#002 - Defenders Assemble!
Secret Superstars in WoSo - Part II. Lets talk about defenders, baby!
This is the 2nd installment of the series “Secret Superstars in WoSo”. You can read the first part here.
In a world that’s obsessed with attackers and players who are on the scoresheet, it’s easy to overlook the ones that provide the team with a foundation to build attacks on. While scoring worldies gets you into YouTube highlight reels being able to negate opposition attacks is an art in itself and has got it’s own niche audience.
While defending is often confused with the ability to make last ditch highlight worthy tackles and goal line clearances, the defensive basics lies in preventing fires rather than putting them out. While a team’s defensive structure dictates a lot, understanding of spacing between various lines, game reading ability, body orientation are some factors that help in this aspect but being a good defender isn’t solely based on what one does off the ball.
As the game has evolved over time, the demands of a modern defender has changed. As the focus has shifted heavily on a possession based style with increased impetus on playing out from the back, the defenders have evolved going from no-nonsense to ball playing ones. In modern football it’s become imperative that your defenders are comfortable on the ball.
The CB are required to have good passing ability. The aggressiveness and physically dominant nature is now fused with the comfort to carry the ball and play line breaking passes. While the fullbacks are increasingly seen as attackers and are often a team’s primary chance creator. In some cases the fullbacks are even auxiliary midfielders.
Today we will be focusing on 5 brilliant modern defenders who are good at both on/off-ball attributes and then some.
María Méndez
Age: 21
Position (Team/Country) : CB (Levante/Spain)
Legend has it that if you google “The Wall in Spanish” a picture of Maria Mendez shows up. A part of the golden generation of Spanish women’s footballers, that won the U17 European Championship and U17 Women’s World Cup in 2018. She moved to Levante from Deportivo La Coruna on a 3 year deal at the end of 2019/20 season and has since played a part in helping the side reach Copa de la Reina and Supercopa finals in 20/21.
In Maria Mendez you have a player who can comfortably play in a back 4 or a back 3 as the RCB. A right footed defender capable of doing it all, Mendez is one of the finest Spanish talents.
An excellent reader of the game, Mendez is great at preventing fires from even starting off. She is great at showing the attackers away from goal using her body. Her game awareness allows her to quickly identify and breakdown attacks. She is front footed in her defensive approach, preferring to strangle them of space to do anything dangerous. This is aided by her physical presence.
Having plied her trade in midfield before, her abilities on the ball aren’t far behind either, capable of slinging a pass cross fields and being calm under pressure make her a reliable option on the ball. She is a very able ball-progressor from defence giving her side the ability to build out from the back.
She is a leader at the back, very vocal constantly organizing the backline. At 21 she has been named as one of the captains of Levante and had previously captained Real Oviedo as well.
A physical towering presence, Maria Mendez is an aerial threat in opposition box. This can be at times used against her but she is normally very clean in her duels. Some forwards can use that to their advantage and draw some quick fouls.
Pace isn’t her strongest suit but she does well enough in dealing with speedy forwards by showing them away from goal using her body and averting immediate danger.
She has the potential to be one of the best central defenders in world football. Injuries have hindered her progression this season but she is usually a reliable presence playing the 3rd most minutes last season for Levante.
Lisa Boattin
Age: 24
Position (Team/Country) : LB (Juventus/Italy)
Boattin is an alumnus of the prestigious Brescia and yet another player to feature from the 2014 edition of U17 tournaments. A left back for Juventus and Italy, Boattin has a wand of a left foot and is extremely comfortable on the ball.
She is highly influential in possession for both Juventus and Italy and with her on-ball abilities is very much capable of turning a playmaker from wide areas. She is often the primary chance creator from settled possession for Juventus.
Boattin is an excellent distributor when on the ball. The range on her passes allows her to quickly push attackers in behind with a long diagonal ball, helping Juventus gain territory on opponents quickly. This adds a layer of directness about their attack. The switches to the far side help move entire blocks to one side thus allowing blindside runs to far post and also open up spaces centrally for Juventus to attack through the middle.
She doesn’t chase the ball in behind and out wide as much but rather prefers the ball be played to her feet.
Look at this assist she produced against Servette in the first round of UWCL. She initially makes an underlapping run into the box and then she wanders all the way to the right half space and then uses her left foot to perfectly find Caruso in behind. The comfort on the ball is clearly evident.
She has set-pieces in her arsenal as well owing to her magical left foot. She can deliver perfectly weighted and curling deliveries for the targets. Her comfort on the ball is also visible as she takes on players and manages to hold possession thanks to her close control.
She is heavily involved in the build-up phases inside the team’s own half, often inverting into midfield to provide that extra body in the middle. This makes her integral in the build-up and progression phase for Juventus.
Her heatmap from the last 3 UWCL games for Juventus paints a perfect picture. We can see her heavy involvement in possession with her being in the top 3 for touches and passes in all those games. Her tendency to take up an inverted midfield position in her own half is also visible by the concentration of touches infield. She is capable of stretching the field when in opposition half (as we can notice in the first 2 touchmaps) while being equally capable of coming inside and producing quality balls like we saw in the assists earlier.
In defensive situations she tucks in and provides good cover and balance, maintaining good distances with the CB and not allowing much central spaces for the players to attack through.
