The Joker in modern football.

Image by The Eastern Herald.
The 2–3–5 basic football structure in 1880.

“The role of the striker kept developing across Europe depending on the area of the pitch a certain team wants to have more control. The final third or the middle third” — a team coach for under 18s.

Italian manager Vittorio Pozzo defensive adjustment to 2–3–5.

Note: It is also good to remember that the term “target man” is not only restricted to height and physicality. It is usually interchanged with the word “hold-up”. There are different types of “target man”/”hold-up”, there’s the tall physical players that use power and there the ones that use their ball control and delay and/or release.

Note: In type B, the center forward can also be a target man. However, in this sense, the target man is more of a “technical hold up play” (ball control & take-ons) than a physical — as mentioned in the note above. They wiggle their way away from the CBs and connect with others.

Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke lifting the CL in 98/99 with United.
Right: Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish. Left: Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.
Legendary Strikers of the 90s in Serie A.

Note: Manchester United had implemented the idea of a fluid front 3 first before anybody else under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2007/2008. However, Manchester United’s version didn’t include pressing. The rarely pressed in the opposition’s half and only closed down opponents in their own half after sucking them in order to use their counter attacking prowess to pick them off.

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Just a guy interested in football.

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