Three’s A Crowd
A prominent trend in an under-the-radar spot: three-back in the Bundesliga
You may have heard that playing three at the back is all the rage these days.
Not since the days when Italian teams stood head and shoulders above the pack has three at the back been this heavy a trend in European football, and that goes for all the major leagues. Serie A will seemingly always have some devotees to the backline trio, while a Mr. Antonio Conte (who, coincidentally enough, happens to be Italian) arrived in London last season and proceeded to steamroll the entirety of England with his 3–4–3. Only Southampton and Burnley didn’t at least give a three-back formation a one match test drive in the 2016/17 season, and new Saints head honcho Mauricio Pellegrino could very well tinker with it this year after busting it out occasionally with small-club Deportivo Alavés in La Liga. Clubs like Nice, Lyon, and Saint-Etienne toyed with it in Ligue 1 this past season, and Spain saw Luis Enrique and Jorge Sampaoli make use of three at the back while teams much lower on the ladder took to the 5–4–1 and 5–3–2 to try and stay afloat defensively.
With all that said, the Bundesliga has seen a pretty solid rise in three at the back’s employment as well, even though it’s flown under the radar compared to the other top leagues.
The German league makes for an interesting case given the kinds of teams that sprang for this trend. At the top, Thomas Tuchel constantly tinkered with Dortmund’s tactics in an attempt to establish the 3–4–2–1, while everyone’s favorite Hoffenheim wunderkind Julian Nagelsmann continued to lead the charge of young managers taking over the Bundesliga with his attacking tactics. You also had traditionally bigger clubs like Schalke, Borussia Monchengladbach (pre-Dieter Hecking), and to an extent Wolfsburg trying it out.
Look further and you’ll find the real diversity in the 3ATB adopters. Smaller clubs like Freiburg and Augsburg used it as a change of pace, while relegated Ingolstadt leaned upon it heavily and constantly managed a fight even against the elite clubs. Two of the Europa League-contending surprise packages also liked three at the back, with Koln making some frequent usage of it and Werder Bremen nearly storming from the bottom into Europa thanks in part to an electric 3–1–4–2.
Is it just a fad—the latest and greatest tactical quirk to test out and throw away? I wouldn’t say so.
For starters, one of the core tenements of three at the back is its reliance on high workrate wing-backs, aka the reason Victor Moses matters more than ever. Given the pace-and-space style of the Bundesliga, it’s not surprise that the league has a very solid collective of these kinds of players, even if they may not be the elite group of wing-backs getting hype in the other four big leagues. Look at the teams that have been using the formation most effectively: Dortmund has mainly Raphael Guerreiro on the left to fit this mold, as well as Erik Durm and even on occasion Captain America himself, Christian Pulisic on the right. Hoffenheim utilized Steven Zuber and Pavel Kaderábek to great effect, while Köln made fantastic use of a pair of two-way players in Konstantin Rausch (who played a relatively traditional fullback as often as a more advanced wing-back) and Marcel Risse. The now-departed Santiago Garcia as well as Theodor Selassie also acted as wing-backs for Werder Bremen once they switched to the 3–1–4–2 that shot them into Europa League contention, displaying solid work rate and helping to patch up a defense that had been leaky for years.
These are all players who can control the flanks on both ends of the pitch, and even when they got caught a bit too far up the pitch, there was an extra center back to stem the bleeding on the counter. During Werder Bremen’s 12-match unbeaten streak in the second half of the season, they outscored teams 28–9. Pretty solid, especially considering that they were dominated 24–42 in the 19 matches preceding that run.
From a spacial standpoint as well, the wing-backs can greatly sway a match. The width they provide in the midfield allows more men at the center of pitch for the midfield battle, while requisitely stretching the opposition. Either the defense has to shift over to one side to compensate for the width (allowing the offense to switch play and advance up the opposite flank), or they keep their compactness and let the attack reach the final third. This isn’t even a strict guideline, either: as Edgar Faroh noted in his excellent analysis of modern full-backs, they can just as well operate in “half-spaces” between the flanks and the center of the pitch, positioning themselves based on the team’s needs in the build-up. Defensively, the stabilty they provide down the sidelines lets the rest of the team stay compact and constrict space to work the ball.
