Parking the bus refers to the defensive play of all the players in a team. This often happens when the team wants to put the game to a draw or tries to defend their goalpost to prevent the other team from scoring as the gap is only by a narrow margin. This term was coined during a match against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in 2004.
How Parking the Bus is Played?
Parking the bus is a technique that was made famous by Jose Mourinho, a Portuguese football manager. This type of technique is often used by several European football clubs, including Real Madrid and Chelsea that have earned them several successes. According to statistics, this style of play has won Mourinho trophies and championships.When players try parking the bus technique, this would mean that they are building a super defensive wall while at the same time maintain the possession of the ball. While others choose to widen their areas and play offensively, this style of playing is more on not taking any chances that can provide the opposing team an opportunity to get the ball. As much as possible, the defenders will keep hold of the ball as much as they can by not giving it away easily to its opponent. They make sure that when passing the ball to the midfielders, the opposing team will not find an opening to possess the ball.
Once the team decides to perform the parking the bus technique, both the central defenders and midfielders play a huge role in determining its success. These players are the ones responsible for making sure that the ball goes as soon as it is in their possession.