With the popularity of formations such as the 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2, a midfield double pivot is one of the most common structures found in modern football.
The balance afforded by a double pivot lends itself to almost any style of football, from possession-based sides who use positional play, to sides that defend in a low block.
In this tactical theory, I’ll review the advantages and disadvantages of a double pivot in possession, particularly in the build-up phase.
This tactical analysis will primarily use examples of tactics from José Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur, Paulo Fonseca’s AS Roma, and Hans-Dieter Flick’s Bayern Munich.
Advantages of a double pivot In Football
Having two players instead of just one pivot ahead of the defensive line has several advantages.
The first of which being a simple numerical superiority.
Many teams use their centre forward to man-mark their opponent’s single pivot, which cannot be done by just one player against a double pivot.
The two analysis images shown below illustrate this.
The first image shows how just one player blocks the passing lane from the ball carrier to the single pivot.
The second image shows how a double pivot can combat this by simply having an extra player.
The opposing centre forward cannot mark both pivots, allowing the blue team to play out.
The other advantage is the extra coverage of width.
If a single pivot wants to provide a wider passing option, the other side is left open.
This can force a team to be one-dimensional in terms of where it attacks, especially if the pivot is its primary method of ball progression.
We can see an example of this in the example shown below.
The single pivot has shifted across into the halfspace to provide a passing option, forcing the play to be predictable, and it can easily be pressed.
Once again, a double pivot can combat this.
Using two pivots instead of one can make the team more unpredictable.
The examples above illustrate the most basic advantage of having a double pivot over a single one: more players.
This advantage is quite obvious. Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s examine some more advanced advantages of using a double pivot.
Note that there is enough potential material for a book and that the following examples are just some of the countless possibilities.
Fonseca and Flick – Overloading the first line
At AS Roma and Bayern Munich respectively, Fonseca and Flick have both used one of their pivot players to drop near or into the defensive line.
Against teams that defend with a front two, this overloads the opponent’s first line.
We can see this in the diagram pictured below.
The blue team has dropped its pivot into its defensive line, creating a 3v2 overload against the red team’s first line of pressure.
This movement is more common with single pivots than double pivots.
However, using a double pivot creates an interesting dynamic as the pivot space in midfield is not vacated.
As seen in the diagram below, a single pivot dropping to overload the opponent’s first line of pressure can leave the pivot space empty.
We can see an in-game example of this with Marseille under Villas-Boas.
The single pivot (Kamara) has dropped into the defensive line, vacating the pivot space.
The obvious disadvantage is that there are fewer options for ball progression via the midfield.
This is not an issue if one of two pivot players drops into the defensive line, as there is still a presence in the pivot space.
We can see this in the diagram shown below.
The blue team has dropped one pivot into the defensive line, but due to the presence of an additional pivot player, the pivot space is not vacated.
Many coaches who use a double pivot like to reform it after it has been disbanded, usually using an attacking midfielder.
The diagram below shows this, with one pivot dropping in the defensive line while the attacking midfielder replaces it and recreates a double pivot.
The two coaches I have highlighted for this section have both made use of this.
Below, we can see an attacking midfielder from both sides – Bayern and Roma – drop into the pivot space after one of the original pivot players has vacated his position.
In the first example, we see Kimmich drop into the defensive line for Bayern, while Coutinho replaces his position from attacking midfield, recreating the double pivot alongside Thiago.
In the second example, we can see one of the pivot players (Cristante) dropping into the defensive line for Roma.
At the same time, the attacking midfielder (Pellegrini) replaces his position alongside the other pivot (Veretout).
José Mourinho – Providing width
As discussed in the previous section, some uses of a double pivot are not unavailable with a single pivot.
Still, they do not vacate the pivot space, providing a passing option.
Using a midfield player providing width in build-up is not nearly as common as the inverse, with a wide player tucking in centrally.
Inverted wingers are arguably as common, if not more common, than traditional wingers now, while more teams are using inverted fullbacks to occupy the central areas.
While there are many examples of a midfield player taking up a wider position once the ball has already been progressed in those areas, vacating their position to occupy width is much less common.
Mourinho at Tottenham this season has made use of this.
His build-up structure does not have natural width, so he uses his pivot player (usually the right-sided pivot) to drop into the fullback position.
This could be done with a single pivot, but as mentioned before, the pivot space would be vacated.
We can see an example of this in the diagram pictured below.
The sole pivot player provides width, leaving the pivot space vacated entirely.
Whereas a double pivot does not have this issue, as shown.
One pivot player provides width, while the other is still occupying the pivot space.
This has the advantage of providing width while still having a passing option in the centre.
In the image shown below, we can see an example of this.
One of the pivot players (Sissoko) drops into the wide area, providing a passing option.
The other pivot (Winks) is still central, thus providing a passing option centrally
José Mourinho – Staggering
Using the same manager as the example, we can see something much more familiar with a double pivot than providing width: staggering.
Staggering occurs when the two pivot players do not occupy the same horizontal line in the context of a double pivot.
In the context of build-up, this usually involves one of the pivot players dropping deeper to provide a safe passing option.
In contrast, the other pivot stays further forward, providing a more penetrative option.
We can see this in the diagram pictured below.
The line between them connects the double pivot.
One pivot player provides a risk-free passing option while the other is in a more advanced position.
Against a team that uses intense man-marking, a staggered double pivot can intentionally create alternate passing angles, as shown in the diagram below.
Both pivots are tightly marked, and the staggering of the double pivot creates a diagonal passing lane.
Passing options on multiple lines makes build-up via pivots much more effective and more challenging to stifle.
The image below shows an example of staggering.
One pivot (Winks) has dropped off to provide a safe passing option, while the other (Sissoko) is more advanced.
In the case of Mourinho’s Tottenham, the more advanced pivot’s lack of proactive movement practically eliminates him from the game.
This leaves the back three and the deeper pivot with almost no passing options into midfield.
Conclusion
The double pivot is one of modern football’s most commonly used structures.
It is used by teams all over the world and by teams of almost any standard.
As this piece shows, the use of two players just ahead of the defensive line in build-up has many uses.
There are many uses for an extra pivot player, from simply utilising two players to overload the pivot space to utilising a pivot to overload the first line or to provide width.
