By Sam Erwin

During this past college soccer season the SMU men’s and women’s teams have played a variety of formations. The men have gone from 4-4-2 (four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards), which they have played for 20 plus years, to a 4-3-3. The women have played 4-4-2 and 4-3-3, among others.

When hardcore soccer fans see those numbers separated by dashes, they instantly know certain things about the team. They can even make generalizations about the teams players.

Senior Jeff Harwell has taken over the offensive central midfielder role when the Mustangs are in the 4-4-2 alignment (photo by Travis Johnston).

To the casual soccer fan and average person, though, the numbers mean nothing. They may not even be able to tell you how many players are on the field (11) during the game, let alone formations.

Each SMU team qualified for its respective Conference USA tournament (the women were edged by East Carolina, while the men will play at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the Conference USA Championship at Westcott Field against an as-of-yet-undetermined opponent), making now an ideal time as any to go over two of these formations — the 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 — and explain the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Due to its long history at SMU, we will start with the 4-4-2. This formation has four players on its back line, four in its midfield and two in the forward position. This is one of the most popular formations in the world and has many variations to it. The two that will be talked about here are: conventional 4-4-2 and the 4-4-2 with diamond shaped midfield.

4-4-2

In the conventional 4-4-2, there are four defensive players in the back, just like in most formations. They are set up with two center backs in the middle, one fullback on each wing. With the diamond shape in the midfield, the fullbacks are asked to run up and down the sideline and help with the building of the offense

The midfield in the conventional 4-4-2 is aligned similarly to the defensive line. Aligned like this, there are two center midfielders beside each other and one midfielder on each side. One of the center midfielders usually will go forward and help the attack while the other will stay back on defense. The midfielders on each side will run up and down the sideline to help the attack and help the fullbacks on defense.

In the diamond version of the 4-4-2 formation, the midfield is aligned in a diamond shape, with a defensive midfielder, two wide midfielders and an offensive midfielder. This alignment, with the stacked central midfielders, makes it hard for other teams offenses play through the center of the field and forces them to the sideline. With the diamond midfield shape, the fullbacks are often asked to run up the sideline’s more and help with the attack.

The two forwards in both 4-4-2 formations play side by side. Defensively, their job is to put pressure on the other team’s back line, trying to force turnovers as the other team attempts to work the ball out of the back end.

One of the basic concepts in soccer centers around the idea of building the offensive attack out of the back; if a team starts forward and runs out of open space, the defenders will “switch fields” — swinging the ball around to the other side of the field — to get begin bringing the ball forward at a different angle of attack. With this in mind, one of the more important things forwards do defensively is make it hard for the other team to use its back four to switch fields. The forwards’ offensive job is simply to help build and make runs to the goal in order to receive the ball from the midfield and score.

This year, both SMU teams have played the 4-4-2 with the diamond alignment in the midfield. Teams that play the diamond 4-4-2 usually will have a dominant offensive player in the midfield such as Jeff Harwell who is instrumental in breaking down the opposing defense so that the two forwards can receive the ball and have space to play. The diamond-shaped formation also usually will feature a very disruptive defensive midfielder (Kekoa Osorio) who is disrupts the other team’s offensive plans. This player often is a player that has an “edge” to them and is very physical.

4-3-3

The 4-3-3 formation features four defenders and only three midfielders. The player missing from the midfield is replaced with an additional forward.

The back defensive line is set up with two center backs and two fullbacks aligned in a line. The midfield in a 4-3-3 is aligned in one of two ways: either with two attacking midfielders and one defensive midfielder or with one attacking midfielder and two defensive midfielders. If there are two offensive midfielders, the one defensive midfielder must stay back and help with defending. When there are two defensive midfielders, one often will push forward a little to help with the attack and the movement of the ball. With either one of these midfield shapes, a team generally will try to force the other team inside into the triangle, where the heavy traffic will bog down the opposing offense.

The SMU men’s team play its 4-3-3 slightly differently, as they play their midfield in a straight line. Most of the time, two of the midfielders will help with the attack while one stays back on defense. The third midfielder sometimes will step up and help with the attack, leaving the back four alone to defend. When playing with the flat line midfield, the defensive back line will usually stay around midfield, keeping all four together.

The forwards in this formation simply try to get forward and score goals. They will play the ball back and forth to each other and to the midfielders in order to create space to make runs toward the goal. Again, on defense their job is to put pressure on the other team’s back four defenders and not allow them to play from side to side.

Teams that employ a 4-3-3 normally will have very good offensive players who can beat their opponent one-on-one. This is because the number of attackers a team can put forward in this formation makes it easier to get one-on-one matchups when attacking.

Those are just two of the many formations that teams will run but they are what both SMU teams run the majority of the time and what will more than likely be seen as the men’s team takes the field next week in the Conference USA Championship.