Football’s Evolution – The Modern Full Back

As the game evolves our methods and understanding of the roles of players and positions must change with it. In this series of articles we have looked at the changing role of the forward, midfield, central defender and tactical changes which have come in to the game this past decade. Coaches are forever seeking to find ways to overcome and succeed, with their jobs and reputation dependent on it. In this article we will assess the changing role of the ‘full back’ and discuss the importance and future of this role.

As a villain of the media Andre Villas-Boas during his time at Spurs was often criticised for this use inverted wingers and a resultant lack of ‘width’ and crosses from his side. It was pointed that this was a key area for Spurs lack of form, points and goals. Not this wasn't the case, yet perhaps it was the negative perception of Villas-Boas which led to this kind of criticism. 

This past decade there has been a general move to inverted wingers across all of Europe’s top leagues. Villas-Boas was not doing anything wrong, he was simply seeking to replicate what the successful sides were doing. 

The classic winger

The role of the winger has changed markedly since the 1990’s. In the era of Nedved and Giggs it was about beating your man and delivering the ball, for Beckham it was about precision crossing. The tricky winger, or the expert crosser were what the wide man was. 

As the 2000’s dawned on the winger became a different type of player. Thierry Henry was one of those who used the role as an inside forward in his time at Arsenal. Ronaldinho ran at the heart of sides from wide areas when at Barca, Robben excelled playing from the right. The emergence of Ronaldo and Messi came from their freedom to drive inside with the ball and look to score goals. 

The winger became the goalscorer, no longer merely the assister. This changed the landscape of the game and how teams functioned and ultimately defended. Players who drive inside more than outside were now defended differently. Before you would want to force wingers inside as it was more congested and you were forcing them to their ‘unfavoured’ foot. But inverted wingers thrived on coming central. It even led to some coaches playing inverted full backs to counter these threats. 

The reason we start with the inverted winger is because their movement, their changing role, created space in wide areas. This is where we introduce the modern full back.

The evolving full back role

Now to say the attacking full back, or should we say wing back is new phenomenon is simply naïve and false. We have seen attacking full backs for decades in the game. The most classic examples are that of Carlos and Cafu for Brasil. Yet can we seriously say that the ‘full back’ position is part of the modern game? 

If you were asked to name the best ‘full’ backs in the game now you’d say; Lahm, Alves, Alaba, 

Piszczek, Baines, Sagna, Zabaleta and Rafael. When you think of these players you think of their attacking threat more so than their defending aspects. In fact it is fair to say that the modern full back is not a very talented defender at all, their strength comes from their attacking capabilities. 

The criticism of Villas-Boas was unfair in the scheme of what he was seeking to achieve, it was not that he was not neglecting his wide areas or crosses, but he was seeking to use Kyle Walker in that role instead. And this makes sense if executed properly. 

The winger has become such a dangerous player that they are marked closer and denied 1v1 situations more often. To help them create these more overlapping full backs are important as to help take a defender away and create more space and opportunity. The best example of this working to near perfection is Bayern with Robben and Lahm these past few seasons. Lahm’s intelligent deep runs create space for Robben to drive in side yet he often seeks to play the overlapping run in which Lahm creates crosses for goals. 

Bayern achieved so much success with this move last season and also have done this year at times also. Lahm became the ‘classic’ winger of the team (when played in that role – will come on to that later) as too Alaba on the left. The role wasn't about defending, it was more about supporting the attack.  How we view the full back role needs to change, these are no longer defenders but wingers. 

Now if this is the case, which is looking the case, then we need to ask why and what is necessary for the rest of the team. Firstly the question of why is simple. These players display the attributes of being attacking players because for many they were wide players who were moved back. Ashley Cole is the best example of this proving to be a success. At U14 he was deemed a maybe as left midfielder, yet as left back he exceled. Yet he never really played left back, his success and quality came from his attacking runs. Mourinho arguably made him a better defender, yet perhaps took away his attacking credentials. 

The secure defensive option

And this is where the coach plays such an important role in the development of a philosophy and idea. Mourinho prefers a ‘safe’ full back option who will defend more than attack; a la Arberloa. Some players excel, whereas others are restricted. Let’s compare this to Pep Guardiola. In some ways he followed a similar idea at first with Barca. Abidal was his safe defensive choice and Alves was his attacking winger. Abidal covered round to create Guardiola's ideal 3+1 defensive cover.

