In our previous blog, we explained the king of formations and even the king needs to have someone next to him that is considered the best of the rest and today, we’ll be talking about the formation that is in that exact position. The 4-3-3B formation is another flawless masterpiece of a formation. Consisting of the exact same set up as the 4-3-3A, the only real difference is that the 4-3-3B requires a specific combination of players to get the most out of it. The Wide players within this formation start off hugging the touch line, while the wide players in the 4-3-3A operate more closer to the goal. The Central Midfielders within the 4-3-3B play closer to each other compared to the 4-3-3A, and their sole focus is to ensure that the ball is within your team’s posession throughout the entirety of the match. I know I mentioned in yesterday’s look at the 4-3-3A that you can operate using any pattern of play, but when it comes to shorter passing and slower tempos, NO formation trumps the 4-3-3B! The Central Midfielders within this formation are primed to be technical magicians who don’t know how to give the ball away. Wingers and Wingbacks also love playing this formation because of the protection they get from the midfield 3 who allow them to play with “the shackles off”. Although you can play with similar types of players within the 4-3-3A, if you’re a perfectionist that loves to use one pattern of play with specific types of players then NOTHING beats the 4-3-3B!
Speaking of perfectionists , there have been many different users of the 4-3-3B formation, but I have to say that the manager who’s used this formation with extreme success over the last 10-15 years has to be Pep Guardiola. He’s one of the major reasons why I fell in love with this formation (with Klopp being the reason for my 4-3-3A love affair). Whether at Barcelona, Bayern, or now at Manchester City, Guardiola has kept the same principles everywhere he went and one of the major keys to his principles is the consistent use of a 4-3-3B formation. At Barca it was all about tiki taka, at Bayern it was all about transitions, and at City it’s a mixture of both, but they all had the exact same core principles which could’ve only been possible because of this glorious formation.
PROS
• The BEST formation for posession based football. *Everything mentioned in the 4‐3-3A formation (although slight changes in angles makes it a little inferior)
CON
• The only “con” of this formation is that the number 9 needs to be more of a Target Man as he is more isolated compared to in the 4-3-3A
Although I mentioned a con, if you’re intelligent enough, you can navigate this Target man scenario by using a pattern of play that is effective enough to play a smaller stature No.9 like a Werner or a Deep lying Forward like a Dani Olmo. The bottom line is that these 2 formations are THE BEST!
The Soccermanager Experience 