Throughout the 2022 campaign, Louisville City has continually experimented with a back three shape, abandoning their usual 4-1-4-1 to mixed success. They did so late against Birmingham while down a man and reverted to the shape while trailing Monterey as well. When Danny Cruz's side dominates possession and the holding midfielder drops deep, Louisville might as well be playing a back three at times.
Still, the Kentuckians maintain the four-at-the-back setup and press high in their best stretches. The Pittsburgh match in late April was the consummate example. There, Louisville dominated through an interchange-laden midfield line. Corben Bone and Paolo DelPiccolo were especially delightful, interchanging with one another or with the true wingers to draw the Riverhounds out while packing tight into a central three going the other way. Playing with two centerbacks afforded that flexibility.
That said, a functioning back three could be the tactical innovation that sets Louisville apart come playoff time. In the conference finals last season, the side swapped into a 3-5-2 (or 5-3-2, depending on your perspective) against the Rowdies in an attempt to sit deep and see out the match. It failed miserably. Louisville lost their control in the midfield, conceded late, and fell in extra time. Still, against teams like Tampa that use three forwards, clubs like Detroit that look to exploit the channels with long balls, or other high-wingback back-three sides like Miami, such a system can be an equalizer.
Roster building decisions in the offseason clearly attempted to rectify the inability to use a back three. Amadou Dia and Manny Perez, two wildly attack-oriented fullbacks, joined the squad. Ray Serrano, who played as a wingback for Tacoma, also came in. Ian Soler, comfortable as a ball-playing defender, came over from Spain, and the similarly technical Josh Wynder has been a stalwart in the lineup. Most importantly, Wilson Harris, a striker, came over from the Sporting Kansas City organization. You definitionally need two forwards to play a 3-5-2, and Harris pairs with Cameron Lancaster to create such a tandem.
After a preseason injury, Lancaster only debuted this weekend, and he did so in the context of a back-three system. Why switch to such a setup? Trailing by a goal against Monterey, Louisville needed a spark. Adding an extra forward would meet Monterey's dual centerbacks man-for-man. Additionally, the extra attacking ability endowed to the wingbacks in the 3-5-2 could stretch an already-thin midfield in the form of the visiting club's 4-4-2.
With the context laid, let's get to the tape. How did the three-at-the-back function in actuality?
Let's start on the ball. Louisville builds patiently here. Their central midfielders drop in wave by wave as the fullbacks are pinned high. This set of runs draws Monterey out of shape centrally and stretches them out thanks to the height and width of Perez. Thus, the hosts can spring a ball down the heart of the defense into the feet of a forward in an attempt to initiate some one-touch final-third attacking. You're weaponizing width, and the forward drop still leaves one man probing in the box.
Here, Perez sits high on the right side once again, but we see a different set of midfield runs. Niall McCabe drifts into the wide area normally occupied by a conservative fullback, and Corben Bone holds down the fort at the heart of the pitch. This puts Monterey between a rock and a hard place. They must close to McCabe and at least acknowledge Totsch on the ball. This puts #15 in a one-on-one as Louisville nearly breaks.
In this sequence, Monterey sits deep with a two-goal edge deep into extra time. Perez carries the ball up the pitch, engaging in interplay with Jorge Gonzalez. Normally a winger, #9 played as a half-space-occupying central midfielder in this match. Drawn by the action involving Perez and Gonzalez, the guests shift wide. In the box, Lancaster slinks toward the near post, furthering this shift effect. All of this lets Louisville cross into Harris for an open header.
Across these three plays, the added spark of the wingbacks is clear. Perez stars in my examples, but Dia and Oscar Jimenez were active down the left as well. Having that extra defender liberates these players of some defensive responsibility. Louisville also maintains a high level of interchange amongst their central players. Bone, Gonzalez, and Mushagalusa were effective getting forward when the side was ensconced in possession, and McCabe interacted well with the back three.
On a more permanent basis, that central squad selection is a huge question mark. How necessary is a McCabe or a Tyler Gibson as a holding player with three centerbacks in the mix? How do you get Bone, DelPiccolo, Gonzalez, and Mushagalusa their minutes, and are the latter two misused outside of full-blown wide positions? Harris and Lancaster are undroppable if you're employing a 3-5-2, but what happens if a Pittsburghian 3-6-1 rules the day?
Back to the Monterey game. Here, McCabe is dispossessed while carrying the ball, but Gonzalez tracks back alongside Bone to form a veritable wall in the middle. That central midfield organization slows Monterey and lets a centerback step up to totally blow up the opposing move. The guests recycle possession and work back into the final third, but the central solidity and closing threat force a poor touch, and Wynder is there to intervene.
Louisville sits in at the halfway line in this clip, settled into the deep block. Forward and midfield denial prevents penetration down the enter, as Lancaster and Harris both rove in their own half. Mushagalusa and Lancaster track to the flank when Monterey moves sideways, funneling the play towards the left wingback. Jimenez steps up confidently, trusting the central and left centerbacks with a numerical edge against a lone visiting forward. Everything about Louisville's structure here is pristine; it's defending on the front foot.
Sequences in transition were the source of weakness for the system. Building on the ground into the wingback, the Kentuckians are turned over. Monterey's marauding fullback has a full head of steam off of the interception, and he's expertly matched by a diagonal run from the striker. Louisville's right centerback is beaten, and the central centerback tracks that strikerly run as it branches wide. All the while, Bone is a step slow getting back down the middle. Simply, Louisville loses form against the tempo of the move, and it's a goal to seal it for Monterey. The problems innate to the high wingback system are worsened by a tactical adherence to ground-based, centerback-driven build.
At the end of the day, I think that Louisville will stay a 4-1-4-1 adherent throughout the rest of 2022 and beyond. As I mentioned in my Backheeled breakdown of the club's half-decade of dominance, that system is the bread and butter of multiple coaching regimes and countless playoff wins. Still, I'm of the opinion that the 3-5-2 is viable as a change of pace. In its activation of the wingbacks and allowance for a Harris-Lancaster duo, the system maximizes some of the club's real strengths. Can Louisville falter because of the back three? Sure. Nonetheless, having that look in the arsenal is valuable.
With special thanks to Benton Newman for the topic. Check out Vamos Morados, y'all.