You have to question if he really ever play a four at the back with Barca? Was Alves really a full back? His role was to play a mid to high wide role in order to provide width in order to exploit space wide or to pull defenders across to create space centrally. His role was key for Barca’s success yet it was never truly considered a defensive one. Alves was actually more a liability defensively for the team. Yet that didn't matter, it was what he offered in possession which mattered. 

In their prime Barca had a back three of Puyol, Pique and Abidal who provided the cover for Alves to attack. In the classic sense of the four becoming a three the full back would be allowed to attack one side while the other would drop back to make a three. Barca did this yet in a more lopsided way. Yet in the past few years we have seen a resurgence of two attacking full backs. The Cafu and Carlos type sides have returned. 

Coaches are giving their full backs more freedom to attack and get forward, on both sides at the same time. Villas-Boas struggled because of this ideal and wish. Vilanova struggled more with this change also, using Jordi Alba on the left as much as a deep lying forward than a full back (just think of his goal versus Italy for Spain in the Euro 2012 final). Martinez at Everton has seen this moving evolution also and bringing success.

Now like Bayern and Barca did to an extent, Martinez is using his holding midfielders to cover for the attacking full backs. Instead of asking them to come back, they are merely being covered by others and thus allowed to stay higher. It is a significant change in tactics, it is fluidity, totalfootball almost. Everton are benefitting from it. Yet the key is that the areas these players are leaving are being covered. Spurs were exploited in these areas too often and paid the price.

A move to a back three

This is where the move to a three at the back appears a natural cycle for modern football. Four at the back suited sides who wanted to defend zonally and cover the width of the pitch more effectively while providing defensive overloads in central and wide areas. However as the game progresses the back four has become restrictive, those full backs are needed in attacking areas, needed to provide and exploit attacking overloads. This is  not an issue for sides defensively if they move to a back three. 

Spurs looked desperate for this kind of tactical move yet their stubborn, by the book coach appeared incapable of seeing it. This is a shame for him and the side. They were almost built for this move and their players and success would have profited. He believed in the 4-2-3-1 because it had become the formation of success these past few years, yet it appears it has already become old-fashioned and new style is required. Villas-Boas was a reactionary coach who fed off trends rather than a visionary who anticipated where the game was going. 

Now some sides like Barca had their defensive midfielder drop in centrally and the two centre backs split to cover the wide areas. Yet teams are now having their holding players covering the wide areas, this is when defending and when playing out. Yet does it not make more sense to have a three man defence with a player or two who have drive forward with the ball into midfield? 

This is how I see the game moving, a 3-3-1-3 style formation with wing backs and a holding midfielder in front of a back three. This frees up those attacking wingers to go forward without the fear of being exploited defensively.

The future - diagonal lines

The idea and role of the full back has become more than a defensive option where you stick the weaker player and seek to ‘hide’ them (English culture?). They are essential to a sides success. They need to be excellent 1v1 attackers and defenders. They are the modern winger, the one who exploits the channels. The game has changed and they are one of the most significant of these changes. 

And now, well these players are even moving away from vertical lines and more to diagonal lines. What do I mean? Let’s look at Bayern and Guardiola. In players like Lahm, Rafinha and Alaba we have them not only playing and moving wide and high but now moving into midfield areas to exploit space centrally. As midfielders move out, behind or forward these players exploit this space. It is so difficult to mark or track that they find spaces between units which can punish teams. Bayern and ultimately Guardiola have taken football to a new level in terms of positional fluidity. 

The way we view the full back must change, and Guardiola’s creative brain is showing ways to make this possible. It is not about being a full back, or winger, the future game simply requires players who can exploit the space the opposition provides. They need to have the technical ability to play wide and central, in 1v1 situations and in congested areas. Movement and positional rotation is becoming necessary to exploit smarter defences. Vertical lines, or even horizontal ones are too rigid, the game is becoming diagonal and Bayern are showing how effective that can be. 

As coaches therefore we need to ask ourselves, are we preparing our young players for these tactical changes?

Thoughts and feedback always welcomed.

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address

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