I'm a new player (as far as organized teams go), and I am playing in the back on our team. My instincts all come from the playground when I was kid, so I have a tendency to venture upfield into space calling for the pass. I am probably more cut out to play in the midfield, but I'd like to sort out this position and get better at it rather than ask to be moved. First of all, I'd like to know when I should move upfield into space, and when I should stay put. Is it okay for one of us (we have 2 CB's on a 4-man back line) to venture upfield and have the other one cover, or is even that a no-no? Should I be supporting the offense as a drop-pass option, or is that the job of the d-mid? Should I ever even think of making overlapping runs? Is it the d-mid's job to cover the space I left? Also, if we get beat on the offside trap, what is the best way for me to recover and prevent the other team from making anything of it? If I am covering an opposition player who is streaking downfield with the ball, should I be forcing him to the outside or inside depending on certain circumstances? Similary, what do I do against a streaking player who doesn't have the ball but is my mark? Force them one way or the other? Give him space but stay close? Try to stay between him and the ball, or is that not the most important concern? Any other general things that a centerback should be concerned with? Drills? Conditioning? Little tricks? Any other situations that could be covered? Thanks for any info. - Paul
the most important thing is when you go to tackle, you tackle.. stay in front of your man, deny space and don't get beat . When marking someone without the ball, you need to balance A providing cover for teammates and denying your mark the ball. Always push attackers to the outside. Your first touch needs to be great because a mishandled pass can lead directly to a goal. A intercepted pass can do the same thing so you need to be able to pass the ball accurately as well as head for clearances. The most importnat thing physically to work on is speed over relatively short distances and leaping ability
Being a centerback has a lot to do with recovery speed and positioning. Try not to venture up the field unless you are sure you have cover and the opportunity arises for success in attack, but usually the mids will be able to support the attack better than you will. if you get beat on an offside trap, sprint back to the goal as quickly as possible, cutting off any angle to the goal from the attacker with the ball or try to get in position to defend the second most dangerous player (a player who is making a run or in a position to recieve the ball and score or shoot) As a centerback, anticipation is very important, do NOT overcommit, you are the last line of defense usually. if you dive in you'll look stupid, get beat or commit a foul. Footwork is very important, always keep your feet moving and be ready to pounce so you will arrive early in the tackle, not late. Lateral movements are important, shuffling as well as sprints from a turn and also backwards running too. If an attacker is dribbling at you with pace take him outside usher him towards your outside back or the line, the goal and other players they could pass to are in the middle, use the sideline or goal line as an extra player, force him towards the line, limit his options. Watch professional Centerbacks, like John Terry, Sami Hyypia, Jaap stam, or just more experienced players (MLS and college) it is a position that takes a lot of practice and patient play. Attacking for a centerback is best in the form of an accurate pass forward or to someone's feet...dribbling should be limited unless you have lots of space. goodluck.
Thanks for the replies. I've been working on sprints the past few days to increase my explosive power. I already have a good touch on the ball and am good at keeping possession. I practice my ball skills a lot, and also have some natural ability left from when I was younger. I am weak on winning headers, though. Not sure how to practice that by myself. I need to learn how to time my jumps better when contesting with another player. Or maybe also be more physical against him. Any tips? Good advice on pushing the player to the outside as much as possible. I am going to try to stay conscious of that in our next game. I think I'm also going to get our backs together and discuss that with them so we are all on the same page. I've been very good so far at not diving in on players, but I think I've been giving them too much space. What is a good rule of thumb for how close I should get up on a player with the ball? Thanks, - Paul
winning headers is all about timing, stength and some courage. you cannot be afraid to get up take one in the face and be knocked around in the air. to practice headers start simple...play games. To perfect them more and more you should get a friend (or a wall) and head the ball back to their hands over and over. repitition is key. Also if you have a wall...do a throw in and head the ball as high up and as far as possible. get a training partner to play header tennis...and play in matches...dont be afraid if the ball is high up on a punt too....just meet the ball...dont let the ball meet you. Practice makes perfect and heading is so important. just play man. good luck.
the answer depends on many factors. a couple: - are you faster than the forward? if so, you can play closer to him, because you can get back if he beats you or passes and tries to run past you. if you're slower, you may need to give more cushion so that you can ensure you keep him in front of you. as much as you want to tackle him, he can't beat you if you keep him contained, but you've got problems if he's behind you. so, this may vary from game to game as you size up your opponent and his speed. - do they already have the ball or are they just receiving it? the best time to pressure is before he gets the ball under control. if you can break up the pass to him or capitalize on his miscue as he's trapping it, your job is easy. once he's got it settled, the tackling job gets tougher. ideally you can play close enough that you can close down the distance during the time it takes the ball to get to him, but again maybe not if you don't have enough speed to take that kind of risk. - what kind of support do you have from your teammates and what are the numbers on the field? if you've got another central defender who is not marking anyone, you may have more leeway to pressure and take risks because there is someone behind you if you get beat. if that central defender is marking someone else, however, it's that much more important that you don't get beat. much of this depends on your coach and how he's trying to run your defense, so it's definitely a good idea to talk with him and your other defenders and make sure everyone is on the same page. good luck.
