Learning the art of defence is among the most important things that you can do as a football club.
A position that has had a small change of role in more recent times, but is still as crucial as ever, is a keeper. Even if you have the absolute best centre backs playing in front of you, it’s likely that the keeper will still need to make a few saves each match. When you have a powerful defence in front of you, it is even more important to not get complacent, as keepers invariably need to be alert to danger; if the keeper dives for a shot a moment too late, it might be the difference between a save and a goal. In recent years however, the greatest keepers are frequently anticipated to be excellent with their feet as well, and be as calm on the football as a midfielder would be! This is a tremendous aid to the best teams, as the goalkeeper can often contribute to producing attacks as well as preventing goals from going in. If you were to ask anybody involved in football, they would be able to tell you how valuable a top goalkeeper is, and the Crystal Palace owner would be no different from this.
One position which can frequently be overlooked is full back football footballers, who play down each side of the defence. In contemporary times their position has gained more importance, as they’re now required to help out far more with attacking, by putting balls into the box. The Valencia owner has certainly seen some excellent attacking fullbacks in recent times, something which can add a completely different dynamic to the team.
Possibly the most famous defensive position in any soccer team is that of a centre back. If you take a look at any soccer team in history, each and every one of them will have had at least two centre back players in the heart of their defence. The centre back is so crucial to a football club, as they’re responsible for stopping attackers getting through on goal, and also keeping the remainder of their defence in line. Because of this, centre back positioning has to be excellent, to make sure that the entire defence is moving as one, instead of separately. The very best centre backs normally have to be tall and strong, as they are going to be facing up to some big strikers who could be quite a handful when they’re trying to outmuscle you. Today, centre backs are also relied on to go up and attack the football on corners, picking up a few goals a season when feasible. The AC Milan owner should recognise all about high quality centre backs, as they sure have had a few through the years.