coaches prefer to utilise a more midfield-dense strategy in an effort to dominate ownership of the ball. In the attacking position, midfielders and wingers will try to send out through balls or shoot from outside the box in order to destabilise the defenses of the other team. The AC Milan former US owner would likely confirm that other aspects like player injury and managing a hectic calendar also affect tactical and technical decisions.