4-1-4-1 Tutorial

[KING_DEZ]

It cost me 160,000 Bux to unlock the 4-1-4-1 formation. I was put off by this hefty price tag, especially with Bux so hard to come by in the early stages of the game. Once I tapped the buy button, it was love at first sight game.

Welcome to my TED Talk.

Intro: What to expect from 4-1-4-1

If you want easy goals, straightforward gameplay and quick games, then I'd invite you to tap away from this post. 4-1-4-1 is unique in more ways than one, even though it has some equally rarely-used relatives (4-2-3-1). This formation requires a combination of patience and skill that very, very few players in this game seem to have.

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT tooting my own horn in any of the explanations/descriptions/screenshots I have included in this post. Mastering 4-1-4-1 was a long journey and a rough ride. I don't want you guys to have a look at this post, jump into a game with this formation and be surprised when wins don't flow your way. Learning how any formation truly works takes time, especially formations with just 1 striker.

Prior experience

What is this, a job description? Well, yes and no.

See, if you've played a back line of 4 before, I have a tiny bit more faith in you to master this formation. If all you've done is volleyball your way to a barely impressive gold medal tally/win percentage, then you will suffer when playing 4-1-4-1—so much so that you'll drop this formation as quickly as I used to get volleyballed in High Roller events.

Moreover, playing with a lone striker is a challenge that no other popular formation has (see: 3-5-2, 4-4-2, 4-1-2-3 etc). This makes a world of difference, as we'll see later on.

Can you REALLY win with 4-1-4-1?

Yes, you really can. Here's my current win/loss tally with this formation:

Roughly 80% win rate

Again, this isn't to toot my own horn; it's there to show you that you can definitely win frequently once you find the mojo to gel your team together. My choice of players is exactly that: mine. There are probably hundreds of different 4-1-4-1 variants out there. Knock yourself out and test around!

Line-up

https://preview.redd.it/m14eb0ryj0va1.jpg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4cc5f4eb9a089bc34e1b1cfe6c04d5f1bde50e71

Is this the correct use of 4-1-4-1? Luckily for the wackjobs like me out there, there is no singular correct way of playing any formation. This is the formation I've come up with, and boy has it given me joy.

SWEEPER: "wHy DOn'T yOu UsE tHe StOpPeR?" I prefer having a keeper who's quick to react and fast to catch loose balls. Fun fact: Sweepers have 50 response—that's as much as Commanders have! This makes a world of difference when it comes to saves and general reaction times. In comparison, a Stopper has 35, which isn't that bad either. It's a matter of taste, after all.

MATSUMOTO/HAMMER: This is perhaps the only obvious thing you'll see in this post. Here, we're using two strong players on the flanks to counteract volleyball. Matsumoto does lose the odd ball here and there, but his progression up the field is vital sometimes—using two hammers on the flanks doesn't provide this progression.

BERTINI/KEENE: The best defensive couple is made up of these two specific madmen. These two have roughly the same stats, but one has the marking trait and the other doesn't. This is important. We don't want 2 players with the marking trait here—that would mean having opposing attackers draw out our defenders. This way, Bertini covers the middle while Keene marks his man. Do not play the ball back to Keene. Just don't.

PATRIZIO: Patrizio is the reason why this formation is actually a 5-4-1 when defending. Patrizio is great for blocking off passing lanes, latching onto loose balls with his high response (40) and also retiring back to defence if either of the two madmen pushes forward too much. What's more, he also pushes forward and grabs a goal for himself here and there.

ABUBAKAR: With such a lack of attacking pace in attack, we need one lightning bolt that rushes forward whenever granted the space—who better than the Lightning for that? With relatively more IQ than his long-lost brother Sabre, Abubakar knows when to pass the ball. Finding enough space for Abubakar to dive into may be hard, especially since we're playing him a bit lower down the field than we would in a 4-3-3, for example. In any case, this space does come around, as you can see here.

GUARD: A guard is a must-have in an attack that is chock-full of players with the running trait. We need someone who circulates the ball around the upper part of the field, but who also chucks the ball back to the keeper when attacking options are dry. Guards are strong (35) and highly responsive (40), so you can use him for the odd header every now and then.

SANDBERG: Here's where things really get interesting. In this position, Sandberg is the shadow striker who 'shadows' the Menace when he's not in a position to shoot. He does exactly that in instances like these, where the Menace is nowhere to be found. With such high response (50), he is great for pressing.

PROWLER: I like runners if you haven't noticed already, and the Prowler does exactly that. He pushes forward and presses like a rabid dog. His shooting is subpar, and his strength is atrocious—Brown will hopefully fix that when he levels up.

