Whatever Happened to the ART of Defending?

Seems today we are seeing goals fly in like no man's business. The records that Messi and Cristiano are breaking is just quite ridiculous and alarming. Some may believe that they really are that good, (errr....Cristiano? Don't think so) while those like me will look in deeper and realize there has been a serious dearth in quality defending. This has lead to strikers scoring more goals than ever and resulting in far more open games. Seems people have forgotten about the art of defending.

I was just looking back at some clips of Baresi doing some work in that great World Cup final of 94. You really just need to watch and see EXACTLY what defending is all about. None of the two-footed tackles or trying to get "stuck in". Baresi showed how intelligence and awareness are the two key attributes in defending very well.
  This was a great Brazilian side that swept away most teams lead by the incredibly gifted Romario. So for him and his other samba stars to be completely NULLIFIED tells you a little something about what Baresi and his compatriots did. Franco was totally aware of what the Brazilians did a thousand years before they did it. Before any of their attackers had a chance to even take in some air, Baresi raced past them taking the ball on his way.
  Now, you guy can talk all you want but I will put Romario above most players. Definitely on the same level as Messi with regards to ability on the ball and waaaaaaaay ahead of Cristiano. So if you do the mathematics, a Baresi in his prime would not have allowed all this free-scoring crap that is taking place right now. Won't happen.

You can keep reeling off all the names. Nesta, Desailly, Costacurta, Thuram, and of course the great wall of Milan that was Lucio and Samuel. What you had were defenders who had an incredibly high IQ for the game in their prime and really would have very happily defended Messi and Cristiano. In fairness, ANY defender in any era would have problems with Messi as that hobbit is truly special on the ball. With regards to Cristiano or Ibrahimovic or even Neymar, these REAL defenders would have chewed them up and spat them out. A defender that has high intelligence and can read the game perfectly will always come out on top against attackers that don't have a high skill in the dribbling sector. Ibrahimovic and Cristiano rely more on movement with the former being a bit more unpredictable. Whatever the case, these are strikers that do require some service, but how are they going to get the ball when Baresi has already taken it before it reaches you?


I do hope that proper defending is brought back. We have definitely shifted from a the defensive and tighter, tactical days of the 90's onto a more attacking and less disciplined era of the thousands and zero 1's. It is something a team like Italy and Prandelli need to take heed. Sure, goals is the name of the game and if you score more than your opponent then you win. On the flip side, if your defence REFUSES to let a goal past and all you need is a single goal to go through....that is still a very good deal that your strikers would be more than satisfied with.

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