Top 20 Clubs in Europe and Why They Use the Formation They Do

There is argument all over the board as to who the top clubs are in Europe. You cannot argue with Barcelona or many other selections, but you can argue that some are better than they have performed.

Most of the best teams are currently coming out of the four biggest leagues in Europe: Spain's La Liga, the German Bundesliga, English Premier League and Italian Serie A.

However, others leagues such as French Ligue 1 Oranje, the Portuguese Liga, Dutch Eredivisie and Russian Premier League also have teams of high calibre that have made recent waves in Europe.

The other interesting thing to see is the style of play that comes from the different leagues as their formations all vary. Most of it is based on getting the best out of their current squad, but it can also be looked at as fitting the style of the nation the club comes from.

Other notable top-level European clubs with their formations at the moment are:

Borussia Dortmund, Germany: 4-2-3-1

Valencia, Spain: 4-2-3-1

Ajax Amsterdam, Netherlands: 4-3-3

Liverpool, England: 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3

Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine: 4-2-3-1

Olympiacos, Greece: 4-4-2

Udinese, Italy: 3-5-1-1

Lille OSC, France: 4-2-3-1

Apoel, Cyprus: 4-2-3-1

Besiktas, Turkey: 4-1-4-1

Lazio, Italy: 4-3-1-2

FC Basel, Switzerland: 4-4-2

Feyenoord Rotterdam, Netherlands: 4-1-2-3

Olympique Lyon, France: 4-2-3-1

Paris Saint Germain, France: 4-2-3-1

Spartak Moscow, Russia: 4-4-1-1

Celtic, Scotland: 4-4-2

Portuguese La Liga leaders FC Porto play a fluid 4-3-3 formation to allow Brazilian striker Hulk to have support from all sides. Their style of play is still under influence from current Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas.

Porto is another club that benefits from a very youthful and energetic squad as there are only two primary starters over the age of 26.

One key starter is veteran goal keeper Helton and he makes a load of difference. Their experience is in the right areas for the most success.

The departure of Radamel Falcao to Atletico Madrid has seen Hulk take center stage. He has 11 goals and an assist so far this season in all competitions.

Midfielder Joao Moutinho and left-back Alvaro Pereira are also key. Their style of play helped them to last season's UEFA Europa League title.

Despite their early Champions League exit, they are still set to make a strong charge for the Europa League title once again.

German Bundesliga's Bayer Leverkusen is another side that utilizes the classic 4-2-3-1 system.

Micheal Ballack is allowed to Marshall the attack from a central attacking midfield role, as he is the key distributor between wingers Sidney Sam and Gonzalo Castro and striker Stefan Kiessling.

While their formation has seen them only get to sixth domestically, it has produced a trip to the Champions League Knockout stage as they survived a group that was shared with Chelsea and Spanish side Valencia.

Marseille are one of only two French side to have ever won a European competition, the other being Paris Saint Germain.

Although it was a rough start to their domestic campaign, they have pushed back up to 31 points and are only a few wins outside of European Qualification for next year.

Their 4-2-3-1 attacking scheme has allowed them to have success both domestically and on the continent. It is a classic European setup with two holding midfielders that allows Luis Gonzalez to attack through the middle while Andre Ayew comes in from the wide areas in support of striker Loic Remy.

This formation allows their best attacking group more freedom to get forward, knowing the back line has a midfield anchor to protect from a counter attack.

Dutch Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven have developed a prolific goal scoring rate so far this season by utilizing a 4-2-1-3 formation.

The average age of their attackers is close to 23-years-old.  Their youth and pace have seen them get the most out of their style of play.

Their trifecta of goal scoring is built off the play between attacking midfielders Ola Toivonen, Dries Martens and striker Tim Matavz. They have already combined for 33 goals in the Eredivisie and find themselves as three of the top five goal scorers in the Dutch League.

A dominant display in Group C of the UEFA Europa League saw them advance to the round of 32 undefeated, with only one draw in six matches.

Much like PSV before them, German side Shalke 04 also went through the Europa League group stage as one of the undefeated teams.

Their 4-3-1-2 system is another that has seen the best come out of the club's attack. The loss of goal keeper Manuel Neuer to Bayern Munich made it necessary for the attack to press for high scoring games. This makes them an exciting team to watch, while still keeping a strong midfield presence to thwart the counter attack if at all possible.

Veteran center forward Raul Gonzalez sits in behind Dutch hit man Klaas Jan-Huntelaar.  Jan-Huntelaar has already plundered 24 goals and three assists in all competitions for his side, which is what he scored all of last year combined with his national team duties.

