I just joined up with a newly formed team. We've played two games and, for the first time, I've gotten "stuck" at center back. It kinda completes the cycle, as it's the only position I've never played. I really kind of dislike it, I don't get to attack enough.But the "team player" in me wants to do the best I can with it. The angles are different, the pace of the game is different, the pressure is different, and obv. the responsibilities are diff. Maybe I'll just bomb forward when the opportunity presents itself, like Beckenbauer back in the day. The team is still in that formative stage where, while everyone is a decent player, we have no cohesion. Our style isn't defined yet, I'm trying to play possession and others want to play direct ( a general example). We got spanked by an older but more "together" team. We're rotating through positions, although I got two extended shifts at CB which was noticeable because it was new for me. Now I can understand better why it's so much harder to play out of the back than to just boot it. When no one is checking back or no one is moving to give you passing lanes-it's very difficult as it is anywhere on the field , but in the back if you make a mistake you're exposed.
I believe that playing anywhere in the defence is the hardest position in football. There is so much to consider, positioning, tackling, marking.. It's tough. It takes time to adapt. It took me around 3 years before I felt comfortable playing at full back. Good luck to you I say, fingers crossed you'll adapt and play well.
God willing our "manager" sees more use for me creating/finishing from midfield or up top. But whatever the team needs at this point. It's frustrating having everything in front of you for a change and seeing these young lads make a mess of things.
The good thing is at our age (I'm 30), we've got experience on our side. And playing up top before you have a good idea of what the attacker is going to do. I often get stuck playing CB but since my preferred position is DCM it's not that huge of a step for me.
Beckenbauer and Carlos Alberto when they attacked the idea for them was to get the final pass after the build up for an open shot. They did do the longer overlap from the middle to around the wing backs. They also interchange their positions starting with the stopper if they played with a stopper or with the defensive mid and kept moving in the flow of play until they were in a positiion to take that final shot. Main thing is someone took over their position when they did attack.
This is the difference in playing a back and playing a striker. A striker can fail 99 percent of the time. then he scores and you win. He maybe named man of the match. A back can be successful 99 percent of the time. Then he makes one mistake that let's in a goal. He can be the goat of the game.
So true. Nick, thanks for the insight on Beckenbauer. What about Baresi or Matthaus? How did they play? I know I'm asking about sweepers and not really center backs, but like I mentioned I'd like to join the attack when the opportunity presents itself. So to be Beckenbauer-esque, follow the play into the midfield and present for the final ball if the play is there?
One of the key things with those guys is that their team knew how they played and how to adjust if they made a barn storming run from the back. You got to make sure your team understands when to cover you. When I played CB a few seasons ago I played with a guy whom I actually used to coach, which was nice because I knew how he played. He was the more offensive minded CB when we played together so when he pressed up to join the attack I had to be really aware of where their forwards were and where my wing backs/mids were to make sure we weren't to opened up. It required a lot of communication, especially at first (where I faced many attacks where we were outnumbered)
One of the most common ways center backs push forward into the attack is in transition. If you watch Lucio, or even Geoff Cameron in MLS, you'll notice that their opportunities to bomb forward usually begin when they intercept a pass 10-15 yards ahead of their own defensive line. This probably means anticipating a ball being played into the space in front of you, and going for it if you can get there before your opponent. If you can get to the ball first, you will leave that first guy in the dust, because your momentum will be carrying you forward while his momentum is taking him right past you. From there, you have both the space and the momentum to either carry on dribbling or try to find a one-two to beat the next man. The danger, of course, is that you have to know you can pick off the pass. If you don't, it's not worth the risk of letting someone get in behind you with the ball. It's all about anticipation.
Good stuff. The team is new and I'm paired with a much slower partner(s) so I have to be careful. It's a good point about intercepting passes though. If I can, then one or two touches could conceivably take me into the middle third of the pitch. Out of habit, I'm always looking for that killer ball but, as a CB, I'm thinking simply releasing it to our midfielders is just as effective? From a coaching standpoint, it's great insight into what I'll be asking my own players to do. What makes their life hard/easy? How can they be more like playmakers from their position?
Yep, if that ball gets messed up for whatever reason you may have just opened up a big counter attack possibility. Midfeilders have the luxury of knowing their defense (that's you now ) are back to cover for their mistakes.
Friend on my team has just moved back to this position and he loves it because of the time and space he gets on the ball. He was a youth international a few years ago but never had the motivation to stay away from other things of the field. He used to play sweeper in that time. He organises the defence very well pushing the defence up to pressure at the right time and then once the ball is won back getting the defence to drop of into space, if the play is to tight he receives the ball back in loads of space and dictates from there. However playing in a newly formed team would be hard, I couldnt do it, would definitely be to frustrating for me to play
The most frustrating thing is that the other people who usually play outside back, don't really have a clue on how to play defense as a unit. They are playing it 1v1. I think since we don't practice together, the offside trap is out of the question and the covering defender just has to sit really deep. It's really conservative, but until we get things sorted out I think it's better than being exposed.
