Four-Back for Now

“Let’s start with the four-back formation.”

Head coach of Korea’s national soccer team, Johannes Bonfrere (photo), is preparing a “four-back” defensive line for the first qualifying round against Bahrain on July 10.

After being appointed to the command post of the national team on June 23, Bonfrere rallied the troops for a practice game against Kwangwoon University on July 7 at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, Gyeonggi-do. During the game, he paid particular attention to perfecting the four-back formation, consisting of a line of four defense players.

Excluding Kim Tae-young, who is recovering from an injury, Bonfrere used Hyun Young-min, Lee Min-sung, Choi Jin-chul, and Lee Young-pyo in the starting lineup, then later substituted them with Kim Jung-gyum, Park Jae-hong, Cho Se-gwon, and Park Yo-seb. The players had already participated in a trial run of the four-back formation during the previous day’s tactical training and were ready to cut off Kwangwoon’s offense with organic and precise moves.

Speed and stamina are essential in maintaining a four-back formation: the defensive line must stand in close quarters with the opposing offensive line and apply powerful pressure throughout the 90 minutes of play. A lapse in coordination between defense players can immediately lead to a hole in the defensive line, making organic interplay a crucial key to success.

In this respect, the strategy had been deemed unsuitable for Korean soccer, which has always relied heavily on outstanding midfield players like Hong Myung-bo and Yu Sang-chul. Former head coaches, including Guus Hiddink and Umberto Coelho, also started with the four-back formation, but eventually reverted to a three-back formation.

Coach Huh Jung-moo said, “Foreign head coaches don’t make decisions without actually trying things out. Bonfrere will probably give the four-back formation a shot, and, if it doesn’t work, he will switch to another strategy.”

Sang-Ho Kim Jong-Koo Yang hyangsan@donga.com yjongk@donga.com