Dirty, defensive, boring, unattractive ! That’s how football defending is perceived among many fans ! In reality, attackers get all the attention. However, defence can keep a team in the game for as long as possible on a day the attack is having it bad. Or even if the attack scores numerous goals, it will just require conceding one more than the goals scored to lose a match! A draw can be savoured by a team having a good defence and a bad attack which is not necessarily the other way round. A successful team is built around a very solid defence. And it has been seen that teams winning bigger tournaments have relied on a compact defence and the effective role of defensive midfielders.
I have always enjoyed watching good defensive skills. It requires as much finesse and artistry as scoring spectacular goals or executing defence splitting through passes. I find it almost as attractive as free flow attacking novelties. For this reason, I have always been a fan of the Italian football team which has always been built around a water tight defence.
Catenaccio or The Chain is a tactical system in football with a strong emphasis on defence. In Italian, catenaccio means “door-bolt”, which implies a highly organised and effective backline defence focused on nullifying opponents’ attacks and preventing goal-scoring opportunities [1].Italian defenders were technically way ahead of many other countries in the post-war period, and in particular from the 1950s, when Italian clubs developed sophisticated training methods and disciplined rules and regulations concerning player behaviour[2]. Although pure catenaccio is no longer as commonplace in Italian football, the stereotypical association of ruthless defensive tactics with the Serie A and the Italian national team continues to be perpetuated by foreign media, particularly with the predominantly Italian defences of A.C. Milan of the 1990s and Juventus F.C. from the 2010s onwards being in the spotlight.
Having started watching international football regularly from late 80s, I missed watching the defensive art of Gaetano Scirea, Claudio Gentile and Giuseppe Baresi, some of the great Italian defenders who winded up their careers by late 80s. I try to make it up by watching some You Tube clippings and even a limited exposure is good enough for me to admire their amazing defensive skills, with Scirea being the standout. In the last 28 years, I had the fortune of watching some great Italian defenders representing both the Italian national sides and Serie A clubs. My initial live viewing of Italian defence was luckily exposed to the Italian cum AC Milan back four of Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti and the peerless Paulo Maldini. These all-time greats seemed to make their defensive screens as strong as the Berlin wall while fans watched their impeccable skills with all astonishment. Their high tempo pressing defensive game was one of the primary reason’ of Italy’s Runners Up performance during the USA’94 World Cup (they were also supported by Antonnio Benarrivo and Luigi Apolloni). They also helped AC Milan win the prestigious Champions League in 1989,1990 and 1994 with runners up performance in 1993 and 1995. Also with consecutive Serie A titles, AC Milan during then was by far the best club in the world. Baresi was among the greatest centre backs of all time while the versatile Maldini was as good in the centre back as he was in the left back position.
Baresi retired during mid 90’s but that was the time two other greatest defenders of all times came into prominence. One was Alessandro Nesta who ultimately became my all time favourite defender and Fabio Cannavaro. Both were centre backs and were known for their artistic tackles, elegance on the ball, distribution and tight marking of opponents. Their contributions to the Italian national squad culminated into a crowning glory in 2006 when Italy won the World Cup for the fourth time. Nesta was unfortunate to have missed half of the tournament through injury which enabled skipper Cannavaro to lead the defence for the remaining part of the tournament. He was ably supported by Marco Materazzi, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabien Grosso and the tough tackling central midfielder, Gennaro Gattuso. Cannavaro’s impregnable performances earned him the nickname “Muro di Berlino” — the Berlin Wall. He had such an assured presence and with arguably one of the greatest goalkeepers of times Gianluigi Buffon manning the goal, it became literally impossible for opponents to score against the Azzuris. That World Cup win gave immense joy to many purists mainly because of the elegance of the Italian defence which performed like a well-oiled machine throughout.
Italian defence continues to go strong due to which scoring in Serie A still isn’t a cakewalk inspite of its dipping levels. The goal scoring skills of CR7 will now be put to ultimate test as the Serie A defenders are not expected to give him free space and favourable angles required for clear view of the goal. The performance of the present Italian team which didn’t even qualify for 2018 World Cup has been utterly disappointing, but it still retains its reputation of having one of the best defensive systems presently manned by Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonnuci.
The modern Azzurri, regardless of who is coach, can defend as a unit and as effectively and intelligently as ever without having to put 10 men behind the ball so their approach does not necessarily compromise the spectacle. Italians see defending as an art and the key to success. Any defender from a young age would take as great a pride in keeping a striker quiet as would someone who has scored a hat-trick. And because of this quality, my admiration for this legendary footballing nation will continue to grow.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenaccio
[2] https://theconversation.com/dirty-defensive-boring-italys-football-reputation-is-undeserved-27487