The evolution of the defensive midfielder

The defensive midfielder is a position that could be considered a fairly modern development, coming to fore in the 70′s and 80′s. Herbert Chapman’s innovative 2-3-5 ensured that defensive midfielders weren’t required for quite some time. Sir Alf Ramsey’s wingless wonders of the 4-4-2, which won the 1966 World Cup, utilised a midfield duo that could shuttle up and down for the whole game, more of all action, box to box players.

This specialisation evolved from a position called the ‘sweeper’. The sweeper was a player hence named because he would sweep up after his back line. It was originally a defensive innovation, inspired by the Catenaccio system of Italy.

The points system in Serie A then was 1 point for a draw and 2 points for a win, and so many managers considered not losing almost equivalent to winning and they came up with a versatile centre back who could be the last resort if the back line were breached. The system was however preached majorly for a three man defence as this would enable the two centre backs to mark the opposing forwards and leave one defender free to clean up after.

The most elegant example of a Sweeper is probably one of the most elegant players to have ever kicked a ball, Der Kaiser-Franz Beckenbauer. As time went on, managers understood that the sweeper/libero was a free player as he did not have to mark anybody and thus was nearly always in a free position. Therefore, players who were good with the ball were deployed in such a role so that they could use the plenty of time they got on the ball to pick out a pass and be a playmaker. Beckenbauer was the prime example of this type of player with incredible positional sensibilities, knowing when to attack and when to defend. His performances in the 1970 World Cup are the stuff of legend and he is without a doubt the greatest player to have played the role.

The 90′s and the first decade of the new millennium saw the tough tackling midfielder come to prominence. This was the man who did all the dirty work in front of his defence, breaking up opposition attacks, coming in with tackles when necessary and passing the ball to his fellow midfielders to allow them to dictate play. An example could be Lothar Matthaus, Germany’s most capped player who played in five world cups and was described by Maradona as his toughest opponent. Another modern example of this is a certain Claude Makelele, who most Premier League fans of this generation would be familiar with. Giving the man the respect he deserves, we’ll discuss this midfielder under his name:

The Makelele Role:

The short Frenchman was hardly the ‘hard man’ (Roy Keane style) defensive midfielders in those days were expected to be. He was unlucky enough to be at Real Madrid during the Galacticos days and was booted out when he demanded pay parity from Fiorentino Perez. His role at Real was often overlooked. He broke up attacks and gave the ball to players such as Zidane who could neglect all their defensive responsibilities because of the defensive presence of Makelele.

Jose Mourinho took him to Chelsea where he was treated better and played his part in Chelsea’s league triumph. His effect was very visible in the Premier Leagie simply because most teams still used a 4-4-2, leaving only two in midfield against the three in Mourinho’s 4-3-3. His job consisted of incredible positional discipline in covering his back four, covering for them when they bombed forward and putting in crucial challenges.

The Makelele role remains the only position named after a footballer.

The Death of the ‘Hard man’:

Every transfer window, Sir Alex Ferguson is asked the same question. Will we buy another Roy Keane ? Why does he not do it? Surely a man who could afford to buy the world’s most expensive defender and a 29 year old striker for 24 mil could have bought one if he’d wanted to. The answer is simple enough. Ferguson recognises the the distance between other powerful European clubs and his is the difference in midfield. Barcelona have Busquets, Real have Alonso and Khedira (still, no Roy Keane), Bayern have Schweinsteiger and now Javi Martinez, all of them decent tacklers but none of them are there just for their physicality. A hard tackling player is replaced with somebody who can hold possession better and has the skill to manoeuvre out of tight situations without making stupid errors. Possession based football is the way forward and Ferguson knows it which explains his persistence with Michael Carrick.

The return of the Regista/ Libero/ Sweeper:

AC Milan reached three CL finals in 5 years from 2003 to 2007 under Carlo Ancelotti. Milan played very narrow, alternating between a 4-3-2-1/4-3-1-2. It is worth noting that this was a midfield that had No 10′s all over the place from Seedorf to Kaka to Andrea Pirlo and Rui Costa. The only combative players were Ambrosini and Rino Gattuso. There was no place for Pirlo in the hole behind the striker and thus he was posted in front of his defense as a creative player who put in defensive duties when he had to, ably backed by Gattuso.

This position is what we call a ‘regista’ or a deep lying playmaker. The rise of these players could be attributed to the decline in the number of clubs employing No. 10’s. This decline came about simply because a No. 10 is supposed to do it all and when inconsistent, the whole team can suffer.

Ironically, two recent examples could be British in Owen Hargreaves and Jack Rodwell (who are both quicker than Pirlo and can tackle better but may not possess the same range of passing). Manchester City’s poor European run would have irked Mancini as this was the same problem he faced at Inter. This is probably why he bought both Hargreaves and Rodwell, in the hope of finding a regista who could dictate play from deep.

Digressing, we see that today most teams play with a single striker and two centre backs. Thus, one centre back can mark the opposing striker leaving the other centre half free to attack, almost like an offensive sweeper. Modern football is full of such examples ranging from Gerard Pique to Thomas Vermaelen. These are the modern interpretations of the sweeper reinvented as they were before in the times of Der Kaiser

Conclusion

So, which is better? Would you prefer a Roy Keane like figure in front of your defense or a Xabi Alonso/ Pirlo type player ?

Modern managers have answered this conundrum by deploying one of each. Today’s most common formation is arguably the 4-2-3-1 where the 2 represents the holders/defensive midfielders. Even in different formations, there are generally two dedicated holding players. The 4-3-3 is almost the only exception to this trend. Notable examples of the holding midfield duo are Alonso/ Khedira (for Real) and Daniele De Rossi/ Pirlo (for Italy).

The defensive midfielder, though the most non glamorous position is frankly the glue holding together most modern great attacking teams. The incredible level of discipline and ability on the ball required are something that very few players possess. It is the Rooneys,Van Persies, Gerrards, Lampards, Ronaldos who take away all the attention but they wouldn’t have had the freedom to do as they pleased if they hadn’t had Carrick, Mascherano, Lucas Leiva, Makelele, Khedira and Alonso behind them

So, the next time you watch a football match, take a minute and observe these unheralded players who get their hands dirty for hardly any praise and adulation and applaud them silently.