Should More Teams Use a Sweeper?

[D3 Scout]

Having back to back final fours to support the system, Loras seems to be one of the few teams around d3 soccer that uses a sweeper and marking backs. This last friday Loras dominated UWW from start to finish as UWW lined up in a 4-4-2 vs. Loras 3-4-3. Then I watched online Sunday as UWW played Lake Forest and saw UWW line up in a similar 3-4-3 and dominate from start to finish. A way different team that showed up on Friday.

Is this a system that more people should be getting behind? It creates matchup problems for the opposing team, it is high pressure and allows a lot more players to develop as the system requires a lot of people to play.

[KICKIN95]

I would call Loras' formation more of a 4-3-3, but they adapt so fluidly to all their opponents that the shape changes as needed.   Man marking is what they do best and what many teams try, but fail to realize how difficult it is to do consistently. 
I feel that most teams went away from the sweeper position about 15 to 20 years ago because of the pressure for a more attacking style of soccer.  The 4-4-2 was the "new thing" to do and involve the wingers more in the attack without giving up the the middle. I personally feel the sweeper position is a better system (maybe because I was one),  but cannot be pulled off without a very disciplined player and team.   When you have a sweeper that "gets it"  they can be an integral part of the attack and still anchor the defense. Do it well and you become a formidable side to contend with.

[Saint of Old]

Only if your sweeper has above average speed and high soccer IQ.
Both outside backs must also possess the same qualitieis.

Sounds easier than it is.

[KICKIN95]

Only if your sweeper has above average speed and high soccer IQ.
Both outside backs must also possess the same qualitieis.

Sounds easier than it is.

Definitely need to have the back line on the same page or the formation can be exposed.

[Ryan Harmanis]

I've only seen Loras play 2-3 times so can't speak to exactly how their system works, but all systems have areas you can expose.  Can someone familiar with the team give a little more detail on the setup?  Is it a 3-4-3 with three backs, two central mids, two outside mids, and three forwards?  Or is it three backs, a diamond midfield, a central forward and two wingers?

[lastguyoffthebench]

It's some kind of hybrid with a sweeper, but diamond mid and three up top hah.    and sometimes it looks like a 3-1-4-2 / 3-1-3-3.   

other times it looks like a guy is on a breakaway, but then the camera shifts and you remember the deep lying sweeper is there to clear it up.

[KICKIN95]

make it easy and call it the Italian Christmas Tree 4-3-2-1

[GarbageGoals33]

1                                  - 3-3-2-1

[KICKIN95]

1                                  - 3-3-2-1

Now that's funny!

[Ryan Harmanis]

Personally, I think a sweeper can be effective but also very risky.  One of the best characteristics of the flat four is cover; you're almost never going to see central defenders isolated against an attacking player.  Similarly, your outside backs might have to deal with someone dribbling at them 1v1, but a center back will almost always be there in support.  With a sweeper, that security blanket is gone, and good teams are going to put that player under pressure.  Then you either keep another defender extremely deep, or else leave your sweeper isolated.

The benefit, as mentioned above, is that a sweeper really frees your team up the field to press the ball.  One downside to the flat four, especially with current one-forward setups, is that you often have two center backs marking one forward.  It's a waste of a player, and then you also have to worry about picking up deep runs from the extra attacking midfielders teams use in your typical 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1.  Even a typical pressing 4-4-2 (which I played in) can be broken, particularly when teams use three in the middle.  A sweeper alleviates that problem - you can push your wingers/forwards on the outside backs and still have plenty of numbers is the center to shut down passing lanes.  The opposing team then has to launch the ball out of the back, your sweeper cleans up, and you can go right back to attack.

As with any formation, there are weak spots.  Teams that play higher up the field can cause problems in numerous ways.  A 4-3-3 with forward wingers can exploit space in the corners; an effective 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 can have one forward occupy the sweeper while the other wreaks havoc in between the lines.  Also, it requires serious tactical discipline from your other players to track runs.  Teams that like to run players through from midfield - think Arsenal in the Premier League - can overload your back 3 and sweeper and if your midfielders don't track you can get overrun. 

One reason many teams probably don't use a sweeper is talent - you need a serious player to handle the position.  You need size to handle aerial battles, speed to track all of those long balls and cover a ton of ground, communication and high tactical awareness because you have to identify all of those attacking runs and make sure guys track them. 

Most difficult, in my opinion, is that you need somebody who can play the ball out of the back.  If you're playing a high pressing game and relying on turnovers, then once you get the ball you need to be able to keep possession as well as transition from defense to attack quickly.  That only works if the sweeper picking up the ball can actually find guys with it.  Really, the sweeper is almost a deep-lying playmaker.  Franz Beckenbauer, probably the best sweeper of all time, was about as technically sound as they come.  At the Division III level, or really any level, those players don't exactly grow on trees.  Take Manchester United.  While that's not quite a pure sweeper setup, those defenders are definitely more isolated than in any other formation, and they're seriously struggling to adapt to it.

Now, I'd guess these problems never (or rarely) appear for Loras because other teams aren't good enough to exploit the holes in the system.  Loras presses, they force a turnover or a clearance, and they play the game in the other team's half.  End of story.  When you are more talented and deeper than the opposition, the tactical setup isn't nearly as important.  Additionally, if most teams have a big, athletic, skilled player ideally suited to sweeper, he's probably in an attacking position because his team needs goals.  Loras, being blessed with depth and attacking talent, has the luxury of putting someone like that in the back without missing a beat.

Another part of the sweeper in today's game is novelty; if you haven't played against a team with a sweeper all season and suddenly through balls aren't available and you're getting pressed everywhere on the field, you're in for a long night.  But if you study the history of tactical formations in soccer, each new development is predicated on exploiting the holes in the previous system.  The sweeper was once in vogue, until teams started making adjustments to combat it.  Today, the sweeper has been outdated (for the most part) at the higher levels for so long that it has regained some effectiveness.  However, if more teams started using it again, offensive game plans would shift to breaking it down, and eventually it would lose the edge it currently presents.