It’s not often that we get to witness a truly generational centre back partnership in football. One of them might not have the skills to complement his partner or the duo might not get along well. But Manchester United were blessed with the mercurial duo of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić, two defenders with contrasting traits who dovetailed perfectly with each other. The duo formed the bedrock of one of the most dominant sides in Europe.
May 2008, United beat Chelsea in the Champions League final in an enthralling penalty shoot-out to lift their third European cup. The centre back duo of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić were instrumental in the triumph. Manchester United conceded just 6 goals from 13 games against some of the best teams in Europe.
As a young kid who was just getting the hang of football, I always had an interesting conundrum, which one of the two was better? The prevailing opinion at the time was Nemanja Vidic. It seemed to be true by all means, Vidic was as hard as nails, an uncompromising defender by trade, he absolutely slaughtered anything that came through the midfield. But as my understanding of the game gradually improved my stance on the debate has changed.
The problem with quality defending is that it’s hard to identify when it’s happening. Defenders making sliding tackles, getting their shorts dirty and playing the hard man often steal the limelight from the more passive defenders who read opposition play beforehand to position themselves well and only put in a challenge when it’s inevitable.
The sight of Sergio Ramos making a crunching challenge or a perfectly executed sliding tackle by Matthijs de Ligt lights up our eyes, it’s something fans watching the game will definitely spot however most fans don’t dissect the decision taken by the player. Was the challenge called for? What were the other options available to the player? Did he make the best decision?
Johan Cruijff once said “How much space must I defend? If I have to defend this whole garden, I’m the worst. If I have to defend this small area, I’m the best”, he elucidated defending as a matter of defending spaces rather than marking an opponent. It’s a sentiment echoed by former AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini who once said “If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake”, the quote characterizes the modus operandi of the great defender who relied on his abilities to read the game and close out time and space more often than his ability to make a challenge. It’s less about the gesture of the tackle alone and more about positioning and reading the situation.
We are all great analysts when it comes to interpreting the tangibles (The actions that happen on the ball) but spotting and comprehending the intangibles (The actions that happen off the ball) requires a little more awareness. The naive football fan notices the events that occur around the ball. But to the more inquisitive, there’s a different game taking place.
At any given time in a football game, a footballer must be a part of any one of the four phases of the game namely, on-ball offence, on-ball defence, off-ball offence and off-ball defence. On-ball defence can be quantified reasonably using statistics and numbers however, off-ball defence is much harder to assess. Defending space, decision making, tactical awareness, positioning, awareness of space and players, aggression and coordination are some of the aspects of a players game that statistics can’t quantify. Let’s take a look at some of these aspects with a few comprehensible examples.
Defending Spaces:
Defending is all about restricting space and time for the opposition, Teams usually prioritize protecting certain spaces while defending. Teams prioritize protecting the central spaces followed by the halfspaces and wings. The prioritization is based on the fact that the central spaces are the closest to the goal.
A popular saying in football is that the sidelines are an extra defender, by pinning the opposition attacker to the sidelines; territory (the amount of space in control of the opposition relative to the location of the ball on the pitch) and offensive options can be minimized.
In this example here, Leeds United lose the ball in a sequence of possession, but the players immediately close in on the Huddersfield player, pinning him to the sideline, denying him space to run and making use of cover-shadows to block the passing options available to him. The player surrenders possession and Leeds win back the ball high up the pitch.
Awareness:
Former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger once said “I have lost many top players because their head was on the ball and they were not seeing what was around them. Great players isolate themselves from the ball, their head is like a radar.”
Wenger believes a player’s ability to collect, interpret, and act on information is vital to a players success awareness of space, teammates, opponents aids decision-making and execution. Scanning is a non-negotiable skill for all footballers. In the example here the winger is looking to cross the ball to his teammate near the penalty spot. Raphaël Varane scans his surroundings and is well aware of the opponent’s position, his awareness aids him to make a simple interception.
Decision Making:
Decision making refers to the choice of course action in a given match situation, each decision carries an element of risk, with the end goal being to minimize the risk. A player’s decision making is affected by his tactical ability among various other situations. A very important factor that affects decision making among players is “time”. In defensive phases, a defender has less time to make decisions when the opposition applies relentless pressure and plays with a high tempo employing a lot of quick breaks. Clément Lenglet is a quintessential example of a defender who struggles when he doesn’t have time to make decisions. In standard situations, Lenglet is a very competent defender but his decision making is suboptimal in situations where he doesn’t have time to make them. Good decision making is an imperative trait for defenders who play in a high line.
Positioning:
Positioning is another key aspect in a defenders’ game, by positioning himself well at all times, the centre back must make sure that he doesn’t allow opposition players time and space. Good positioning also aids the team in the build-up phase, increasing options for the midfielders. Elite centre backs anticipate patterns of play before they develop.
In the example here Virgil van Dijk is in a one-on-one situation with Kylian Mbappé who has a lot of space on either side to exploit but Van Dijk remains composed during the entire run up until the end. By keeping enough distance and not diving into a challenge, he diverts Kylian Mbappé away from the goal and delays him just enough for his teammates to recover. He stays with Mbappe right till the end forcing him to take a shot from a difficult angle. The sequence of events goes into the stats as a block, but it’s one that’s executed immaculately.
Measuring Aggression:
Aggression is not to be confused with reckless behaviour or playing with anger, in the context of defending in football aggression is “the frequency with which a defender puts in challenges”. Defenders should avoid putting in unnecessary challenges and giving away cheap fouls in the process of doing so. 24% of all goals scored in La Liga come from set pieces and penalties, it’s imperative that defenders measure their aggression to perfection to avoid unnecessary fouls in and around the box and minimize the risk of being booked or getting sent off.
Coordination and Communication
In the modern game, where teams try to minimize the space in the midfield by moving the defensive line forward, the coordination and communication between the defenders, holding midfielder and goalkeeper is critically important. The space between the last line of defense and the goalkeeper increases as a result of this forward movement. The goalkeeper and defenders must communicate and coordinate to cover the space behind them. Communication is also key to maintain the defensive line and play the offside trap.
The role of the modern centre back in an era where football is moving towards a more analytical, systematic and sterile game has definitely changed but the fundamentals remain the same, it’s all about time and space.
The best defenders not only stand out in terms of the execution but also in terms of positioning themselves, awareness of forward runs and movements, the positioning of teammates and opponents, anticipating play patterns and identifying potential threats. “The ability to make a good tackle separates a good defender from the rest but the awareness and the ability to time his challenges to perfection separates the best from the good”.
