4-1-4-1 Soccer Formation (Comprehensive &

Detailed Guide)
Written by Claressa Cormier  in Uncategorized

There are some soccer formations that require pretty experienced players to do well! The 4-1-4-1
formation is one of those …

… Yes it is highly effective if you want to control in the Middlefield and impose your teams will
when it comes to possession. However, you need to have talented players who understand their
roles properly that can execute the game plan properly.

This article breakdown everything you need to know about this soccer tactic.

4-1-4-1 Soccer Formation – General Overview

When it is most effective           
This formation is extremely useful for teams whose game is based on having a high percentage
of ball possession!
It is mostly used in situations when the team’s philosophy is based on pressuring the
opponents in their own half, as this formation has five players always positioned there.

This allows them to put an additional pressure, both in defensive and offensive movement. When
the team recovers the ball possession, having that many players in the opponent’s half gives the
possibility to play fast and endanger the goal.

This formation is truly effective especially if you have an agile defensive midfielder, so he
can provide adequate support for the midfielders in front of him.

Where it is most common?

The 4-1-4-1 formation is used in all top European leagues, such
as England, Germany, Spain and Italy.

It is related mostly to teams that are attacking oriented, and the teams that tend to play on the
opponent’s half.

Having plenty of skillful and fast midfielders will nurture the ability to impose more pace and
pressure for the entire 90 minutes.

Some of the teams that use it are Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Chelsea, Real

Madrid and Juventus.

Coaches from these clubs love 4-1-4-1 formation because it gives their players a lot of flexibility
and tactical freedom in the game.

Pros

 Additional defensive stability. The 4-1-4-1 formation gives defensive stability to

teams, because the defensive midfielder provides support to the defensive line. In that
way, after losing the ball possession up front, there are enough players at the back to
prevent counter attack.
 More space for attacking oriented players. This formation does not neglect the
offensive aspect, as it provides a lot of freedom to attacking players. They have
enough space to express their creativity.
 Flexible formation. This kind of playing structure enhances the ability of
transformation to some other formation and positions structure, so that helps adapting
to other team’s playing style.

Cons

 The effectiveness of formation depends highly on defensive midfielders. It is

essential to have the top defensive midfielder in a team. If the team does not have a
 player at mentioned position that possess required skills, the designed tactics will not
be useful as it can be.
 The attacker has huge responsibility and suffers a lot of pressure. He must be
equally good at playing on the ground and in the air. This is the result of necessity
having one striker up front, so he must play the role of target man and conquer space
in front of opponent’s goal.
 Midfielders must have appropriate tactical knowledge. The 4-1-4-1 demands from
midfielders to constantly move up and down the field and use empty space in their
favor. They must provide support to the striker, as he is alone up front and isolated.
Midfielders have to communicate all the time and cooperate in order to use the space
when attacking, but also to narrow the space available to rivals when defending.

4-1-4-1 soccer formation Player responsibilities

In this section we will use Pep Guardiola’s Man City 4-1-4-1 to illustrate the different players
roles for this formation!

1. Goalkeeper (Ederson)
Goalkeeper among all must communicate with his defensive line and suggest to them if
there is a gap.

Ederson is a great example of a goalkeeper who is involved all the time in the game, not only
when defending, but also when Manchester City has the possession of the ball.

Ederson often plays as fifth player in the middle of the defensive line, which allows defenders to
move more up to flanks.

In addition to goalkeeping skills, due to this active role when his team has the ball, goalkeepers
in 4-1-4-1 formation must have great passing and ball control abilities.

2. Center Backs (Josh Stones and Ruben Dias)

Josh Stones and Ruben Dias have great understanding of their respective roles and they are the
main reason why Manchester City had the best defense in English Premier League.

Their bravery in duel game and strength allows them to clear the danger in front of their
goal. They are also capable of moving with the ball confidently and without panicking, passing it
toward full backs or midfielders.

As this formation tends to make the use of full backs and wingers, two of them must cover the
space left behind and prevent counter attacks.

3. Full Backs (Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy)

Full backs must close the entire gap on the flanks and prevent opposing players from
making effective crosses.
They cover rival’s wingers and have constant duel games with them. When attacking, it is
expected from them to join the attack and help their wingers, making a surplus of players on the
side.

Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy, in addition to Joao Cancello, are the players characterized
with powerful runs and sharp cross passes.

They can easily create an advantage in player numbers in front of the opponent’s goal and assist
their teammates.

4. Defensive Midfielder (Rodrigo)

In order for this system to work, the player in this position has a massive responsibility and
has little to no room for making mistakes.

He is the player that organizes the beginning of the attack and has the role of deep lying
playmaker.

He must stay focused and calm all the time. Rodrigo is an example of a quality defensive
midfielder. Rodrigo covers the line behind the rest of midfielders and must anticipate the
opponents’ movement in order to intercept the ball and prevent their attack from developing.

He is the leader on the field and must have highly developed leadership skill and tactical
understanding of the game.

When defending, Rodrigo often goes a little lower in formation and helps the defending line as
third center back.

5. Center Midfielders (Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva)

Center midfielders play in the space between their own and opposing defensive line. Due to their
great movement radius, they must be physically impeccable and have a high level of endurance.

These players can have the role of classic 10, box-to-box players, or the mix of offensively
and defensively oriented players.

In order to win the middle part of the playing field, it is important to cooperate with the
defensive midfielder.

In addition, these players must work together with wingers in the organizing of the attack, so
they can create 3 on 2 or 2 on 1 situations.

Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva position themselves perfectly. Bernardo Silva is more
offensive player and tends to position himself in a way to use empty space to receive the pass,
while Kevin De Bruyne is a masterclass when it comes to get himself in a position to evaluate all
the alternatives and choose the best way to assist their teammates
6. Wingers (Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez)
Wingers play at much wider positions and their role in this formation is massive. When
attacking, they are expected to make a cross at the side and to assist their teammates or to
directly endanger the opponent’s goal.

As they have great dribbling abilities and explosive first step, wingers use these abilities to pass
around their guardians and create an advantage in player numbers.

They must always look for a way to use the empty space on the flanks. When defending, they
assist full backs and try to neutralize the threat coming from the rival players at the side.

7. Attacker (Sergio Aguero)

As being alone in the last line of the formation, he must be able to hold the ball and protect
it from numerous defenders surrounding him.

The attacker here plays the role of target man, and must stay calm and send high quality passes
to teammates joining the attack.

Players here can play either target man or false 9 position. Sergio Aguero is a great example for a
player at this position. He is good both off and on the ball.

His dribbling ability and speed, in combination with a low center of balance help him to keep the
possession of the ball. He also must have great movement without the ball, in order to use the
most effectively empty space up front.

The striker here has the task to make the opponent’s defense wider and open a gap for one of his
teammates.

Coaching Style for this formation …

Joachim Low, head coach of German National Team won the World Cup using mainly this
formation.

Pep Guardiola has played for years using this tactic and system, in Bayern Munich before, and
recently in Manchester City.

It is characteristic for teams that want to have higher ball possession and put the ball under
control, in order to impose their own pace of game to the rival.

That is why they tend to have their attacks starting from the back line, even from the goalkeeper,
which gives them the control over the ball all the time.

Easy transformation of players’ positions allow 4-1-4-1 formation to adapt to conditions on the
field and always provide a way to react promptly and take advantage over opponents.
One example of this is the possibility of quick counter attack, with the use of fast wingers. This
kind of formation gives a lot of freedom to players to show creativity and they always have many
available options when attacking.

The diversity in the attacking phase, combined with stability when defending, are the reasons
why 4-1-4-1 formation is used by many coaches.

Final Thought: Other Close formations …

This is maybe the most flexible formation when it comes to transformation into other
playing formations!

When attacking, it is easy to transform to 4-3-3 formation, with wingers joining the attacking
line. If just one of the wingers joins the attack, the formation becomes 4-1-3-2.

With defensive midfielder positioning lower at the role of center back, while full backs join the
midfield as a side midfielders, gives this tactics freedom to move winger to the attack.

That creates an extremely offensive 3-4-3 formation, especially useful when chasing the result.

When needed to create more defensive formation, this can easily become 4-5-1 or even 5-4-1
formation.