Manchester United legend

Chapter 183 The Ultimate 442 Formation

Ending the 1998-1999 season with a shocking "Triple Crown" marked the peak limit of Manchester United's achievements.The achievement of the Triple Crown proved to the world the strength of Manchester United, proved the character of Manchester United, greatly promoted the stars of Manchester United, and expanded the influence of Manchester United.

Even Manchester United's great victory is full of fatalism and mysticism.

Manchester United team reporter Scott said, "This is a magical season. It is not that we won the Triple Crown that year, but the way and time we won the championship, which seems to be a divine providence, which cannot be reversed. The repeated competition for the top position in the league and Arsenal's loss of the chain in the final match, Bergkamp's penalty in the FA Cup semi-final, and Bayern's goalposts in the Champions League final are more like luck than luck. It's almost like God has placed a champion on your head with irreversible force."

It's glorious, amazing, and rare, isn't it?

Incredible, unrepeatable, unstoppable, isn't it?
This kind of Manchester United quickly set off a heat wave all over the world, attracting countless fans to follow.

Until now, there are still many fans obsessed with this Red Devils Manchester United, and many fans are attracted to become Red Devils fans by the amazing performance of this Manchester United.

The golden generation is so dazzling, the "black wind and two evil spirits" are so tacit, the hearts of the people are so outstanding, and the strength of the Red Devils as a whole, the spirit of fighting to the end and countless super reversals make Manchester United's achievements look so exciting and Manchester United's power seems so invincible.

Of course, what attracts fans is Ferguson's tactical achievements.The 442 lineup and high-speed offensive style used by Ferguson used the side attack as much as possible, combined with the side and center, maintained a high-speed rhythm throughout the game, and implemented a strong confrontational oppressive style, which basically defeated the Premier League and the whole of Europe.by
With a Champions League gold cup as a symbol, Ferguson has officially entered the ranks of world-class coaches.

His Manchester United use 442 play, and after winning both the Premier League and Europe, it is also regarded as the standard by many coaches.

We will still say that the 442 lineup of the Red Devils under his command is flexible in the center + both wings fly together, the combination of wing attack and squeeze in the center, fast attack, and continuous cutting of opponents has reached its limit in that era.

This proves that Ferguson's tactical achievements have reached a new height, and he has brought the power of 442 to the extreme.

In a way, we can even say that this is the limit of 442.

Ferguson's team can summarize, analyze and respond to failures and challenges in a timely manner, so as to make continuous progress.

Ferguson is constantly innovating, can learn lessons from failures, can make repairs and improvements according to the actual situation of the team, and exert the greatest combat effectiveness.

This ability has become Manchester United's strongest guarantee in the years to come.

Regardless of the strength of Manchester United players, Ferguson's system will give them bonuses and will stimulate their greatest abilities.

The great success of Manchester United this season was achieved after the failure of last season. Compared with the failure of last season, we will more accurately grasp how Ferguson changed his style of play, so as to maximize the power of 442.

Now let us try to go back to the game at that time, analyze Ferguson's lineup and tactics in the fabulous 98-99 season, and see how he innovated the traditional 442 tactics in England and brought out the ultimate combat effectiveness.

After withstood the test of a season without Cantona, Ferguson reformed the team's traditional 442 formation.

Copying the traditional 1991 in 442 is not the limit of Ferguson. Manchester United in the "post-Cantona era" needs more flexible player positions and a new style of play, so we saw this new change in Manchester United in the 98-99 season: replace Sheringham's starting position with a forward.

In fact, not only that, Ferguson also let the two forwards take on the functions of Cantona at different points in time: connecting each other, switching positions, and assisting each other.In addition to the pas de deux, it can connect the midfielder and the striker in series.

So we see the addition of Yorke.Ferguson hopes that the combination of Yorke + Cole, two flexible forwards, will create a more flexible and flexible offensive tactic.

Sheringham, the original main striker, had already proved to be more suited to traditional English football in one season's game, and his movement was not enough for United.

As for Solskjaer, his injury seriously affected his performance last season. Ferguson still hopes that he can become a backup killer and can use him to reverse the situation and change the score at critical moments.

Competing for the championship requires a solid defense. Manchester United did not have the combination of "Bruce + Pallister" last season. The strength of Manchester United's defense was seriously damaged.

So Ferguson bought Stam generously this season to improve Manchester United's defense.

Stam has performed very well this season at Manchester United. He is one of the players with the most appearances in the Red Devils.

Although the Manchester United defense line led by him in the first start is not a solid wall, it is also a tight defense line that is difficult for opponents to surpass.

Over the past season, Stam's back line has withstood the impact and challenges of different opponents in the British Isles and continental Europe, basically without any mistakes, laying the most solid foundation for Manchester United's success.

As for Manchester United's midfield four, it is Ferguson's greatest confidence. Several core players of class 4 are in this area, which is the real essence of Manchester United, and they have already matured, but they lack something to make them further transform and break through.

Ferguson just needed a little more finesse to guide them to great football and wins.

Ferguson's idea this season is that the four midfielders can stand in parallel or in a diamond shape, depending on the opponent's situation.

Jost returned smoothly before the start of the season and played a midfield support and core role.