ok i've been playing centerback for a couple of years and made all-conference last year. i'll try to help you as much as possible by telling you what i do. ok i'm not the fastest kid in the world. i'm a bigger guy. by no means am i slow but i can't keep up with the faster forwards. when i'm in a one-on-one position with a forward, i'm always sure to be quite sideways when meeting them, that way if i get beat i can quickly turn to recover. also don't stab. nothing looks worse as a defender than when you poke at the ball, get beat, and the other team scores. as centerback, basically any mistake that you make can directly lead to a goal. needless to say, there's quite a bit of pressure on us. when you do get beat, hustle back as hard as you can. even if you don't get back in front of the attacker, many times your sheer presence around him can make him make a mistake (i.e. miss a shot). also it never hurts to play physical. don't be afraid to body up on set up and battle for balls in the air. try to do it legally though . trust me, that forward will think twice about going up for a header if you challenge him in the air and knock him down. lastly, there is an appropriate time for tackling. don't try to tackle if the attacker has the ball right at his feet. wait for the player to take a dribble then block the ball with your foot on the upper half of the ball. if you block it on the lower half, it will pop over your foot and you'll get beat. welp that's all that i've got. hope it helps you out.
The two most important parts of being a center half: 1. Positioning 2. Organization If you are able to keep yourself in the correct positions, you eliminate half the need to be the as fast as the striker. The others around you need to be organized by you. You can't have your left back wandering around and be expected to wholly fulfill your duties. If you want to see how a real center half plays, check out John Terry of Chelsea, Jamie Carragher of Liverpool. Both are great organizers and have great positional sense. Neither are great athletes, nor are they the most skilled players at their position. Yet they were both named to the EPL Team of the Year. As for other recommendations: If your mark is a skillful, quick little guy, make sure you get a good kick on him in the first 5 minutes somewhere out around midfield. He will want to start shading over to the wing more and more, and your job has become easier. If it is a big, strong center forward, be as physical as possible. They will use themselves as a battering ram, but they hate having it thrown back in their face. NEVER, and I repeat, NEVER let your mark turn if you are on his back. Constantly talk. This goes hand in hand with organizing. The game is so simple if you talk your way through it.
Thanks for all the great advice, guys. I feel like a little kid at camp, heh. I still have this bad habit of venturing up into the midfield to fill up space vacated by our out-of-position midfielders in the last 30 minutes or so of every match. The attacking mid acts like a forward, and our d-mid keeps floating out to the wings, and our wings are too scared to ever come into the middle, and our forwards never track back. Very frustrating. They keep leaving us exposed to counter-attacks after counter-attack. We do a good job of pushing up, though. We must have gotten 10 offside calls last game. We've been playing a flat back-4 and a diamond midfield, but we are going to switch to a flat midfield to try to get the middies to be more disciplined. Do any of you ever have experiences like this with a bad midfield, where you feel like you need to push up into the midfield to fill up space? How do you handle those situations where from your 18 to the opponents 35, there is just no one on your team filling up space? And the rest of your backs are too tired to push up with you to keep the line intact? Do you venture upfield, or do you stand your ground? - Paul
That's what you need to control as a centerback. Besides the goalie, the centerbacks are the only ones that can clearly see what's going on everywhere on the pitch. You have to be very vocal, and make sure the DM is protecting you in front of you, the fullbacks are in the right position, and whatnot. There's a reason why centerbacks end up becoming captains or coaches. If you can do that, there really is no reason for you to move up to fill in a position. If you get beat venturing up and concede a goal, the blame's gonna be on you. If you at least try to direct the player around you and you concede a goal because a teammate didn't listen to you, then you can at least prove to other players that they need to listen to you. I play left back for my college and we've been having problems with extremely quiet centerbacks. As a co-captain, I usually end up directing players around me, but you can only do so much from one corner. I'd love to play centerback, but I'm such an aggressive player my coach is afraid that I'll give the other team 5 penalties a game. So yeah, practice yelling at your teammates.
Thank god somebody finally said something about being vocal. When giving advice people tend to forget that a players voice is probably one of the best tools. I grew up playing sweeper and my coaches always made me talk. I talked all game long, instructing halfbacks, forwards and fullbacks about what was going on around them (where they couldn't see it) and what I was doing. Before high school some people thought it was awkward to hear all of it. When I get to high school and college my coaches loved the fact that I talked that much. If you see that space, call back one of your halfbacks or if the situation permits, move up into the space yourself, but tell the halfbacks and your other backs that you are doing it and where you are. The halfbacks can't see behind them so they have no idea they have you there as an outlet. All situations are different, which you eluded to, so no one answer is going to give you everthing you need. I agree with pushing the attacker to the outside and not overcommitting. Nothing is worse than seeing a defender stab at the ball and watching the guy go right by him. As for recovery, your first instinct should be a direct sprint back to the center of the goal. When starting, see where the attacker is and determine if you can get a better angle to intercept or force a pass.
