In recent times, it is often said that the art of defending is dying in the modern game, that the obsession with free-flowing attacking football by so many managers in the game today has made defending become secondary and people forget the fact that you might score three or more goals and not win (Like Arsenal showed at Anderlecht) and might even lose, but when you keep a clean sheet, you can’t lose. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am one of the biggest fans of attacking football but to neglect the defensive side of the game is inexcusable. In the modern game, there is a lot of pace and attacking flair on show that even the slightest of tactical and defensive errors are often cruelly exposed and as such, the defensive midfielder has become arguably the most important position in a football team because he starts attacks and stops those of the opposition.
The modern defensive midfielder takes on a number of duties depending on the tactical blueprint of the manager. These duties vary from being able to effectively shield the team’s defence, control the tempo of the game, switch play between flanks of the pitch, become an extra centre back to allow the full backs push on without the team being left exposed and so on. Some teams even go on to play with two defensive midfielders to make sure all those duties are covered so the attacking players in the team can have more freedom to express themselves high up the pitch.
Another thing being thrown around is that defensive midfielders are a dying breed and there aren’t many top class ones around but I strongly disagree. Like Gary Neville said recently “In the modern game, players who would have made perfect midfielders are now centre backs because of the high demand for technical ability all around a team by managers”. I totally agree with that because we have seen players like Javier Mascherano being converted to centre backs in order to promote the philosophy of playing the ball out from the back for which centre backs who are good passers are required. It is fair to mention that Mascherano has exuded quality in that position although in my opinion, it has robbed the team of some height and physicality which is quite key in the centre of defence. We saw Mascherano restored to his natural position as a defensive midfielder for Argentina in the last World Cup in which he was one of the most impressive performers with La Albiceleste marching on to the final of the competition before being foiled by Germany. Mascherano showed great passing ability by keeping the ball moving. He also provided an effective shield in front of his centre backs which allowed the full backs push on to support attacks without fear of being punished by counter attacks. One thing he also exuded in this position was leadership as he always made sure the team was well organized and he also covered almost every blade of grass when he was on the pitch in addition to making crucial tackles and interceptions all while exuding an air of calm. Everything mentioned above refers to the traits of a world class defensive midfielder.
Now, I say the defensive midfielder is an artist but once people hear “defensive midfielder”, there is a stereotype of a tough tackling, physical presence who flies into tackles and accumulates cards and although this may be true, I have been blessed enough to watch some truly magical players play in that position, of which there is arguably none better than Sergio Busquets.
Busquets at his best played crucial roles for both club and country in Champions League, La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Club World Cup, European Championship and World cup victories. Although, it may be said that this was because he was lucky to play alongside some extremely talented players like Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez or Andres Iniesta but Busquets definitely earned his place in history with some extremely remarkable displays. In fact it could be argued that Xavi and Iniesta were lucky to play alongside him as his skill set gave them the freedom to express themselves on the pitch. It was once said that “if you watch the game, you might not see Sergio Busquets but if you watch Sergio Busquets, you will see the whole game”.
I think that statement extends to the many maestros that play in that position now, people like Andrea Pirlo, Xabi Alonso, Bastian Schweinsteiger (to some extent).
These are players who were far more adventurous and attack minded earlier in their careers but have changed positions to make the most of the latter stages of their careers. These players play the position using their experience to cover up their relative lack of mobility and physicality as they take up excellent positions to shield their respective defences effectively, organize the team well and start attacks from deep with their near-immaculate passing. Their experience and what they have achieved in the game allows their teammates draw inspiration from them and they mostly lead by example, they also do their bit of dirty work.
There are players like Nemanja Matic and Danielle De Rossi, who look to have all the necessary attributes in their locker, very athletic, combative, great tacklers, able to more than hold their own in physical tussles, cover every blade of grass on the pitch, pick out great passes and also pose a threat with their long distance shooting ability. They are modern defensive midfielders.
The defensive midfielder is the dovetail between the defence and attack of a team and is what I would describe as the fulcrum of a team. As important as I feel the defensive midfielder is, it is not to say teams haven’t found different ways of playing without a defensive midfielder with some being more successful than others. I mentioned earlier how some say defensive midfielders are a dying breed but I feel the modern game demands a lot from them and as such defensive midfielders have had to evolve from the “pitbull” type players like Roy Keane and Gennaro Gattuso to mention two we have become accustomed to in previous years (it is important to mention we still have central defensive midfielders in this mould with the likes of Nigel De Jong, Cheikh Tiote and others like that) to the more graceful artists who play in that position nowadays.
It’s also important to note that a recent tactical innovation that has come up has been to man-mark the opposing defensive midfielder in order to stifle the opposition attacks at the source and I think that alone underlines the importance of the player in that position. Its a position that can make or break a team and in my opinion deserves far more recognition than it gets at the moment.
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