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Can Lefty get credit?

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He did pretty well for Germany U21's a few months ago when he played there, he was towering at the back and won everything in the air. I still think he looks a bit vulnerable but it's worth sticking with for now at least.
 
I know I am getting carried away, but I saw glimpses in The Caiser which suggest that the Libero role, lastly mastered by Sammer, could be resurrected. Can playing in the middle of the back three and confidently striding out from defence would be a sight to behold. interestingly Sammer also started out as a defensive midfielder.

Brendan has the tactical cahunas to try the Libero role in the premier league. I don't think it has ever been tried.
 
The position of the libero is dead because of the different interpretation of the offside rule compared to the times of Beckenbauer. The new interpretation pretty much leaves no choice but to defend in a line. I was following Lobanovskiy's Dynamo Kyiv in the 90's and I remember how he was one of the last holdouts who resisted switching to the modern "line" defense that uses offside trap; I think he finally made the switch around 2000. However, even in modern systems a CB can sometimes join the attack to great effect – see Pique or former Bayern and Inter defender Lucio.

I am not sure I want to see Can as a CB in a 4-man defense, I think that would be to a certain extent a waste of his abilities. But for now he slotted in very nicely at RCB and I hope he gets a good run of games there. I think even Gary Neville was quite impressed with him.
 
The position of the libero is dead because of the different interpretation of the offside rule compared to the times of Beckenbauer. The new interpretation pretty much leaves no choice but to defend in a line. I was following Lobanovskiy's Dynamo Kyiv in the 90's and I remember how he was one of the last holdouts who resisted switching to the modern "line" defense that uses offside trap; I think he finally made the switch around 2000. However, even in modern systems a CB can sometimes join the attack to great effect – see Pique or former Bayern and Inter defender Lucio.

I am not sure I want to see Can as a CB in a 4-man defense, I think that would be to a certain extent a waste of his abilities. But for now he slotted in very nicely at RCB and I hope he gets a good run of games there. I think even Gary Neville was quite impressed with him.


that's a very bold statement (excuse the pun) - you are saying the libero is dead because of the off side rule changing since the 70's. However, Sammer was the last great exponent and the off side rule was the same as now.

the reason the llibero has passed away is primarily because there are few great players around who can master the role and be given the confidence. Another possible reason is that you need a very good dm who can step back into the position once the libero goes marauding.
 
@leftpeg said earlier this season Can may be a good CB ...

135 minutes later @ RCB, he's look calm, assured and so far, pretty solid defensively.

Is this a long term position for him if we stick with this formation?
As a CB pairing I'd be un-easy, back 3 yes.. though I'd like to see what he can offer sitting in front of the back 4.. which at times I thought he was doing last night..
 
that's a very bold statement (excuse the pun) - you are saying the libero is dead because of the off side rule changing since the 70's. However, Sammer was the last great exponent and the off side rule was the same as now.

the reason the llibero has passed away is primarily because there are few great players around who can master the role and be given the confidence. Another possible reason is that you need a very good dm who can step back into the position once the libero goes marauding.

The offside rule got relaxed gradually, big change in 1990, then another tweak in 1995, then another in 2005. Each time attacking players got more benefit of the doubt and the advantage of playing a defensive "line" as opposed to the "stopper-sweeper" system has increased. With attackers allowed to stay on the same line as the last defender (and even beyond in the case of "passive offside"), using a sweeper dramatically increased the depth of attack to the disadvantage of the defending team. I don't think the reason for its extinction has been the absence of right type players. Not every sweeper was a Sammer or a Beckenbauer, there were plenty of mediocre ones back in the day. And among modern defenders, like I said, players like Pique, Lucio and others could have been great sweepers.
 
As a CB pairing I'd be un-easy, back 3 yes.. though I'd like to see what he can offer sitting in front of the back 4.. which at times I thought he was doing last night..


That's a good point. It might just be that Can offers us a realistic single DM option in front of a back 4. That'd enable us to play with two advanced midfielders behind a front three (useful when Sturridge is back).
 
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