What is the meaning of the term "parking the bus" in football refer to?

Rohit Meena

Following and playing football since I was 14.

7w ago

It will be a long answer but i bet you its worth it and you'll surely understand the whole concept

Parking the bus isn't a new strategy; it's one that Inter Milan and Chelsea both successfully employed in defeating Barcelona and eventually claiming the Champions League title. Also nowadays most frequently used by teams like Athletico Madrid.
AC Milan attempted an ultra-defensive strategy to try to hold on to a 2-0 lead against Barcelona. They failed miserably. So why didn't it work for Milan?

First of all, let us define what is meant by 'park the bus'--->It's an ultra-defensive strategy, involving defending with nearly your entire team. You allow the other team possession, in exchange for occupying almost all available space in your defensive third, keeping the other team from creating any real chances at goal. 
Then you counter as fast as you possibly can. Generally, you counter using a fast winger or a target forward, like Ramires and Didier Drogba, without committing too many men forward.
'Parking the bus' isn't generally a recipe for a winning team, since you create very few chances for yourself, while allowing your opponent to continue trying to score. 
Even if all they get is five or six half-chances, that's better than your one or two. It usually forces teams to take outside shots or simply lob crosses into the box, chances that don't carry a good conversion rate, but if one goal in conceded the strategy is ineffective. So, why is this strategy employed mostly against teams like Barcelona?
Teams like Barcelona have dominated, and will continue to dominate, European football like no other club. They enjoy unprecedented success, brought on by a unique possession style of football, and employed by one of the greatest goal scorers and some of the most creative midfielders football has ever seen. 
This possession style restricts the opportunities opponents create; whist Barcelona simply feels for a seam in the opponents defence and quickly slices it open. That style creates the most deadly attack in the world, but also the most susceptible one to 'bus parking.'
Opponents regularly find themselves with the ball less than 30% of the time when playing the Catalans. It is hard to create chances when you only have the ball for 30% of the match. Barcelona maintain possession by passing up half-chances, only taking risks where the payoff is the greatest. 
When they don't have possession, they press high up the pitch, forcing the opponent into quick turnovers. They dominate teams that try to play them straight up because the other team can't advance the ball and higher defensive lines leave more gaps open in the back for Barcelona to exploit. 
So, they sit back, allow Barcelona a little more possession than they normally have anyway, and hit them on the break, the hardest situation to press and defend.
Barcelona struggle against defensive teams because their attack, generally, is one-dimensional. They short-pass teams to death, and finish chances with finesse shots at short range. This attack is precisely what parking the bus aims to stop. 
They force Barcelona to take long shots, something they're not especially good at. They force Barcelona to cross and win aerial battles, something they're even worse at. 
Barcelona responds by passing up these opportunities, passing the ball side-to-side until something opens up. Odds are, nothing does. So, they default to Messi and hope he'll create something. Chelsea kept him relatively quiet by playing with two central defensive midfielders, cutting off passing lanes unless he dropped deeper, so he ended up in less dangerous positions. That's a recipe for a blunted Barcelona attack.
Offensively, teams don't suffer simply because they don't lose anything. If they build up patiently, they often end up with no chance at all due to relentless pressure. The thought process is a handful of half-chances is greater than one real quality chance.

So what was so unique about Milan's bus? Honestly, nothing. What changed was Barcelona's approach. They played David Villa as a classic number nine (striker) for the first time in two years, to my knowledge. 
Instead of Messi playing striker and being boxed in by two centre-halves and two defensive midfielders, Villa stepped in and forced them to account for him. He played off the back line, pushing it back and creating more space underneath. Furthermore, they started Pedro out wide, who sticks to the touchline and draws out the fullback more, creating more space.

Debasis Pradhan

studies at KIIT University (2019)

54w ago

FIFA 15 has introduced a new tactic called “Park The Bus”, which many people automatically associate with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho. Unfortunately, I don’t think that this team tactic fully represents Mourinho’s setup.

Firstly: Mourinho doesn’t “park the bus” against every opponent. Instead, he chooses tactics that seek to nullify the strengths of his opponent. For example, it is extremely unlikely that Mourinho will play a defensive formation against a bottom-table side. In FIFA 15, playing “Park The Bus” against a lesser opponent will actually invite them into the game. They’ll have more time on the ball and they will begin to feel more relaxed.

Secondly, and more importantly, the “Park the Bus” tactic is an extremely risky move. You see, the problem with this tactic is that there is no offensive outlet. There is no path to a quick counter attack. So, unlike Mourinho’s team, you won’t actually provide much of an offensive threat. You’ll be pinned into your own half, your wingers will sit too deep and your striker will be left in a position that renders him useless. Basically, the “Park The Bus” tactic fails to take advantage of the opponent’s high defensive line.

Gabbar Singh

Football Fanatic

96w ago

Many people say that this phrase was first said by Jose Mourinho when he was Chelsea’s manager. He was describing a negative Tottenham team who played very defensively in a meeting between the two London clubs some years ago.To park the bus, means to play very defensively, to get a lot of players behind the ball, to have no attacking play. Imagine a bus parked in front of the goal. It is almost impossible to score, so people use ‘to park the bus‘ to mean one team was very negative, boring and defensive.

Subbu Narayanan

Football (not the American one) lover!

97w ago

This question can best be answered by the most famous ‘Bus Driver’ Jose Mourinho. He notoriously followed this technique against more fluid teams like Barcelona and Arsenal. Teams with a high defence line and a high tempo game would get frustrated by 7–9 Chelski players sitting in their own half and all of a sudden counter attack when the opposition is worn out.

Image borrowed from The Football Supernova

For football purists this is a very negative technique which brings the game to disrepute, while for Manager like Mourinho, Simeone and Conte, this is well within the rules of the game (of course it is) and they would do it again and again as long as it results in a win. Personally I hate it.

Alias Skaria

An avid follower of the game since '07.

95w ago

Usually weaker teams or teams that may not have the same attacking prowess of the opposition team adopt to this strategy. Teams park their bus against opposition teams to defend as a unit. Most of the time,9–10 players of these teams spend their time defending in their own half. The phrase first came to use during the 2011–12 champions league season when Chelsea FC parked their bus brilliantly to win the final against Bayern Munich. Spanish club Real Madrid also made use of the tactic under Jose Mourinho to make use of the pacey forwards they have ie Cristiano Ronaldo,Gareth Bale etc. So,some teams use this tactic according to the type of players they own. If a team has pacey players,they can sit back and defend against the opposition team and counter-attack using their forwards when they win the ball.

Rajender Gandham

Jack of all trades, Master of none.

204w ago

Parking the bus in football refer to very Agrressive Defensive play. Normally teams approach this method when they have a lead of 1 goal to defend or when they are playing first leg away in European competitions or the team is managed by mourinho. its not entertaining to watch but its a football tactic and part and parcel of the game..formation would be 4-5-1...4-5 being in their own half for the most of the time. forward players might get subbed off for defensive or high work rate midfielders later in the game.