The Playbook Series · No. 06 Coaches' edition
The Back-Three Playbook
The 3-4-3, the 3-4-2-1 and the 3-5-2, with and without the ball.
Three centre-backs. Five across the front. One shape that changes with the ball.
Instant PDF download · All five languages included · Your price is applied at checkout
What is inside
Three centre-backs. Five across the front. One shape that changes with the ball.
A back three is not one more defender. It is a shape that turns into a five without the ball and a five across the front with it. This playbook shows every job in it: the middle centre-back who runs the line, the outside centre-back who steps out, the wing-back who covers a whole touchline, the midfield and the two 10s, playing out, the final third, defending as a five and pressing. Every board is drawn to scale and checked.
- 01 What a back three gives you and what it costs, with the history and the data
- 02 The 3-4-3, 3-4-2-1 and 3-5-2, the five lanes and the shape in every phase
- 03 The back three: the middle centre-back, spacing, cover and the line
- 04 The outside centre-back and the wing-back: stepping, width and the two-sided job
- 05 The midfield and the two 10s, and playing out against any press
- 06 The final third: five across, the half-space triangle and the far post
- 07 Defending as a five, pressing from a back three, matchups and rest defence
- 08 20 sessions, from the back three to 11 v 11
The impact
What you will be able to do after reading it.
Read it well and this is what changes for you, your staff and your players. Each point is a chapter of the book, not a promise on top of it.
- Analysis room 2
- Training ground 2
- Match day 2
- Analysis room Ch. 01 · 02
Pick the shape that suits your players
The 3-4-3, the 3-4-2-1 and the 3-5-2 side by side: what each one gives you, what it costs, and the profile each role needs.
- Training ground Ch. 03 · 04
Give your back three one set of rules
How far apart they stand, who covers against one, two or three strikers, when the outside centre-back steps out and who fills in behind him.
- Match day Ch. 05
Tell your wing-backs where to be
Where the wing-back stands in every phase, when he jumps and when he drops, and the far-post job when the ball is on the other side.
- Training ground Ch. 07 · 08
Play out and arrive with five
Count the pressers and beat one, two, three or four of them from the back. Then five across the front, the half-space triangle and the cutback.
- Match day Ch. 09 · 10
Defend as a five, press as a three
The 5-2-3 and the 5-4-1, sliding across, the wing-back jump, and man for man at the back when the press goes all in.
- Analysis room Ch. 11 · 12
Plan for this week's opponent, then train it
Matchups against a 4-3-3, a 4-2-3-1, a 4-4-2 and another back three, with rest defence and switching shape. Then 20 sessions, picked in the session finder by the problem you saw.
20 sessions and over 75 boards drawn to scale turn every point into something you can show your players, then train.
Buy from €9.99 Free samplePages from the book
Every board drawn to scale.
Read a 13-page sample
The front matter and introduction, the start of chapter 1, the first session and the back cover. PDF, 1.3 MB.
Five languages
One book, five languages, one price.
The whole book is translated, the boards and the index too. Buy it once and every edition is in your account: download the one you need, or all five for a staff that works in more than one language.
- EN English The Back-Three Playbook Free sample
- DE Deutsch Das Dreierketten-Playbook Free sample
- FR Français Le Playbook de la défense à trois Free sample
- ES Español El Playbook de la defensa de tres Free sample
- IT Italiano Il Playbook della difesa a tre Free sample
Contents
12 chapters, then the index.
Each chapter is a bookmark in the PDF, and every row of the contents page is a link to it.
- 01 Why three at the back What a back three gives you, what it costs, and who has won with it
- 02 The shapes 3-4-3, 3-4-2-1 and 3-5-2, the five lanes, and one shape in three phases
- 03 Hold: the back three The middle centre-back, the spacing, cover and the line
- 04 Step: the outside centre-back When to step out, who covers, and carrying the ball forward
- 05 Width: the wing-back Where he stands in every phase, and the two-sided job
- 06 Link: the midfield and the two 10s Screening, the gap between the lines, and the half-spaces
- 07 Playing out with three Beating one, two, three and four pressers from the back
- 08 Overload: the final third Five across the front, the half-space triangle and the far post
- 09 Shift: defending as a five The 5-2-3, the 5-4-1, sliding, and when the wing-back jumps
- 10 Pressing from a back three Matching their shape, the wing-back jump, and man for man at the back
- 11 Matchups, transitions and switching Against 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2 and a back three, rest defence and changing shape
- 12 The training ground 20 sessions, from the back three to 11 v 11
Get The Back-Three Playbook
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The Back-Three Playbook
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The format
A PDF built to be used on the training ground.
