Andrea Pirlo v Sergio Busquets: The Deep Lying Midfielder

with faster more aggressive defenders and a game that has increasingly seen the use of the press moving a playmaker deeper make sense many teams have shifted their creative hub behind the first midfield line just ahead of the defense it allows teams to build from the back while protecting their primary schema behind a dynamic midfield that moves to provide options this can draw a press forwards and open space further up the pitch it also shifts the opposition stifling player from sitting in front of the defense in the classic sixth position to higher up which can in turn limit the opposition's own creativity two of the great deep-lying midfielders of the recent era have been and rare Pirlo and sergio busquets but they are different players who bring different qualities while PLO was and Busquets is an exceptional player their individual attributes show the variety that can be found in the deep-lying playmaker role with the team systems and a player's own abilities shaping the function and execution of one of the most important roles in modern football both players found a home in the modern 4-3-3 at the base of the midfield 3 though Pirlo was also often used in a midfield diamond and in front of a back three while busquets has also recently played a fair bit as part of the double pivot in the midfield for first and foremost the role of the classic 6 was to sit in front of the backline protect them and crucially for space in front of them and negate the creative player from the opposition who played in the 10 spot and of course pillo never really intended to be a classic 6 he started as a creative attacking midfielder at Inter but was loaned to Brescia the use of the great Roberto Baggio and that role forced his then manager carla Mazzoni to push Pirlo further back to play as a deep-lying playmaker a register this means that pilos defensive responsibilities reflected that his job was to be the deepest creator not a defensive player in addition so did the makeup of the team around him PLO patrolled the space in front of the back three or four but he generally marked the zone while other players shuttling midfielders like Daniele De Rossi or Gennaro Gattuso or defenders who could step out like Giorgio Chiellini or Leonardo Bonucci closed down and attacked the ball and players in possession while PLO could use his two her breeding of the game to make interceptions and indeed often play a brilliant counter-attacking pass with it his job was not about defense instead the rest of the team compensated for Pirlo's lack of pace strength and aggression because he brought so much by contrast sergio busquets is a marvelous screaming presence but this again is a function of the team created around him when he came into the Barcelona side which facilitated Savi's move up from the double pivot into the central midfield Busquets was able to offer basses diminutive midfielders a more physical presence behind them Andres Iniesta and Xavi and now players like Yvonne racket itch are superb passes and movers and do press well but busquets is a more solid screen assisting the defense winning aerial balls and even slotting in between the center backs if there are periods of sustained pressure so what a both players do that is similar well both are brilliant passes again this is often done differently payload like to have a bit of space to pass and would often use the full-backs at AC Milan to create a bit more room for himself before he received the ball back and then drove the ball vertically forwards to the other created fulcrum in the 10 position someone like Remy Costa or Kaka or especially at Juventus who used the 3-5-2 system he would launch long balls forwards to the strikers or wing backs like a quarterback the key was space although Pirlo could and did play in tight spaces brilliantly he wanted the time to use his vision and range to pick a defense splitting pass Busquets on the other hand is much more geared towards ball retention while he too can play plos long balls out wide or vertically he is superb at receiving the ball under pressure using the angle of his body to keep a wide array of passing options open he will receive the ball from bastard sent to Beck's and either shift it up wide or return the ball and move to find more space allowing play to reset from deeper again if the option to shift the bone into space it isn't yet there both of these styles reflect the respective team systems in which both players operated and their personal abilities Barcelona are more about keeping possession working it forwards methodically in a way that achieves superiority AC Milan and Juventus actively use Palos passing as their main weapon to bypass a midfield or defensive line and set up Jules in attacking in other respects both players have qualities that make them super both have an extraordinary sense of what's happening on the pitch and both can scan constantly looking around to know where the opposition their own team and the space is both use their bodies brilliantly to shield the ball creating passing options and in palos case create changes of the angle of the attack by keeping his body square and then passing in a totally different direction to lure the opposition in both Andrea Pirlo and Sergio Busquets helped the finally modern defensive midfielder in very different ways but in ways that reflected what their team needed as much as what they themselves could do PLO is perhaps the greatest true gesture that has ever played the game but scarce is perhaps the most complete all-around defensive midfield different players different qualities but both among the greatest footballers that ever played the game [Music] [Music]

Channel: Tifo Football

Views: 576,955

Keywords: Football, uMAXit Football, Premier League, Whiteboard Football, Tifo, Tifo Football, EPL Latest, Pirlo, Andrea Pirlo, Juventus, Juve, Serie A, SerieATIM, UEFA, Regista, UEFA Champions League, FIFA, FIFA World Cup, Sergio Busquets, Busquets, Barca, Barcelona, La Liga, LaLiga, CDM, Defensive, Midfielder, Spain, Italy

Id: 2mCUYQQH2dQ

Length: 5min 37sec (337 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 09 2019