http://www.theoriginalcoach.com/#!the-reinvention-of-the-libero/ccid SOME FOOTBALL FANS WILL SEE 1966 AS THE YEAR when England won its first and only World Cup; others think of it as the year Romário and Eric Cantona were born. Those who tell the best stories might say it was when the World Cup trophy was stolen from its display in Central Hall, only to be recovered a week later by Pickles the Dog. It’s easy to revisit 1966 and talk about just how great it was for football, but there is one story that really sticks out. Playing in his first World Cup, a 22-year-old West German had taken the tournament by storm. He had scored four goals, making him the third top goalscorer, and was his country’s best player. Idolised by many, his name was Franz Beckenbauer: a footballer rightly considered as the best sweeper of all time. Only, Beckenbauer wasn’t an ordinary sweeper. As seen by his goal tally in 1966, Der Kaiser liked to get forward. During his club career, Beckenbauer scored a total of 81 goals, whilst assisting another 93. For someone who played as a sweeper, the amount he scored resembled that of a midfielder rather than a defender. He was astonishingly good. His job in the World Cup final against England was, at its most basic, to mark Bobby Charlton. Charlton at the time was one of the world’s best midfielders, winning the European Footballer of the Year later in 1966. For Beckenbauer, this was different to the previous games, because man-marking someone for the whole match gives you less freedom, limiting the ability to be expressive, something a libero needs to be. His performance in the final marking Charlton was unsatisfying for himself and the fans. They knew how good he had been previously but his manager, Helmut Schön, used counter-productive tactics in an attempt to improve his team’s chances of beating England, when really it had the opposite effect. Libero is the Italian word for free, and that is the purest way of describing it. Those who play the role have the chance to be the most eloquent player on the pitch. However the difficulty in playing the role for the individual and the collective means that there really hasn’t been many world class liberos in football history. Beckenbauer and Franco Baresi are the two most are familiar with, but they were both exceptional talents. There are not many like them. Introduced by Karl Rappan in the 1930s and revolutionised by Helenio Herrera in his defensiveCatenaccio system, the libero evolved into a position where the sweeper would continue his role as the deepest defender, but also join the attacks. It could be said that the libero paved the way for the ball-playing defender, something much more common today. The reason why Beckenbauer epitomised the perfect libero was that he was an extraordinary defender. He was creative, he could pass, he could dribble, he was quick, he had stamina; for a position where you were constantly running with and without the ball, Beckenbauer had no problems whatsoever. He made it look easy. The role faded out when tactical systems evolved in the 1980s, but with the recent moves by many teams such as Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester United to revert to a back three, now could be the perfect time to reintroduce it. Bayern have experimented with Xabi Alonso as a sweeper this season, but much more defensive than that of a libero, though they do have JaviMartínez and David Alaba who boast all the right attributes to give Guardiola some ideas on that front. Recently in an FA Cup game against Bolton Wanderers, and on a couple of other occasions this season, Liverpool experimented with Emre Can in the middle of the three centre-backs, having been played more regularly on the right before that (and ever since). It was notable that Can was running more than any other player on the pitch – a box-to-box centre-back, in effect. If not set up properly, Can being dispossessed could’ve resulted in a counter-attack against a temporarily diminished Liverpool defence, especially as the wing-backs are often very high up the pitch. In this case, there was no such problem for Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers got it spot on and Emre Can was allowed to run impetuously through Bolton’s midfield, helped somewhat by the movement away from the box by both Raheem Sterling and Coutinho. Whenever Can roamed from his defensive position the wing-backs, Javier Manquillo and Lazar Marković, helped form a transitory back four with the two remaining centre-backs, which meant that any threat of a counter-attack from Bolton was nullified. It could be argued that Can’s job was made easier by the fact that Bolton had a man sent off; he was afforded the luxury of getting forward and taking the game by the scruff of its neck. It shouldn’t, though, be assumed that Can played well as a libero only because of the sending off - maybe this helped him stand out, and Liverpool win the game, but the technical and physical features of the position make it difficult against whatever the number of opposition players. Signed as a midfielder last summer, he appeared to be the one who would eventually succeedSteven Gerrard, but injuries to defensive players forced Rodgers’ hand. Whilst he has only played as a libero a few times - all due to tactical switches at half time - the early signs look good. It is, however, the hardest position to fit into your system. The team would need a player competent enough to defend and attack, while being fairly quick, strong, and with a high endurance level. As Liverpool’s game against Bolton showed, it’s not just a suitable player to play the role, you need. The wing-backs must be proficient enough to track back and support the two remaining centre-backs when the libero goes forward, and the attacking playmakers have to be creative enough to bring their markers with them when they’re creating space. Usually, a libero would fit into the middle of a back three - it would be very unusual to play one in a back four, as the defence would be extraordinarily uneven - and would have two limited centre-backs either side of him. That’s not to say a ball-playing centre-back wouldn’t be able to play alongside a libero, but that their role as one would be slightly diminished due to the volatile positioning of their fellow defender. What has been seen in recent years is defensive midfielders often staying the furthest back during attacks. Players like Sergio Busquets, Andrea Pirlo and Alonso have perfected it, but this version of the libero is, in a sense, the opposite of what Beckenbauer played in the 1960s and 70s. Busquets only occasionally joins an attack, usually when he starts it, whereas most of the time he allows the centre-backs to move forward while he sits deepest. Beckenbauer, on the other hand, would start as a sweeper, create attacks, and join them wherever possible. In simple terms, Busquets moves back, defenders move forward, while Beckenbauer moved forward and defenders moved back. Speaking about a Busquets role in the Premier League and how likely it was, Jonathan Wilson said in an interview with The Sabotage Times: “I don’t think it’s going to happen in the Premier League, it’s certainly not going to happen with the majority of Premier League teams.” The ball-playing libero, however, appears to be something that teams may potentially start implementing into their systems again. The most important factor in making a libero work is a tactically nuanced manager, something the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga has en masse. Whether the libero will return at the highest level remains to be seen, but what is clear is that there are plenty of top teams equipped to facilitate its reinvention.
another example of rodgers lucking out cos the only reason can went to centre cb ws injuries. AGAIN.... the funny thing is... i ha d to laugh ...... i quote "the most important factor in making a libero work is a tactically nuanced manager, something the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga has en masse. Whether the libero will return at the highest level remains to be seen" if our managers were this good we'd not be so bad in europe where neville bemoans our inability to defend.
Haha I noticed that bit. But I thought it was interesting because I think the sweeper role could be Can's position long term, as opposed to CM. He's good defensively, calm and composed on the ball and likes to drive forward. Sign a RCB version of Sakho and that is a formidable back 3. I have high hopes for Ilori to fill that role in the long run.
anything could happen.. gerrard bottled the role imo. at some point someone will admit gerrard said to rodgers that he doesn't want to stand that deep between cbs. once he slipped his career was all but over as mentally he is not there