The sheer numerical advantage and fluidity teams can enjoy in general is huge. With wing-backs providing mobile support and width, defenders comfortable with the ball at their feet, and attackers that can get involved in the build-up play (even just to be able to lay the ball off), the defense can very easily get overloaded whether the attack is direct or deliberate. The surprising versatility of the three-back system is another plus: the 3–5–2/3–4–3 shape is very much just a foundation of several other setups to employ based on the opponent or the team’s own personnel. Alexander Nouri’s counterattacking 3–1–4–2 differs greatly from the possession-based 3–4–2–1 Tuchel attempted, which itself varies heavily from the style of 3–4–1–2/3–4–3 that Peter Stöger brought out a few times for the much more defensive-minded Köln. Depending on the players, the back three can very easily shift into a back four if need be, through either of the wing-backs settling deep or a holding midfielder falling back. Throw in some other wrinkles such as Pep Guardiola’s famous inverted wing-backs (something adopted by Tuchel, for example, with his usage of Guerreiro), and the Bundesliga has plenty of recent experience with the hottest tactical trend in Europe.
Overall, so many trends currently present in the game play to the strengths of a three-back system. Wing-backs being one of the most valuable positions in football for their versatility and width. Defenders who can contribute to build-up rather than being a liability with the ball. Midfielders who can run all day, all night, and halfway through the next day, your Kantés and Nainggolans and even your Delaneys. Midfielders who can make plays under duress, given the consistent rise of pressing off the ball. A need for smaller teams to provide more personnel on defense against the bigger clubs. A need for bigger clubs to control the midfield and get numbers forward while not ending up totally exposed on the counter. The ability to press effectively and win the ball back up the pitch (hello, Bielsa and Klopp acolytes!).
That’s not to say there aren’t issues, of course. The 4–2–3–1 is still prevalent, which plays to the three-back system’s infamous numerical quandary against a single striker. However, the midfield three can still drop back to handle the three advanced midfielders while the wing-backs (with possible center back or midfielder aid) cover the wings. The striker is still outnumbered even if a side center back has to drift out to provide wing support (especially crucial if the 4–2–3–1’s own fullbacks overlap). The 4–3–3 is a bit of a more pressing problem: not only does it have the single striker problem, but the wing-backs are forced to play much more cautiously lest the wingers have an absolute field day with the center backs. This can be mitigated a bit by playing more traditional fullbacks as the side center backs, of course, but the matchup still skews in favor of the attackers.
There were also some teams that just didn’t quite make out as well as their peers in utilizing the system. The most high-profile case would be Borussia Mönchengladbach under the ill-fated Andre Schubert regime. While their 3–4–1–2 looked good on paper, “wingbacks” like Oscar Wendt and Ibrahima Traore too often focused far too heavily on the wing rather than the back, habitually getting caught out up the pitch. Add in an inexperienced centre back grouping and an inconsistent midfield, and you get a formation that got outscored 12–22 in 9 Bundesliga matches and 2 Champions League affairs.
A similar problem plagued SC Freiburg in the few times they tried out the formation, as was the case for relegation-threatened Wolfsburg. Eintracht Frankfurt might have the worst case of all, though: while they saw success with a trio of 3–4–3 usages, the 3–4–1–2 gave them a total of one goal and two conceded in six matches, the 3–1–4–2’s four appearances earned them a 3–10 goal ratio, and the seven tries at the 3–4–2–1 gave them 6 goals versus 16 conceded and a 0–2–5 record. Compare that to the 6–1–1 record and 17–6 goal ratio under the 4–2–3–1 in eight usages, and you get a legitimate sense that some teams just can’t quite put it together. To be fair, it is a very difficult system on the surface. There’s a lot more fluidity involved, a lot more reliance on everyone else to pull their weight and know what their role is. Even a seemingly solid backline like Frankfurt’s can crumble if they’re not adjusting to the very different demands and marking schemes of a three-back system versus the four-back, while the theoretical midfield/attacking advantage can dwindle if the team doesn’t know how to properly utilize it.
