Written by: Theodore, reporter in ISFM
In football, when most people think of tactics, they usually think of the attacking phase, when a team has the ball. But they forget the defensive phase, equally as important. Some tactics use high press and attacking football, like Tiki Taka, but parking the bus is a very straightforward defensive tactic.
The players position themselves in such a way that the opponent will have a hard time finding space, with a structure so compact it is almost impossible to break through. Also, the low/no press prevents the opponent from creating openings. Using this is only for defending a narrow lead or a draw with an equal/better team. Whether it’s parking the bus, the boat or the airplane, watching this can be boring and unexciting, with basically no action whatsoever. But, it has proven to be effective. Mourinho won the Champions league using it in 2010 with Inter Milan, keeping a 3-2 lead against Barcelona in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions league. This same year would end up as the most recent champions league title for the club. He pointed out that if they had tried to get the ball, Barcelona would start pressing them and would have quickly started a counter attack, when Inter’s defense was in disarray.
In conclusion, parking the bus is a defensive tactic preventing opponents from entering the box. It is done by overloading a small area with players, denying anyone space. If you have any recommendations, please tell me in the comments, thank you.
Written by: Theodore, reporter in ISFM
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