Parking the Bus in Soccer (Explained!)

Soccer is a game of cliches, many of which are hard to understand! One such phrase is parking the bus, which has long been associated with the defensive side of the beautiful game. 

 

But what does it mean to park the bus in soccer? And how do you set up your team to play in this way? Let’s find out now. 

 

What does it mean to park the bus in soccer?

To park the bus in soccer means to set up exceptionally defensively so you don’t concede a goal. It’s a phrase coined by Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, and it is used to describe a team’s performance when they have been overly defensive. When appropriately executed, parking the bus can be a great way of keeping a clean sheet in soccer, but it’s not always practical. We explain more about parking the bus below. 

 

Where does the term ‘park the bus’ come from?

When Jose Mourinho first managed Chelsea between 2004 and 2007, he coined the term ‘park the bus’ in an interview with the English media. However, he was actually criticizing the way that Tottenham played in a 0-0 match at Stamford Bridge when he said: 

 

“As we say in Portugal, they brought the bus, and they left the bus in front of the goal. I would have been frustrated if I had been a supporter who paid £50 to watch this game because Spurs came to defend.”

 

Although he was criticizing one of his rivals, it’s ironic that Mourinho is the one to have coined the term. As a coach in the EPL, Mourinho’s teams have been known for their negative tactics. 

 

At his second spell at Chelsea and then again at Manchester United, other coaches often accused him of being a defensive-minded coach.

 

Still, whether you think Mourinho is defensive or not, he’s undoubtedly one of the best coaches in modern times, and he is the person responsible for the phrase ‘park the bus’ in soccer.

 

How do you play park the bus soccer?

The key to playing park the bus soccer is to set your team up in the appropriate defensive shape. The main objective of parking the bus is preventing the goal from going into your net, so most coaches go ultra-defensive to stifle attacks. 

 

But parking the bus is as much a philosophy as it is a tactic. It’s often viewed as a bad thing in the world of soccer, as it goes against the attacking spirit of the game that fans love.

 

After all, if you pay to watch a soccer match, you want to be entertained, not watch a team defend for their lives. 

 

What parking the bus actually involves

As well as being a great phrase, park the bus is a type of soccer philosophy! While teams can go about it in different ways, the following characteristics are true of parking the bus:

 

• The sole focus of the team is to defend the goal. The coach will employ extremely defensive tactics and choose the most defensive-minded players to start in most instances. 
• As well as defending, the team parking the bus will play on the counter-attack and try and cause their opponents on the break. 
• The team parking the bus will almost certainly waste time faking injuries and delaying the restart of play. 
• Some teams that park the bus commit fouls and disrupt the game’s flow, as this makes it harder for the attacking team to maintain momentum. 

In the professional game, parking the bus is a tactic employed when an inferior team comes up against the best team in the league. 

 

It’s not typically a tactic employed regularly, as supporters of the team would be far from impressed if their players turned up every week and simply parked the bus!

 

The best formations for parking the bus in soccer

There are lots of formations that you can play to park the bus in soccer; it really depends on what you’re hoping to achieve. Let’s look at three defensive shapes that might work for your team: 

 

4-5-1

One of the most defensive tactics out there, 5-4-1 is perfect for parking the bus in soccer. You start the game with five defenders and four tight sitting midfielders, leaving one striker alone upfront. It’s best to restrict the movement of your fullbacks in this formation and keep them back. 

 

You might even request your two central midfielders to sit a little deeper and provide protection to your backline. If you’re well drilled and stop balls in behind, the only way that teams can score when you set up with a 5-4-1 is from set-pieces or long distance. 

 

Given its compact nature, 5-4-1 is the best formation, to begin with if you’re hoping to park the bus in soccer. 

 

4-1-4-1

If you’re not accustomed to playing five at the back, you might consider a 4-1-4-1 formation instead. This sees you line up with four defenders, an anchorman in the midfield, four flat midfielders, and a lone striker. 

 

Some coaches ask their two wingers to tuck in when they’re defending, making the midfield four really difficult to penetrate. The job of the anchorman is to sweep up play and eliminate any danger if the opposition bursts through. 

 

One challenge with 4-1-4-1 is that your striker is entirely isolated, and it can be challenging to get him into the game. 

 

5-3-1-1

Finally, you might consider playing a 5-3-1-1 formation if you’re hoping to park the bus. Again, start with five disciplined defenders and don’t charge forward. Your midfield three patrol the middle of the park and sit deep. 

 

Then, you play one player slightly further forward in an attacking midfield position, who offers support to your striker. This means your striker isn’t completely isolated, and you pose more of a threat on the counter-attack. 

 

When your backs are against the wall, the attacking midfielder can drop into the midfield three to make things compact. 

 

Does parking the bus work?

If you’re able to pull parking the bus off, you should be credited for organizing a defensive masterclass! After all, it’s not an easy tactic and philosophy to employ as it requires discipline and a lot of effort from the whole team. If one person makes a mistake, it ruins the entire tactic. 

In terms of a long-term strategy, parking the bus isn’t overly effective. After all, it’s extremely difficult to win soccer matches when you park the bus. 

We would only recommend employing it as a tactic if you’re underdogs and aren’t remotely confident about winning the upcoming match. 

Also, if you decide to go for it, you will need to spend some time out on the training pitch, perfecting the philosophy and ensuring all of your players know what to do! 

Which soccer teams regularly park the bus?

It’s difficult to say which teams regularly park the bus, as it’s not a tactic that is often employed in the long run. However, Atletico Madrid, under Diego Simeone, have a reputation for parking the bus in big European fixtures. 

Atleti are extremely well organized and work super hard for one another. This helps them stifle attacks launched by some of the most talented teams on the planet (including their rivals, Real Madrid), and they have enjoyed incredible success as a result. 

Most often, you will hear of a team parking the bus when they come up against a team that is extremely difficult to beat. So, instead of playing the tactic regularly, they will park the bus once in a while to try and win a point instead of losing the game.

The verdict: What is parking the bus in soccer?

Parking the bus in soccer is what happens when a team sets up extremely defensively and tries not to concede a goal. While it’s an effective tactic to use once in a while, it doesn’t work in the long run as it’s hard to win matches this way!

If your team is coming up against one of the best teams in the league and you want to avoid defeat, parking the bus is a decent tactic for you to try out!