Breaking Down Zone Defence with the False Pivo Rotation (Redondo)

This article is for players who have heard the term "false pivo" before, but are still unsure how it differs from a normal pivo and in what situations it should be used.

A false pivo is a shape in which the pivo stays wide to create space on the far side. The false pivo rotation (redondo) built around that space is an extremely effective tactic because it can break multiple defensive lines in a zone defence in a connected way.

This article explains the definition of the false pivo, its tactical purpose, and concrete rotation patterns in detail with diagrams.

What is a false pivo?

The false pivo originally comes from football's false 9. In futsal, it became well known when former Japan national team coach Miguel Rodrigo used it by moving the pivo out to the side, on the logic that simply posting the pivo up centrally was not creating a useful attacking reference point.

Instead of serving only as a frontline outlet in the usual pivo role, the player may drop into the second line to help the build-up while pretending to be a pivo, or stay wide to create space on the opposite side.

Tactical purpose

The idea is to make effective use of the space created on the far side when the pivo drifts wide.

The 3-1 shape with the pivo staying wide can also be viewed as a tilted version of quatro.

Because it includes several tactical elements of the quatro, you could describe it as a system that sits halfway between 3-1 and 4-0.

Some teams that are transitioning from 3-1 to 4-0 also introduce it as a way to train 4-0 principles.

Overall picture of the 3-player rotation (redondo)

A rotation in which a certain number of players rotate in a certain direction is called a rotation, or redondo.

In false pivo rotations, the most common pattern is for the back three to rotate clockwise as shown above.

Form a vertical 3-on-line

When the ala takes a high position and the fixo shifts toward the side where the pivo is, the fixo, ala, and pivo form a 3-on-line.

Because the ala plays high, the shape temporarily looks like a 2-1-1.

First, focus on the relationship between the two players

At first, ignore the pivo and try to break through with the vertical pair of two players: ala and fixo.

Effective actions for a vertical pair:

• volante
• block and continue
• inside parallel
• inside one-two

If you want to understand vertical pairs in more detail, read the article below.

When the two-player combination cannot break through: use the pivo, then the third man

If the vertical pair cannot break through on its own, go through the pivo so that the second player becomes the third man.

When even the pivo pass is not on: switch to the far side and create a two-player relationship

If the pass into the pivo is not available, or if the team wants to make better use of the far-side space, switch the ball to the opposite side and create a two-player relationship there.

When the ball carrier is not under pressure: support from between the lines

Red 2 and red 3 create a two-player relationship and make effective use of the space opened up by the pivo.

Effective two-player actions:

• one-two
• parallel
• block or curtain

Also, if the opponent is defending in a zone-oriented way, red 2 can also choose to turn in the space between the lines.

When the ball carrier is under pressure: parallel support

When the ball carrier is being pressed, it is effective to drop to a parallel supporting position and look for a simple one-two.

If the ball carrier dribbles inside, support with a block.

When the two-player combination cannot break through: use the third man

Diagonal pivo pass: second player to third man

If the two-player combination cannot break through, think about using the pivo so that the second player becomes the third man.

Pass to the far-side ala and restore floor balance

If even the diagonal pass into the pivo is not available, pass to the far-side ala and look for a right-angled pivo pass ((/base/third/l/)).

Reset

If the pass into the pivo is not available, exchange passes and work to form the 3-on-line again.

At first glance this may look a little awkward, but the aim of that passing exchange is to deliberately draw the defenders toward the ball and open space behind them.

Four-player rotation

If you want the false pivo to take part in the deeper passing circulation, a more advanced option is the four-player rotation.

On the other hand, one drawback is that a player who is not the pivo effectively becomes the false pivo, which makes it harder to create a reference point higher up the court.