Look at the way Chelsea attacker Eden Hazard bamboozled defenders against Wigan and Reading. Do the backlines have as good a chance as they once did?
Attacking players flourish in the evolution of the modern game but defenders? Not quite…
Modern football, much pioneered by Barcelona and slowly implemented by others, capitalises on embellishing attacking midfielders and is defined by a passing game that affords a team’s creative players maximal touches on the ball. Gary Neville perceived just as much in his analysis of the weekend’s action on Monday Night Football; players of David Silva’s ilk now occupy positions on the pitch that are indefinable due to the fluidity of the style they are allowed and their function in the team.
These players are neither midfielders, they are too attack orientated to be such; nor wingers, as they tend to play narrower; nor are they forwards, as they sit deeper. Whilst a term for the position waits to be coined, their employment tactically allows the most potent players to take up positions in between defensive lines and to work the ball from the most dangerous positions. And for such systems to work a possession game is crucial in patiently opening up pockets of space for these commodities.
Whilst such attacking players are allowed to thrive, defenders have struggled to adapt accordingly to the passing evolution of modern football. Again, Gary Neville fixed on Wigan’s Ivan Ramis’ mistake for Chelsea’s first goal on Sunday. Eden Hazard sat deeper than the defensive line of Wigan’s back three with enough time to turn Ramis before setting up Ivanovic’s opener. Ramis was slow however to close down Hazard and his hesitation was much to do with the conflict between the instilled instincts of a defender to maintain a defensive line and the necessity to close down Hazard’s space.
The new positioning of players such as Hazard noticeably is challenging the very fundamentals of defending. Perhaps this is why Pep Guardiola demanded his attacking players to press the opposition high up the field to negate the need to overhaul the fundamentals in defenders’ mindset. As the use of attacking players becomes more commonplace, how long will it be before football creates new positions and systems defensively to oppose attacking forces?
Likewise, Liverpool’s central defenders looked uncomfortable in their first Premier League game under Brendan Rogers’ tactical regime. The importance of playing from the back in Rogers’ system saw Martin Skrtel dither in his own area with the ball before conceding a penalty after being dispossessed. The high line that possession football obliges left Agger unsure with the space behind him and saw him concede a penalty as well as being sent off. Last season we saw similar mistakes from David Luiz and John Terry for Chelsea under Andre Villas-Boas ascribed to their discomfort in being exposed by playing a high line that enlarges the vacant space behind them.
As the valued and desired traits of attacking players change, could it be that the attributes desired for defenders also evolve? Maybe, just as attacking football exudes a fluidity, teams and defenders need to similarly be variable and interchangeable in their defensive systems.
image: © jbj
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