Thiago Motta’s ‘super offensive’ 2-7-2 formation, designed to ‘revolutionise football’, explained (2024)

Football is full of revolutionary minds, and we may be looking at the next to emerge in the coming years in the form of Thiago Motta. The 41-year-old, who was born in Brazil but represented the Italian national team, has successfully implemented some radical tactical ideas that could inspire more young coaches to follow suit.

Pep Guardiola is the biggest example of a wonderfully intelligent mind changing the way everyone views the beautiful game, with ideas such as inverted full-backs and tiki-taka football being common staples of the modern game. The Catalan isn't the only man with revolutionary ideas either, and Motta is the latest young manager who is looking to make his mark in the European game.

His Bologna side unexpectedly secured Champions League qualification for the 2024-25 campaign after picking up 68 points during their 38-game campaign. It's the first time Bologna have qualified for Europe's premier club competition in 60 years. It's also the reason why Juventus have hired him as their new manager to replace the sacked Massimiliano Allegri.

"I am really happy to begin a new chapter at the helm of a great club like Juventus," Motta told reporters. "I thank the owners and the management, who can be sure of my ambition to keep the Juventus flag flying high and to please the fans."

The former Italy international started his journey into management as Paris Saint-Germain's Under-19s boss before having short spells at Genoa and Spezia. The biggest talking point surrounding Motta's approach to the game, though, is his unusual 2-7-2 formation - which tactics expert Statman Dave claimed was "breaking football" in a video posted on YouTube in April.

Thiago Motta's Revolutionary Formation

The manager looks at the pitch differently to others

The traditional way for football formations to be viewed and discussed is from back to front. Discounting the goalkeepers and starting from the defensive line, we have become accustomed to seeing managers play 4-4-2, 4-3-3 or even 3-4-3 over the years - but never 2-7-2. Firstly, because this setup includes all 11 players in the team.

While on paper this looks like a scenario where the team lines up with no goalkeeper, only two defenders and seven players packed into the midfield, that's not the case. Motta changed his way of looking at the pitch to come to this formation.

Instead of the traditional way of looking at a tactical set-up horizontally, the Brazil-born manager instead split the field into three vertical lanes. This means he effectively has seven players in the central channel with two players out wide on each flank. Check out the following graphics to see how it looks:

Italian utilises shape to dominate possession

In an interview with Gazetta della Sport, the manager explained his philosophy by saying: "My idea is to play offensively. A short team that controls the game, high pressure and a lot of movement with and without the ball. I want the player that has the ball to always have three or four solutions and two teammates close by to help."

Going into more detail about the way he views the positions of players on the pitch and formations in general, Motta continued to say:

To achieve his desired shape, a traditional 4-3-3 sees the defensive midfielder sometimes position himself in between the two centre-backs. This allows the full-backs to push forward and the wingers interchange with the central midfield players, essentially creating triangles on either side of the pitch to progress the ball up the field.

The involvement of the goalkeeper is intriguing, as it doesn't differ too much from the sweeper-keeper role fans have become used to seeing in the best teams around the globe. Motta believes all players should be a passing option. Therefore, his number one needs to have the ability to receive the ball and pick out appropriate passes to help the team move forward.

The main idea is to give the team the best chance possible to dominate possession by using each player effectively and utilising space to their advantage. This set-up has got Bologna playing brilliantly and the club could be set to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history.

Linked to Liverpool and Man United

Young manager begins next chapter of his career at Juventus

It's no surprise that some of Europe's biggest clubs were reportedly keeping a close eye on Motta's progress into one of the most exciting young managers around. Liverpool were one of the clubs interested in Motta before they eventually settled for 45-year-old Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, who has replaced Jurgen Klopp at Anfield this summer.

Manchester United were also interested but have opted to stick with Erik ten Hag. Rather than lead Bologna out into the Champions League, Motta has decided that the opportunity to manage Italian giants Juventus is one he simply couldn't afford to turn down. It will be fascinating to see if he can get Juve playing similar football during the 2024-25 campaign.