Soccer Geek

“If you’ve got pace, height, strength and can see danger then you’re the all-round centre-back.”

(Steve Mclaren- ex England manager)

Defender might well be the position with the least amount of glory involved- that’s why most young people starting to play soccer want to be strikers to start with so they can score all the goals!

But it certainly takes a special type of player: you need to be disciplined, hard and strong.

If this description fits you then you might well be suited to playing in central defence. If this is the case and you’re looking for someone to model your game on then try and watch some videos of Tony Adams. Although he’s a coach now, he used to play for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger (Arsenal manager) called him a ‘professor of defence’.

But what if you want to be a full back? Well players who play at full back tend to be smaller with good passing technique and are often quite attacking (look at Ashely Cole for a good example- he plays for England and Chelsea).

Principles of Defence

The defence should be a unit and getting bodies behind the ball is essentiel. Being compact and organised makes it hard for the opposition to score by forcing them out to the wings. Delaying their attack so that even more players can get back behind the ball to make it even harder for
the opposition to score is also important.

Putting pressure on the opposition by pressurising the ball is a team job. Players in any position can close their opponents down to stop them playing, make tackles to win possession, mark opponents to stop them getting the ball or clear the ball out of play.

Whilst the opposition is in possession therefore, your player who is closest to the ball (first defender) should pressurise it. A player who is close enough to cover should he get beaten is called the seconddefender. A third defender is any other player away from the ball who can cover space on the pitch, track runners and provide balance.

The Job of the Full Back

Whilst these principles of defence give you a general insight into what is involved, there are also specific things you personally need to do. If you are a full back, then this list might help you understand what your role involves exactly.

1) Give your team width when it is in possession by going out wide

2) Get forward and go down the wings when your team is attacking

3) When the other team has possession, defend against the opponents on your side (e.g. wingers)

4) When the other team is attacking, try to force play out wide away from the goal and then prevent crosses through blocking and tackling

5) When the ball is on the other side of the pitch, balance the defence by moving more towards the middle of the pitch

The Job of the Centre Back

If you’re a centre-back, this list might help you define your role in the team;

1) Make and receive passes to help your team keep possession

2) If you’re tall and good at heading you might need to go up when your team has a corner

3) Organise your defence by communicating with them

4) Mark players, block, tackle, head, clear and do any others similar things which help prevent the other team from scoring

If that doesn’t help then maybe this quote from David Moyes (Everton manager) will;

“The qualities I see in a centre-half are the ability to head the ball in both boxes, pace, positional sense and confidence with the ball. But first and foremost I want them to be defenders – natural stoppers.”

Hopefully this page has been helpful in showing you what is involved in the job of both a full back and a centre back. If you now want to learn the skills you need to play soccer then you could visit the section on soccer skills for a defender