In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield actor whose primary roles are to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposing team from scoring goals. Centre backs are normally in pairs, with two full-backs to their leave and right, but can come in threes with no full backs.
There are four types of defenders : centre-back, sweeper, full-back, and wing-back. The centre-back and full-back positions are essential in most modern formations. The sweeper and wing-back roles are more specialize for certain formations depending on the managers option of play and adaptation .
A centre-back ( besides known as a central defender or centre-half, as the modern role of the centre-back rise from the centre-half placement ) defends in the area directly in front of the goal and tries to prevent opposing players, particularly centre-forwards, from scoring. Centre-backs achieve this by blocking shots, tackling, intercepting passes, contesting headers and marking forwards to discourage the opposing team from passing to them .
The common 4–4–2 formation uses two centre-backs. With the ball, centre-backs are generally expected to make long and pinpoint passes to their teammates, or to kick unaimed retentive balls down the field. For exercise, a clearance is a hanker unaimed recoil intended to move the musket ball deoxyadenosine monophosphate far as possible from the defender ‘s finish. due to the many skills centre-backs are required to possess in the advanced game, many successful contemporary central-defensive partnerships have involved pairing a more physical defender with a defender who is quicker, more comfortable in possession and capable of playing the musket ball out from the rear ; examples of such pairings have included David Luiz, Gary Cahill, John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho with Chelsea, Sergio Ramos, Raphaël Varane or Pepe with Real Madrid, Nemanja Vidić and Rio Ferdinand with Manchester United, or Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Medhi Benatia with Juventus. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] During normal play, centre-backs are improbable to score goals. however, when their team takes a corner gripe or other laid pieces, centre-backs may move fore to the opponents ‘ punishment sphere ; if the musket ball is passed in the breeze towards a crowd of players near the goal, then the heading ability of a centre-back is useful when trying to score. In this sheath, other defenders or midfielders will temporarily move into the centre-back positions. Some centre-backs have besides been known for their address spare kicks and potent shots from distance. brazilian defenders David Luiz, Alex, and Naldo have been known for using the cannonball free-kick method acting, which relies more on ability than placement. In the advanced game, most teams employ two or three centre-backs in front of the goalkeeper. The 4–2–3–1, 4–3–3, and 4–4–2 formations all use two centre-backs. There are two main defensive strategies used by centre-backs : the zonal defense, where each centre-back covers a specific sphere of the flip ; and one-on-one score, where each centre-back has the subcontract of tracking a finical opposition musician. In the immediately disused man–to–man marking systems such as catenaccio, vitamin a well as the zona mista strategy that late arose from it, there were much at least two types of centre-backs who played aboard one another : at least one man–to–man marking centre-back, known as the stopper, and a free defender, which was normally known as the sweeper, or libero, whose tasks included sweeping up balls for teammates and besides initiating attacks. [ 3 ]
Sweeper ( libero ) [edit ]
The carpet sweeper ( or libero ) is a more versatile centre-back who “ sweeps up ” the ball if an opponent manages to breach the defensive line. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] This position is preferably more fluent than that of other defenders who man-mark their delegate opponents. Because of this, it is sometimes referred to as libero, which is italian for “ absolve ”. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] austrian coach Karl Rappan is thought to be a pioneer of this character, when he incorporated it into his catenaccio or verrou ( besides “ doorbolt/chain ” in French ) system with swiss club Servette during the 1930s, deciding to move one musician from midfield to a position behind the defensive line, as a “ last man ” who would protect the back-line and begin attacks again. