A New Twist On An Old Classic

After an impressive victory against Liverpool and a solid win in Kyiv, Crystal Palace remains unbeaten. Manager Oliver Glasner deserves a great deal of credit for transforming this squad of talented players into a genuine force.

What gets lost in the midst of their success is their use of a formation that is gaining popularity.

Football often breaks down into just following trends. Take, for example, the explosion of teams using the 4-3-3 formation after Barça’s dominance a decade ago. 

Palace’s use of a 3-4-3 represents nothing drastically new to the Prem. After all, Antonio Conte built his Chelsea side with this system in mind. Even Conte adapted his formation at Chelsea to fit the Prem’s style, but the system comes from Italian footballing heritage.

The rise of the 3-4-3 in recent years also reflects how positions continue to evolve. As certain archetypes of players disappear or reappear, they need to be incorporated. Think of this shift as nothing more than the game continuing its natural evolution.

For as static as football seems at times, it’s a sport that drives constant innovation.

New tactics beget new types of players and vice versa; football is a living thing.

While it seems novel, especially in the Premier League, this defensive-minded system remains a long-time favorite. In fact, in one shape or another, this formation dates back to the modernization of the sport in the post-war era.

Credit: Crystal Palace Football Club/Facebook

Branching out everywhere, Glasner’s system truly is rooted in catenaccio. When the Italian national team rebuilt itself after World War II, managers employed a 3-5-2 formation. Not totally identical to the modern 3–4-3, catenaccio remains, nevertheless, the historical counterpart.

Catenaccio emphasizes an almost park-the-bus mentality, where the team’s identity revolves around the defensive shape. The team soaks up pressure, allowing the opponent to constantly put them on the back foot. However, these teams bend, but never break.

Of course, this comes with the downside of a rather watered-down offense. It doesn’t mean that they are a boring watch offensively, but that their system requires a different interpretation.

Returning to Conte, he morphed the 3-5-2 that he used at Juve to a more modern 3-4-3 at Chelsea. While at Juve, he employed the best backline in the world and hedged his bets on that side. Those Juve teams still possessed an incredible midfield, but no one paid attention to their attack.

His tenure at Chelsea felt quite the opposite, where the stars of the team lay in their attack and midfield. Still to this day an ardent believer in the system, Conte mutated his formation to get the most of Chelsea’s talent. Rather than that, Juve team becoming the model for the future, it was his title-winning Chelsea team.

Conte’s tenure at Chelsea can then be viewed as a continuation of his time at Juventus with modern twists.

As the Premier League found, Conte’s impact led to this formation becoming the second most popular last season.

Born in the Italian footballing ecosystem, the modern 3-4-3 represents the needs of the modern game and historic systems. As player archetypes change with new ideas, so do formations.

One of the hallmarks of the modern game, especially in recent years, lies in the importance of wingbacks. While at Leverkusen, Xabi Alonso also used a 3-4-3, but his side became a title contender with the addition of Álex Grimaldo and the emergence of Jeremie Frimpong. The two wingbacks unlocked Alonso’s system.

The role of the wingback in today’s game remains both under-appreciated and important. Teams now place greater emphasis on players who can create from that position either via their passes or runs. As wingers become goal threats, wingbacks replace the creative outlet that they used to provide. 

PHOTO: Chelsea FC/Faceboook

Klopp realized this, despite using a different system, and used the duo of Alexander-Arnold and Robertson as extra midfielders. In a 3-4-3, these wingbacks instead become extra wingers to widen the pitch.

Additionally, after years of being extinct, the targetman’s revival, those towering strikers, play into the formation. At Chelsea, Conte used Diego Costa as a battering ram who became a hub through which the offense played off of. Mateta, while not as talented as Costa, plays that role perfectly for Palace.

Managers each put their own twists, but the backline typically will employ faster defenders on the outside of the three. The middle remains for the player who the manager feels is the most comfortable on the ball, take Bonucci under Conte, for example. However, no matter the makeup, the backline remains the foundation of the team. 

Formations constantly change as new managers and players leave their mark on the sport. The 3-4-3 becoming popular in the Prem is a reaction to these modern movements. 

As Palace continue their impressive run, teams may soon be on their way to replicate Glasner’s style. No formation or style in football is truly unique; they are all adaptations of different systems used across the sport’s long history.

Although the 3-4-3 remains as popular as ever, it will eventually be reformed.