If you’ve been watching teams that Pep Guardiola has coached, you’ve probably noticed they rely quite heavily on fullbacks. A variant of a fullback that has gained prominence in recent years is the “inverted fullback”. If you’re confused by this term, don’t worry; you’re not alone.
The fullback position is regarded as one of the most specialized, if not the most specialized position in modern football. Naturally, that begs the question: what is the difference between a fullback, a wingback and an inverted fullback?
In summary, a fullback and a wingback are positions, whereas an inverted fullback is a role. Fullbacks play as the wide defenders in formations that include 4 defenders and are tasked primarily with defence, with an added emphasis on offence in recent years. Wingbacks are a partial winger and fullback hybrid that is typically used in formations that have 3 defenders. Although they have defensive responsibilities, they are far more aggressive in attack than fullbacks. Inverted fullbacks are a variant of fullbacks that play out wide, but also drift centrally on occasion, to add more support to the midfield.
I did some research to unpack what all of this means.
Table of Contents
What is a fullback?
In the early days of modern football (The late 1800s), teams would play in a 2-3-5 formation. This formation can be seen below.
Because the back two players were the furthest back, they were labelled as “fullbacks”. This was opposed to the “halfbacks” which sat directly in front of them. Over time, as defence became more of a focus area to teams, 4 defender systems were introduced.
The half backs were pushed backwards and were thereafter named as center halves (or center backs). The fullbacks were pushed to the outer rims of the field.
However, that name stuck. The positioning of fullbacks, as well as the channels that they operate in within a common four defender formation can be seen below.
There are several types of fullbacks in football. For simplicity, I have chosen to limit this section to 2 categories: traditional fullbacks and modern fullbacks.
Traditional fullbacks
A traditional full back’s role is primarily defensive. They are tasked with providing the bulk of the defensive support on the flanks of the field. They are also tasked with providing support from their own half in the build up of attacks, by offering a wide passing option.
As such a traditional full back must have good positional awareness, and the ability to force opponents into an unfavorable scenario. Examples of unfavorable scenarios include forcing players onto their weaker foot, or towards to the touch line where they offer less of an attacking threat.
Although pace and agility are an added bonus, traditional fullbacks do not necessarily require them to fulfil their responsibilities. What they lack in pace, they make up for with excellent positional awareness and the ability to time their tackles well and avoid causing fouls.
These skills are also synonymous with the Carrilero role in the midfield. This allows for midfielders that fit the Carrilero mold to fill in at fullback when required. For a more in-depth look into the Carrilero role, you can take a look at a previous article I’ve written.
Good Examples
Embed from Getty ImagesExamples of high-profile traditional fullbacks in recent times include Gary Neville, Benjamin Pavard, Phillip Lahm, and Cesar Azpilicueta.
Modern fullbacks
Over time, formations have become more narrow and wide attacking players have shown more of a tendency to move towards the center of the pitch in support of the most central attacker. As a result of this, the fullback’s roles have expanded to include attacking duties as well.
A signature move of the modern fullback is to overlap the wide attackers or midfielders. This can either distract the opposition fullbacks or offer an extra attacking option on the flanks of the field.
In addition to the positional awareness and defensive ability of the traditional fullback, the modern fullback requires pace, stamina and great passing and crossing ability.
Good dribbling skills to beat their man to work a good crossing position is also a common trait. This is not to say that traditional fullbacks lack these abilities. However, there is more of an emphasis on these traits in the teams that employ modern, attack minded fullbacks.
The modern fullback is often described as one of the most specialised positions in football. This is because players that play in this position are required to be good in both attack and defence. Naturally, this requires a great deal of focus and stamina.
Good examples
Embed from Getty ImagesExamples of players that fit the modern fullback role include Andrew Robertson, Dani Alves, Kyle Walker, Dani Carvajal and Ashley Cole.
What is a wingback?
Wingbacks are commonly used in formations that use 3 central defenders. The wide defenders are pushed higher up the field, usually in the same line as the deep lying midfielders as shown in the image below.
A wingback is very similar to a modern fullback. The main difference lies in the offensive aggression that a wingback plays with. A Wingback pushes much further up the pitch and quite literally acts as a winger when in the opposition’s half. However, wingbacks do still have defensive responsibilities.
