Until the 1930s, a common tactic in football was the so-called pyramid of Cambridge, which is a 2-3-5 in the shape of inverted pyramid that had its apex in the Keeper.
Pozzo and Meisl developed the idea of an array with two defenders as full-backs and a player in a central position in front of the defence, between the two half-backs, who effectively functioned as a central or defensive midfielder.