Over the years, the World Cup has served as a stage for the latest tactical trends for a large audience. The competitions have mirrored the current state of football, but also presented the subtleties that will be seen in club football in the coming years. Regarding the last games, the situation has changed. The newest gaming trends are often first seen in club football competitions and only after a few years’ delay do they move to the playing fields of the national teams.
This is a natural consequence of the fact that the national teams are much less together, which leaves less time for training and the coach has to internalize the game model for the team in a much shorter time. In these games, we have already received a good example of the change in the role of fullbacks. Full-backs drawn in are a potential bigger game trend in these games.
Inverted fullbacks (eng. inverted fullbacks) practically means that the fullbacks are placed on the field in the middle or middle lane in the ball phase of the team. In these spaces, it is usually customary to see midfielders, while full-backs have traditionally operated on the wing lanes to strongly support the attack.
Pulled-in full-backs are not a new game innovation. Famously in recent years Pep Guardiola has used full-backs in such a role already when coaching Bayern Munich, where, among other things Philipp Lahm was seen operating as a withdrawn full-back.
The same can be seen in the playing of many teams at the moment, including Brazil Danilo’s management sets an excellent example. However, often different game ideas have already been seen before; Johan Cruyff used drawn-in full-backs back in the day at FC Barcelona. This is also not unusual in the World Cup, because already in the 2010 World Cup, who coached Chile Marcelo Bielsa used Arturo Vidalia in a similar role in the match against Honduras.
Fullbacks in new areas – retracted
In general, the field can be divided widthwise into five separate lanes, where you can find side lanes and a middle lane. Between these lanes are intermediate lanes. In terms of depth, the field can also be divided into different areas – depending on the coach’s structuring. It can be divided into three or four parts, or otherwise chopped even smaller than the field base.
The areas can also be divided in relation to the opponent’s shape, in which case there is a playmaking area and lower pockets between the opponent’s forwards and the midfield line. Correspondingly, the upper pockets and the “10 area” can be found between the opponent’s midfield and the defensive line.
Why do fullbacks appear in increasing numbers in the middle and intermediate lanes? Each tactical organization has its own strengths and, of course, its vulnerabilities. Full-backs drawn in have become more common partly because the importance of the intermediate lanes has been emphasized in playing – the field is often filled with five lanes in the ball phase of the team.
In addition, the team’s ball phase is often organized to resemble a 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 format, where quantitative superiority can be created in the middle and intermediate lanes and, on the other hand, moving the ball from one side to the other becomes easier.
Correspondingly, defending the opponent also becomes more difficult. Often, the press formation tends to direct the opponent to the wing lanes, whereby the winger of the pressing team positions himself in relation to the full-back of the team with the ball. When the full-back is positioned in a different area than he is used to, it also creates challenges for the defending team’s press.
– I would highlight several different benefits in the structure of the team’s ball-playing. First of all, when operating in the intermediate lanes in the lower pocket, the ball is often received from better positions. In this case, the passing angles are better for promoting the game – a diagonal angle to, for example, the sideline or the weightless side is easily created, says Miika Nuutinen.
– Another important factor is the better utilization of different types of players. For example, the team’s best passer is often a winger, in which case he should be placed as wide as possible. Similarly, by bringing the full-backs to the middle or intermediate lanes, the midfielders can possibly be raised higher, where they can be closer to breaking the opponent’s last line. Of course, correspondingly, if the fullback’s strengths are more in the wing lanes, then the coach should play him in those areas in the same way.
The tactical importance of flexibility
Nuutinen would also highlight the tactical flexibility of teams and players.
– When the full-backs also operate in different areas than just the wing lane, it offers the coach several different opportunities to form wing triangles with a winger and a midfielder, where rotations, i.e. filling different areas in relation to the game situation, are possible. In this way, the team gets a way to break the opponent’s balance and potentially create positional superiority.
Often in soccer talk, there is a heated debate about which format or system is best for which team. However, describing the team’s playing with a certain formation does not tell much about game events, because in different phases of the game the team can be organized on the field in very different ways.
Correspondingly, the importance of the game locations is fading and it is more important to know how to act in different roles within the game. A good example is the different roles of the USA fullbacks in the ball phase of the team. As you can see from the attached picture, yes Sergiño Dest works relatively much in the mid-lanes lower, while Antonee Robinson works mainly in the sideline and really up. In this way, both players get to play to their strengths, utilizing the team.
The head coach of Napoli has recently spoken about this theme, among others Luciano Spalletti and the head coach of Chelsea Graham Potter.
– Our team does not have locked playing positions. Cooperation between players and chemistry are key in filling the open spaces that arise. When one player moves, the other players react to this, Spalletti has stated.
– We do not see grouping as a goal. The most important thing is how the team plays. The team must look consistent despite the grouping, Potter has said.
Benefits to the structure of the defense
By bringing in the fullbacks, the team also gets benefits for the organization of the defense. The drawn-in fullbacks bring quantitative superiority in the middle, and the distances between the players are smaller, making it easier to start a counter-press after a loss. The control of the attack becomes an important part anyway, when the opponent defends deeper – with more players in the middle – and the space between the lines can be controlled better in the intermediate lanes.
– As the last benefit, I would point out the situations when the team has lost the ball. If the full-backs are wide at the top, their journey back to the balanced defensive line is long. When fullbacks stay in the middle or intermediate lanes, their journey to the defensive line is shorter. Probably full-backs are also more defense-oriented than midfielders often seen in similar roles.
Possible challenges?
Every organization of the spherical phase is vulnerable in some way, and the coaches’ choices are largely a balancing act between benefits and risks. The 2-3-5 or 3-2-5 formation in the opening phase leaves the own wing areas behind the full-backs empty, which the opponent may be able to exploit after turnovers.
– Tactical flexibility may also cause challenges if, after rotations, the Fullback ends up up and the lower pocket ends up being filled by a player whose strengths are not in defense. Correspondingly, this is a relatively new trend and especially in the national team, if the player has no experience of acting in this way, there is little time to practice it. It is often seen that the national teams bring in full-backs if the player has experience of this in the club team, Nuutinen states.
In general, it can be stated that the functions of various gaming venues have been in transition for a long time, and this transition will certainly continue. Players must know how to perform better and better in different areas of the field in different roles.