FC Dallas Head Coach Eric Quill spent a lot of time in the first half of the season tinkering with various lineups before finally settling into the current shape he calls a 4-3-1-2. I’ve referenced it as a diamond 4-4-2, but that’s not quite accurate as it’s a hybrid of that shape.
As Coach Luchi Gonzalez used to say all the time, “tactics are fluid.” So let’s break down the shape and tactic that Quill is running lately.
First, let’s talk about why.
Why 4-3-1-2?
We all know Quill would prefer to play the classic double pivot 4-2-3-1. So why doesn’t he?
As Quill himself put it, the 4-3-1-2 better fits the multiple player profiles he has. So here’s a short list.
- Lucho Acosta is an off-striker 10 who likes to false-wing at times. He’s better up top, working with Musa in a Kreis/Graziani way. He doesn’t play enough defense (no two-way game) to sit in as a third mid in a triangle MF of 4-2-3-1.
- Ramiro, Quill’s smartest and most experienced 6, is limited in range and mobility.
- Anderson Julio is Quill’s only high-quality wing and needs to be able to get forward into a wide wing position and play off the 9, Petar Musa.
I’m working with an “everyone is healthy” roster state for this discussion, so don’t get caught up in the individual personnel so much. You like Kaick better than Ramiro? Fine, stick him in. Nolan Norris over Marco Farfan? Lalas Abubakar or Alvaro over Sebestian Ibeagha. Go for it. Can Paxton Pomykal start? We’ll see.
The Base 4-3-1-2
This base state 4-3-1-2 is just the starting point; it mostly exists in open play in the middle of the field or in transition as Acosta wanders.
The key elements are the two narrow linking-8s (Lletget/Delgado) on either side of the holding 6 (Ramiro). These two 8s remove the sideline-to-sideline burden that Ramiro isn’t really up for and solve that mobility issue.
The Acosta and Julio issues will be solved in transition.
Defensive State
As the team transitions into a defensive stance out of possession, the left side 8, the holding mid, and right side 8 all slide to their left a bit; and Julio drops in… (see image)
And it lands in a 4-4-2 low block with two tight rows, seen in the image below.
This defensive state is super easy to spot as the team, being a low-possession one, sits in this shape for extended periods of time every game.
Offensive State
This is where it gets a bit tricky, at least on the left side. Acosta likes to drift, and he tends to go a little more – but not exclusively – left. It’s not exclusive cause Julio will flip sides, and Acosta looks for the space to operate in. There is stat evidence to back up my Lucho goes left theory this season, but I won’t get bogged down in it here.
As the team transitions out of their low block (next image below), usually in a hurry, the left side 8 has to make some decisions based on the movement of Acosta. This is why you see experienced, soccer-smart players like Show Cafumana, Pedrinho, and Lletget on the left side of midfield.
The left 8, Lletget in the diagrams below, has to read Acosta and either go inside to support like Delgado if Acosta has gone wide (center image), go wide himself and take up the wing if Acosta has come underneath like a prototypical 10 (left image), or even drop in behind the outside back in support if Farfan is running the line (right image).
This decision is the key to giving Acosta the needed freedom to work.
Delgado or Kaick on the right side get a much easier choice since Julio is usually working the wide space and not complicating things by coming into zone 14.
The simplification on the right side, aside from an occasional Moore rapid transition into space, is why inexperienced players like Kaick or Delgado are given the right side linking-8 position in Quill’s shape.
Summation
This post wasn’t meant to be a deep dive into the offensive patterns and attacks, but rather just some simple base states and rotations in the shape for y’all to look for. The issues in personnel explain why Quill is using the 4-3-1-2 shape.
And if you are wondering where Paxton Pomykal would play, it’s in either of the linking-8 spots occupied by Lletget or Delgado in the shape I have drawn today.