Raul likewise has hit the goal trail in his position, with 13 goals and four assists which is only six shy of his total from last year. Youngster Teemu Pukki is another attacker benefiting from the formation, as his eight appearances have netted five goals and an assist for the club.

Although Roberto Mancini is an Italian tactician and you would expect to see him favor a 4-3-1-2, as many successful Italian sides currently use, more often he employs a 4-1-3-2 or a 4-4-2.

The existence of so many play making midfielders has forced his hand in much of the decision for a 4-1-3-2. Gareth Barry will play the holding role in support of Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and David Silva.

Their attack is typically a two striker package of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko or Mario Balotelli that has torn most English Premier League defenses to shreds this season.

Despite an early exit from the UEFA Champions League, City are still in line to win four trophies if they can compete on all fronts.

They face Liverpool for a shot at the English League Cup final, are still in the English FA Cup, have a shot at a win in the UEFA Europa League if they fight for it, and they are still tied at the top of the EPL table.

Russian Premier League side CSKA Moscow have become a regular in the UEFA Leagues and continue to improve on the biggest stage of Europe.

Their 4-4-2 style of play sees strikers Vagner Love and Seydou Doumbia take center stage with Japanese wide man Keisuke Honda as their main support. The three combined for 39 goals during the club's 2011 season.

Doumbia led the Russian goal scoring charts with 23 in the 2011 season.  This saw them finish in fourth rather than second due to a loss to upstart club Anzhi on the final match day of the year.

While Honda can be considered overrated at times he has produced some great performances for CSKA in the Champions League. CSKA are already set for the first knockout stage in this year's campaign, where they face Real Madrid in an attempt to reach the quarterfinals.

Inter Milan may have started the season poorly, but Claudio Ranieri has instilled a 4-3-1-2 system that seems to have brought the Nerazzurri back to life and to winning their UEFA Champions League group.

Jose Mourinho also used the 4-3-1-2 to great affect with Inter as he took Europe and the peninsula by storm in a single season.

With a good amount of the players that Mourniho used still at Inter, it makes sense to use a formation that many already understand and can be tweaked to Ranieri's own design.

Zenit Saint Petersburg topped the Russian Premier League in 2011 for back to back titles under Italian tinkerman Luciano Spalletti. Spalletti won two Italian Cups with AS Roma in 2007 and 2008 and has now won four trophies at the club since he took over.

Spalletti's Zenit side primarily play a 4-5-1 system that commonly shifts into a more attacking 4-2-3-1 to get the most out of their main four attackers, Danko Lazovic, Miguel Danny, Alexander Kerzhakov and Roman Shirokov. Bruno Alves is the veteran leadership of the defense.

The veteran squad at Zenit has seen them use their experience to their advantage. They can play attack minded football, but they also know how to soak up pressure as they did to earn a 0-0 draw against FC Porto even though the Portuguese side had 62 percent of the possession and fired 24 shots with eight on goal.

Chelsea currently employ a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 a majority of the time, depending on the strike force in place. Despite grumblings that they are not good enough, they have managed to win their Champions League group as well as stay in the top 4 of the English Premier League.

Their pedigree is not in doubt, but their only weakness is a consistent attack. When playing the 4-3-3 it is most likely because Fernando Torres is up front with Daniel Sturridge or Florent Malouda and Juan Mata is supporting from the left and right.

The 4-4-2 comes into play more when they pair up Daniel Sturridge and Didier Drogba in their attack. Either formation can shift easily on the fly between one another. It allows Mata to roam freely into the center of the park to set up play for either situation.

Sporting Benfica of the Portuguese Liga has already booked a knockout stage birth in the UEFA Champions League against Zenit St Petersburg.

A strong 4-1-3-2 has helped Benfica attack their way to success both domestically and in Europe. Their veteran three attackers Javier Saviola, Oscar Cordoza and central attacking midfielder Pablo Aimar are supported by the youthful contingent Axel Witsel, Javi Garcia and Nolito who have been in top form.

Benfica are also level on points with FC Porto in their domestic league and should make a strong push for another Portuguese title this season.

Although Tottenham have not been primarily focused on their European exploits this season, they are playing some of the most attractive football in England.

Harry Redknapp has employed what appears to be a 4-5-1, with Rafael van der Vaart playing the attacking midfield role just behind Emmanuel Adebayor.

The combination of Scott Parker and Luka Modric in the center of the park gives both Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon the freedom on the wings to support both Adebayor and van der Vaart and get the best out of all four.