However, you have to also get the sense that this isn’t the end for some of those teams’ experiments with this trend. Frankfurt did overall take a huge step forward last season even as streaky as the results came, and they have some nice personnel all-around if they want to try and instill the requisite discipline. Mönchengladbach won’t be looking away from the 4–4–2 as long as Dieter Hecking mans the sidelines, but Freiburg and Wolfsburg both could very well return to last season’s experimenting to some degree, depending on the faith they have in their respective defenses to hold up. Freiburg in particular will be intriguing to watch, since they have Shaq-sized shoes to fill on the attack with the departures of Maximilian Philipp and Vincenzo Grifo this summer. If they feel comfortable enough on the other end of the pitch, they could very feasibly try to make up the difference with a more aggressive formational strategy.
Much has been made of Julian Nagelsmann’s success at Hoffenheim with these stratagems, but I’d like to end the article by noting a couple other managers who catch my eye just as much with their implementations of three at the back systems.
Alexander Nouri is the more “proven” of the two, having directed Werder Bremen through 2017 and sending them on an absolute tear through the league for a third of the season. His preferred setup, a 3–1–4–2, took a few games (READ: losses) to properly settle in, but was absolutely lethal once everything clicked, looking something like the below.
Defensively, an extra man in the back already helped an infamously mistake-prone Bremen defense clean up their own messes should they happen, adding an extra man to rely upon for help. Garcia and Selassie held down the wings, while January addition Thomas Delaney played more like a double pivot with his sheer effectiveness as the holding midfielder. Box-to-box support by Grillitsch and Bartels provided extra solidity in the midfield and playmaking on attack, and of course, Max Kruse and Serge Gnabry absolutely lit up the league with their finishing.
Gnabry has moved on to greener and well-manicured pastures at the Allianz Arena, but the rest of the key pieces here have remained or been replaced. Kruse can pair with the versatile Finn Bartels or Ousman Manneh up top, while newcomer Ludwig Augustinsson and Robert Bauer can fill the hole at left back from Santiago Garcia’s departure. Add in youngsters like Maximillian Eggestein, plus a bit of flair from Zlatko Junuzovic, and this is a team that looks legitimately on the rise for the first time in years.
Perhaps the most intriguing (and talked-about) hire of the offseason goes to Schalke’s appointment of Domenico Tedesco, who’s duking it out with Hannes Wolf for the title of Bundesliga manager with the coolest name. The former Stuttgart and Hoffenheim youth manager took a step up to save Zweite Liga club Erzebirge Aue from relegation. His 5–4–1/3–6–1 completely reversed the small club’s fortunes, netting them five clean sheets out of eleven matches and bolstering their attack through Tedesco’s tactics.
This comes after a slew of managers whose style clashed with the board’s, even after a very respectable 5th place finish a couple seasons ago under Andre Breitenreiter. Tedesco promises to bring something new to the table, and follows a trend of young managers making the step up to the Bundesliga that has brought the average age of them down to just over 40.
His trademark 5–4–1 could set up very interestingly with his new, much larger club:
The departure of Sead Kolasinac at left back hurts, of course, but former Frankfurt man Bastian Oczipka should fill in nicely along with Schöpf and Coke on the right. Johannes Geis, Nabil Bentaleb, and Leon Goretzka provide options in the center midfield, while Max Meyer, Daniel Caligiuri, and Yevgen Konoplyanka give more advanced midfield options. With Klaas-Jan Huntelaar gone, striker is an interesting position to figure out here. The hope is that Breel Embolo comes off his injury and gets back to the form that enticed Schalke to break out the checkbook to nab him off FC Basel. Guido Burgstaller is the other option there… and a far less exciting one. But this is a club with easily a Europa League level of talent, and should Tedesco’s tactics mesh well, they could be a scary team to face on both sides of the ball.
The three-back trend is absolutely storming Europe, and while all the press will focus on its glamor in the Premier League and its seemingly eternal importance to the Italians, it’s making waves in Germany as well. It remains to be seen how these teams fare, of course, but given how the league looks almost wide open underneath Bayern Munich, it’s a guarantee that someone will make their mark with it.
Will Clarke is co-creator of The Challengers Podcast, a soccer website and podcast that discusses the Premier League, the Bundesliga, and La Liga. Listen to their show on iTunes, like them on Facebook, and follow them on twitter — @ChallengersPod.
