Few strategies have captured imaginations and revolutionised the game quite like the Dutch concept of ‘Total Football’.
This innovative approach not only dismantled traditional positional boundaries but also redefined the way the game was played.
Instead of players sticking to one spot, they moved around a lot, making it hard for the other team to guess what was coming next.
This smart way of playing changed how many teams thought about the game, making soccer even more exciting to watch and play.
But how is total football played, who invented it and do teams still use the strategy today?
What Is Total Football?
Total Football, as its name suggests, is a comprehensive, all-encompassing approach to the beautiful game.
Rooted in the Dutch football culture, this strategy is more than just tactics on a chalkboard. It’s a philosophy.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of how it works:
Fluidity and Positional Play
At the heart of Total Football is the idea that any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in the team.
This fluidity means players aren’t strictly bound to a single position. A defender might surge forward to join the attack, and a midfielder might drop back to fill in the defensive void.
However, this doesn’t mean chaos on the pitch. Instead players shift to maintain a solid formation, like a well choreographed routine .
Being Aware Of The Space Around You
Understanding and exploiting space is key. When in possession, players spread out and look to stretch the opposition, creating spaces to pass and move.
Conversely, when the ball is lost, the emphasis shifts to closing down space. This puts pressure on the opponent, and helps get possession back as quickly as possible.
High Pressing
Rather than waiting for the opposition in their own half, teams employing Total Football press high up the pitch.
This aggressive pressing aims to win back the ball quickly and catch the opposition off guard. It also forces opponents into errors, capitalising on any lapses in concentration or technique.
Technical Proficiency
Given the system’s demands, players need exceptional ball control, passing ability, and first touches.
The strategy relies on quick, short passes and maintaining possession, requiring players to be technically sound.
Tactical Intelligence
Total Football is not for the tactically naive. As a player you need to be able to read the game, anticipate plays, and make decisions on the fly.
With the constant positional rotations, every player must understand the roles and responsibilities of multiple positions. And be able to move into them at a moment’s notice.
Physical Fitness
This type of football strategy demands peak physical fitness. Players need the stamina to run, press, and maintain the system’s intensity for the full duration of a match.
Being able to keep up for 10 or 20 minutes is not going to cut it. It’s 90 minutes or bust.
Adaptive Defence
This is a great strategy for going forward but its defensive component is just as crucial. When not in possession, the team contracts, with players falling back into defensive roles.
The idea is to remain compact, deny spaces, and force the opposition into wide, less threatening areas.
Teamwork and Cohesion
Given how complicated the system is, a high degree of understanding among team members is vital.
Total Football isn’t about individual brilliance but rather the collective. Every pass, movement, and decision contributes to the team’s overarching strategy.
So in order for Total Football to work as proper winning strategy, all team members must be able to blend tactical intelligence, technical skill, and physical prowess.
It’s a system where the sum is indeed greater than its parts, and while not many teams use it to the same extent anymore, aspects of it are still part of the modern game.
Who Invented Total Football?
The Dutch, known for their tulips and windmills, also gave the world Total Football. This revolutionary strategy traces back to the 1970s when the Netherlands reshaped the football landscape.
The Dutch national team, under the guidance of Rinus Michels, adopted a fluid system. Players interchanged roles, maintained possession, and tactically overwhelmed their opponents.
Nothing like it had been seen before and if there’s one footballer who mastered it, it is Johan Cruyff.
This Amsterdam-born genius not only understood the strategy but also implemented and embodied it like no other.
From his early days at Ajax to his spellbinding performances in Barcelona, Cruyff’s display of Total Football left fans and critics in awe.
His vision, agility, and uncanny ability to read the game set him apart. As a player, he danced past defenders; as a coach, he instilled his beliefs in his teams, ensuring the strategy’s longevity.
Is Rinus Michels The Greatest Ever Manager?
Rinus Michels is often lauded as one of the most influential figures in football. This is primarily due to his role in developing the ‘Total Football’ strategy.
Born in February 1928 in Amsterdam, Michels began his playing career with Ajax Amsterdam. As a forward, he made over 250 appearances for the club from 1946 to 1958, scoring over 120 goals.
After retiring as a player, he quickly transitioned into coaching. His first managerial role was with Ajax in 1965.
Under Michels, Ajax experienced a golden era. His revolutionary ideas saw the team play in a fluid system where players could interchange positions and with this system, Ajax dominated Dutch football.
They also made significant marks in European competitions, winning the European Cup in 1971.
Michels took charge of the Dutch national team and led them to the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The Netherlands, with their style of play, enthralled the world but were bested by West Germany in a closely contested final.
Despite not winning, the Dutch team of 1974 is often cited as one of the best to never win the World Cup.