In a defence that uses 2 center backs, fullbacks may drift more centrally to provide cover and track players. But, because wingbacks are usually employed in formations that use 3 center backs, a wingback stays very close to the touch line to provide as much cover as possible to the widest areas of the pitch.
A wingback is, as the name suggests, a combination of a fullback and a winger.
Another benefit of using wingbacks exclusively to provide width is that it means that a team does not require wingers. The team then has the option to add an additional midfielder to the team to increase their chances of winning their midfield battles.
It is widely accepted that midfield battles, more often than not, determine the fate of any given football match. If you’re able to win them, you’re in a much better position to take the attack to the opposition.
Good examples
Embed from Getty ImagesGood examples of players that have played the wingback position in recent years include Marcos Alonso, Allessandro Florenzi, Maicon and Manuel Pasqual.
Natural Wingers can be converted to wingbacks
Much like a fullback, a wingback requires high crossing ability, pace and positional awareness. Many elite players that are natural wingers have had the ability to transition to the wingback position later in their careers. This is due to their natural tendencies to play in wide areas and the positional awareness that they have gained through experience.
Good examples
Embed from Getty ImagesExamples of players that have transitioned from winger to wingback include Antonio Valencia, Victor Moses, Jesus Navas and Juan Cuadrado.
What is an inverted fullback?
The inverted fullback is a role rather than a position. Their job is still to defend the flanks and provide support. However, a signature movement that they employ is moving centrally into the field and occupying a position in the midfield, alongside the deep lying midfielders.
The reasoning behind this movement is to create a “midfield overload”.
The role of an inverted fullback is to add to the midfield and assist with winning more midfield battles. Another difference between fullbacks and inverted fullbacks is that inverted fullbacks either overlap or underlap the wide attackers/midfielders to provide additional offensive support. This varies based on the attacking scenario.
Systems that use inverted fullbacks
Many teams utilize inverted fullbacks to get an edge over the opposition. However, it can be strongly argued that no teams have employed inverted fullbacks better than Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Both teams have deployed inverted fullbacks under the management of Pep Guardiola.
At Bayern Munich, between 2013 and 2016, Phillip Lahm and David Alaba were the first-choice fullbacks and fulfilled the inverted fullback role to great effect.
Embed from Getty ImagesBoth when in possession and out of possession, they would drift into the center of the pitch, alongside Xabi Alonso, the deep lying midfielder (DLM). They would also prevent the oppositions attackers from pressing the DLM.
At Manchester City, history repeated itself. Kyle Walker has been the most prominent right sided fullback. Fabian Delph, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Benjamin Mendy have all been used on the left. Fernandinho was primarily used as the DLM.
Similar to the fullback and wingback, an inverted fullback requires great positional awareness, passing range and an high work rate. An emphasis is put on their positional awareness because they are tasked with operating in two areas of the pitch, as opposed to just one.
At Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has been widely criticized for spending large amounts on fullbacks. However, taking into consideration the specialised nature of the fullbacks he uses in his systems, it’s easy to see why.
Here is a great video of Kyle Walker himself explaining this role.
Summary
Below is a summary of the characteristics of fullbacks, wingbacks and inverted fullbacks:
Fullbacks
These can be split up into either modern or traditional fullbacks. They play in the same defensive line as the canter backs. Their goal is to defend wide areas of the pitch and provide support in the build up play of attacks.
Wingbacks
Primarily deployed in formations that use 3 defenders. These players are very aggressive in offense while still participating in their team’s defensive efforts. They typically occupy a much narrower channel on the field than fullbacks do.
Inverted fullbacks
A variant of a fullback. These players occupy a wider channel than modern and traditional fullbacks as well as wingbacks. Their main goal is to create superior numbers in the midfield and give additional passing options to central players.
Playing either the fullback and wingback positions, as well as the inverted fullback role, requires massive technical ability. So much so that only a handful of players have truly mastered the art. Rightly so, they are considered to be amongst the hardest and most specialised roles in the modern game.
For more detailed descriptions of player roles and positions, be sure to check out the articles below: