As a soccer player, have you ever watched a basketball game or an American football game and wondered, how do they get away with so many plays? One might say that soccer is too uncertain and a trying to coordinate 11 different players at the precise time in the right manner would prove too difficult. Well, watching the Mexico vs Jamiaca Gold Cup final proved to be a stroke of genius. Now, I know there are some hard feelings of how Mexico made it to the finals, but they were there and they performed beautifully. To the untrained eye, it appeared that Jamiaca was dominating in the beginning and immediately putting Mexico on its heels. But as soon as the commentators showed Mexico’s lineup, it was apparent that someone did their homework. Mexico came out with a 5-3-2 formation. I term this the Iceberg Defense, it doesn’t look formidable but it will make you pay. The Jamaicans pounded the Mexican defense and their attack was absorbed time and time again.
Here is were someone did their homework. Jamaica worked so hard trying to score that they got tired and Mexico came on the attack. It was a beautiful demonstration of playing possum. It was also a beautiful demonstration of how the Mexican team transitioned from a defense-oriented formation to an attacking formation as the game’s dynamic changed. Jamaica saw the tip of the iceberg and believed that they had the advantage, but the tide changed quickly and Mexico brought their outside defenders, turned wingers, into the attack and the rest is history.
With the right strategy, a team can transition from the defensive-oriented (Iceberg) formation of 5-3-2 and transition to an attacking (Eagle) formation of 3-5-2. A team in sync could transition between the formations depending on the state of the game. Also, one benefit of dynamically changing formations would leave opposing teams confused and unable to cope with the solid base of the defense and the screaming attack.
SoccerMist 