Thanks for the reminder on being vocal. I have a tendency to be a sarcastic ************** and mostly just a kibitzer. I usually only speak up after the fact. So I need to step up with talking, almost make it a constant habit, and need to work on being more diplomatic with my word choice. What are some styles in which you guys communicate to your players? Do you yell at them like you are their father? The thing with our team is that we are a bunch of thirty-year-olds, and I am still learning my position. I have no moral problem with yelling, but I don't feel confident enough in my play yet to take on that leadership role. I'd prefer to be a bad-ass first, then the yelling has a foundation. I guess I don't have that luxury. - Paul
The word I would use is "instructive". Your trying to instruct your fellow players with things that they might (or cannot) see, not order them around necessarily. For example, if someone has the ball on the left midfield, tell him his options. Yell over that he has "square right" or "support behind" or where he's getting the pressure from, "man on your back", etc. You get the idea. Skipping ahead a lot, once your players get comfortable with your instructions then you can provide more "forceful" (for lack of a better term) directions. That's how I developed my style. The first things I ever learned as a sweeper were "Up" and "Stay". My defenders learned that when they heard "up" they took a quick look around and then started moving up. "Stay" meant to stop dead in their tracks. I used these mainly for offsides traps. After awhile it all became second instinct to everyone when they heard me yell. Once your players learn to trust your instructions, things will become second nature. Again, this is only my style.
Bright, I know this reply is going to be short, but if you listen to it i guarentee you will be alot more comfortable as a player when playing centre back. Basically just think in your mind the two keys words when playing in this difficult position......'man' and 'ball'. If you can see both your man (oppositions striker) and the match ball, whether it is out of the corner of your eye or whatever, you will automaticaly have an advantage over the oppositions striker as this will make your starting position alot more comfortable and a lot less harder to get to grips with. These two words will make your position alot more comfortable and easier to handle TRUST ME on this one and you will be fine...... Good luck with your season anyway though mate, WadeHunter15
When playing as a partnership you need to compliment each other's strengths and work out each other's weaknesses so you can cover for them. For example if one of you is tall and strong and the other shorter but quicker, the taller CB could be told to go for aerial balls, with the shorter of the two sweeping in behind as cover. Individual ability is important, but defending is about working as a unit, be it a back 3, 4 or 5. Also a tip on winning the ball, try to read the game and anticipate the attacker's next move. The reciever of the ball is at his most vulnerable as he controls the pass - if you can nip in and knock the ball away as the striker gets it then attempt to do so as it's the best chance you'll get. It's alot easier for the forward to beat you with skill once he has the ball under control. That said, never over commit or you could end up left for dead - judgement is important when intercepting/tackling but this will only come with match practice. Oh and finally, don't be afraid to play DIRTY. I don't care what anyone says about it being wrong, all top defenders do it. I don't mean go in two-footed to break the guy's legs, but if you've got a tricky forward giving you a hard time hit him with one crunching tackle to let him know you're around. Guaranteed he'll be less confident when taking you on next time round. When marking/heading the ball, give your man a little push or a tug on his shirt to unsettle him - it's against the rules but I can say for certain that there's not a top-level defender in the world that hasn't used these tactics before so there's no reason you shouldn't. And as a player who usually finds himself in attacking positions alot, I should know that these are usually quite effective Hope that helps
If I am covering an opposition player who is streaking downfield with the ball, should I be forcing him to the outside or inside depending on certain circumstances? --Don't force inside, you are only helping the striker (who should want to go towards the middle anyways). If you are outside of him, forcing him in, you're in trouble. Similary, what do I do against a streaking player who doesn't have the ball but is my mark? Force them one way or the other? Give him space but stay close? Try to stay between him and the ball, or is that not the most important concern? --Seeing as you're in the center, you are sort of the general. Either tell a defender to take him, or take him yourself directing the defender to drop back and cover. Any other general things that a centerback should be concerned with? Drills? Conditioning? Little tricks? Any other situations that could be covered? --Just always be aware of who is around you. We strikers like to be sneaky.
I know how to at least play centerback as opposed to sweeper ^o^ (see my thread and help me out please?) When you're the last line of defense, even thinking about wandering out of position is suicidal. In higher levels, it's all about keeping in position, containment, and defending patiently. If any fullback's gonna be making upfield streaks, it should be the outside backs. You can of course move to provide a drop option for a middy in trouble, but positioning is key. Against better teams that move the ball FAST, if you're caught out of position your other center back is gonna chew your arse out for leaving him stranded. Idk... my thoughts on the matter.