Question about CB position. Last night the other team had one dangerous forward who positioned himself like an attacking mid (not the high forward, not a central midfielder), so he was like a withdrawn forward. At times he would be really deep into the midfield. Would you just have me, as the CB, just follow him deep into midfield and try to deny him the ball? Or sit back in our flat back four. As I've said, we're still new together so we're not passing off as well as we should.
Depends a bit on your opposition and your own team as well. If you already have a CF with you and the other CB, then maybe it would expose your defence a bit too much. If you have a strong defensive midfield where you can just pack him in then you could leave him to them. It's a bit of a matter if you dare stepping up or not, but still very much tactics. This is not something that anyone can give a definitive answer on, atleast not on the info that we, on this forum, have. This is something the team needs to agree on, in how you do it. Though I see you guys have a problem with your gameplan already. I guess that you sat back in the back-four yesterday, how did that work? What were the concequenses and weaknesses of that in your opinion?
These are team tactics choices. If I was the coach, I would say no to the first question. Don't chase him out of position. He destroys the zone defense then by simply making a run. As for the second question, it depends on the situation. What system are they using. How well do your other backs match up against their attacking players. What system are you using (particularly in midfield). If they were playing a 442 for instance, I would switch to a 3 back defense to free up a defensive midfielder before I would consider moving you (I assume you are the strongest CB) out of position. I would switch from a 4 man zone to a 4 man modified zone before sending you out of position. Now if I am the CB and the most dangerous attacking player retreats toward his half, the simple answer to my mind to that tactical situation is to push the back line up the field to match him forcing the other forward to retreat up the field. That is the simplest way to preserve your team's shape and takes away the space between the lines for this attacker to exploit. I am pretty sure this is what he is doing. Stretching you out to create space for him to exploit between the lines.
I play this position of the attack and I love to see the defender follow me out when I drift around. When I see my defence do this I always have arguments over it. Dont break the defensive line, its what the opposition wants. Another thing is watching the defence drift across the pitch at simple things like throw in's. Really grates me to see our side back playing as a centre back. Good teams expose space with a quick switch of play
Lots of questions here. What type of formation is your team playing? Who is expected to bring the ball out of the back, if you play that style? All I can say is, if you chose to play the sweeper format, the defense will be exposed on the wings frequently. If you play a flat back, the weakness will be in the middle of the field. Look at the players that you have, and try building a strategy around that. The other part of playing CB is having to be vocal. If you are responsible for plugging holes, you have to have your players lined up correctly. Hope that helps!
Interesting topic this. I played my first game in three years, this weekend, at left-back. I played left-back as a semi-pro, but had a torrid time on Sunday. I then realized that there was no defensive line, and we weren't working as a unit. Also, the wings weren't assisting, and when I moved to wing for a while, I kept wanting to defend. I was trying to hold a defensive line, but the other players didn't seem to stick to that. Back when I played a few years ago, I captained and made sure we stuck together as a unit. This was just chaos. What gets me though, is that these players have better control than me, and quick passing, but my positioning and knowledge is far better. There was a major language barrier, and my body doesn't feel up to attacking much anymore. I think it's time I move to CB perhaps...
One thing that I'm discovering, especially with a rotating cast of defenders around me but the better the back players are as attacking players, the better our overall attack is. It's night and day between the players that can only defend and lump it up, versus essentially having midfielders back there with me.
I believe playing CB or Sweeper is a great opportunity for you. You get to watch/see the game being played. You will HAVE to COMMUNICATE to your defense and midfield nearly the entire match. Constant dialogue is key in this role as CB. Once you take control of your own defenders and mid fielders defensively, defending as a unit, you should be able to anticipate/pick up your opponents passing rhythm or style. This will enable you to intercept their passes which in turn may allow to you break out with the ball at your feet. A few quick give and go's should then allow you to have a chance at goal.
Absolutely. I felt it validated rotating players through positions. What I'm getting out of it is real, practical experience on what the position really entails—the relevant skills, the reading of the game, the pacing, the opportunities and I can relate that much better to the players I coach. Also finding that, if the back line is solid, there is still a real danger from midfielders cracking shots from distance. Yeah, I always knew that, but it's extremely frustrating when you've done your job with the strikers but you can't be in two places at once.
it's really not that bad a position once you get used to it. i was basically in the same position as you. even though i have long played as a winger, i started playing cb/sweeper late in life for a coed team. no, you don't get to go up as often as you like. but, there are a lot of very satisfying things about the position. 1. being stuck in the back doesn't mean you can't shape the attack. the right pass to the right player sets up shots/goals 2-3 passes later. i love when opponents drift to one side, and i spot one of my wingers wide open. boom. and he/she is off to the races. or i spot a teammate with good skills who has made space for him/herself. basically, it's very enjoyable being the deep deep deep lying playmaker. 2. it's tremendously satisfying to take the ball off of a cocky forward. any forward, actually. midfielders, too. 3. say what you will about booting the ball away. (i don't always boot it away, but) it's very satisfying when you see the ball getting lobbed over your middies, but you spot your winger open on the flank and you one-touch a 40-yard pass to him/her.