Coaching the Inverted Fullbacks

Pep Guardiola is the inventor of this team tactical shape; as already stated, the positional play idea of Guardiola probably took him to use these tactics at Bayern Munich, looking for numerical advantage around the ball all over the attacking half of the field, the chance to exploit the skills of his wingers and for the immediate recovery of the ball after its loss. Inverted fullbacks are linked to Pep's creative invention, the "Half Spaces." As these kinds of fullbacks overload the center and the wingers are asked to be placed as wide and possible, Guardiola has been able to open two channels between the flanks and the center, where the center backs, while building up, and the offensive midfielders, when the team is finishing, often act.

Obviously, the "Half Spaces" are the territory of exchanges of positions, many kinds of possible patterns of play between the attacking players; mobility is essential inside these spaces. Inverted fullbacks inside the half-spaces and wingers along the flanks, never placed on the same vertical line, where defenders can easily cover passes, if not time, made this field possible; these spaces call us to mind the positional play.

This is the reason for this book; try to coach the inverted fullbacks through the positional game to understand the patterns of play and then with small-sided games to take them into the situations with attacking and defending transitions.