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7
The Britannica Guide to Soccer 7
was widely televised, thus helping Brazil’s highly skilled
players capture the world’s imagination. For the 1962 tour-
nament in Chile, Brazil triumphed again, withdrawing one
winger into midfield to create 4-3-3. England’s “Wingless
Wonders” won the 1966 tournament with a more cautious
variant of 4-3-3 that was really 4-4-2, employing no real
wingers and a set of players more suited to work than cre-
ative passing or dribbling skills.
In the early 1970s, the Dutch “total football” system
employed players with all-around skills to perform both
defensive and attacking duties, but with more aestheti-
cally pleasing consequences. Players such as Johan Cruyff
and Johan Neeskens provided the perfect outlets for this
highly fluent and intelligent playing system. Holland’s
leading club—Ajax of Amsterdam—helped direct total
football into a 3-4-3 system; Ajax’s long-term success was
also built upon one of the world’s leading scouting and
coaching systems, creating a veritable conveyor belt of
educated, versatile players. However, hustling playing
styles built around the now classic 4-4-2 formation have
been especially prominent in Europe, notably as a result
of the successes of English clubs in European competition
from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s. The great Milan team
of the late 1980s recruited the talented Dutch triumvirate
of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, and Marco van Basten,
but their national and European success was founded too
upon a “pressing” system in which opponents were chal-
lenged relentlessly for every loose ball.
The move towards efficient playing systems such as
4-4-2 saw changes in defensive tactics. Zonal defending,
based on controlling specific spaces, became more promi-
nent. Conversely, the classic catenaccio system had enabled
greater man-to-man marking of forwards by defend-
ers, with the libero providing backup when required.