Top 10 incredible tactical innovations that revolutionised football

#8 Catenaccio (Inter Milan)

Helenio Herrera won the European Cup in 1964 and 1965 using the Catenaccio tactic

Popularly known for its use in Italian football, Catenaccio has been quite misunderstood and is widely known only for its defensive part of the game, although it boasts a very specific system. Meaning 'door bolt' in Italian, it does emphasize heavily on the defence but also has attacking characteristics that have been ignored.

As a strategy, Catenaccio evolved gradually after being put to use for the first time by Karl Rappan in the 30s, the coach of semi-professional club Servette based in Geneva. Further, Nereo Rocco of Padova brought the system to Italy in 1947.

However, Catenaccio actually shot to fame when it was used by Helenio Herrera at Inter Milan. Herrera, often regarded as the finest exponent of the tactic, tweaked Rocco's version by introducing the libero, also known as the 'sweeper'. Normally, the sweeper was positioned as a spare defender behind the usual three-man defence and was tasked with the duty of clearing loose balls and double marking the opposition striker whenever necessary.

Herrera, however, used a four-man defence who were assigned man-marking duties. In his system, the left full-back Giacinto Facchetti was given the freedom to overlap during attacks. Facchetti is regarded as the first true attacking full-back in the history of the sport, as he garnered 10 goals in season 1965-66. The right winger, Jer, in this case, tracked back during defence to provide resilience and cover during the defence. Picchi was used as a sweeper in the system.

Inter Milan clinched two European Cups in 1964 and 1965, thanks to the effective use of the Catenaccio.