When advancing possession in football, the team mustnt pass the ball without a clear purpose.
The popularity of tiki-taka in recent years has given many people the impression that having high possession and passing statistics automatically denotes a top team when this is often not the case.
Pep Guardiola, the coach who inadvertently popularised the term tiki-taka, has publicly expressed his resentment for it, as it encourages pointless passing when Guardiola advocates the opposite.
In this tactical analysis and tactical theory, we will examine breaking opposition lines, one of the most progressive tactics for advancing possession.
What are lines In Football?
Lines can be a somewhat abstract concept for those who dont follow football.
To put it simply, they are imaginary lines connecting players horizontally.
In the example below, we can see how a typical 4-4-2 formation creates three lines.
To break a line is to advance the ball between two opposing players through the line created between them.
As shown in the example below, the blue team has broken a line as player A passes the ball through the opponents line to player B.
