# 3-2-5 Attacking Structure · Football Level 10: Professional

Football · Level 10: Professional · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/football/level-10/3-2-5-attacking-structure/)

3-2-5 Attacking Structure in Football (Level 10: Professional) on Insporta: 100 sourced facts behind 10 tests. Covers: guardiola's bayern and the firs.

The 3-2-5 in depth: Guardiola's inverted full-backs at Bayern and City, the treble side, Arteta's Arsenal and Guardiola's disciples, width, records, the shape elsewhere and its roots in Guardiola's Barcelona.

## Test 1: Guardiola's Bayern and the first inverted full-backs

- Joachim Löw started the 2014 World Cup with Lahm in midfield before moving him back to right-back. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Alaba and Lahm or Rafinha were the first widely copied inverted full-backs. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Alonso's long passing gave Bayern a second route out of pressure. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- The title was sealed on 25 March 2014, the earliest in Bundesliga history. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Bayern beat Chelsea on penalties in Prague and won the Club World Cup in Morocco. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Götze's move had been agreed before Guardiola arrived; Thiago was his own choice. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Kimmich had joined from Leipzig in 2015 as a midfielder. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2014, 2015 and 2016. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Heynckes won the treble in 2013, Guardiola followed until 2016, then Ancelotti. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Robben and Ribéry or Götze kept the width while the full-backs protected the centre. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

## Test 2: Inverted full-backs at Manchester City

- Mendy was injured early in the season, and Delph's midfield instincts suited the role. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Cancelo drifted into midfield and even into attacking positions from the left. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Sané's width was the counterpart to Delph's movement inside. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Guardiola wanted a left-footer who could start attacks from the back. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- It was the first trophyless season of Guardiola's career as a head coach. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Lewis scored against Sevilla and was used as an inverted full-back in the treble season. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- His versatility let Guardiola move Stones into midfield and keep a solid back three. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 100, 98, 86 and 78 points. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2017, January 2018, 2020 and 2022. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Walker's pace let him cover the right side of a back three on his own. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

## Test 3: The treble side of 2022-23

- Gündoğan volleyed in after 12 seconds, the fastest goal in an FA Cup final. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Gündoğan joined Barcelona on a free transfer that summer. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- He scored five in the round-of-16 second leg, three of them before half-time. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Cancelo had been loaned to Bayern in January. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Two more goals followed in the second half at the Etihad. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- City finished on 89 points and Arsenal on 84 after leading for most of the season. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Álvarez came off the bench to score the fourth goal. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 20 May, 3 June and 10 June 2023. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and the final in Istanbul. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Grealish traded goals for width and ball retention on the left. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

## Test 4: Arteta's Arsenal

- Arteta had spent three and a half years on Guardiola's staff. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Aubameyang left for Barcelona weeks later. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Timber tore a cruciate ligament against Nottingham Forest on the opening day. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Calafiori had impressed for Italy at Euro 2024. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- West Ham received £100 million plus add-ons. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Partey started the opening match there while Timber played on the left. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Manchester City won the title with 91 points. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 69, 84 and 89 points. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Aubameyang scored twice as Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 in the final. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

## Test 5: Guardiola's disciples as coaches

- Maresca's Leicester used inverted full-backs and patient build-up in the second tier. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Burnley lost only three league matches all season. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Chelsea became the first club to have won all of UEFA's current club competitions. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Bayern's choice surprised many, given the relegation. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Torrent had been with Guardiola at Barcelona, Bayern and City. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- He returned to his first club after leaving Manchester City. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Alonso had played under Guardiola from 2014 to 2017. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2019, December 2019 and 2021. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2020, 2023 and 2025. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- He played for Dorados de Sinaloa in 2006 after a spell with Al-Ahli in Qatar. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

## Test 6: Wingers who hold the width

- Martinelli scored fifteen league goals that season. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Grimaldo scored and created freely from the left of the 3-4-2-1. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Robben cut in from the right and Ribéry from the left. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- The fee passed the £89 million United had paid for Pogba. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Frimpong's runs from the right were a key weapon of the unbeaten season. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Costa added pace on either wing in Guardiola's last Bayern season. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- He helped PSG to their first Champions League title that season. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2024. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2008, 2016 and 2018. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Holding the touchline keeps the full-back out wide, so the gap next to the centre-back opens for the number 8. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

## Test 7: Records of the positional sides

- It was a Premier League record at the time. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Manchester United were second on 81 points. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- The Saliba-Gabriel partnership was at the heart of it. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- They won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- The run lasted from October 2013 to March 2014. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- They won 28 and drew 6 of their 34 matches. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- The run began on the first day of the season and ended in Dublin in May. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2003-04, 2011-12 and 2023-24. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 14 April, 22 May and 25 May 2024. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Stuttgart, nearly relegated the season before, finished on 73 points. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

## Test 8: Inverted full-backs beyond City and Arsenal

- Australia won the tournament as hosts, beating South Korea in the final. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- It was Tottenham's first major trophy since 2008. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Porro and Udogie took up central positions beside the pivot. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Udogie spent a season back on loan at Udinese before joining Spurs. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Gusto often stepped into midfield while Cucurella pushed on as a winger. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Celtic won the title in 2021-22 and a domestic treble in 2022-23. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Postecoglou was sacked weeks after the final. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- From Brisbane in 2009 to Glasgow in 2021, before Tottenham. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2019, 2021 and 2024. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Spurs won 1-0 in Bilbao; Bodø/Glimt had been their semi-final opponents. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

## Test 9: Guardiola's Barcelona and its build-up

- With Alves high on the right, the left-back stayed deeper to balance the side. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- The club promoted him to the first team that summer. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Piqué's passing from the back line suited Guardiola's build-up. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Van Gaal brought his own positional ideas from Ajax to Barcelona. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- It equalled the La Liga record set by Real Madrid the season before. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Xavi took over in November 2021 after coaching Al Sadd. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Eto'o went out to the right while Messi dropped from the centre. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 2003, 2008, 2014 and 2017. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- May 2009, May 2011 and December 2011. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Vilanova had been Guardiola's assistant; illness ended his time in charge after one season. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

## Test 10: Juanma Lillo and the Spanish school

- He had taken Salamanca up through the divisions before coaching them in the top flight. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- The credit is widely repeated, though others used similar shapes; treat it as a claim, not a settled fact. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Barcelona were coached by Guardiola, who had played under Lillo. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Sampaoli has long named Lillo as a major influence on his coaching. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Arteta had left to become Arsenal manager in December 2019. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- A two-man first line against two strikers leaves no free player to receive. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- The three and the two must hold up the counter while the front five recover. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- 1990s, 2010-11, 2016-17 and 2020-22. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Two, three and four. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)
- Lillo coached Vissel Kobe; he later worked in China with Qingdao. (Source: Club and league records; contemporary match reports and tactical analysis)

Sources: IFAB, FIFA and UEFA regulations and reports / club and federation statements / published coaching literature / peer-reviewed studies / contemporary reporting

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