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] As bus of Switzerland in the 1930s and 1940s, Rappan played a defensive carpet sweeper called the verrouilleur, positioned fair ahead of the goalkeeper. [ 10 ] During his time with soviet club Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev in the 1940s, Alexander Kuzmich Abramov besides used a player similar to a sweeper in his defensive tactic known as the Volzhskaya Zashchepka, or the “ Volga Clip. ” Unlike the verrou, his arrangement was not as flexible, and was a development of the WM preferably than the 2–3–5, but it besides featured one of the half-backs dropping deep ; this allowed the defensive centre-half to sweep in behind the full-backs. [ 11 ] In Italy, the libero position was popularised by Nereo Rocco ‘s and Helenio Herrera ‘s manipulation of catenaccio. [ 12 ] The current italian condition for this position, libero, which is thought to have been coined by Gianni Brera, originated from the original italian description for this role libero da impegni di marcatura ( i.e., “ free from man-marking tasks ” ) ; [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 13 ] it was besides known as the “ battitore libero ” ( “ unblock batter, ” in italian, i.e. a musician who was given the freedom to intervene after their teammates, if a musician had gotten past the defense, to clear the ball away ). [ 11 ] [ 14 ] [ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 ] [ 18 ] In italian football, the libero was normally assigned the number six shirt. [ 8 ] One of the first predecessors of the libero character in Italy was used in the so–called ‘ vianema’ system, a predecessor to catenaccio, which was used by Salernitana during the 1940s. The organization originated from an idea that one of the club ‘s players – Antonio Valese – posed to his coach Giuseppe Viani. Viani altered the English WM system – known as the sistema in Italy – by having his centre-half-back retreat into the defensive line to act as an extra defender and grade an opposing centre-forward, alternatively leaving his full-back ( which, at the time, was similar to the mod centre-back function ) free to function as what was basically a sweeper, creating a 1–3–3–3 geological formation ; he occasionally besides used a defender in the centre-forward function, and wearing the act nine shirt, to track back and mark the oppose forwards, thus freeing up the full-backs form their stigmatize duties. Andrea Schianchi of La Gazzetta dello Sport notes that this modification was designed to help smaller teams in Italy, as the man–to–man system often put players directly against one another, favouring the larger and wealthier teams with stronger individual players. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ]
In Italy, the libero is besides retroactively thought to have evolved from the centre-half -back function in the English WM system, or sistema, which was known as the centromediano metodista role in italian football jargoon, due to its association with the metodo system ; in the metodo system, however, the “ metodista ” was given both defensive and creative duties, functioning as both a ball–winner and deep-lying playmaker. Juventus coach Felice Borel used Carlo Parola in the centre-half role, as a player who would drop rear into the defense to mark opposing forwards, but besides start attacks after winning back self-control, in a alike manner to the sweeper, which led to the development of this specialize position. [ 23 ] [ 24 ] [ 25 ] [ 26 ] [ 27 ] indeed, Herrera ‘s catenaccio scheme with his Grande Inter side saw him withdraw a player from his team ‘s midfield and alternatively deploy them further-back in defense as a sweeper. [ 28 ]
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prior to Viani, Ottavio Barbieri is besides thought by some pundits to have introduced the sweeper role to italian football during his time as Genoa ‘s director. Like Viani, he was influenced by Rappan ‘s verrou, and made respective alterations to the English WM system or “ sistema ”, which led to his system being described as mezzosistema. His system used a man-marking back-line, with three man-marking defenders and a full-back who was described as a terzino volante ( or vagante, as noted at the time by former football player and Gazzetta dello Sport diarist Renzo De Vecchi ) ; the latter position was basically a libero, which was later besides used by Viani in his vianema system, and Rocco in his catenaccio arrangement. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] Though sweepers may be expected to build counter-attacking moves, and as such require better ball master and passing ability than typical centre-backs, their talents are often confined to the defensive kingdom. For exercise, the catenaccio arrangement of play, used in italian football in the 1960s, often employed a predominantly defensive carpet sweeper who chiefly “ roamed ” around the back line ; according to Schianchi, Ivano Blason is considered to be the inaugural true libero in Italy, who – under director Alfredo Foni with Inter and subsequently Nereo Rocco with Padova – would serve as the last man in his team, positioned deep behind the defensive telephone line, and clearing balls aside from the penalty area. Armando Picchi was subsequently besides a run exponent of the more traditional variant of this function in Helenio Herrera ‘s Grande Inter side of the 1960s. [ 11 ] [ 19 ] [ 33 ] [ 34 ] [ 35 ] The more modern libero possesses the defensive qualities of the distinctive libero while being able to expose the opposition during counterattacks by carrying or play the ball out from the back. [ 36 ] Some sweepers move forward into midfield, and distribute the ball up-field, while others intercept passes and get the ball off the opposition without needing to hurl themselves into tackles. If the sweeper does move up the field to distribute the ball, they will need to make a rapid recovery and run back into their military position. In modern football, its usage has been fairly restricted, with few clubs in the biggest leagues using the position .
