When you think of a defender taking a goal kick, we often imagine a Sunday-league goalkeeper who is unable to get the ball off the ground, therefore tasking his centre back to hoof the ball up field. But what if the manager of one of the best teams in the world asked his goalkeeper to let a defender take the goal kick? This is a trend that is visible recently at Barcelona under Quique Setién. Deployed against teams that play a high block with a man-to-man approach to pressing, this strategy could be something that becomes more prevalent in the coming months. In Barcelona’s case, the centre back will take the goal kick and play a short pass to the goalkeeper. This invites the opposition to press but often creates a dilemma for them as they aren’t sure on which player to press.

This was notable against Getafe. Getafe are the most aggressive pressing team in La Liga, boasting a league leading 7.12 PPDA (passes allowed per defensive action). Barcelona knew this so engineered this solution. Here are some examples from that game:

Goal kick vs Getafe (1)

As you can see here, Umtiti plays the ball to Ter Stegen. This initiates the Getafe press, although this means they are facing a 2 v 3. Busquets them moves slightly to the right dragging his marker with him, this opens the entire field up for Ter Stegen and he plays a perfect long pass to the feet of Griezmann. This move shows how easy this is to pull off, and how much it destroys the oppositions pressing structure. If the goalkeeper was to pass to the centre back, the intelligent Getafe would easily block his passing lanes as well as pressing the man, forcing a simple turnover.

Illustration of the phase of play. The opening in the middle of the pitch is visible (dotted line indicates player movement, solid line indicates ball movement)

Goal kick vs Getafe (2)

Getafe are again pressing extremely high at the goal kick. The same strategy takes place and Getafe are unsure how to press, with both of the strikers choosing to block Ter Stegens passing lanes rather than going for the ball. One of the Getafe strikers, Jaime Mata, is demanding his midfielder step up and press Ter Stegen, but this would leave Busquets open to receive the ball and begin the attacking phase. Due to the excellent ball playing ability of the German goalkeeper, he is happy to dwell on the ball waiting for the ideal pass to open up without being pressured by the opposition. This goal kick is another example of how well this strategy works against teams pressing in a 4-4-2 structure, but what if the team was pressing differently?

The intense man orientated pressing is shown here, but Ter Stegen is able to use the ball wisely due to the time he is allowed

Against Eibar, Barcelona utilised the same strategy. Although they used to be, Eibar are not now known as a ‘high pressing team’. They are now tenth in the league for PPDA and their distancing from their old style was notable in this game. Although they play with a high line, their pressing isn’t as aggressive as what it used to be.

Goal kick vs Eibar

Eibar were pressing in 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1 structure, it is visible how the centre back taking the goal kick confused the Eibar striker as to whether he should press Ter Stegen or block his passing lane to Pique. Ter Stegen plays an excellent pass to Rakitic who returns it to Pique, before Pique makes a poor decision and decides to dribble down the wing. This shows how the centre back taking the goal kick causes confusion in the pressing team as they are unsure to if they should attempt to press the goalkeeper, block the passing lanes to the centre backs, mark the 6 tightly, or track the runs of the 8’s. In a 2-1-4-3 build-up structure that Barcelona are utilising, it is extremely difficult for the opposition to block passing lanes as this structure regularly leads to overloads in the midfield causing there to often be a player free to receive the ball.

How easy it was for Ter Stegen to pass through Eibar’s press is visible here. It also shows how only one player pressing a goalkeeper of his calibre is ultimately pointless in preventing Barcelona’s buildup.

Against Real Sociedad, this strategy was not as fruitful. Real Sociedad press in a very organised fashion and are currently third in the league in PPDA (7.99). Through the example shown below, you can see how Barcelona struggled against a well-rehearsed pressing structure that didn’t allow them to leave their box.

Goal kick vs Real Sociedad

This is an example of how to defend against this strategy. Sociedad begin the press with two players who block the passing lanes towards the fullbacks as well as being close to both centre backs, making a pass back to them look risky for Ter Stegen. A midfielder, in this case Odegaard, is sticking extremely tight to Busquets. This makes it almost impossible to turn when receiving the ball, forcing him to return the ball to the keeper. Eventually this passage of play leads to Pique being fouled by a Sociedad player, although it is visible how an excellent press lead to Barcelona being in an uncomfortable position near their own goal.

See how the two highest Sociedad players press the centre backs rather than Ter Stegen, as well as blocking the passing lanes to the fullbacks. The man orientated marking in the middle of the pitch is also visible.

Ultimately, the centre back taking a goal kick is not a familiar sight in professional football, although it may become a common occurrence in the future. The ability to ­ use this strategy to exploit an opposing team’s pressing structure is someone that may be extremely valuable to teams who wish to build from the back. This strategy is relatively simple if practised well, and if you have defenders who are comfortable on the ball.

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