Every now and again there is a new buzz word or phrase that does the round in football and sometimes they apply to AC Milan. Inverted full-backs ticks both of those boxes.
Recently we have seen some changes in how Milan head coach Stefano Pioli uses his full-backs as they come inside when Milan have the ball. This is what is called as an ‘inverted full-back’, which can be explained through observations of certain principles.
What does an inverted full-back mean? Quite simply it is a full-back who moves inside to the central areas of the pitch and it is a tactic used by teams that want to focus on dominating possession, but there is more to it than that.
Possession phase
One of the main purposes of having an inverted full-back is to outnumber the opposition in the centre of the pitch.
This in turn adds another passing option especially for the centre-backs while moving the ball out from the back or while building attacks using short passes, and functions so as to not give away possession cheaply.
The full-backs who play this style have to have spacial awareness to create forward passing angles for the defenders in the back line.
They should also have the ability to make vertical passes or dribble past their opponents to break opposition lines.
Lastly they should be able to switch play to the opposite full-back, so for example if Pierre Kalulu inverts he should be able to switch it to Theo Hernandez.
Non-possession phase
Since Inverting a full-back is mainly to dominate possession one of the main method of attack for the opposition will be counter-attacks.
This means that the full-back can add to the counter-press (pressing initiated when the team on the ball loses possession) and restrict the space for the opposition to progress the ball towards the centre, hence pushing them wide.
The inverted full-back can screen passes to the opposition striker (No.9) during a counter-attack based on the spaces taken up and the options cut off.
They can also carry out defensive duties and kill attacks in the centre of the field. In the event the attack gets beyond a certain point, the full-backs can invert back to their traditional role and defend wide areas.
Benefits
One plus is that helps to dominate possession since that is the main focus of the entire exercise. Being a central passing option it helps to facilitate building out from the back through the central areas.
This is something Milan lacked last season and it meant Mike Maignan often punted the ball towards Olivier Giroud or Rafael Leao, due to absence of alternative options.
If a winger follows the inverting full back to the centre, if frees up spaces for the winger on the other side. As an example, this was something that led to Milan’s first goal against ES Sahel over the weekend.
In addition, inverted full-backs help to defend and protect central areas of the pitch and push opposition attacks wide.
Drawbacks
When a player from the back four moves into midfield it quite obviously means there is one less player in the rearguard. If the opposition can get past the midfield on the counter, this can create a numerical disadvantage for the team.
There needs to be clear understanding between the inverting full-back and the team-mates so that there is no mix up between players.
Last season – particularly during the horrible spells of January and March – the Rossoneri were repeatedly caught in transition because the other team were able to overload and exploit the gaps due to this lack of understanding.
Qualities needed
An inverting full-back needs to have pace to cover the space between the phases of possession and lack of possession.
The player needs to have great positional awareness and spacial awareness to help the back line open up passing lanes as well as an astute sense of timing.
This is to understand when to press in the central areas and when to go back to their original role as full-back.
Some of the best examples of elite performers in the position are Joao Cancelo under Pep Guardiola and Trent Alexander-Arnold with Jurgen Klopp.
Guardiola is one of the greatest exponent of this tactic but it was initially used a lot by his mentor Johan Cryuff.
Conclusion
The fact that Milan have started using the idea of inverted full-backs more and more signals a change in approach from Pioli.
On the face of things, it suggests that the coach wants to move from a team that pressed with very high intensity to team that controls possession and uses the ball well.
It can also impact transfer strategy, and perhaps explains why Pioli was reportedly against Wilfried Singo’s arrival from Torino as Singo is not a player comfortable with possession.
It is a role that Alessandro Florenzi knows well, for example, but the flip side to that is that his defensive side isn’t good enough and he has doubts about his fitness.
Pierre Kalulu has slowly grown into the role in preseason but once the competition sets in it could be a whole new different ball game.
