We continue our journey of examining popular football formations and how they are used in real-life games and Football Manager. Our latest stop is the 5-4-1 formation.
How are teams set up in a 541 formation?
This formation is the most defensive of the popular football tactics. It is primarily designed to prevent the opposition team from scoring goals. It requires high discipline, concentration, and positional awareness.
A team playing a 5-4-1 usually consists of three backs flanked by either full-backs or wing-backs, depending on how adventurous the head coach wants to set up his team.
If a team starts a game with a 541 formation, it suggests that they want to play defensive football and not leave spaces for the opposition, especially in transition.
The full-backs/wing-backs may get forward into more advanced positions when the opportunity arises. Still, they have to have enough tactical discipline and football intelligence to get forward and back in order not to allow their opponents too much space to operate.
In front of the backline tend to be two central midfielders, who can prove to be vital players in making this system work. Usually, there is a single-pivot in a 5-4-1 formation, with another player alongside him who may be slightly more adventurous.
The stage of the game and whether the team needs a goal will likely determine whether the second central midfielder is in an advanced position on the pitch. If a team is hanging on to a result, then he could drop back to form a double pivot with his central midfield partner.
The two central midfielders are flanked by wide midfielders, who become wingers when a team is counter-attacking. These wide midfielders have to have enough stamina, pace and the ability to know when the right time is to get forward and when it is the right time to drop back and support their defence.
The wide midfielders are likely to be the primary attacking support to the lone forward, so it’s vital that they can get up in support of their most advanced teammate.
The lone forward has arguably the toughest job in a 4-5-1. They have the thankless task of being the focal point of the attack. They will need to be able to hold the ball up long enough for their teammates to get up in support.
They also become the first line of defence if they press the opposition’s defence. However, a one-player press is often a fruitless exercise.
When was the formation first developed?
The 5-4-1 formation is believed to have been first used by Austrian tactician Karl Rappan, who used it while managing the Swiss team Servette and the Swiss national team in the 1930s and 1940s.
When translated into English, the system was labelled as the ‘Swiss Bolt’ or ‘Security Bolt’. However, it was not until the 1960s and the success of Inter Milan’s Argentinian coach, Helenio Herrera, at home and abroad that the system really gained notoriety.
Herrera tweaked Rappan’s system, which became known as the now-famous ‘Catenaccio’ style of play. In Italian, ‘Catenaccio’ means bolt.
Herrera’s team was famous for winning games by small margins. If they took the lead in games, they would drop back, and the system was perfect for defending small leads and securing a victory.
The formation also laid the foundation for using a libero or sweeper in defence, which became popular among many of the top European teams. Arguably, the most famous sweeper in world football was Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, also known as ‘The Kaiser’.
In the modern game, teams use this formation less, although teams that need to defend a lead often add an extra centre-back towards the end of games to seal a result. Sometimes, this leads to a team ending a game in a 541 formation.
What are the pros and cons of the 5-4-1?
The biggest pro of this formation is that it provides a solid defensive foundation. Due to the sheer number of players in defensive positions, a team in this formation is unlikely to concede many goals. That means a disciplined team playing 5-4-1 is very hard to break down.
The formation also means that the team is compact due to the structure of the team being relatively rigid.
One other benefit of playing the 5-4-1 formation is that it is highly effective on the counter-attack if the full-backs and wide midfielders/wingers support can get in support of the lone striker quickly enough.
However, one of the major cons of the 5-4-1 formation is that it can be regarded as a negative formation because it is too rigid in structure.
The team being defensively solid is a positive, but if they are too rigid, then it can benefit the opposition, as it will take a good coach little time to work out the team’s strategy and combat it. If a team becomes predictable, then they are easy to play against.
Like with most defensively minded tactics, the biggest danger is that the lone forward will become too isolated if his teammates don’t support him quickly enough. If a forward is not adept at holding the ball up, the ball will constantly come straight back at the team using the 5-4-1 formation.
With this formation, there is also the danger that if the full-backs/wing-backs venture too far up the pitch, then the team is vulnerable to counter-attacks, even with the three centre-backs. Getting the balance right is the key to making this formation work.
If the team is set up in a 541 formation, then they may find it hard to get hold of the ball, especially in midfield.
Is it popular on FM?
I have to say that the 5-4-1 has never been my favourite formation when playing FM. If I were to set up in a defensive formation, I would likely use more of a 4-5-1 formation.
It seems that most FM players agree that 5-4-1 is not for them. I haven’t encountered any 5-4-1 formations while looking for tactics or doing tactic testing for FM24.
If any of our readers can find any successful 5-4-1 tactics for FM24, let us know, and I will test them to see if I am missing anything.
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