Sweepers? Are there any left??

Nowso

are there any out and out sweepers left? positioned behind the centre half!

the likes od schuster at madrid etc. will we see any teams playing a sweeper in the future?

mike65

Pepe Reina when he goes a bit mad!

Good question though, contemporary formations 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 don't really have room for one. If three CBs and wing backs ever make a come back then there is room, Daniel Agger would be an excellent sweeper I think.

Pepe LeFrits

The sweeper basically became obsolete when they changed the offside rule from 3 players to 2.

_blank_

The sweeper has moved from behind the centre halves to in front of them.

Pinturicchio

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/04/22/is-the-sweeper-set-for-a-return-to-prominence/

Dotrel

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

The sweeper basically became obsolete when they changed the offside rule from 3 players to 2.

How long ago was that? Greece won Euro 2004 with a sweeper.

Pepe LeFrits

Dotrel wrote: »

How long ago was that? Greece won Euro 2004 with a sweeper.

Dellas wasn't a sweeper in the true sense of the word for me; he was a centre-back.

Pro. F

Wasn't the offside law changed from three to two defenders in the 20's or 30's? There have been plenty of sweepers since then.

Dotrel

Pro. F wrote: »

Wasn't the offside law changed from three to two defenders in the 20's or 30's? There have been plenty of sweepers since then.

That's what I thought, but Pepe was talking about it like it was something more recent so I wasn't sure.

BTW Pepe what is your definition of a "true sense" sweeper? I'd consider anyone who spends the game mopping up behind the defensive line to possibly fall into that category no matter whether their default position is. Are you talking about the 60's style with a defender actually planted in the box for the entire game (eg Picchi at Inter) or perhaps a 90s one like Sammer?

losthorizon

Pinturicchio wrote: »

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/04/22/is-the-sweeper-set-for-a-return-to-prominence/

Pique is the Libero really with Barca imo.

Skid

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

The sweeper basically became obsolete when they changed the offside rule from 3 players to 2.

Not really. Lots of Sweepers in the 70s and 80s

In 1925, the three-player offside rule became a two-player one, representing another radical change that propelled the game further forward.

http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/law/summary.html

dreamers75

Changed to a footballing CB, quite the rare commodity.

Suppose Pique would be the only out and out atm in a 343, old school sweeper was a decent player in a last man back type role.

cgpg5

Didn't Philipp Cocu operate as Libero later in his career quite a bit?

Raekwon

Players like Franco Baresi, Franz Beckenbauer and Lothar Matthaus revolutionised the position back in the day but the role of Sweeper isn't really utilized in the modern game.

Seaneh

Closest things to sweepers these days would be the likes of Thiago Silva or Pique, the allow their partners to attack the ball and act as a cover for them, picking up anything they miss.
They also tend to receive the ball from their partners or keeper a lot and start to bring forward.
They both have great ball control and passing range, either would comfortball playing as a CM imho.

They both remind me of Lucio when he was at Bayern in that they like taking the ball forward and even running at players with the ball.

kraggy

What part of the offside rule mentions 2 defenders lads?

amacachi

kraggy wrote: »

What part of the offside rule mentions 2 defenders lads?

2 players, the keeper is usually one of them.

recyclebin

Most attackers play off the last defender so the sweeper has become reduntant. The offside trap as a defensive tactic has also made the sweeper unnecessary.

Melion

I always thought Xabi Alonso would make a great "sweeper" later in his career

Pepe LeFrits

Ignore me!

iregk

Well the game has changed quite a bit. The days of long ball football fed into the sweeper position beautifully. What the defenders didn't get the sweeper will. This was also before GK's were trained.

The modern game is more of a passing movement based game. GK's now play the sweeper position. If a team rolled out with a sweeper system the only thing that would serve today is that it would allow the opposition to get closer to goal while staying onside.

What has largely replaced it is the role of the quarter back. Pirlo, Xavi etc... Usually deployed in the 4-2-3-1 formation alongside a more rigid defensive midfielder.

Pro. F

iregk wrote: »

Well the game has changed quite a bit. The days of long ball football fed into the sweeper position beautifully. What the defenders didn't get the sweeper will. This was also before GK's were trained.

The modern game is more of a passing movement based game. GK's now play the sweeper position. If a team rolled out with a sweeper system the only thing that would serve today is that it would allow the opposition to get closer to goal while staying onside.

What has largely replaced it is the role of the quarter back. Pirlo, Xavi etc... Usually deployed in the 4-2-3-1 formation alongside a more rigid defensive midfielder.

The game hasn't changed to more passing and movement now. That has been a prevalent style for at least 60 years. The reason sweepers fell out of favour is because man marking in open play was superseded by zonal marking. The sweeper is part of a man marking system.

Nowso

you could play a marker with a sweeper behind in the right position.. it has been moved to cente back ie ferdinand, jagielka playing in line with the marker, it would be good to see a traditonal sweeper positioned behind the cb again in the modern game

shadowcomplex

Matthias Sammer was a sweeper and one of the best players in the world at the time

Zebra3

Best current example is probably Valdez.

TaosHum

I suppose you could argue it died out with the 3-5-2 formation?

flahavaj

shadowcomplex wrote: »

Matthias Sammer was a sweeper and one of the best players in the world at the time

Sammer is the last great example I can think of. Its hard to operate with one ina flat back four which the majority of teams employ these days.

the realpigiron

Sweepers as in liberos in recent times were mainly Italian or based in the Italian Serie A. When Serie A lost some of its prestige and was passed out by La Liga and the EPL the libero went out of fashion. Jack Charlton used to play McGrath in midfield, at one stage to cover for his captain Mick McCarthy's lack of pace. He could easily have deployed him as a libero.

losthorizon

Its a pity Rovers keeper Brush isnt a sweeper