Napoli was once a powerful Italian side in the late 1980's as they won two Scudettos, a UEFA Cup and a Coppa Italia. The modern day formation for the Neapolitan club employees a 3-5-2, or a very forward wing back version of a 5-3-2.

The overloaded midfield is spearheaded by club captain and playmaker Marek Hamsik, who is the primary provider of service to the deadly strike partnership of Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani and Argentine Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Having Goran Pandev on loan from Inter has also allowed them more attacking prowess from the wide areas which makes them more deadly this season than last.

With such a formation it allows the three best players the most amount of freedom, and there are enough extra bodies in the center of the park to still protect the back line.

With one main striker in Robin Van Persie, Arsenal continue to utilize a 4-3-3 that gives support from both the midfield and the wings in much the same way that Barcelona applies their formation.

The speed of Gervinho and Theo Walcott makes the 4-3-3 great for both of them to be RVP's outside support.  The midfield of Aaron Ramsey, Alex Song and preferably Jack Wilshere (when he is healthy) funnels the play to the speed and forward movement of the wings.

Robin Van Persie also likes to drift back into the area of an attacking midfielder, which allows the formation to get the best out of Theo Walcott, who is a striker in hiding at times for the Gunners.

Bayern Munich boast some of the best midfield and attacking talent in the game between Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller.

All of that supports the in form Mario Gomez, who has been prolific this season so far and has been just fine as a lone striker up front.

The 4-5-1 also allows Robben, Ribery and Muller to push forward when they like and there is enough support to help thwart a counter attack.

AC Milan finally returned to their place at the top of the Serie A last season and are strongly challenging for a chance to repeat this season.

The formation of choice this season looks to be a 4-3-1-2. Whether it is Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano or the later with Alexandre Pato, the Rossoneri have a powerful front line that is supported by the primary midfield pairing this season of Alberto Aquilani and Antonio Nocerino.

Aquilani has looked like a rejuvenated star since joining AC Milan from Liverpool. This is sure to turn into a complete transfer this upcoming summer as, "El Principo," has been instrumental in the club's success.

The deep central role for him in the formation has allowed him to become a renewed tinkerman, and Liverpool are certainly missing his vision at the moment.

Italian giants Juventus have been on the rise once again this season and their 4-4-2 attack has seen former AC Milan midfielder Andrea Pirlo and ever improving Claudio Marchisio rise to the occasion.

The dual attack of Alessandro Matri and Mirko Vucinic has helped to propel the Old Lady to the top of the Serie A table for the first time in several years. It has proven an effective formation to morph in and out of a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1 as needed. Vucinic is also effective as a second support striker.

Sir Alex Ferguson employees the traditional English 4-4-2 formation to the fullest effect that he can. While some may feel that the 4-4-2 is outdated, but the success of Manchester United in both England and Europe has proven otherwise.

Many times it has morphed to a 4-4-1-1 with Wayne Rooney as a second striker in the hole behind either Javier Hernandez or Danny Welbeck. However, the fast a fluid ideology of the 4-4-2 continues to dominate the Red Devils' style of play.

Their recent dismissal from Europe aside, the Red Devils are being forced to rebuild due to loads of injuries this year and are still in line to challenge for the EPL title.

Spain's original powerhouse, Real Madrid, has been hiding in the shadows of a dominant Barcelona side in recent seasons, but Los Blonco's 4-5-1 has been a great formation for them under Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese tactician employees a single strike system with a midfield trifecta, most often comprised of Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil. The additional holding midfielders also protect the center of defense allowing Sergio Ramos his usual forays to the attacking third.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria are the wide midfielders with Gonzalo Higuain the lone man upfront. Ronaldo usual cuts in as the second striker and has profited massive plunders of goals for himself and the club, but has yet to lead them to a major trophy outside of winning the Copa Del Rey.

Since Pep Guardiola took the helm at Barcelona, he has employed a 4-3-3 system that allows him to get the best out of Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

The real heart of the Blaugrana's attack is the play of the three previously mentioned. David Villa is the spear head, but the excellence that Messi has shown as a winger to drift into the second striking role has nearly made him obsolete.

None the less, without the main striker ahead of Messi he would most likely not be so effective because there would be no one to draw attention away from him at the front.

This formation has allowed Barcelona to dominate both Spain and on the continent in the tenure of Guardiola, and in the past.

There are several others that you can name I am sure. I hope that you will add anyone you feel has been left out. Let's get a good discussion going in the comments section.

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