Nifty Football (Beta) Formations: 4–3–3
We’re taking another quick break from playing the Nifty Football Beta to examine another formation; this time the 4–3–3, the second in a series of community-led articles on formations and tactics.
The 4–3–3 formation is a lot like a cheese pizza. Hear me out; perfectly fine and functional on its own — even popular — but its beauty lies in its versatility. With a few tweaks, it can become something different entirely. A bit of large sliced salami and it’s a pepperoni. Add some ham and pineapple, it’s a Hawaiian. Want some more cheese on? Make it a quattro formaggi. All the while still technically a cheese pizza.
With the 4–3–3, you can move the central midfielder a bit deeper into the defence and make it a 5–3–2. Or pull the two wide forwards inside to create a 4–3–2–1. Or why not bring the central striker back and play a fluid false 9? Many different options whilst still operating from the 4–3–3 shape.
This ability to change shape so easily makes 4–3–3 the foundation of most modern football formations. Many teams still enjoy success with it, using it in different ways whilst staying true to the structure of four defenders, three midfielders, and three forward players.
Chelsea were arguably the first to find real success in the Premier League using it, with Mourinho using the movement, speed, and dribbling abilities of Arjen Robben and Damien Duff on the wings to complement the strength and talismanic presence of Didier Drogba. In the middle there was the perfect balance of attacking threat in Lampard, the dropped-deep defensive diligence of Makelele, and the overall energetic balance of Essien.
Compare this to the Liverpool side of the last few years where the front three of Salah, Mane, and Firmino have operated in a more fluid manner, using their positional freedom to create and move into space, confusing their markers, whilst at the same time allowing them to put immediate pressure on their opposite numbers, defending from the front in Klopp’s gegenpress system.
With the modern game requiring more positional flexibility, it’s no wonder that the 4–3–3 remains popular at all levels of the game.
Defence
The four at the back are usually as balanced as possible, with dynamic full backs and a centre back pairing. Where this has seen most innovation is in utilising the central midfielder to drop into one of three positions; either sitting in front of the centre halves as a shield (think Makelele, Casemiro) sitting alongside them as a back three (Mascherano, Dier), or even sitting even deeper as a sweeper, using the space to dictate the play (Gerrard, Pirlo).
This then frees up the full backs to become wing backs, with the added responsibility of getting up and down the whole flank, knowing there’s an extra body helping out the defenders.
Sometimes teams don’t start in a 4–3–3; think Conte’s Chelsea back in 2016/17 — David Luiz would sit in the middle of a three man defence with wing backs in a 5–3–2, but would often advance with the ball when starting moves, joining up with the two-man midfield as the team moved into a 4–3–3 shape.
Midfield
With three midfielders, by maths alone the 4–3–3 gives a numerical advantage in the area of the field where the game is controlled and dictated. Against formations like 4–4–2 and 4–2–3–1, the close positioning of the three midfielders should mean they can retain the ball whilst also in good natural places to defend when the opponents come forward.
These midfielders can also contribute to more than one phase of play, positioning themselves in a way that complements their particular strengths. Think of the successful Barcelona team of the last decade; Busquets, Xavi, and Iniesta would dominate possession, passing their opponents into submission.
But if they needed to apply more pressure Iniesta was given licence to get forward, while if they needed to defend a see out a result Busquets would drop that bit deeper.
Attack
There have been many successful, but different, iterations of the forward positions in 4–3–3. Think back to Chelsea in 2004, with two wide players (Duff and Robben) feeding a strong target man in Drogba, who would not only finish moves but help create space for the wingers.
Liverpool use three very fluid forwards who roam around and swap positions, irritating defenders, while Barcelona have evolved their front three over the years. Messi and Pedro (later Neymar) would start out wide and then tuck in as inside forwards, dragging full backs inside creating space on the wings for full backs to exploit and feed David Villa (later Suarez). Barcelona then started to play with a false 9, with a central striker dropping so deep (to both find space and pull defenders out of position) it’s as if the team aren’t playing with any focal forward at all.
4–3–3 in Nifty Football
With all the fluidity and versatility described above, at the moment the 4–3–3 in Nifty Football is based on a more traditional setup, so you’ll need to check your players’ preferred positions to decide if this formation is going to work for you.
The back four are pretty self explanatory with a left back (LB), right back (RB) and two centre backs (CBs). Although the midfielders are all central they’re described as a slightly misleading left midfielder (LM), right midfielder (RM), and a central defensive midfielder (CDM). This suggests that the CDM will be looking to sit and support the defence — think Fabinho and Fernandinho rather than Bruno Fernandes.
The front three are made up of a left wing forward (LWF), right wing forward (RWF), and a centre forward (CF). This means your wingers will be looking to attack from the wider positions, rather than tuck in as some of their real-life counterparts might.
Getting the best from these wingers will be key to any success you might have, with them requiring to both create and score goals — so it’s probably worth filtering the ‘Player types’ menu to find the players who best fit ‘Skilful winger’, and using your valuable XP to improve in these areas.
It also gives you some flexibility in that your LM and RM could interchange with the LWF and RWF if you suffer any injuries or suspensions. It does negatively affect players morale if they’re played out of position but at least you have the option if you don’t want to face the prospect of changing tactic completely.
Conclusion
Most squads should have the right mix of players and positions to be able to play 4–3–3 without too many players out of position. Using the formation during Nifty Football’s Beta stage will should give a nice balance, allowing you to get to know your players and test a few things without being overly exposed.
If you’ve been using it, or now feel inspired to change to it, let us know how you’ve been implementing it and how successful it’s been in the Nifty Football Discord — there’s always a tactical debate or too going on!