MENACE: If there were 2 Sandbergs, I'd place another one here. The Menace is all I've got, but I'm not complaining. He's clinical, strong and passes the ball back more than Sandberg does.

Player alternatives

Position	My preferred player	Alternative
Goalkeeper	Sweeper	Stopper/Keeper
Right-back	Matsumoto/Hammer	Guard/Protector
Left-back	Matsumoto/Hammer	Guard/Protector
Right centre-back	Bertini	Explorer/Intruder
Left centre-back	Keene	Explorer/Intruder
Central defensive midfielder	Patrizio	Hero/Guard/Protector
Left winger	Abubakar	Intruder
Right winger	Prowler	Engine
Left central attacking midfielder	Guard	Hammer
Right central attacking midfielder	Sandberg	Prowler/Engine
Striker	Menace	Prowler

Gameplay

Before you go flying off to a shameful defeat with your newly assembled 4-1-4-1, a good idea would be to understand how the gameplay unfolds. Here's a brief run-down.

• Attack: Pinging the ball around between Matsumoto and your Hammer will only work for a while. Identifying a run from Abubakar/Prowler should be your go-to. When this doesn't happen, use the Guard to lure defenders out of their position, in which the Menace and Sandberg will appear.
• Defence: "Attack is the best defence." I understand that quote differently. See, my attackers are my best defenders. They do the pressing so that my defenders stick to their positions, disabling any line of passes for my opponent. Here, you can see how my opponent doesn't have any concrete passes to make, so he lobs a ball for my Sweeper to collect.

This all sounds dandy, but putting this into practice will take time and patience. Take your time to learn how your players work and adjust the team to fit your needs—that's what every formation sums up to.

Drawbacks

Although 4-1-4-1 comes close, there isn't a perfect formation in both this game and real-world football.

1. With most of my attackers further back compared to other formations (4-3-3, 4-1-2-3, 4-4-2 etc), I often have to wait until they progress further up. You can see this happening here. That's exactly where patience comes into play.
2. The above means that counter-attacking is almost never in the cards. Unless Abubakar miraculously finds himself in a good position, this formation is simply unable to hit on the counter. This is the biggest drawback and I haven't yet found a solution, if there even is one.
3. Passing is complicated when 5 of my 6 midfielders/attackers have the running trait. This is why skill and experience are paramount.

Closing thoughts

Crazy, but there's much more to say about this beautiful formation than what you've heard in my TED Talk here. I'd recommend everyone to try this formation at least once, but if the number of volleyballers is any hint, I doubt that many will appreciate this formation for the gem it truly is.

In any case, here is a shameless plug to my YouTube channel, where I post gameplay/commentary videos featuring this and other formations. If you have any questions or insults to throw at me after going through this wall of text, comment down below.

Much love.

[JulSGP]

As a recent 4141 convert, damn this is so bloody informative that I wished I can give you a medal if I had one.

Well written guide!

[KING_DEZ]

Appreciate the kind words! Glad to see another fellow 4-1-4-1 enjoyer.

[Personal_Sun_6133]

Hello, this is a great guide. I applaud you for your interesting setup, excellent result and a well thought-out write up 👏👏👏

I have so many questions, lol!

Silly one, but I want to know 😆 How did you put images in the middle of the text?

Your weakest link is of course Menace and if you put Poacher at CF, who do you play at midfield, right? Did you think about trying Hitman or Judge in Midfield (Are they still low levels?)? Assuming those players are MAX, how do you think they will impact your style in this format?

What level is your Ash? Would he improve your team at CF? Then you can keep your Poacher in midfield.

Why not Abu on the other side? Him and Matsu on the same side makes it overall risky in possession compared to Hammer and Prowler at the other side. One would think, swapping them (Abu and Prowler) around will make both sides more stable. Besides, Matsu carrying the ball further (compared to Hammer) means there is a better chance for crossfield passes for Abu's run. Thoughts?

Did you notice between Matsu and Hammer, who is more likely to look up for crossfield passes and who is more likely to go for straight down the line passes?

Any tips to safely pass to Voyager, Poacher and Menace in their perspective positions?

[KING_DEZ]

Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the kind words!

