Women's Champions League performance insights: Centre-backs to the fore

The quarter-final ties turned the spotlight on one of the recurrent contests in top-level football – the battle between teams who set out to build coherent moves from the back and opponents with strategies to prevent them from doing so.

The theme was encapsulated by UEFA technical observer Katrine Pedersen who, after watching Benfica take on Lyon, remarked: "Benfica deserve a lot of credit for a brave strategy that they believed would keep them in the tie, based on patient possession play and confidence in their ability to play through Lyon’s high press."

The comment would be endorsed by Gemma Grainger and Joe Montemurro, who saw Brann's two games against Barcelona and by Britta Carlson who saw Ajax in action against Chelsea. The ties produced fascinating duels between well-structured build-up play from the back and equally well-organised collective high pressing.

The topic is illustrated by graphics (above and below) produced by UEFA's analysis unit from four teams in the first quarter-final ties. The first clearly demonstrates the top teams' determination to disrupt their opponents' build-up play by applying immediate pressure, on the vast majority of occasions allowing the opposition two passes or fewer. The second graphic highlights the frequency of sustained high-intensity pressure based on multiple pressing actions – if required – by teams prepared to attack in numbers deep in opposition territory.

As a result, the ability to resist high pressure and play out of it has also become a key requirement – and the technical analysis features on the quarter-final ties are rich in examples of both facets of the modern game.

Whereas full-backs and wing-backs have long since been associated with attacking, ball-playing qualities, the widespread use of the high press has accelerated the evolution of the centre-back's job description. Gone are the days when central defenders were labelled 'stoppers'. Today's centre-back is not only required to initiate build-up play but also to be technically and tactically equipped to do so when exposed to aggressive high pressure.

After watching Brann's performance in Barcelona, Montemurro commented: "Both sets of centre-backs were comfortable and courageous in playing out of pressure and, for example, were happy to play to pressured team-mates, such as holding midfielders, and then position themselves to receive a return pass and play the ball forward. And, of course, they have a role to play at goal kicks, where opponents are generally ready to press very aggressively."

Many of the video clips in the technical analysis features on the quarter-finals start with centre-backs deep inside their own box, sometimes taking the goal kick themselves. "They tended to play inside," said Montemurro, "and then quickly go out."

"Today’s centre-back has to make an active, dynamic contribution to build-up play," Carlson added, "with constant adjustments to positioning, recognition of spaces and the ability to break opponents' lines with correctly-weighted vertical or diagonal passing."

Grainger agreed: "The key attributes are, firstly, having a clear structure and solutions for exploiting the opposition's press tactically. Then come the details such as each player's start position and the angle to receive the ball, along with a high level of technical execution to be able to play passes when under pressure with correct pace and placement."

Montemurro also stressed the importance of attention to detail "such as the choice of where to play the ball – to the correct side of the body where the receiving player can then lay off the ball with one touch".

Grainger, based on the quarter-final matches she had watched, signalled Ajax, Brann and Barcelona as benchmarkers for centre-back play, citing Ajax's Sherida Spitse as an example alongside Barça's Ingrid Engen and, after missing the early part of the season, her current defensive partner Irene Paredes.

During the home leg in Barcelona, the duo jointly played 169 of the home team's passes, having previously totalled 224 of 821 in Bergen – in both cases, more than any other players on the park – with a completion rate of 94%. And, to counter suspicions that statistics were inflated by safety-first interchanges, their ratio of backward passes averaged out at around 6%.

In terms of progressive forward passing from the defensive third into midfield, the top three were Engen, Spitse and Brann’s Marthine Østenstad, who was often willing to step forward during build-up play, making it easier for her to link with the next third. Engen also topped the ranking for successful passing in the defensive third, followed by Spitse, her Ajax team-mate Kay-Lee de Sanders and Østenstad's companion Ingrid Stenevik. Significantly, Engen and Stenevik had the confidence to play short, even when pressed, as illustrated by the fact that less than 6% of their passing was long.

At the same time, it was noticeable during the quarter-final that Paredes posted a 100% success rate in her tackling – a reminder that the centre-backs constructive abilities need to be improved without prejudice to the art of defending.

