Defending in Italy

One thing that I find myself repeating to many football fans is that the Italians aren't purely defensive and negative in their football, and that they are simply better at the art. The Catenaccio is probably where most pundits get their idea of Calcio being boring and negative from, the highly defensive formation which was created around the 1930s in Switzerland by Karl Rappan but then made it's way to Italy in the 1940s and '50s was used to great success by both Milan sides in the '60s.



The word itself simply means 'padlock' in Italian, telling you immediately, that this system is going to have a strong focus on defense, but in the modern game, it's true name has been mutated down the years.

The word catenaccio has two translations in modern football, the system (though it is incorrectly used when referring to most defensive systems, the nearest we have seen in recent times is the defensive formation used by Greece in their Euro 2004 triumph), and the 'defensive' Italian mentality which they are often criticised for.

The 'Il Grande Inter' side who played in the catenaccio system

The former, was a system which used a zonally marking sweeper behind a 4 man defence whom all marked their men. The furthest back defender sat behind the line and swept up the balls which were being played behind, this man was Armando Picchi, who was captain of the side and was very good at organising his teammates during the match, when the Italian received instructions from his manager Helenio Herrara, the sweeper was confident in his own ability and is known for ignoring the instructions, on one occasion he simply said Herrera can "F*ck off" upon being given notes by a teammate. The system is known for it's defensive set-up, however the side was very effective in attack (the Italian's efficiency in attack allows them to focus on their defending more), and even the men at the back ventured forward at times, Giacinto Facchetti, the left back was known for having the ability to score frequently for a full-back. The playmaker of the side was Luiz Suarez, who sat deep and played the accurate passes on the counter-attack, to the forwards Mazzola and Piero. Another interesting aspect of the formation was the right flank, which was inhabited only by the Brazilian Jair.

A solemn looking Ancelotti at Juve

The second translation, the Italian 'negative' mentality isn't I don't think completely defensive-minded, simply the emphasis on winning (or surviving) at all costs is more intense, meaning they will be happy to sit back and defend when leading. This has come from the increased intensity of Italian football matches compared to the majority of Europe's, the pressure from the fans and the media to do well has definitely made an impact on the team's freedom to play attacking football, as it is at every club. However in Italy, the fans get on the manager's back in a much more direct manner, as John Foot explains in his excellent book 'Calcio': "Italian football mangers live on the edge. One defeat and their 'bench starts to shake' (trema la panchina), two defeats and 'they won't eat Christmas cake' (meaning they won't last until christmas), three defeats and the dreaded sack (esonero) is almost inevitable". When ex Milan and Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti managed Juventus in the late 1990s, he failed to win a trophy in his second season after winning the Intertoto cup in his first, which angered the fans and the Italian was heavily criticised, with banners such as 'Ancelotti is a pig' being made to show their distaste.

Another Italian system which revolutionised defending was the zona mista formation. Meaning 'mixed zone' in Italian, this formation was designed to be used against Rinus Michels' totaalvoetbal, which ripped apart the rigid man-marking catenaccio with it's fluid movement. There aren't any major changes in the actual formation between the two systems, however, the latter of the two has a zonal marking system, as the name suggests.

Although these two famous (or infamous, depending on your view of football) are not seen in the modern game, there are still aspects of the Italian's innovative ways of defending which are now seen all across the World.

 

Tactical Fouls

The tactical foul is an important feature in all of the top defensive systems, despite conceding free-kicks being considered as bad defending. It is used to stop quick attacks from the opposition, and give your teammates the chance to regroup and get organised by fouling the player, usually lightly (e.g. small trip), to stop the game but get away with the act without a yellow card. Tactical fouls aren't just fouling a player however, an example of one of these is Luis Suarez' handball against Ghana in the World Cup, when he stopped the ball from going into the back of the net to concede a penalty, which Gyan Asamoah failed to convert. Acts such as these are considered as unsporting behaviour in the majority of cultures, something which the Uruguayan is infamous for.

The Italians are masters of making tactical fouls, which makes them so difficult to attack against, because as soon as you get an attack going with pace, the Azzurri will simply foul your play and stop the play as they get men behind the ball to form an almost impenetrable defence. The previously mentioned catenaccio system put a lot of emphasis on the tactical foul, as the Italians frustrated their opposition with their deep defending and unsporting play.

 

Ball Retention

Another thing which the Italians excel at is passing the ball out of defence, which has been giving an increasing focus over the recent years. The Serie A is home to some of the most versatile and tactically intelligent defenders in the world which has come from their grassroots football.

In the junior leagues, managers will ban their goalkeepers from making direct long passes, forcing them to have a defender collect the ball, resulting in them achieving a better possession stat, as they build the play up patiently from the back.

The incredible defender Gaetano Scirea

Many innovative roles have been created in the Italian leagues, such as the well-known false 9, in which Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been so successful in, and the regista, a role which Andrea Pirlo features in for club and country. However, one of the less common roles seen in modern football has had one of the biggest effect on the position which it is found in.

The libero was a role seen in the catenaccio system, sitting behind the defence in the position of the sweeper. Unlike the standard sweeper however, the libero would venture forward into midfield whilst his side was in possession of the ball. As you'd expect, this position requires a versatile player to be effective, but with elegant defenders such as Gaetano Scirea, this role was a common sight in Italian football.

With idols such as Scirea to look up to, many defenders emulated these magnificent defenders in their own play, and we now have ball-playing defenders such as Andrea Barzagli, Gerard Pique (albeit not Italian, he plays a similar role to a libero), and Daniele de Rossi, who isn't a natural centre-back, but the Italian has played in the position before, one of these times being when Italy were without Andrea Barzagli for the first stages of the 2012 European championships.

From defending, a team in possession of a defender who is of quality in the more attacking aspects of the game will find it easier to instigate counter-attacks as they have that person in defence who can pull of those long balls from deep which are often seen go wayward of the intended target and result in an almost immediate loss of possession.

 

Narrowness

The 3-5-2 system which a few premier league sides have started to play after Italy used it to reasonable success (especially against Spain) in the European 2012 tournament was also first successful in the Italian leagues. More uncommon formations seen in the other top leagues of Europe are often seen in the Serie A, with the 3-5-2 being used by Udinese, Napoli, Fiorentina and Juventus recently. The latter of the two sides have also been greatly successful using this system, as they won the Scudetto last season unbeaten whilst conceding just 20 goals. A 3-4-3 was also used by Inter last season, albeit unsuccessfully, the only side who play a similar system in the Premiership is Wigan, who also play with three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards (two wingers one striker).

The most prevalent formations in the top flight of Italy all have one thing in common, they're all played narrowly. As I previously said, Napoli, Fiorentina, Inter and Juventus all play 3-5-2/3-4-1-2 systems (Inter can also play a 4-1-2-1-2 however), Milan play a narrow 4-2-3-1, and Lazio play a narrow 4-1-4-1, and the main capital side Roma play a 4-3-3 which is narrow and could be classed as a 4-1-2-2-1, similar to how Villareal's wingers came inside when they had the talents of Cazorla in the side in the 4-2-2-2 system.

With congested midfields, the matches are tight which makes for frequent low scoring games as neither side can allow for the other to get the advantage in the centre of the pitch. With the majority of the play being in the centre, teams find it hard to break the opposition down as; A) they don't have many angles to attack from (they are playing directly in front of the goal, therefore without runs from the full-backs, they don't have players in a position to cross the ball) and B) width is a key aspect of attacks, and narrow build-up allows the opposition to get compact and difficult to break down, also, even if you do move wide then the opposition will still be narrow in defence, making it difficult for your player to win a header from the potential cross.

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