Total Football

Total Football (Dutch: totaalvoetbal) is a tactical theory of football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was made famous by the Netherlands National Football Team in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Early exponents of Total Football were Ajax, Real Madrid, Brazilian side Santos, the Golden Team of Hungary and English side Burnley in the 1950s.

In Total Football, a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team's intended organisational structure. In this fluid system, no outfield player is fixed in a predetermined role; anyone can successively play as an attacker, a midfielder and a defender. The only player who must stay in a specified position is the goalkeeper.

Total Football's tactical success depends largely on the adaptability of each footballer within the team, in particular the ability to quickly switch positions depending on the on-field situation. The theory requires players to be comfortable in multiple positions; hence, it places high technical and physical demands on them.

During this era Ajax played some of their finest football ever, achieving home wins (46–0–0) for two full seasons (1971–72 and 1972–73), just one defeat in the whole of the 1971–72 season, and celebrating four titles in 1972 (the Netherlands national league, KNVB Cup, European Cup and Intercontinental Cup).

...
Wikipedia