Total Football (Dutch:totaalvoetbal) is a tactical system inassociation football in which anyoutfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. A player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure. In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role; anyone can successively play as anattacker, amidfielder and adefender. The only player who must stay in a specified position is thegoalkeeper.
Total Football's tactical success depends largely on the adaptability of each footballer within the team, in particular the ability to quickly switch positions depending on the on-field situation. The theory requires players to be comfortable in multiple positions; hence, it requires intelligent players with many skills.
ManagerRinus Michels is generally credited with introducing this system during the 1970s,[1] at Dutch clubAjax and theNetherlands national football team.[2] However, some authors credit teams such as the AustrianWunderteam of the 1930s or theGolden Team of Hungary of the 1950s for having played in a similar style to Total Football.[3][4] Both sides were influenced byJimmy Hogan, who was in turn influenced by thecombination game.[5][6][7]
The first foundations for what became known as Total Football were laid byJimmy Hogan, aBurnley native, who was influenced by thecombination game.[5][6][7] Working with Austrian coach and his friendHugo Meisl in the early 1930s, Meisl'sAustria national football team (known as the "Wunderteam") became possibly the first side to play Total Football.[3][8][9] Hogan's influence reached beyond the Austrian borders, as two decades later theHungary national team (also known as the "Golden Team") played a similar style of football under coachGusztáv Sebes.[6][10] The then president of theHungarian Football Association,Sandor Barcs, said: "Jimmy Hogan taught us everything we know about football".[6]
Torino ("Grande Torino" as the team was called) in the 1940s played a similar style as the Austrians.[11] Between 1941 and 1947, Argentinian clubRiver Plate formed a remarkable team, known as "La Máquina" (The Machine),[12] whose attack formed by Carlos Muñoz,José Manuel Moreno,Adolfo Pedernera,Ángel Labruna andFélix Loustau perfected the "false nine" style[13][14] and the constant change of attack positions. "La Máquina" won several Argentine and international titles.
Also in the 1940s, English managerJack Reynolds implemented a style that was bearing similarities to Total Football atAjax, leading the Dutch club to rise in importance and win trophies for the first time.[15] In the late 1950s and early 1960s,Burnley were playing a renewed system in English football "where every player could play in every position" under managerHarry Potts.[16] This Total Football system led the club to the1959–60First Division title and won many plaudits, including admiration from all-timeEnglish First Division top scorerJimmy Greaves.[17] Another pioneer wasVic Buckingham, manager ofWest Bromwich Albion, Ajax andBarcelona in the 1950s and 1960s, as the footballing education that he established helped the progressive nature of the type of football ofRinus Michels and laterJohan Cruyff, a player who was introduced into the Ajax first team byVic Buckingham.[18][19]
Rinus Michels, who played under Reynolds, later became manager of Ajax in 1965. Michels developed the tactics of Total Football after 1970, most importantly with the introduction offorward Johan Cruyff, perhaps the system's most famous exponent.[20] Although Cruyff was fielded as centre forward, Michels encouraged Cruyff to roam freely around the pitch, using technical ability and intelligence to exploit the weaknesses in the opposition and create chances. Cruyff's teammates also worked to adapt themselves accordingly, regularly switching positions to ensure tactical roles in the team were consistently filled.[21] Austrian coachErnst Happel reworked the theory to introduce strength, encouraging his players to play tougher during his spells atADO Den Haag andFeyenoord. Happel also managed the Netherlands national team to a runner-up finish in the1978 FIFA World Cup.
The major component was the use of space, with the need to consistently create space central to the concept of Total Football. Former Ajax defenderBarry Hulshoff described it as "[the thing] we discussed the whole time. Cruyff always talked about where to run and where to stand, and when not to move".[22] He further elaborated that position switching was only made possible due to apt spatial awareness.[23] He also described Total Football beingproactive, as well as highlighting the use of pressing, which would be used to win back the ball or put the opposition under considerable pressure.[24] Michels and Cruyff saw unprecedented success with the system, winning eightEredivisie titles, threeEuropean Cups, and oneIntercontinental Cup.[25] The stark rise of Total Football and its attacking prowess was also linked with the "death ofCatenaccio", an Italian system reliant heavily on defence promoted byHelenio Herrera'sInternazionale during the 1960s.[26]
The Total Football system was prone to defeat, experienced notably in the final of the1974 FIFA World Cup contested by the Dutch andWest Germany.[27] Michels and Cruyff saw their ability to introduce playmaking stifled in the second half of the match by the effective marking ofBerti Vogts. This allowedFranz Beckenbauer,Uli Hoeneß, andWolfgang Overath to gain a stronghold in midfield, thus, enabling West Germany to win 2–1.[28]
Building further on the foundations of Total Football, a new tactical system developed inFC Barcelona (particularly under managerPep Guardiola) and theSpain national team during the late 2000s and early 2010s. This came to be known asJuego de Posición orTiki-taka.[29]
LikeMichels, he had been inspired by the free-flowing style ofGusztáv Sebes' great Hungarian side illuminated by the talents ofFerenc Puskás,Nándor Hidegkuti,Zoltán Czibor andJózsef Bozsik. But even Sebes didn't invent Total Football. In the 1930s, the Austrian "Wunderteam", underHugo Meisl, played with such improvisational genius that opponents were stupefied.
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