The 3-5-2 Formation.

 

Image Courtesy of themastermindsite.com

The 3-5-2 formation.

A simple 3-man defense-line, 5 midfielders, and 2 strikers. With a good talent supply, this formation tends to control the possession once they have a ball. In addition, having 5 midfielders helps the team control the play in the midfield, preventing the ball from reaching the defenders. 

It is a more attacking style that builds attack from the midfield.

Progressively, they supply the strikers with passes while the outside midfielders switch to wingers while attacking and wingbacks while defending. 

This formation is characterized by the compactness of players in that the defenders should be linear and maintain a close range between them.

The 3-Man defense 

The defense line is composed of 3 center-backs, but one plays deep and is regarded as a sweeper. Good defensive line should be cohesive in their display, staying compact during play and quick to react. 3 defenders offer reliability, especially those playing against 2 strikers. 

Defenders stay close to each other closing the gaps that may exist if the opponent launches an attack through the middle of the pitch. Spreading wide to the left and right flanks leaves gaps in the middle where the attackers may occupy. 

The trio plays as a unit, and the linear shape prevents an attacker from running a defender. Instead, one of the defenders piles pressure on the striker with the ball while the other defender closes down on the space in case of a counter-attack.

Center-backs in a 3-5-2 formation need to be strong in making tackles, win aerial duels, have excellent positional awareness and be fast. In addition, since the three defenders cover a lot of space, communication between the three players is essential in ensuring close-ups on spaces. 

As the team mainly controls possession, the defenders should exercise accurate, complete passes as a missed pass leads to a counter-attack.

The 5 midfielders.

Midfielders are the brains of each football formation. It is responsible for all forward passes and the prevention of threats to the defenders. For example, in the 3-5-2 formation, a 5-man line of midfield stands in the way of the opposing team. 

A 3-5-2 midfield consists of 2 outfield players on each wing, known as the wingbacks. Left and right wingbacks spread the play in the football pitch playing the balls through the widths. Depending on the coach's tactics, they are a hybrid breed of midfielders playing both fullbacks and wingers positions. 

In most cases, the wingback positions are occupied by fullback players with strong ball controlling skills and capabilities. 

When launching an attack, the two wingbacks take up the outside midfield role and join in with the strikers to bring crosses into the box and spread the attack across the wings. 

When taking up defensive duties, the two wingbacks fall into fullback positions forming a 5-man backline. Wingbacks should possess defensive skills and be versatile in fitting into any possible situation on the pitch.

The three remaining midfielders take up the Central Midfield (CM), Central Defensive midfield (CDM), and Central Attacking Midfield (CAM) role depending on the coach's tactics. 

CDM takes up the defensive role as he sits deep into the midfield and recovers balls lost in the midfield. In addition, he helps the defensive line if there is a counter-attack as he blocks balls that penetrate through the midfield. 

He possesses high defensive skills as he is a strong tackler and possesses high ball recovery skills. In terms of physicality, a CDM is a strong figure who is hard to pass and creates a shield in the midfield.

In the 5-man midfield line, he plays in his half. However, the CM is more of a versatile midfielder whose role is to distribute balls to the wingers and roams in the pitch recovering and making passes. 

Central attacking midfielders come in with attacking skills and is core to the 5-man midfield as he is the central link to the strikers and possesses quality attacking skills. 

In the event of a counter-attack, the CAM drops into the midfield to defend. This leaves the CM and CDM to move towards the backline to protect the backline and increase the number of players in their half. 

The 2 Strikers.

They are the last line of attack and the first line of defense in a counter-attack. The two strikers serve as the team's line of threat and form an attacking force together with the CAM. 

In the 3-5-2 formation, the 2-man striking force presents a lethal attack, especially in counter-attacking. 

One of the two strikers should possess the physicality to hold off defenders and be tall enough to win aerial duels. One of the striker would attract more players to him and leave the other striker or the CAM unmarked, leaving them with a goal-scoring opportunity. 

It is the strikers that give team depth when the wingbacks maintain their width on the pitch. 

3-5-2 in three ways.

Flat 3-5-2.

This is a tough formation to beat as it is compact in the middle. It is a 3-5-2 style in which two central midfielders and one defensive midfielder stay compact in the midfield. 

Any of the three midfielders can go forward while maintaining the defensive shape while the CDM stays closer to the two CMs.

The style narrows down the team's attack through the midfield and, with a compact middle side, progresses as a block with ball mounting pressure on the opponent's defense line. 

It has been used by lowly ranked teams in their respective leagues to frustrate the big teams and worked for both Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their first seasons in the Premier League after promotion. 

The 3-1-4-2 style.

It resembles the flat 3-5-2 formation but a balanced style that keeps much of the team's possession. This style forms a midfield triangle pointed to the CDM from two CAM. The CDM provides the pivot point by covering the wingbacks in the event they are out of place.

The style provides plenty of attacks, with the two CAM supplying balls to the strikers while the CDM sits backs. It proved to provide an outstanding balance between the defense and the attack and has shown success in Antonio Conte's Inter Milan that won the Scudetto. 

The 3-4-1-2 style.

It is a more defensive-led formation with 2 CDMs and 1 CAM in the middle. This formation is highly effective in the team has a highly skillful number 10 to play the CAM position. 

The style forms a midfield triangle with the CAM at the pivot point. It is pretty similar to the 4-2-3-1 formation, which has either two CDMS or one CM and CDM with one CAM ahead of them. 

It is advantageous as it has two CDMs that offer a defensive build-up and transition of play. In addition, the style provides a compact midfield line that provides backup to the CAM. 

Louis Van Gaal's run into the semi-finals of the 2014 world cup was fueled by the 3-4-1-2 formation he later tried at Manchester United but failed. The tactic was correct, but United never had the patience to wait as Conte used it at Inter Milan and won the Scudetto in his second season.

Pros and Cons of the 3-5-2.

3-5-2 formation comes with its pros and cons as teams win with the formation while some lose with the formation. 

Pros

The 3-5-2 widens the fields through the wingbacks who open up play in the width and provide attack and defensive duties from the wing positions.

3-5-2 formation offers defensive solidity since three middle midfielders support the three defenders through two CMs or one CM and one CDM.

Depending on the coach's tactics, the formation provides attacking options both from the wings and through the middle.

5 midfielders ensure that the team maintains ball control and dominates possession during the game.

Cons

The opposition team may overrun the 3-man defense line if the other players don't track when the opposition boasts more numbers in the final third.

Using the wrong wingers can be dreadful as they are core to the formation. Furthermore, they will be overlapped by the opposition and cause defensive woes to the team.

Wingers may find themselves out of position in the event of launching an attack and leave vulnerable space behind, which the opponent can use to squeeze an attack.

3-5-2 formation can be seen as a more balance formation but can only be executed by the right tactical coaches, and Antonio Conte has succeeded in this.