- Format
- PDF, A4 portrait
- Length
- 95 pages, 79 boards, 20 sessions
- File size
- 4.5 MB
- Navigation
- Bookmarks for every chapter, a clickable contents page and cross-references
- Index
- Terms, people and teams
- Printing
- Laid out for A4, so every page prints as it looks on screen
- Languages
- English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. Translated in full, boards and index included
- Price
- €9.99 on any paying Studio plan, €14.99 without one. One payment, instant download.
- Edition
- First edition, version 1.0, October 2026.
- Licence
- This copy is licensed to the buyer for personal and club coaching use. You may print pages for your own players and staff. Please do not share the file publicly, upload it or resell it. For a licence that covers a whole club or academy, write to us.
Questions
About The Back-Three Playbook
What does it cost?
€9.99 if your account is on a paying Studio plan, alone or in a team, and €14.99 without one. The five paid books together are €42.46 with a plan, or €63.71 without (€74.95 bought one by one). One payment, no subscription, and the right price is applied at checkout.
See the prices How do I get it after paying?
You pay on our secure checkout with a free Total Football account. The PDF is in your account straight away, under Your e-books, to download whenever you need it, and the link comes by email too.
Your e-books Can I read some of it first?
Yes. The free sample is 13 pages of the real book: the front matter and introduction, the start of chapter 1, the first session and the back cover.
Who is it for?
Coaches, analysts and staff who want one shared language for this part of the game, with the cost of every choice and a session for every idea.
Can I print it and share it with my players?
This copy is licensed to the buyer for personal and club coaching use. You may print pages for your own players and staff. Please do not share the file publicly, upload it or resell it. For a licence that covers a whole club or academy, write to us.
Can I get a refund?
A download is delivered the moment you pay, so at checkout you ask for it straight away and the 14-day right to cancel ends when it arrives. Read the free sample first. If a file is faulty or will not open, write to us and we fix it or refund you.
E-book terms Can I earn by recommending it?
Yes. In the Total Football Studio affiliate programme, on an Amateur or Pro plan, you earn 20% or 30% of every Playbook Series e-book bought by someone you referred, for 12 months from the day they signed up through your link. They pay the same price either way.
The affiliate programme Which languages is it in?
English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. One purchase includes all five: download whichever you need from Your e-books, as often as you like. The whole book is translated, the boards and the index too, and the free sample is in all five.
What format is it in?
A 95-page A4 PDF of 4.5 MB, with bookmarks for every chapter, a clickable contents page and an index. It opens on any phone, tablet or computer that reads a PDF, and prints on A4.
Do I need Total Football Studio to use it?
No. The book is a PDF and stands on its own. Every diagram in it was built in Total Football Studio, so you can draw the same shapes on your own board if you want to.
Open the StudioThe Playbook Series
The other five books
-
No. 01 · Free edition The 4-3-3 Playbook Variations, attacking positions and defensive shape. 24 pages · 15 boards · 3 sessions
Free -
No. 02 · Coaches' edition Playing Out From the Back Building up against every press: count it, shape for it, bait it, beat it. 101 pages · 84 boards · 20 sessions
€9.99 with a Studio plan · €14.99 without -
No. 03 · Coaches' edition The 4-2-3-1 Playbook One shape, many systems: how football's most-used formation builds, creates, presses and protects. 99 pages · 80 boards · 20 sessions
€9.99 with a Studio plan · €14.99 without -
No. 04 · Coaches' edition The Pressing Playbook When to jump, where to trap and how to win it back: the high press, the counter-press and the block. 93 pages · 87 boards · 20 sessions
€9.99 with a Studio plan · €14.99 without -
No. 05 · Coaches' edition The Set-Piece Playbook Every restart, attacked and defended: corners, free kicks, throw-ins, kick-offs, goal kicks and penalties. 97 pages · 74 boards · 20 sessions
€9.99 with a Studio plan · €14.99 without