Her game awareness shines in defensive situations. She understands the importance of spacing really well and doesn’t get stretched out wide often, maintaining a compact shape. Her positioning in the opposition half allows to stop the opposition break in case of a turnover. She has good recovery pace allowing her to get back in position after ball loss.
Sophia Kleinherne
Age: 22
Position (Team/Country) : CB (Eintracht Frankfurt/Germany)
77k fans gathered at Wembley to witness Germany against England in a friendly. A 20 year-old German CB, Sophia Kleinherne, stepped on the field. Unfazed by the crowd or the opposition, Kleinherne putting in a “Player of the Match” performance dealing with Lucy Bronze and Nikita Parris.
The world noticed Kleinherne then but the foundations were laid way before that.
A part of the U17 Women’s European Championship title winning side and following that up with runners up medal at the U19 age bracket (where she also captained the side), Kleinherne has been an important piece in the youth ranks for Germany before making a seamless jump to the senior national side.
Kleinherne belongs to the breed of modern ball playing CBs. Usually stationed as the right sided CB but capable of playing on either side. She likes to carry the ball out from the defence and help move her side up. Fairly comfortable carrying the ball out, she also has range in her passes to pick out long diagonals and kickstart attacks in one swift move.
Kleinherne is eager to engage in duels. She likes to step out of her line regularly, reading and intercepting play. In 1v1 situations, she is physically robust and willing to put her body on the line if need be. She wins out on most of her defensive ground duels. She is a very busy defender, always in the thick of action and while this might skew perspective, her ability to neutralize attackers in 1v1 situations facing them is fantastic.
This aggressive style of defending comes with it’s own risks. At times she doesn’t close down the receiver quickly enough when stepping up, leaving the backline exposed. These mistakes can be glossed over in a system that facilitates her style of play.
She isn’t the most aerially dominant CB, often getting beaten in aerial duels in the box.
Her age belies the veteran-esque maturity she displays on the pitch; unfazed by the rival or crowd. This maturity allows her to shake off mistakes in-game quickly. She is a baby faced warrior on the pitch, always ready to put in a hard tackle and get into physical duels.
Rikke Sevecke
Age: 25
Position (Team/Country) : CB (Everton/Denmark)
Sevecke was arguably the best recruitment by Everton in the 2020 transfer market in terms of how influential she was to the team’s performance defensively. After a good spell at Fleury, Sevecke moved to England and immediately became an indispensable part of Willie Kirk’s setup. Her presence helped raise the defensive floor for the team.
Sevecke is a predominantly right footed center back who can play as either LCB or RCB and is versatile enough to operate as on the flanks if need be, as has been tested out at Everton and Denmark as well, although the later this isn’t making the best use of her abilities.
Sevecke is a presence in the air owing to her tall frame, making her a valuable asset for the team. She can deal with crosses really well and is a threat on offensive set-piece situations. She attacks the ball really well in attacking set-piece situations, making her a viable option in the box.
Her aerial presence is a go-to weapon for teams to utilize in gaining an edge over the opponent. This enables her to deal with opposition crosses and set-pieces really well.
Sevecke is a really tidy defender. Her ability to read the opponent like a book when faced in a duel makes her a solid one-on-one defender. Her game awareness allows her to time her interceptions and tackles to perfection and win the possession back. She has the agility to cover the ground well but isn’t the quickest one to do it.
She is really good on the ball and comfortable with both feet which adds to her versatility allowing her to play across the backline. This makes her a great candidate for team looking to build from the back. She is calm under pressure offering great security on the ball.
Sevecke often goes under the radar but is a really complete CB, who is tidy on and off the ball and can make further leap from her current side.
Maëlle Lakrar
Age: 22
Position (Team/Country) : CB (Montpellier/France)
Lakrar shared the stage with Kleinherne at the U19 Women’s European Championship in 2019 when France faced off Germany at Saint Mirren Park, Scotland. Both players captained their respective sides and France reigned supreme thanks to a goal from, you guessed it: Maelle Lakrar.
Lakrar is a fantastic modern ball playing center half that ticks a lot of boxes. The right footed center half has been deployed as the LCB in a back 3 for Montpellier but has previously played the RCB as well. Comfortable on the ball, Lakrar is adept at distributing the ball over range pretty well.
One of Lakrar’s strengths is her ability to always keep track of her opponent in open play. She is very aware of the positions the opponent is taking up and is great at quickly closing them down, not allowing them time to turn after receiving the ball.
She uses her body really well in duels to shield the ball from the opponent. This makes her tough opponent to come up against in 1v1 duels. She likes to go into challenges and times her tackles really well, making clean challenges. She is also good at delaying the shooting window for the window.
Her 170 cms frame make her a viable option in aerial duels and she can be a threat on attacking set-piece situations. This allows her to deal with crosses and long balls really well. She has excellent recovery speed, making her adept at dealing with quick forwards.
Having made her debut at 16, Lakrar quickly became a first team regular at Olympic Marseille. After OM’s relegation in 2018, she earned a move to Montpellier where she has again established herself as a starter. It’s a matter of time before she earns her big move.
psst, here’s a nutmeg for you!!
Jessica Silva is a filthy dribbler and the nutmeg-y tingle tells me this won’t be the last we see of her in this section. I mean look at that, you can probably point to the exact moment the soul left the defenders body.
Until next time, Ciao! (I promise it’ll be next week)