Michels also managed Barcelona from 1971 to 1975 and then again in the late 1970s. During his tenure, he began laying the foundation for the style of play that would later be taken up by Johan Cruyff and become synonymous with the club.
His influence on football is immeasurable. Beyond the trophies and titles, his conceptualisation and implementation of Total Football changed how the game was played and understood.
As such he is often recognised as one of the greatest football managers of all time. In 1999, FIFA named him Coach of the Century.
Rinus Michels passed away on 3 March 2005. His legacy, however, remains firmly etched in football history.
How Did Total Football Change The Game?
Once the rest of the world saw how the Dutch were playing the game, teams worldwide started studying, and adapting to the football strategy.
Undoubtedly the most successful was Barcelona, who under Cruyff’s management, adopted its principles and saw immense success.
The ‘Barça’ way of playing, involving short passes, maintaining possession, and pressing high up the pitch, has clear echoes of Total Football.
Moreover, many modern managers acknowledge the strategy’s influence. From the pressing systems of Jürgen Klopp to the positional play of Pep Guardiola, glimpses of the Dutch Revolution can be spotted.
What Are The Downsides?
While the system has its undeniable upside, like all football strategies, it comes with its set of problems.
The physical demands of high pressing and constant positional rotations require players to be at peak physical fitness.
Maintaining this intensity for a full match can wear players out, leading to fatigue and, over a season, potentially more injuries.
That is even more of a problem in a season that also has the Champions League and a European or World Cup. It is almost impossible to play this way week in and week out all year around.
Then there is the issue of counter-attacks! If your team’s line of defence is aggressively pressing, they are susceptible to quick counter-attacks.
If the opposing team has done their homework, they can easily construct a well-timed pass behind the defence can exploit the spaces left open.
Even if your team is physical fit and manage to hold off the other team, if every single player isn’t working in complete harmony, then it won’t work.
Players can easily find themselves isolated without passing options and one misstep can lead to a scoring opportunity for the opposition.
Throw in the odd lapse in concentration and the whole team can be left wide open to positional chaos and vulnerabilities.
And, more than all of that, how effective it is can depend entirely on the manager at the time. Given how frequently they get sacked these days, there really isn’t the time to implement a whole new way of playing the game if your job is constantly on the line.
Which Teams Still Play Total Football?
While the pure, unadulterated form of Total Football, as practiced by the Dutch in the 1970s, isn’t as common in modern football, its principles and ideas still influence many teams and managers.
The game has evolved, and tactics have diversified, but the essence of Total Football can be seen in teams that prioritise fluid movement, positional play, and high pressing.
Clubs like Barcelona, especially under Pep Guardiola, exhibited tactics reminiscent of Total Football, with emphasis on possession, positional rotation, and pressing high up the pitch.
Many contemporary managers, including Jürgen Klopp, Maurizio Sarri, and others, employ strategies that borrow elements from the Total Football playbook.
So while not many teams claim to play “Total Football” explicitly, its legacy is still a major factor in modern football’s tactical fabric.
What Other Strategies Do Football Teams Use To Win?
Since the early days of Total Football, the game has seen a tonne of tactical innovations and philosophies.
While it’s hard to point to one system that actually “replaced” Total Football, there are a few strategies that have emerged over the years.
Tiki-Taka
Popularised by FC Barcelona under Pep Guardiola and the Spanish national team, this style emphasises short passing, movement, and maintaining possession.
While it shares principles of positional play with Total Football, Tiki-Taka places even more emphasis on ball retention.
Gegenpressing
Championed by managers like Jürgen Klopp, this tactic revolves around winning the ball back immediately after losing it.
By pressing aggressively high up the pitch, teams try to capitalise on the opponent’s disorganisation, often leading to high-scoring opportunities.
The 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 Formations
More teams have started to adopt three defenders at the back in recent years, bolstered by wing-backs.
This approach provides a blend of defensive solidity while allowing for width and forward thrust.
Counter-Attacking Football
Teams like Leicester City, under Claudio Ranieri, and Real Madrid, under Zinedine Zidane, have shown the effectiveness of a robust defensive setup paired with rapid transitions to catch opponents off-guard.
Low-Block Defence
Some teams opt for a deep defensive line, or “low block”, aiming to absorb pressure and deny space behind the defence.
This tactic often frustrates opponents and can lead to counter-attack opportunities.
Fluid Front Threes
Inspired partly by Total Football, many modern teams use forwards and wingers interchangeably, allowing them to roam, switch positions, and drag defenders out of position.
This fluidity in attack makes marking difficult for the defence.
But the reality is that while Total Football remains influential, the modern game is simply one giant melting pot of ideas.
Depending on the team and the players, managers are continuously adapting and innovating. And let’s be fair, sometimes it works and sometimes it just doesn’t.