Through the coach's lens

For coaches, especially those specialising in player development, the challenge is to effectively hone these skills on the training pitch – which is the cue to introduce Lydia Bedford, a UEFA Pro Licence holder who, after coaching in women's football at Leicester City and Arsenal, made history as the first woman to work at a men's club in England's Premier League when she became head coach of Brentford's Under-18 team. She proposes three exercises to help players work on build-up play under high pressure. "This is a series of training blocks that can be built into one session," she explains, "or executed over a training week depending on loading. The theme of teams being about to execute their build up play under high pressure runs as a golden thread, but the sessions build up in numbers and tactical relevance."

The first exercise is based on 6v5 plus two players stationed outside the grid. "In this initial phase of training," Bedford adds, "possession is used to introduce the theme of build-up under high pressure, without the complexity of positions. The session is designed for 13 players but could be replicated with less or more players but changing the size of the area. The smaller the area, the more challenging the build up will be due to shorter pressing distances. The key in this session is to start to highlight the positioning of players to create passing lines in high pressure moments and the need to constantly adjust your position as the ball moves."

Session Organisation
- Yellow No6 and No5 operate outside of the grid with maximum of three touches and cannot be pressed
- Yellow No8 plays for both teams, conditioned to three touches maximum
- Aim to successfully transfer the ball from one Yellow to the other side

Progression
- Yellows reduce to two touches
- End players move inside the grid and can be pressed by opposition players

Coaching Points
- Creating space in transitional moments. Speed of action to create width and depth as a team
- Operating with positional discipline to maximise the space against high pressure
- Support angles and minimal touch combinations to move the opposition
- Decision making when to pause on the ball, when to play quickly
- Body shape and first touch to allow you to threaten forward

The second training exercise is, again, designed for 13 players in a larger playing area but, this time, with the addition of a goalkeeper. "This training block," Bedford points out, "starts to introduce position-specific aspects of build-up play against high pressure. We work specifically with the back four and midfield three to play away from pressure and progress the ball forward towards the halfway line. This practice allows players to start to recognise where the overload may be despite the high pressure. It will expose players to the importance of moving as the ball does to create passing lines, and minimal touch play to shift the opposition and make them chase the ball. Early preparation of space and body shape is crucial to ensure you can always pass to two players and that your body shape doesn’t make the press predictable."

Session Organisation
- Dotted line represents a zone which the Blue team cannot enter until the ball starts to move
- Reds possess the ball to try and score in the mini goals on the halfway line
- On regains the Blue team have an eight-second 'shot clock' to ensure they take early shooting opportunities
- If Reds score. Coach passes the ball into a Blue player and shot clock begins for quick attack

Progression
- Easier: if immediate pressure is too hard, allow the Red team three passes in the end area before Blues can begin their press
- Harder: reduce number of touches for Reds
- Harder: Blues can regain in the final third and score (two goals)

Coaching Points
- Playing away from the pressure of a front two. Using GK to create an overload and stretch the Blue front two to make the man to man press harder
- Composure to draw in pressure and then play against the line of pressure to find the weak side
- Timing of support for the player on the ball – creating multiple passing lines without closing down receiving spaces
- When to bounce and when to turn
- Body shape and receiving skills

The third exercise gives the players an opportunity to transfer their learning to the 11v11 scenario. "To replicate the game," Bedford explains, "it is important that one of the defenders steps into midfield to ensure the defending team can exert individual pressure across the pitch. As well as working on playing under high pressure, the in-possession team can also look to recognise when to exploit the space in behind the defending team and isolate the 3v3 they may have left at the back. It continues to be key that the goalkeeper becomes an active member of the back four and should be willing to receive under pressure. A shot clock is used to encourage quick attacks when the ball is regained by the defensive team. This also encourages the in-possession team to build with a 'what if we lose possession?' mindset and be ready to defend the goal quickly."

Session Organisation
- Variety of starting points:
1. Red dead ball goal-kick,
2. Red open play with GK (overhit pass by Blue team),
3. Throw-in
- On regain, Blues have an eight-second 'shot clock'
- Reds, one goal for progressing past the white dotted line, two goals for progressing past the red line

Coaching Points
- When to play space vs feet – recognising breakthrough passes on the floor or in the air
- Opposite movements to exploit the space in behind the opponent

As Grainger remarked, "with the top teams in the world now expecting centre-backs to play out under pressure, it is essential that these solutions are practised in training".