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Home » Centre Backs in Football: Stopper vs Ball Playing vs Libero

Centre Backs in Football: Stopper vs Ball Playing vs Libero

“Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles”– Sir Alex Ferguson

Defence is undeniably one of the most important components of any successful football team. And no position embodies the notion of defence more than centre backs.

Centre backs come in various shapes and sizes and all possess different unique characteristics. But what makes a great centre back? In addition to that, what are the different types of centre backs?

In summary, there are three variations of centre backs; stoppers, ball playing centre backs and liberos. A stopper is a physically dominant defender that purely stops attacks. A ball playing CB shares many of the characteristics of a stopper, but also possesses great passing ability and ball control. A libero is a specialised ball playing CB that sits behind traditional centre backs.

I did a bit of research to unpack what all of this means.

What is a centre back?

A centre back (CB) is the second last line of defence in a football team, followed by the goalkeeper.

At the onset of modern football, teams would line up in a very attacking formation, known as a 235. The defensive component of the team consisted of two fullbacks and three half backs.

235 formation with halfbacks and centre backs
235 formation with halfbacks and fullbacks

When defence became more of a priority to football teams, four-man defensive systems were implemented.  

The fullbacks were pushed out wide (and retained their name) and two of the half backs were pulled back to form what we now know as a conventional four-man defensive line.

The half backs that were pulled into the defensive line were then renamed centre halves. Nowadays, we refer to them as centre backs, but the words ‘centre half’ and ‘centre back’ are frequently used interchangeably.

442 formation with centre backs and fullbacks

For the most part, a CB is normally a strong player that is capable of winning the ball back from attackers and commanding the defensive line.

However, as I’m sure you can imagine, there are several variations of CBs. These variations all depend on the tactics that a team employs and the specific characteristics each player.

What are the different types of centre backs?

There are generally three centre back variations that we commonly see in the modern game. These three variations are known as stoppers, ball playing CBs and liberos.

What is a stopper?

As the name suggests, the role of a stopper centre back is simply to halt the attacks of the opposition. They will execute this task by marking the opposing attackers and putting in decisive tackles to win the ball back.

These players also specialize in winning aerial duels in and around their team’s penalty area.

A stopper is often a very tall (above 6 ft2), physically dominant player that can outmuscle the majority of football players. They possess great aggression, tackling ability and jumping ability.

However, due to their size, stoppers are usually slow in comparison to other professional footballers, and do not possess great agility.

Good example: John Terry

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Arguably the greatest stopper in English Premier League history. John Terry was a brick wall for Chelsea.

In his prime, Terry would bully attackers all over the pitch and rarely made a mistake in his own half.

He was not blessed with great pace or athleticism, but he more than made up for that with his leadership, physical characteristics and football intelligence.

Perhaps his best defensive performance came in the 2004/2005 Premier League season where Chelsea conceded only 15 goals the entire season and won their first ever Premier League title.

A testament to his commitment to defence is this attempted defensive header in the 2010 World Cup. Just because he was a great defender does not mean he wasn’t crazy.

Other examples

Additional good examples of stoppers are Nemanja Vidic, Gary Cahill and Vincent Kompany.

What is a ball playing centre back?

A ball playing centre back is essentially the epitome of the modern defender.

They share many of the characteristics of stoppers. However, they are also expected to actively participate in progressing the ball and starting attacks, rather than only thwarting the oppositions attacks.

As such, a good ball playing CB is expected have a wide passing range, exhibit composure on the ball in and around their own penalty area, and even possess some basic dribbling skills.

Due to these requirements, ball playing CBs are often more athletic and agile than stoppers.

Good example: Virgil van Dijk

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Virgil van Dijk is quite possibly the golden standard when it comes to ball playing CBs in world football over the past couple of years.

He is physically dominant, fast, strong in the tackle, strong in the air and has the ability to play long range passes to any area of the pitch. In addition to this, he is incredibly athletic.

Van Dijk has often been labelled as the most important player in the Liverpool squad, since signing for them in 2018. He absolutely revamped their defence and helped turn them into the best club in the world, as evidenced by Liverpool’s Club World Cup victory in 2019.

Other examples

Other great examples of ball playing CBs include Sergio Ramos, Ricardo Carvalho and Rio Ferdinand.

What is a libero?

The libero is essentially a highly specialised ball playing centre back.

This position is usually used in formations that include three CBs. In this setup, a libero typically plays as the most central CB and sits slightly deeper than the other two.

3511 formation with a libero

While the two CBs in front of the libero mark the opposition and thwart attacks, the libero sits behind and acts as the last point of defence. This way the libero can stop any attacker that breaks the initial defensive line.

For that reason, a libero is also known as a ‘sweeper’ and can somewhat be likened to the fullback position in rugby (not to be confused with the fullback position in football).

However, the true beauty of utilizing a libero is what they offer in offence. Because a libero is technically not in the defensive line, they do not have any natural markers, and are thus free to move into open areas of the pitch.

Seeing as the word ‘libero’ directly translates from Italian to the word ‘free’, there probably isn’t a better name for the role.

When their team is on the offence, they are less likely to be put under pressure by the opposition. Therefore, they have time to use their ball playing skills to either make a great pass or carry the ball into the midfield.

Although this all sounds great, the libero was only popular in the late 1900s and is not used very frequently nowadays.

The reasoning for this is that the presence of a libero prevents a team from benefitting from the offsides rule. The libero would often play attackers onside and leave their team susceptible to long passes over their defensive line.

Over the past few decades there have been very few true liberos in football. Instead, ball playing CBs that play within the conventional defensive line have taken their place.

Good example: Franz Beckenbauer

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Franz Beckenbauer is credited with inventing and popularizing the libero role.

Although he began his career as a midfielder, Beckenbauer transitioned into the centre back role, and even further into the sweeper role with great success.

His ball playing ability, vision and overall football intelligence allowed him make passes and excel in a role that very few players have succeeded in emulating ever since.

His most crowning achievements on the pitch were the World Cup in 1974, and two Ballon d’Ors in 1972 and 1976. Did I mention that he was a defender?

Other examples

Further examples of players that have played as liberos are Ronald Koeman, Leonardo Bonucci and David Luiz.

What makes the best centre back partnership?

In modern football, CBs are not only required to stop the opposition from scoring; they are also expected to start counter attacks and contribute to the team offensively.

Therefore, in two CB formations, the best and most common CB pairing that is seen nowadays is one that includes a stopper and a ball playing CB.

In theory, this allows a team to remain defensively rigid, while also having the ability to start counter attacks from their own defensive area.

In three CB formations, there are several different combinations that can be used to create an efficient defensive line. However, the most common configuration seen usually consists of two stoppers and one central Ball playing CB.

What is the difference between a centre back and a fullback?

The main difference between a CB and fullback is the area of the pitch that they are predominantly required to defend. CBs are required to defend the area directly in front of the goal, while fullbacks are tasked with covering the flanks.

However, there are several additional differences between the two positions, such as their physical characteristics and traits. If you are interested in a more in-depth look at the role of a fullback in modern football, feel free to take a look at this article.

Closing thoughts

The centre back role is a physically demanding and very disciplined role. These players are viewed as the heart of the defence and are given tremendous responsibility in preventing their team from conceding.

For more detailed descriptions of player roles and positions, be sure to check out the articles below: