Does it require more talent to be an attacking player than a defensive one?

Swagg_Johnson wrote:I'm talking about talent.. Dribbling past multiple defenders and scoring for example requires more talent than a slide tackle

Nowadays defenders should better avoid stuff like slide tackles as that ends way too easily in a booking. So they should better work via immaculate positioning and trying to block the passways and the spaces where attackers can run into - and that needs a much higher game intelligence than just having the talent to dribble along. Moreover, attackers have numerous chances to do their work, while for a defender each and every challenge is crucial. So IMO defenders >> attackers

rwo power wrote:

Swagg_Johnson wrote:I'm talking about talent.. Dribbling past multiple defenders and scoring for example requires more talent than a slide tackle

Nowadays defenders should better avoid stuff like slide tackles as that ends way too easily in a booking. So they should better work via immaculate positioning and trying to block the passways and the spaces where attackers can run into - and that needs a much higher game intelligence than just having the talent to dribble along. Moreover, attackers have numerous chances to do their work, while for a defender each and every challenge is crucial. So IMO defenders >> attackers

I guess we have different opinions on talent lol.. I consider what you just said to be more about difficulty, rather than talent

Well, if you put it that way, then you could probably say that an attacking player needs more instinct/talent to get where he wants to, while a defender needs more skill and intelligence to deny goals? But IMO a defender needs talent, too - the talent to position himself and to have a certain match awareness. I'm not sure that isn't a telent as well - albeit a different one.

rwo power wrote:Well, if you put it that way, then you could probably say that an attacking player needs more instinct/talent to get where he wants to, while a defender needs more skill and intelligence to deny goals? But IMO a defender needs talent, too - the talent to position himself and to have a certain match awareness. I'm not sure that isn't a telent as well - albeit a different one.

I see what you're trying to say.. There are defenders with talent though (ball playing CBs, Marcelo etc.) but the art of defending generally I don't think requires much talent, just concentration really

The better attacking players express themselves with the ball. Defending is essentially stopping your opponent from expressing their talent, there is a lot to appreciate about someone who masters the art of defending, but i would just consider it high levels of focus and intelligence rather than talent

Swagg_Johnson wrote:I see what you're trying to say.. There are defenders with talent though (ball playing CBs, Marcelo etc.) but the art of defending generally I don't think requires much talent, just concentration really

"Just concentration" would be a bit too little, I think. I mean, you need to be able to cleanly separate the opponent from the ball (and better not separate the opponent from his feet ), or you'd be booked faster than you can put on an innocent face, especially with attackers more and more adding theatrical and dramatical skills to their nonwithstanding talents. ^^

IMO with the evolution of the game itself, you can't just put the best bullies of your team at the back and hope they'll sufficiently intimidate the attackers or else kick them to the ground. The current defenders IMO need quite a set of skills and more than just a little talent, too, to match the attackers of today.

As far as I'm concerned defending is much harder to master. I started off as a striker when I was younger, about 14/15. Played there until I was 17 for my sunday league team. I then left and joined another team and was asked to play CB.

Then I gained a new respect for defenders, it was so hard to master. You have to communicate constantly with your other defenders AND midfielders, you have to stay in line constantly. If a full back goes forward you have to watch the wings as well as the striker you're supposed to be marking. And then you have to master tackling and marking, defensive headers. I think attacking positions are much easier to master.

Yes and its not that close.

Defending is a team concept, you can be an excellent defensive team without excellent individual defenders. You are not going to be a excellent attacking team without those individuals.

There is a reason lesser teams play defensively, because its easier to get a result than trying to attack.

This is not to say great defenders are talentless, nor that talent isnt important for a defender.

There's no harder position to play than centerback...if you don't know whats going on around you 100% of the time you'll get caught out or be played around in an instant

Put Pique at CF and he'll score some goals
Throw David Villa at CB and be prepared for lulz...

Im not sure I buy the argument that creating is more difficult than destroying either

Its much harder to play without the ball than with it

BhritanniaBhlue wrote:Its much harder to play without the ball than with it

Especially when you can't take it.

Plus there's the mistake factor that looms over a Defender mind.

Mistake at the back >>> Mistake upfront (Basically what Blue said)

True, but thats because of what kind of players they are.

Villa is 5 8, of course he will get owned.


Put Puyol up front and Ibra at the back, I am pretty sure Ibra will do better.

The Franchise wrote:True, but thats because of what kind of players they are.

Villa is 5 8, of course he will get owned.


Put Puyol up front and Ibra at the back, I am pretty sure Ibra will do better.

At Air balls or out Muscling smaller players but I wonder how he'll cope with a Dribbler or a Van Nistelrooy. The guy just doesn't move.

Nick 09, is right. Talents can be broken down into different categories, but if we take an average of an overall football player, i think more footballers would prefer to play attacking positions.

Correlation with the ballon d'or is that usually best players are from best teams (most often) and best teams are more often attacking. Meaning they win by scoring and not trying to not concede.

But just like Cannavaro won world cup best player award for his defensive skills, any outstanding player is capable of winning it (kahn)

The Franchise wrote:True, but thats because of what kind of players they are.

Villa is 5 8, of course he will get owned.


Put Puyol up front and Ibra at the back, I am pretty sure Ibra will do better.

thats debatable. personally i think puyol would be a better attacker than ibra defender.

its more than that though, it different skill sets.

KMD wrote:Nick 09, is right. Talents can be broken down into different categories, but if we take an average of an overall football player, i think more footballers would prefer to play attacking positions.

Prefer it because it is easier? As mentioned before, strikers can have 89 minute off and score in the remaining minute and they are still fine, while a defender who has just a seconds lapse will be the loser who gave away the match in the worst case.

I think it takes far more guts to decide to become a defender (or goalkeeper) than one of the attackers, so it is understandable that more players would go for the attacking positions.

KMD wrote:Correlation with the ballon d'or is that usually best players are from best teams (most often) and best teams are more often attacking. Meaning they win by scoring and not trying to not concede.

The question is - are they truly better or are they just more visible and their success more countable?

KMD wrote:Correlation with the ballon d'or is that usually best players But just like Cannavaro won world cup best player award for his defensive skills, any outstanding player is capable of winning it (kahn)

Well, defenders/GKs need to be doubly or even triple outstanding to get even half the recognition of the guys who score the goals. It's somewhat unfair, if you ask me!

It is smowhat easier, mainly to points that you talk about, less pressure, and you can be off form whiledefenders get the sticks for every goal they are at fault. So yeit is unfair, but given physical attributes if you cant be an attacker due to high competition you will be a defender a dm,fullback or cb. If you watch them play most of defenders lack ball control, some lack shooting or crossing abilities but for attacking player you have to be well rounded.

vanDEEZ wrote:

The Franchise wrote:True, but thats because of what kind of players they are.

Villa is 5 8, of course he will get owned.


Put Puyol up front and Ibra at the back, I am pretty sure Ibra will do better.

thats debatable. personally i think puyol would be a better attacker than ibra defender.

its more than that though, it different skill sets.

Depends on the opponant, but for us, no doubt Ibra at the back would be better.

Puyol used to be a striker and he still would have little hope.

Lord Hispano wrote:

The Franchise wrote:True, but thats because of what kind of players they are.

Villa is 5 8, of course he will get owned.


Put Puyol up front and Ibra at the back, I am pretty sure Ibra will do better.

At Air balls or out Muscling smaller players but I wonder how he'll cope with a Dribbler or a Van Nistelrooy. The guy just doesn't move.

He would get raped probably.

KMD wrote:If you watch them play most of defenders lack ball control, some lack shooting or crossing abilities but for attacking player you have to be well rounded.

Two counter examples (as I observed them most closely recently):
Mario Gomez (ball control? Which ball control?)
Holder Badstuber (ball control - check, passing - check, shooting - check, crossing - check...)

Villa was a bad example because of the height difference, but even so my point stands

Im sure Ibra would do better in the air than Villa, but I think he would absolutely shredded if he went up against a player like Robinho (ironically) for instance...

And not because of his dribbling, necessarily...nothings worse than playing CB and trying to defend a forward who makes runs both laterally and into deep positions

i think nobody wants to play in defence, they play there because they didnt have enough skills to play in attack, so they decided to improve their defence skills

billionmillion wrote:i think nobody wants to play in defence, they play there because they didnt have enough skills to play in attack, so they decided to improve their defence skills

I think that depends on the standing defense has in a country. I can't see no Italian players wanting to play in defense, for example.

rwo power wrote:

billionmillion wrote:i think nobody wants to play in defence, they play there because they didnt have enough skills to play in attack, so they decided to improve their defence skills

I think that depends on the standing defense has in a country. I can't see no Italian players wanting to play in defense, for example.

In italy i dont know but in most countries a player's dream is to score a goal, or to do amazing dribbling or pass. no kid wants to tackle or destroy the play

BhritanniaBhlue wrote:Villa was a bad example because of the height difference, but even so my point stands

Im sure Ibra would do better in the air than Villa, but I think he would absolutely shredded if he went up against a player like Robinho (ironically) for instance...

And not because of his dribbling, necessarily...nothings worse than playing CB and trying to defend a forward who makes runs both laterally and into deep positions

Sure, but just the same, the defender going up front will be terrible.

The difference to me is, the team with the striker at the back, they can just drop deep, play defensively, put 3 holding players in front of the back 4 and as a team stand a chance of not getting destroyed. There doesnt have to be a situation where the striker goes 1 v 1 with the attacker at the back.

However, there is nothing you can do about the useless defender up front.

A defenders need to be intelligent to read the game and anticipate moves while for forwards technical skills is the priority although forwards also need to be intelligent as much as defenders need to have technical skills to some extent.

Both of them are talent but i consider midfielders the most talented players in football because they need both things to succeed.

Thats 1 for every 10,000 occurences.