Especially at the critical moment, Jost inspired and pushed Manchester United forward with unimaginable courage—in the game against Juventus, Jost's performance can be said to have saved the almost desperate Manchester United!

As for Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Butt are very dazzling in all competitions.Ferguson just needs to match them with a more flexible playing combination and control the rhythm of this rotation.

Not only that, Ferguson will plan ahead and sign Giggs' important substitute-Bloomqvist.

This signing is of great significance to Manchester United.Although Blomqvist has not fully demonstrated his genius this season, his continuous appearances for Manchester United in more than 20 games are enough to prove that he can indeed play his own role.

Not only that, he is also very fast and also left-footed, so he is simply the second Giggs!
Blomqvist can perfectly replace Ryan Giggs, who is injured and in poor condition, and can play a great tactical role!

After being rebuilt by Ferguson, Manchester United has a more flexible formation this season. Under the basic form of 442, 4411 and 4141 have been used extensively.

We only need to compare the two teams that aspired to Europe in 1991 and 1999, and we will find many similarities: they rely more on the two sides to drive the entire system, and the center is responsible for connecting the two sides; although Scholes has increased a lot of forward penetration, in order to stabilize the defense in the strong dialogue, Ferguson often turns the diamond-shaped midfielder into a parallel position, and pulls Scholes back to a position parallel to Jost.

Even Scholes will be replaced by Johansen or Butt to increase the defense in the center. At this time, it will rely more on the ability of the two sides to drive the entire system.In fact, this is the essence of this generation of Manchester United.

Fortunately, in this season, Ferguson had the best two wing combinations in the world at that time!

We also probably know that Manchester United's success this season comes from a stable defense, a golden four-man midfielder and a first-class striker, but the most critical thing is Ferguson's tactical design and command.

Of course, Manchester United's midfield determines the team's style and temperament. As the biggest weaponry of this attacking team, Manchester United's midfield has become the most dazzling presence in England and the entire European continent. They stabilize the defense and create opportunities for the forwards.

The 442 formation used by Ferguson generally switches between the parallel double midfielder and the diamond midfielder 4-4-2. The key lies in the arrangement of the midfielders: Jost’s task is B2B, and the biggest factor in the formation change is Scholes.

Another label is the unique winger of Manchester United.In particular, the two wingers represented by Giggs (Blomqvist) and Beckham have played the role of the 442-mile midfielder to the fullest, and the threat is extremely huge, and they are not the same type of fast horse.

Ferguson can be said to have combined all the strengths and stunts of the midfield four, and the striker can also arrange different combinations.

In particular, the fast offense of the two flanks was highlighted: Giggs' quick breakthrough and Beckham's 30+ long passes drove the team's fast offense, which also made Manchester United's offense very layered throughout the season, with rich means and endless methods.

This season, Manchester United's games are full of sense of speed and strength: Jost's tackle and organization, Scholes' forward penetration and long shot, Beckham's cross and free kick, Giggs' side breakthrough, Cole's suppression, Yorke's surprise attack, Solskjaer's sharpness, Sheringham's superior header and calm handling, all of these are organically and reasonably combined to form a multi-level, large-scale three-dimensional offensive, forming a fast-paced, high-speed game.This kind of Manchester United is full of passion, momentum, infectiousness and appreciation, which is also an important reason why Manchester United was so popular in the world back then.

Yes, this is Manchester United's 442, Ferguson's 442: 442 that emphasizes wing attack, 442 that emphasizes changes in the center, and the ultimate 442.

In the 98-99 season, Ferguson's 442 formation ran through a distinct tactical idea, that is, to focus on me and to break through the enemy quickly.Insist on speeding up the game and kicking the tempo fast.In particular, the midfielder plays more high-speed and concise football.Especially good at using the two wings to attack. It can be said that Giggs' breakthrough, Beckham's arc cross, the black wind and two evils' attack in turn, Scholes' back and long shots are almost Manchester United's forte in killing opponents.Watching the Manchester United game at that time, you will find that the whole game was played at a high speed except for the situation where Manchester United's victory was already determined.

The classic scene is that Schmeichel throws the ball. After the connection between the midfielder Jost and Scholes, the ball is quickly distributed to both sides. It is either Beckham's precise long pass on the right, or Giggs' quick breakthrough, and then the striker or shadow striker's shot.This kind of tactical idea of ​​focusing on me and breaking the enemy quickly, under the traditional physical strength of the Premier League team, as Manchester United continued to improve their speed and strengthen their offensive play in the frontcourt, under the command of Ferguson, they swept England and the European continent.

Yes, this is already the pinnacle of 442, the pinnacle of British football formations and tactics.In the decades since then, no one has been able to re-excavate and effectively inherit 442, giving it back its luster.

Even Ferguson couldn't see through the decades.After this season, he did not make targeted signings, strengthen the team's lineup thickness and expand the diversification of the team's style of play.And then we have those more up-and-down stories.

Time goes by, and only in the long river of history can we recall and appreciate the bravery and arrogance of that Manchester United team back then, and we can relive the glorious reputation and illustrious demeanor of that invincible team of the Red Devils!
(End of this chapter)