Analyzing The Importance Of Defensive Midfielders

Claude Makelele is widely acknowledged as one of the best defensive midfielders in history. In 2003, he was sold by Real Madrid to Chelsea. Following this move, Zinedine Zidane famously said, “Why add another layer of gold to the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?” And Zidane was not wrong, Makelele had a very successful career at Chelsea, and his impressive performances prompted the English media to call the defensive midfield role “the Makelele” role.

Later on, Fernando Hierro, the captain of Madrid at the time Makelele left, also criticized the club for the sale. Hierro spoke of how all the players knew how Makelele was the most important player on the team, even if he was not noticed. At Chelsea, Makelele was superb. With the attacking instincts of Frank Lampard on the left side of the midfield in a 4-3-3 formation, good defensive cover was needed. Makelele broke up play effectively, and since he left, Chelsea have always searched for his replacement. For the longest time, John Obi Mikel played in the role, a player who has divided opinion between fans. This past January, Chelsea may finally have signed the player closest to Makelele in Nemanja Matic. Even then, the Serb is still prone to being bypassed in midfield, unlike Makelele. The Serb, however, is better going forward. Makelele only scored two goals in his Chelsea days, one which was a rebound from a penalty. The role is understated, as it is far from flashy.

A defensive midfielder’s role is often under-appreciated. When big teams play smaller teams, a defensive midfielder often does not stand out, and is often the player sacrificed when the “big team” brings on an attacking player to score a goal. Defensive midfielders are big game players. When teams fight at the highest level, they need a few different types of players. Among these teams there is always a talisman, others are players who make the difference off the bench, and another type is players who are true team-players. These players sacrifice personal glory to put a shift in for the team. A great example of a team without this was the original Real Madrid “Galacticos” team. The team was filled with international superstars, but was not very successful in terms of winning silverware.

The defensive midfielder’s role has become much more prominent in the last decade. The rise of attacking full-backs, especially in top European teams requires a player covering the space the defenders leave. Managers like Jose Mourinho, who can be pragmatic, may leave one full-back inside their own half while the other attacks can reduce this. However, many teams attack with both full-backs now – Barcelona attack with Dani Alves and Jordi Alba, while Real Madrid attack using Dani Carvajal and Marcelo. Without the defensive midfielder, the team is far too susceptible on the counter-attack.

In the past, the 4-4-2 saw two central midfield players, both spending time helping the team defend. The 4-3-3 formation saw the rise of the true defensive midfielder, with one player sitting deep, often seeing a three-man midfield completely overrunning a two-man midfield. The rise of the 4-2-3-1, often attributed to Rafael Benitez, yet used during the mid 1990’s, sees two players sitting deep. The most successful use of the two deep midfielders sees one player sitting deep and linking up play, playing as the deep-lying playmaker. The other player is the shuttle, breaking play and distributing the ball. A great example of this is the 2013 Bayern Munich team. Schweinsteiger was the deep-lying playmaker, while Javi Martinez played as the shuttler. The team is often depicted as a counter-attacking team, with players looking towards the two semi-final Champions League games as the outlook of the team. Bayern surrendered possession to Barcelona on those two nights, with winning back the ball well and attacking quickly with pace a key element. Without a Javi Martinez, this would have been impossible. Another example is the Real Madrid team of Mourinho. He had Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira sitting deep, while both could tackle well, Khedira played as a box-to-box midfielder and Alonso the deep-lying playmaker.

Arsenal left Dortmund after their first round of Champions League fixtures upset by their loss, but must have been breathing a sigh of relief after struggling to cope with the tempo of Dortmund’s incisive, high-paced football. Time after time, when Dortmund attacked, they easily broke past Arsenal’s midfield, facing the Gunners’ backline. A major problem on the night was Arsenal’s lack of a quality defensive midfielder, a player who could simply break up play, keep possession well, and to cover in positions when full-backs were out of position. Arsenal were linked with William Carvalho in the summer transfer window, but their bid was rejected. Last season, Mathieu Flamini filled in well, but this season, they seem to lack authority in the position. Too many times, the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere have been called to fill this position. The difference is shown when they are overrun. Despite all this, Arsenal are not the only team that have decided to risk the team’s success by not playing a proper-quality defensive midfielder.

Real Madrid have suffered this season after Alonso’s departure and an injury to Khedira. Carlo Ancelotti has often spoken about “balance” in his Real Madrid team. Last season he discovered it, but this season he is still searching. Toni Kroos and Luka Modric sitting deep is a dream for attacking football, but the reality is that Madrid struggle against the bigger teams with the pair playing together deep in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Modric is very good at covering ground, but Kroos is known to be a defensive liability. Although he played the majority of the World Cup final sitting deep alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger, at Bayern Munich, the two playing together did not work. Kroos’s best form came in the 12-13 season, where he played as the No. 10 behind Mario Mandzukic and Mario Gomez. A fantastic match with him pulling the strings was Bayern’s first-leg round of 16 Champions League clash with Arsenal, at the Emirates. Unfortunately for Kroos, he missed the final key months of that season with an injury, allowing Arjen Robben back into the side.

Despite the importance of two players sitting deep, often players playing as the true single defensive midfielder have been vital in teams. As part of the Barcelona side that won the Champions League in 2009 and 2011, Sergio Busquets performed an important role. Staying deep, he kept the ball ticking, made tackles, and dropped in between center-backs when a player like Dani Alves attacked. He performed a similar role for Spain in their World Cup triumph, but at that time he had the support of Alonso.

Barcelona’s recent defeat to PSG surprised some people, and one player who was not at his best was Busquets. His form in the past year or so seems to have declined, and his performance against Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final shows what he can provide at his best. There is a reason that Carles Puyol has left his No. 5 jersey to Busquets. Javier Mascherano was also superb for Argentina in the recent World Cup. Lionel Messi may now have the captain’s armband for Argentina, but Mascherano was a true leader, making fantastic tackles to lead Argentina to the final. Argentina defended quite well in the World Cup and a pre-tournament prediction would say they were not strong enough defensively. Mascherano was a key component of this, leading to many saying he should start as a defensive midfielder for Barcelona, where he can show his true qualities.

Other quality defensive midfielders include Daniele de Rossi and Arturo Vidal, who have both been pivotal in the rise in the past few years of Roma and Juventus respectively.

As a kid, people dream of playing as a striker. The dream is to score the winning goal in a big game. As it is, forwards are often given a majority of the attention, and if not, the credit for winning a game. However, there are many ways to winning a game. One of these is to be able to hold a lead. Defensive players win you championships, and defensive midfielders are key parts of that.

The sale of Makelele only showed to prove the importance of defensive midfielders, as Madrid went three seasons without a trophy after he left. In football, teams succeed as a whole, not just because of a single player’s talent. For a defensive midfielder, this means sacrifice, one which they are willing to take.

Follow Saad on Twitter @PrezunesRashid.