The modern model of this side is most normally believed to have been pioneered by Franz Beckenbauer, and subsequently Gaetano Scirea, Morten Olsen and Elías Figueroa, although they were not the first players to play this position. aside from the aforesaid Blason and Picchi, earlier proponents besides included Alexandru Apolzan, Velibor Vasović, and Ján Popluhár. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] [ 38 ] [ 39 ] [ 40 ] [ 41 ] [ 42 ] Giorgio Mastropasqua was known for revolutionising the function of the libero in Italy during the 1970s ; under his Ternana coach Corrado Viciani, he served as one of the foremost advanced exponents of the place in the state, due to his unique technical characteristics, namely a player who was not only tasked with defend and protecting the back-line, but besides advancing out of the defense into midfield and starting attacking plays with their pass after winning back the testis. [ 14 ] [ 43 ] other defenders who have been described as sweepers include Bobby Moore, Franco Baresi, Ronald Koeman, Fernando Hierro, Miodrag Belodedici, Matthias Sammer, and Aldair, due to their ball skills, vision, and farseeing pass ability. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] [ 38 ] [ 44 ] Though it is rarely used in modern football, it remains a highly respected and demanding status. late and successful uses of the sweeper include by Otto Rehhagel, Greece ‘s coach, during UEFA Euro 2004. Rehhagel utilized Traianos Dellas as Greece ‘s sweeper to big success, as Greece became european champions. [ 45 ] [ 46 ] [ 47 ] For Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, brazilian international Lúcio adopted the sweeper function besides, but was besides not afraid to travel long distances with the ball, often ending up in the confrontation ‘s final third. Although this position has become largely disused in modern football formations, due to the consumption of zonal stigmatize and the offside trap, sealed players such as Daniele De Rossi, [ 48 ] Leonardo Bonucci, Javi Martínez and David Luiz have played a similar character as a ball-playing central defender in a 3–5–2 or 3–4–3 formation ; in accession to their defensive skills, their proficiency and ball-playing ability allowed them to advance into midfield after winning back possession, and function as a secondary coil playmaker for their teams. [ 48 ] [ 49 ] Some goalkeepers, who are comfortable leaving their goalmouth to intercept and clear through balls, and who broadly participate more in play, such as René Higuita, Manuel Neuer, Edwin van five hundred Sar, Fabien Barthez, Marc-André ter Stegen, Bernd Leno and Ederson, among others, have been referred to as sweeper-keepers. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] [ 52 ]
WM formation of the 1920s showing three fullbacks, all in fairly central positions The full-backs ( the left-back and the right-back ) take up the holding wide positions and traditionally stayed in defense at all times, until a set-piece. There is one full-back on each side of the field except in defences with fewer than four players, where there may be no full-backs and alternatively only centre-backs. [ 53 ] In the early decades of football under the 2–3–5 formation, the two full-backs were basically the same as modern centre-backs in that they were the last production line of defense and normally covered opposing forwards in the in-between of the field. [ 54 ] The late 3–2–5 style involved a one-third give defender, causing the leave and right full-backs to occupy wide-eyed positions. [ 55 ] Later, the adoption of 4–2–4 with another cardinal defender [ 56 ] led the broad defenders to play tied far over to counteract the opposing wingers and provide support to their own down the flanks, and the position became increasingly specialised for active players who could fulfil that function as opposed to the central defenders who remained reasonably electrostatic and normally relied on potency, stature and put .
In the modern game, full-backs have taken on a more assaultive function than was the shell traditionally, often overlapping with wingers down the flank. [ 57 ] Wingerless formations, such as the baseball diamond 4–4–2 formation, demand the full-back to cover considerable ground up and down the flank. Some of the responsibilities of mod full-backs include :
- Provide a physical obstruction to opposition attacking players by shepherding them towards an area where they exert less influence. They may manoeuvre in a fashion that causes the opponent to cut in towards the centre-back or defensive midfielder with their weaker foot, where they are likely to be dispossessed. Otherwise, jockeying and smart positioning may simply pin back a winger in an area where they are less likely to exert influence.
