The Defender.

PUSH UP!! HOLD THE LINE!! GET BACK!! NO TURN, DON’T LET HIM TURN!!

Words that you hear in defense and know exactly what needs to happen. The role of a defender is to shut down the forwards/strikers and protect the goal, as well as the goal keeper. Many games are won because the defense does not allow shots on their goal. Simply put, they protect their goal and their goal keeper from having shots placed on them. This is not an easy position to play on the field. You have to be tough, fast, physical and mentally strong. Many may describe your mental state and actions as beast mode. I think it is because the very best defenders have the heart of a LION!

In this position, you have to realize that every decision you make is part of your teams overall strategy to make sure the opponent does not score. In defense you are constantly communicating, letting your teammates around you know what is happening and keeping midfield informed on where the ball is going next. You are in sync with your brothers in the defense alongside of you. You know what each of you is capable of and have each other covered. 

You are constantly moving in defense, as soon as you stop one attack, you need to strategically set the stage for our own counter attack. Looking up field for your strikers and putting the ball as close to them as possible to increase the odds of us scoring. This opens up the field and shifts the play. There is incredible timing involved in your position, you have to determine when to make the tackle and went to stay close to make sure the striker doesn’t turn and pull off a shot. This all happens in seconds as you run at full speed and determine what is the best strategy to clear this ball and stop the offense.

This role requires complete mental strength. You must be the strongest, fastest and most physical player on the field as you are going up against the very best scoring machines on the other team. Your task is simple, shut them down and do not allow them to shoot on your goal.

Unfortunately it is one of those positions that does not get the glory. You won’t be recognized for the game stopping tackle, its always the game winning goal. Which means you have to be mentally prepared for that. This is the kind of job where you dig deep, each and every play, every game and you never give up. The goal keeper needs you back there, the team needs you and the very best teams have an extremely powerful defense as their foundation. That game winning goal happens in seconds, while the tackles and defensive performance stretches across 90 minutes of battle.

When the game is over, the midfield has shown their foot skills and moved the ball around well, but the recognition goes to the forwards and strikers that scored. What about the defense? The wall in the backline that protected the goal and worked in sync with each other as one unit is not normally going to get that recognition. Which means as a defender, you have to be driven by other things, you have to be motivated to want more! I’d say most defenders love the feeling of tackling their opponent, shutting down the forward and leaving the game with no goals scored on us. But part of the job is realizing the clean sheet will more than likely be credited to the goal keeper and that is part of the job. If you ask any goal keeper, he has a love for his defense, as there is a brotherhood back there that is holding down the battle together.

The next time you are watching a game, study how physical the play is for the defense. They are the ones battling and attacking shoulder to shoulder with the top scorers on the other team. Doing their best to block passes, make the tackle and during a corner kick fight their way in to head the ball out of the box! Keep in mind, doing all of this without drawing a foul and costing the team a penalty.

If someone were to get injured, the defense is the type of super utility player that can be called upon to step up too. Similar to the work world, we never know when a leader may leave and we need to call upon someone in the field to step up and cover for that open position. The defense possesses multiple skills that can be leveraged in other positions on the field.

Defenders are used to setting their own goals and raising their own bar because there is just not the same recognition that goes to these defenders. Think about it for a minute, a forward or striker can have 12 breakaways and miss 8 shots on goal, but if they make one, everyone will note that game winning goal. The opposite is not true, a defender could stop 10 breakaways from a forward, but the one time they get beat and it becomes a goal, everyone will place the blame on the shoulders of defense, not anyone else. That takes a certain personality and mentality to be able to do that game after game.

One of my favorite things to witness is watching videos of the opponent and seeing their top two people at their best. Then when we play them, watching our defense shut down those two players. Of course, those forwards get frustrated, but what I love to see is when they have a mutual respect and almost admiration for that defender that is shutting them down.

Perhaps at the end of the day, we should look at the team as a whole, and give every player the proper credit for the role they played, instead of singling out those few. We need those forwards and strikers to score, we need the midfielders to move the ball and set things up for the goal, but we need that defense too. We definitely have to respect those defenders back there as they work hard without the glory, every game. It is a team sport, do we only recognize the owner of the horse in the race and overlook the jockey who raced the horse and not give the horse, the trainers and everyone else involved the proper credit?

One has to appreciate a solid team sport where you work together and battle until the end. Who am I? I’m a champion, love this video: https://youtu.be/yX39J_YyKbs

Make it a great day, thanks for taking the time to read!

Hal Lanfear IV