The Fullback

Fullbacks are seen as outside defenders guarding both the left and right parts of the field. Responsible for wingers and forwards coming towards their part of the pitch (outside left or outside right), they help the central defenders cover forwards and attacking midfielders.

However, their role has significantly changed over the past thirty years with teams like Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Spain, and Manchester City leading the pack as the best teams in the world. The way in which they’ve changed has to do with offensive positioning.

Through the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s, most of America’s youth systems were enamored with playing an English style football. It was rare to see a team play anything other than a 4-4-2 formation. When they did, it was because they were down or trying to maintain a tight lead late in the game.

4-4-2 formation:

Look at the 2 and the 3 (left and right fullbacks). See how they’d run into the space of the 7 and 10 if they were to make runs forward? Now, that’s not to say this never happened. I grew up playing with an outstanding left fullback. Quick, skilled, and incredibly fast with the ball up the sideline, he made overlapping runs that would confuse many defenses. He currently plays for Louisville City FC in the USL.

Pat was an exception though. Mainly, outside defenders stayed back to help the defense snuff out any counter attack from an opponent. Now, enter the popularization of the 2-3-2-3 formation, better known as a 4-3-3. This formation necessitates the wingers to defend and attack through the outside spaces of the field. Not to say you won’t see them come inside and help buildup play (ex. Manchester City), but mainly they’re responsible for their lanes.

2-3-2-3 formation

Notice how much space is around the right and left fullbacks (2 and 3) now? There’s a lot. In this system, the wingers (7 and 11) are inverted most of the time, meaning they don’t patrol the outside lanes of the attack like outside forwards or midfielders would. They leave the space open so the fullbacks can making attacking runs forward.

So, what qualities are necessary for a modern day, attacking fullback? They must be quick. They don’t necessarily have to have the breakout speed of a winger, but they must be able to transition fast. In order to create a quality counter attack, a team must be fast in their transitions. A 4-3-3 type team relies on their fullbacks to get back and defend on defense, often coming back to play a 4-5-1 formation defensively, and must be able to counter into a 2-3-5, where the fullbacks play up as outside midfielders in the attack phase of the game.

They usually have great passing abilities, being able to swing in a ball from anywhere to a striker, winger, or attacking midfielder. The best example of these abilities are Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson. Their ability to put the ball with pace anywhere they want in the box is a huge asset to the way Liverpool play, constant pressure and fast movement of the ball forward. Both fullbacks have vision down the field in a way most midfielders should. These guys work well defensively, but often it’s their offensive prowess that receives recognition.

They should be very adept with timing, timing meaning when to step into a tackle and when to slow the opponent down, forcing them away from goal. They don’t need to be hard tacklers like their counterparts in center back, but they do need to find ways to steal the ball intelligently. When the attacker makes a mistake dribbling or trapping, are they anticipating this? Can they take advantage of the opportunity? Or, do they let their opponent recover? The fullback should be pressuring their man and always forcing them a particular direction (usually down the sidelines), making the wingers attack non-threatening.

Another quality is the ability to open space for the buildup play to happen. It’s not enough for the goalie to receive the ball, either through a saved shot or a pass back, and for the wingers to think their job is done. They should be running to the sidelines to create space for themselves or the center backs to receive the ball with space. This attitude of attack and counter attack will leave the opponent nervous to leave the fullbacks unmarked and will push them back, allowing space (rather than pressure) for the buildup from the back. Phillip Lamb from Bayern Munich did this brilliantly. His vision on the field and ability to position himself to open space for others was extraordinary, on and off the ball.

The last quality I’ll mention is an adept technical skill. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, current outside back for Manchester United, was discovered through a training session when he was on Crystal Palace. Only 19 at the time, Wan-Bissaka was categorized as an outside midfielder who played for their youth academy. One day he got a call up to practice with the first team because they didn’t have enough fullbacks due to injury. He man-marked the star of Crystal Palace, Wilfred Zaha, and completely shut him down. Surprised, Crystal Palace placed him on the first team and let him have his debut at right back. Not even a year later he was hailed as one of the best outside backs in the premier league and got called up to England’s national team.

Aaron says he understands what the forward or outside midfielder is about to do because he played that position previously. His knowledge as well as his adept skill helps him out of tricky situations while being pressured in the back. Many Spanish, Brazilian, and Portugese players have adept technical skills in these positions as well, Joao Cancelo, Jordi Alba, and Roberto Carlos to name a few.

It should also be stated in a 3-4-3 formation, with a center back and two fullbacks, you may not see the fullbacks running up the sidelines and instead staying closer to the center back, who may come up and play like a pivota or defensive mid on the attack (the number 6 above). Then, you will see the outside backs, fullbacks, being stronger physically and acting more like center backs. It is then vital that control of the ball and not losing it be their mantra, as they act like the first “2” (defensive line) in the 2-3-2-3.

3-4-3 diamond formation:

3-4-3 flat:

Sidenote: You’ll see us use the 2-3-2-3, variations of the 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 in the coming years.

The modern day fullback combines both the traditional responsibilities of defense and the modern day attack style of outside midfielders and wingers. It’s a special person that’s needed for the position, as fitness and tactical awareness are a must.

Skill drills for players to practice - 10-15 minutes a day

Wall Pass Turn - 3-5 minutes

Pyramid Juggling - 3-5 minutes

Cruyff Turn - 3-5 minutes