Not meant to hint that you go off and make the tactics but this is just some information I dug out..perhaps we could make this a thread where people can just add on what they think were the classic football. I have shamelessly pillaged threads and will look across the net... There's a link at the bottom that leads to some basic information on other formations...feel free to add on so this becomes a repository.
Classic club formations can also be mentioned.
Total Football
In football , *Total Football* is
a system where a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining their
intended organizationalstructure. In this fluid system no footballer is fixed in his or her intended outfield role; anyone can be successively an attacker ,a midfielder and a defender.
Total Footbal depends largely on the adaptability of each footballer within the team to succeed. It consists of
footballers being extremely tactically aware, allowing them to change positions at high speed—in its
simplest terms, every player is comfortable in any other position. It also puts high technical and physical
demands on the players.
Space and the creation of it were vital for the tactic of Total Football to be played into fruition, Ajax defender Barry Hulshoff explained how the team that won the European Cupin 1971, 1972 and 1973 worked it to their advantage. 'We discussed space the whole time. Johan Cruyff alwaystalked about where people should run and where they should stand, and when they should not move.'
The constant switching of positions that became known as Total Football only came about because of this spatial
awareness. 'It was about making space, coming into space, and organising space-like architecture on the
football pitch,' said Hulshoff. The system developed organically and collaboratively: it was not down to coach
Rinus Michels, his successor Stefan Kovacs or Cruyff alone. Cruyff summed up his (Total Football)
philosophy: 'Simple football is the most beautiful. But playing simple football is the hardest thing.'Source
Wikipedia.
Players
Starting Formation 4-2-4
Cruyff Blankenburg
Keizer G.Mühren
Haan Neeskens
Hulshoff Suurbier
Krol Blankenburg
Stuy
Head Coach
Michels -72
Kovacs 72-
Subs
GK Gert Bals
DF Vasovic
MD Rijnders
AT Van Dijk
Forward line
Dutch genius, Johan Cruyff (Cruijff), was Ajax's main offensive weapon. Regardless of his frail physique, Cruyff
had tremendous speed on the ball and was not shy about finding the net. Cruyff's success with Ajax (and as a Dutch international) even earned him the prestigious Top Footballer of Europe Award three times (in 1971, 1973 and 1974.)
Midfield
Ajax's midfield line was the backbone of the team. It is important to note that the team played very loosly in
term of positions. Ajax worked the ball around the entire pitch and all of their players were involved in the
midfield to some extent. Keizer and G.Mühren were attacking wingers, running across large areas on the flanks.
That did not restrict them from occasionally heading to goal. Centrally positioned Haan and Neeskens worked the
ball from one sideline to the other. Even Cruyff and Blankenburg frequently dropped back in to help with the
distribution of the ball.
Defense
Uncharacteristically for possession-oriented teams, Ajax had a talented group of defenders. Not only were they
solid in closing down the opposition, but they also got involved in the offense. This gave Ajax even more options for maintaining possession, while depriving the opposition from initiating an attack. Yugoslavian international Velibor Vasovic is the best example of the versatile Ajax defense. Vasovic played using a wide array of skills, varying from tackling to passing and shooting.
Goalkeeper
During 1971, Ajax's goalkeeper, Heinz Stuy, set a shutout record by playing 1082 minutes without allowing a single goal.
Coaches
Coach Rinus Michels was a disciplinarian obsessed with physical conditioning. His presence at Ajax coincided with one of the greatest squads of soccer players ever assembled. Under Michel's stern eye, Ajax raised their game to an unprecedented level in history. Michels is considered as one of the founding fathers of what later became known as Total Football. It is important to emphasize that Michel was not the first to employ Total Football, but was first to reap a big trophy thanks to it. Interestingly enough, after Michels moves to Barcelona in 1972, most experts agree that Ajax became even stronger. Michels' coaching role was given over to the far less anal Romanian, Stefán Kovács. Kovács's assertive attitude helped him incorporate both discipline and creativity in Ajax's game
Other famous formations.
Other famous formations