Several Serie A teams are increasingly adopting a three-centre-back defensive structure in both build-up and transitional phases.
Defensive organization in modern football is shaped by two competing demands: maintaining compact structure against opposition progression, and providing enough optimal passing lanes to initiate controlled possession. The three-centre-back system addresses this by adding a central body to the defensive line while preserving coverage on the flanks via wing-backs. This structural choice is becoming more common not because of fashion, but because it expands positional options without sacrificing collective balance.
The system naturally creates central density, which teams exploit to protect the spine of play and reduce vulnerability to vertical penetration. Meanwhile, the wide defenders operating as wing-backs provide the progression vectors necessary to avoid horizontal stagnation.
The prevalence of three-centre-back formations signals a broader tactical recalibration: teams are no longer choosing between stability and progression, they are attempting to synthesize both. By deploying an extra central defender, squads can responsibly cede certain channels to pressure while retaining enough structural depth to recycle possession or initiate transitions.
This adaptation reveals a shift in Serie A toward systems that are phase-aware rather than phase-dependent. A three-centre-back structure is not simply a defensive adjustment; it alters how teams think about the spacing of personnel, the sequencing of build-up, and the response to pressing triggers. The true value of this setup emerges in how teams manage the distance between units and the tempo of progression when sustained pressure is applied.