Football tactics can differ significantly from match to match or perhaps within the exact same match. A lot more about this below.
At present, there are lots of football tactics and formations out there to pick from but coaches invest a lot of time adapting and tweaking timeless tactics to fit the particularities of their teams. The fact is, there are numerous parameters that affect this decision, and not all of which are strictly technical. For example, the quality of players available can make coaches hesitate about what tactic to utilise. In the lack of quality players in attack, some coaches prefer to utilise a more midfield-dense technique in an effort to dominate ownership of the ball. In the attacking stance, midfielders and wingers will attempt to send through balls or shoot from outside area in order to destabilise the defenses of the opponent. The AC Milan former US owner would likely agree that other elements like footballer injury and managing a busy calendar also affect tactical and technical decisions.
While you can constantly read a football tactics book to get excellent insights into playmaking, there is no better instructor than experience and history. Over the past 50 years, football has been beautified with some of the most enjoyable formations in the history of the game, and a few of which are still used to this day. Nevertheless, the 2010s saw a visible shift in football tactics with the rise of a more attacking style of play and a more structured technique to playmaking. Modern football has leveraged both ability and tech to develop some of the most effective strategies that have managed to win clubs numerous prizes. In this context, the revised 4-3-3 tactic has become amongst the more popular modern football tactics due to its effective attack and balanced defense. The minority shareholder of Liverpool FC will agree that technical ability and speed make this tactic extremely tough to defend against.
Commonly deemed one of the most flexible football tactics, the 4-4-2 is a tactic that can be fine-tuned to be more offensive or leaning more to the defensive side. It is for these reasons that this formation is among the most common football tactics across different leagues and tournaments. If the manager wants to use an offensive 4-4-2, they can introduce some crucial changes to allow increased fluidity in passing and play making. For example, they can create a lozenge in the midfield that consists of one defensive midfielder, 2 playmakers on the sides, and one attacking midfielder. This lozenge would supply balls to the wingers and a false 9 that periodically drops to a lower position. In a more defensive 4-4-2, the former owner of Aston Villa would tell you that the coach can create an arch composed of 4 midfielders that functions as a barrier that keeps the opponent from reaching the defense line.