The role of the modern fullback, or an outside defender, revolutionized soccer and how teams play.
When fans and pundits discuss positions on a soccer team, some get more feedback than others. Forwards, wingers and sometimes midfielders receive praise for goals. Goalkeepers are heroes with good performances or enemies when they make mistakes.
The soccer position that is often overlooked is fullback.
the modern game
What is important to realize is that soccer has been moving into a modern era for several years. Teams used to field slow, physically imposing and tough back fours. Height and strength were a desired trait at the top in addition to defense. The teams would then ‘kick and chase’, so to speak. It’s an entertaining, albeit ugly, show. A duel of physical prowess with the rare dash of quick finesse.
Technical players were common, but not the dominant force. Each team had one or two technical operators to increase the raw physical strength of their rosters.
What we see now is a far cry from this outdated style of gameplay. Teams tend to play in a much more possession-based style. This favors technically composed talents over physically imposing players who are often not as technically adept. Sure, some teams still use a more physical approach and have a good reputation for it. For example, West Ham United are a ‘meatless’ side. Fans associate the Hammers with using set pieces to get results.
But at the top level of European football, possession-based play is dominant.
The speed of play is what makes this style so devastating. One and two touch quick passes can open up a team. Suddenly, there are spaces for the attacking team to play. Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid use this formula with such success. That is why they are the best teams of the last decade. They turn the pass, the technicality and the speed into a devastating attack.
The role of a fullback in modern football
Fullbacks are a great aspect of this style of play. They provide the width and nowadays also a midfield outlet. Depending on the type of team they line up against, full-backs can be deployed in a number of ways. In some cases, they are actually the most versatile position on the field.
Take Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as an example. City usually play in a 4-3-3 formation, with four flat defenders. And when they’re defensive, it looks exactly how you’d imagine a 4-3-3 should look. However, when it is in possession is when the real change happens.
João Cancelo, the left-back, and Kyle Walker, the right-back, drop to midfield positions. They are now a pass out for any player in possession. The two central midfielders in front of the holding midfielder, usually İlkay Gündoğan or Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, have a license to move. They can stay wide. Or, they can run after the opposition. This creates overloads on the wings. Manchester City create numerical advantages in relatively obscure parts of the pitch that overwhelm the opponents’ outside defenders.
Meanwhile, they don’t leave the midfield exposed on the counter. The two outside full-backs tucked into midfield are technical enough to keep possession and move forward. At the same time, they are defensive-minded and quick enough to avoid a counter attack the other way. Works like a charm. City dominates possession and does not allow the opposing team to break the pressure and go on the counter.
Preparing for the attack
Another great example of the modern use of the fullback in football is Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Left-back Andrew Roberston and right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold are two of the most productive attacking players in the world. In their Premier League careers, Robertson has provided 53 assists and Trent Alexander-Arnold 45. The numbers rise even higher when looking at European and cup competitions, where Liverpool have had great success under Klopp. Practically once in every three games, they each get an outside assist. It is really remarkable.
Why is his attack output so high? The way Liverpool play is the complete opposite of Manchester City’s use of their full-backs. Liverpool also play a variation of a 4-3-3 formation. Also in the City line, the formation is evident when the Reds defend. However, when Liverpool attack, the wingers pinch to basically become right and left forwards. The bands prowl outside Luis Díaz and Mohamed Salah with overlapping careers. The 4-3-3 briefly becomes a 2-3-5.
This allows external backups time and space to attack consistently. Together, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold shoot accurate crosses into a narrower front three. Díaz, Salah and Darwin Núñez look forward to their lavish deliveries rather than taking on defenders wide alone. Of course, both Salah and Diaz have the ability to do that, which explains Liverpool’s exceptional talent in attack.
In short, more space across to run and cross, and more bodies in the box to be on the receiving end of crosses. It is simple and incredibly effective.
The era of fullbacks
Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich, Nuno Mendes and Hakimi at PSG, Carvajal and Ferland Mendy at Real Madrid, Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot at Manchester United, these full-backs are all used in a variety of modern ways, very different from the style of outdated and stagnant game. wingers in the past.
Keep an eye out for fullbacks as the game continues to evolve. Often neglected in conversation, you will begin to realize that, in reality, the use of full-backs in a team’s style of play is, in most cases, the defining factor in how that team plays and the success or the lack of success it achieves.
Full backs rejoice, they are no longer overlooked.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Sportimage