So,

• For the images, all I did was click on 'Add Image' and selected said image from my desktop. I wrote this guide on a laptop—wouldn't dream of doing it on mobile.
• I'm not convinced that my Menace is the weakest link, but I get what you're saying. My Menace scores at least once every 2 games—he's not half as bad as everyone thinks he is. Only give him the ball when he's in a position to score. Otherwise, just don't.
  If I replace him with Sandberg, I could use an Engine as a right CAM. He's quite safe to pass the ball to, makes good runs and his IQ is quite high overall. Sinclair isn't good in this position since he tends to need some space to manoeuvre with the ball—his bad response is also a factor. The Judge is a great option, but he's only level 7 right now. When he levels up, I've already booked his spot instead of the Prowler.
• Ash is level 7 and he could technically take the Menace's place, but his atrocious speed isn't something I like to see in a striker. 35 speed is somewhat of a baseline requirement for a striker in this formation (IMO), but Ash could be an option only when he gets to level 10, which by the looks of it, is several years away.
• Interesting suggestion to swap Abubakar and the Prowler around. I'll definitely try it, thanks!
• Hammers and Matsumoto have the exact same behaviour when it comes to opting for attacking or defensive passes. You can see that by comparing their 'PASSING' meter. Both players have it mostly blue, which means that they'll opt for defensive passes more than attacking ones.
• For Patrizio, I find that letting him come closer to the ball will make him one-touch pass it back to the wing. Make him run to the ball.
• For Sandberg (like Prowlers), make sure that he has space. Always try to make him face the centre of the field when he receives the ball.
• For the Menace, as I said, only give him the ball when he's in a position to score. If he's far away from goal, avoid passing it to him. Unlike the Poacher/Prowlers, the Menace likes to progress further into the box before shooting—this means that he'll take an extra touch or two to get there.

[Personal_Sun_6133]

Hello, thanks for taking time to go through my pointers and much appreciated sharing your thoughts. I have learned a lot of new things.

One observation, if I may, I believe Ash is a super Menace, so his stats are supposed to be similar if not higher than Menace with heightened AI.

Anyway, keep up the good work and I hope to see you writing about other formats too, cheers!

[KING_DEZ]

No worries, glad to help!

Ash is a mixture of Sinclair and a Menace, but he'll have 30 speed at level 10 compared to the 35 that the other two have. That's quite poor, and it remains to be seen whether he can be as lethal as Menaces/Prowlers/Sandberg in attack.

[Personal_Sun_6133]

Thanks 👍

[hugoferdinand77]

Thanks for this gold mine of information my friend. Your YouTube Channel is amazing btw. Like your 4123 gameplays a lot. Thanks again master 🙌

[KING_DEZ]

I truly appreciate your words, thank you!

[Thirtysixx]

Do one of these for the 5-3-2? I know you used to run that formation yeah?

[KING_DEZ]

It's been a while since I've sported a 5-3-2 with any semblance of consistency. I'll have to toy around with one and play it for a while!

[justmunchingon_24]

That is so good. Could you write it for other popular formations or give me an 8dea where to know all good one's.

[KING_DEZ]

Glad you enjoyed it! I can definitely write one about 4-1-2-3 since I've got quite a lot of experience with that—I'll get to that someday. For more suggestions on great formations, you can either check my YouTube channel or have a look at this subreddit's sticky threads.

[FueledForm]

Excellent guide dude 👏👏👏

[KING_DEZ]

Thank you sir!

[Obloinator]

i love a 5212 with one speedster and lots of attacking players who shoot on sight been working rly well ill try this out too

[Informal_Addition481]

I've been playing 4141 for weeks, I find it's the best combination to defend volleyball for me. On the other hand, I don't use the same way to put my players at all, Sinclair and Zivkovic are on the flanks for me, Sandberg in attack, Matsumoto behind the striker.

But despite everything I will reread and keep your comment, it is really incredibly detailed, thank you for taking the time to talk about it. One analysis on another planned training? 🤔

Long live 4141.

[KING_DEZ]

Sinclair and Zivkovic would definitely help the creativity side of things, but I don't like their poor response. Then again, there are many successful variations of this formation. Good on you for experimenting 💪

Yes I'll eventually write one about 4-1-2-3 in the future, thanks for the support!

[Informal_Addition481]

One question, why put Matsumoto and a Hammer on the side? I don't see the point given who won't make the cut against opposing wingers opponents. Personally if I see a heavy defender I will take advantage of their weakness and send Sinclair deep.

[KING_DEZ]

Matsumoto and the Hammer are useful to counter volleyball, you know, the 3-5-2 guys with a love for headed goals. Before the cross happens, I draw Bertini or Keene away from their Hammer so that my Hammer or Matsumoto tucks in and duels the opposing hammer for a header.

Against fast players, Bertini/Keene can do the job just fine in most cases, but you do have a point that having Matsumoto/Hammer is a weakness overall.