- Making off-the-ball runs into spaces down the channels and supplying crosses into the opposing penalty box.
- Throw-ins are often assigned to full-backs.
- Marking wingers and other attacking players. Full-backs generally do not commit to challenges in their opponents’ half. However, they aim to quickly dispossess attacking players who have already breached the defensive line with a sliding tackle from the side. Markers must, however, avoid keeping too tight on opponents or risk disrupting the defensive organization.[58]
- Maintaining tactical discipline by ensuring other teammates do not overrun the defensive line and inadvertently play an opponent onside.
- Providing a passing option down the flank; for instance, by creating opportunities for sequences like one-two passing moves.
- In wingerless formations, full-backs need to cover the roles of both wingers and full-backs, although defensive work may be shared with one of the central midfielders.
- Additionally, attacking full-backs help to pin both opposition full-backs and wingers deeper in their own half with aggressive attacking intent. Their presence in attack also forces the opposition to withdraw players from central midfield, which the team can seize to its advantage.[59]
due to the forcible and technical demands of their play position, successful full-backs need a wide crop of attributes, which make them suited for adaptation to other roles on the slope. Many of the game ‘s utility program players, who can play in multiple positions on the slope, are natural full-backs. A rather outstanding exemplar is the real Madrid full-back Sergio Ramos, who has played on the flanks as a full-back and in central refutation throughout his career. In the mod game, full-backs much bit in a fair share of assists with their runs down the flank when the team is on a counter-attack. The more common attributes of full-backs, however, include :
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- Pace and stamina to handle the demands of covering large distances up and down the flank and outrunning opponents.
- A healthy work rate and team responsibility.
- Marking and tackling abilities and a sense of anticipation.
- Good off-the-ball ability to create attacking opportunities for his team by running into empty channels.
- Dribbling ability. Many of the game’s eminent attacking full-backs are excellent dribblers in their own right and occasionally deputize as attacking wingers.
- Player intelligence. As is common for defenders, full-backs need to decide during the flow of play whether to stick close to a winger or maintain a suitable distance. Full-backs that stay too close to attacking players are vulnerable to being pulled out of position and leaving a gap in the defence. A quick passing movement like a pair of one-two passes will leave the channel behind the defending full-back open. This vulnerability is a reason why wingers considered to be dangerous are double-marked by both the full-back and the winger. This allows the full-back to focus on holding his defensive line.[60]
Full-backs rarely score goals, as they frequently have to stay back to cover for the centre-backs during corner kicks and free kicks, when the center backs normally go forward to attempt to score from headers. That said, full-backs can sometimes score during counterattacks by running in from the wings, frequently involving one-two pass moves with midfield players .
The wing-back is a version on the full-back, but with a heavier emphasis on attack. Wing-backs are typically used in a formation with 3 centre-backs and are sometimes classified as midfielders alternatively of defenders. They can, however, be used in formations with lone two centre-backs, such as in Jürgen Klopp ‘s 4–3–3 arrangement that he uses at Liverpool, in which the wing-backs play high up the field to compensate for a lack of width in attack. In the development of the mod game, wing-backs are the combination of wingers and full-backs. As such, this military position is one of the most physically demanding in advanced football. successful consumption of wing-backs is one of the main prerequisites for the 3–4–3, 3–5–2 and 5–3–2 formations to function effectively. Wing-backs are much more adventurous than full-backs and are expected to provide width, specially in teams without wingers. A wing-back needs to be of exceptional stamina, be able to provide crosses upfield and defend effectively against opponents ‘ attacks down the flanks. A defensive midfielder may be fielded to cover the advances of wing-backs. [ 61 ] It can besides be occupied by wingers and side midfielders in a three centre-back geological formation, as seen by ex- Chelsea and ex- Inter Milan director Antonio Conte. Examples of players who could and did play as wing-backs were AC Milan teammates Cafu and Serginho, Barcelona player Dani Alves, Roberto Carlos of Real Madrid ‘s Galácticos earned run average, erstwhile River Plate ‘s defender Juan Pablo Sorín, World Cup winning german Andreas Brehme, Parma ‘s legend Antonio Benarrivo, Angelo Di Livio of Juventus and Italy and former Corinthians, Arsenal & Barcelona star Sylvinho .