Football Tactics Quiz

Play this quiz game and see how much you know about soccer strategies

Football tactics: Question 1
What is the name of the formation devised by Vittorio Pozzo, coach of the Italian national team in the 1930s and winner of two World Cups (1934, 1938)?

a.    La Piramide (The Pyramid)
b.    Il Metodo  (The Method)
c.    La Diagonale (The Diagonal)
d.    Il Diamante (The Diamond)

Football tactics: Question 2
Which coach has created the classic formation WM (3-2-2-3) in response a change in the offside rule in 1925?

a.    The Brazilian Flavio Costa
b.    The English Herbert Chapman
c.    The Hungarian Márton Bukovi
d.    The Hungarian Béla Guttman

Football tactics: Question 3
Which Dutch team is the pioneer of Total Football?

a.    Ajax Amsterdam
b.    Feyenoord Rotterdam
c.    PSV Eindhoven
d.    FC Utrecht

Football tactics: Question 4
Which of the following is a hyper-defensive football strategy?

a.    Calcio
b.    Catenaccio
c.    Scudetto
d.    Squadra

Football tactics: Question 5
Which formation is commonly described as the “Christmas Tree”?

a.    4-3-3
b.    4-4-2
c.    5-4-1
d.    4-3-2-1

Football tactics: Question 6
Which great football tactician has never played professionally?

a.    Arrigo Sacchi
b.    José Mourinho
c.    Arsène Wenger
d.    Fabio Capello

Football tactics: Question 7
Which manager declared the 4-6-0 as the formation of the future?
 
a.    Raymond Domenech
b.    Carlos Alberto Parreira
c.    Giovanni Trapattoni
d.    Sven-Goran Eriksson

Football tactics: Question 8
What is the percentage of goals that resulted from three consecutive passes or less?

a.    20%
b.    40%
c.    60%
d.    80%

Football tactics: Question 9
Aside from man-to-man, what is the other method of defending in soccer?

a.    Zone Lapping
b.    Zonal Marking
c.    Zonal fielding
d.    Zone guarding

Football tactics: Question 10
What is the nationality of the famous Arsenal tactician Arsene Wenger?
a.    German
b.    French
c.    Austrian
d.    Dutch



Answers to the soccer strategies quiz:


Soccer tactics: Answer 1
Il Metodo (The Method)

Vittorio Pozzo devised the 2-3-2-3, an old soccer formation more popularly known in Italian as Il Metodo. It was derived from the 2-3-5 formation and was used by Italy to win back-to-back titles, the 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cup.

Soccer tactics: Answer 2
The English Herbert Chapman

After winning two English championships with Huddersfield Town FC, Chapman joined Arsenal and modernized the game by introducing a new tactical scheme: the WM Formation.

Formed as 3-2-2-3, the WM reflects the changes in football’s offside law in 1925. The new rule allowed forward passes as long as there were two defenders between the attacker and the goal line (before the change it was three). Chapman countered his new offensive threat by fortifying his defense, putting three defenders at the back.

Soccer tactics: Answer 3
Ajax Amsterdam

Total football is a football strategy introduced by the Dutch coach Rinus Michels, who led Ajax Amsterdam and the Dutch national football team during the 1970s. This philosophy proposed an offensive football system based on movement and position switches.

Soccer tactics: Answer 4
Catenaccio

The Catenaccio is a defensive football system which focuses on holding the opposing team scoreless. The term "catenaccio" is an Italian word which means “door lock.” The two most prominent characteristics of Italian catenaccio are man-to-man defense and the utilization of the sweeper.

Soccer tactics: Answer 5
4-3-2-1

The 4-3-2-1 is also called the “Christmas tree” because on the blackboard, this soccer formation looks like a Christmas tree, the goalkeeper as the trunk and the players forming a triangle on top of him.

Soccer tactics: Answer 6
Arrigo Sacchi

Sacchi never did become a professional soccer player, which led many people to doubt his competence as a coach. He is famously quoted with the line: "I never realised that in order to become a jockey you have to have been a horse first". This was a rebuke to his critics, which he proved wrong by perfecting the 4-4-2 formation and leading a successful AC Milan in the 1990s.

Soccer tactics: Answer 7
Carlos Alberto Parreira

In 2003, Brazilian manager Parreira declared that 4-6-0 will be the formation of the future. Five years later, his prediction came true when Manchester United became a Champions League winner without fielding a dedicated striker.

Soccer tactics: Answer 8
80%

Charles Reep, who studied 578 games between 1953 and 1967, found out that 80% of goals resulted from three passes or less. Reep is considered the creator of the long ball game, a football strategy that relies on long passes and quick switch from defense to offense.

Soccer tactics: Answer 9
Zonal Marking

Zonal marking is a defensive method where each player is assigned a specific part of the soccer field to guard. Conversely, in man-to-man marking, every defender is assigned to guard a specific player and has to stick to him no matter where he goes.

Soccer tactics: Answer 10
French

Arsene Wenger was born in Alsace, a French region just near the German border, which explains his German family name. He started coaching Arsenal in 1996 and since then, has been considered one of the greatest soccer managers of his time. He is noted for fielding young players and for his attack-oriented style.