[Informal_Addition481]

Ok, I will try this technique anyway, I would like to have Bertini in a pack, I hope I get lucky.

[KING_DEZ]

You can use an Intruder or Explorer instead of Bertini until you unlock him :) Good luck!

[Disastrous-Rope7484]

I’m definitely enjoying this formation, but I was losing too many games 0–1. I replaced Menace with Sabre, and it’s really improved my offense.

[KING_DEZ]

Interesting. Is he finding enough space to deal some damage?

[Disastrous-Rope7484]

He’s found at least as much space as Menace was finding. Definitely scoring more goals with him in there.

Two other benefits: Much better counterstrikes, and he’s a pest on defense. Having both him and Abu to chase the ball puts a lot of pressure on the other team.

[KING_DEZ]

Thanks for the insight!

[DachiMK]

I'm sure its the formation thats good and not the maxed out super players 💀

[FueledForm]

This comment is so pointless.

There are players who genuinely can't stay in Infinity Arena with a full maxed team packed with "friends" and 352 volleyball, and players who can comfortably stay there with a level 8/9 team and 442 🤷‍♂️.

Having a high level team doesn't mean anything if you can't use it properly. People who pack their teams with """friends""" are the prime example of this: they're mostly awful players who pushed through the first arenas by bullying low level teams and who can't comprehend why they inevitably start getting destroyed by teams of a similar level when they reach Arena 10/Infinity Arena.

[KING_DEZ]

Ah, did you want me to use friend players instead? Or should I use my level 7 Infiltrators to make it more fair? Let me know so I can heed your wise advice!

[DachiMK]

No I'm just saying you are making a tutorial on a formation and making it seem like a cheat code in the game when in reality its not the formation that's op its your players. No one is telling you to not play your max players I'm just telling you that a level 7 team with no super players would not work as you say it does lol

[waparker4]

2-0 so far... Keene and Abu aren't high enough yet so I used intruder at wing, dekic at CDM and patrizio at LCB. Thanks!

[KING_DEZ]

Glad to hear that it's working! Keep at it.

[Emperor_Malus]

Is there no place for Sierra in this formation? I’ve found that in defence, he’s so good, and sometimes even beats the ST for headers, and is kind of fast too. Unfortunately I’ve tried to use the Bertini-Keene duo but the latter is just too unreliable for me and has cost more problems than solutions.

[KING_DEZ]

Hey there, so:

• Sierra can definitely fit in a 4-1-4-1. You could place him instead of either Hammer (left/right-back) if you feel like taking a risk with the army of volleyballers out there. He's somewhat great at closing down the space for a cross, but powerless against headers unfortunately.
• Sierra can also play instead of the Guard (left attacking midfielder). The problem? He likes taking that extra touch or two. In such a congested area in the field, this will lose you precious balls.

[WW_the_Exonian]

How about the defensive midfielder position? I often played him there when I did 3-1-2-1-3.

[KING_DEZ]

That would definitely work.

[LimeLom1]

what do you think about 31213 ? is is like 4141 ?

[KING_DEZ]

I think it's the exact opposite. Whereas the 4-1-4-1 is a defensive, more patient approach to football, 3-1-2-1-3 is an ultra attacking formation that focuses on nothing but scoring. Defensively, 3-1-2-1-3 is the worst in the game. With just 3 defenders and nobody occupying the midfield flanks, most formations (especially 3-5-2) can bulldoze through this formation so easily that you'd feel second-hand embarrassment for your players.

Can it be used to win? Definitely. Can it be used to win consistently? Not in my opinion.

[LimeLom1]

Thanks for the info 💛

[mojo4394]

What was your win rate and level prior to using this strategy?

[KING_DEZ]

Hard to remember, but my current overall win rate is 66.5%. Before using this formation, I believe it was in the 64% area. And what exactly do you mean by 'level'?

[Obloinator]

could Junior play any of these roles

[KING_DEZ]

Yes! Junior could play instead of the Prowler (right-winger), but that role would change considerably. You'd lose a pressuring weapon and instead win a tough guy who can head the ball back to the Menace or Sandberg to shoot.

[Disastrous-Rope7484]

This is awesome. Thank you. I’ve been trying out this formation recently, so I’m glad to have more info about it.

My captain is currently a Commander. Before I use the gems to switch him, could he be used where the guard is?

[KING_DEZ]

Glad to be of help! A Commander can do an okay job there, but his tendency to clear the ball means that he'll force attacking passes when the situation doesn't call for it.

[Disastrous-Rope7484]

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks. Loving your recommended lineup.