The rise of the Ultimate 'Total Defender'

The rise of the Ultimate defender!

With the exponential evolution of football driving the sport forward, a new breed of superstar appears to be emerging on the European stage, with the 'Total Defender' becoming an increasingly common sight in today's game.

While there have been some ferocious, and precocious, attacking talents plying their trade in the full-back position over the years, such as Philip Lahm, Sergio Ramos, Leighton Baines and Daniel Alves, a center-half's job has traditionally been focused solely
on no-nonsense defending and hoof-ball clearing.

However, the last few seasons have seen a marked increase in attack-minded central defenders, who are not only behemoths in their own areas, but who also display a keen eye when going forward and an even sharper sense in front of goal.

A perfect example that comes to mind would be Chelsea's David Luiz. Tall, quick, a silky first-touch and little fear of putting his body on the line; attributes that make a formidable barrier for any opposition striker.
That, though, is only half the story, with supporters of both the Blues and Brazil having witnessed some truly devastating forward runs from the 26-year-old, who is often seen breaking from the back-four, meandering his way up field and unleashing some stupendous strikes which any centre-forward in the world would be proud of.

It is not just once in a blue moon that Luiz finds the target, either, with the frizzy-haired Canarinho having bulged the back of the net 12 times in 115 appearances for the west London giants, an average of almost one every 10 games. Not bad, considering the extra 60-or-so-yards a defender has to cover, compared to a striker, to get into the final third.

Luiz is just one example from a deep pool of like-minded individuals, with club-mate John Terry one of the most prolific back-liners in the game today, having netted over 56 goals since arriving at Stamford Bridge in 1998, while Tottenham's towering centre-back Jan Vertonghen is also making a name for himself on the reverse end of the pitch, having scored six goals in 49 appearances for Spurs, which is an even better ratio than Luiz's, albeit over half the length of time.

Barcelona veteran Carlos Puyol has, meanwhile, been doing this sort of attacking-central-defender gig for years now, while looking way back it may have even been Fernando Hiero who birthed that sort of position, with the former Real Madrid defender and ex-Spain international having bagged over 100 goals during his 14-year career at the Santiago Bernabeu, and well over 130 in his professional career.

This new breed of defender does not come without its problems, though, with not all barraging runs ending in goals, and often resulting in the player finding himself some 50 yards out of position and needing to furiously scramble back, lest his side concede a goal and his manager unleash the proverbial hairdryer treatment.

However, as the position continues to evolve, so will the rest of the team need to keep up with the changes, with the central defensive midfielder now well aware of when and where he needs to fall back, filling the gap and replenishing defensive barrier so as to avoid being outnumbered on a potential counter-attack.

While some might still suggest a defender's job should entail just that - defending - many a wise proverb has stated that 'attack is the best form of defence', whether it be in war, chess or - in this case football.

Besides, if this sort of gung-ho approach results in more goals being scored per game, whether they be at one end of the park or the other, that all sounds like something every fan of the beautiful game should be getting behind.

Source: Football411