Thursday, September 17, 2009

Hmmmm the solution to France's central defense?

Anyone who watched the Lyon game yesterday in the Champions League noticed something was slightly out of place - Jeremy Toulalan playing central defense with Cris. This was a last minute change when Bodmer had to withdraw at the last minute forcing the holding midfielder to slot back in central defense. Could this be an option for Les Bleus??? It is not out of the realm of possibility, let us not over look the fact Domenech slotted Lassana Diarra at right back for a few matches during Euro qualifying, including a tough match at the San Siro against Italy. Or even, not directly related, but how Wenger used Flamini on the defensive wing at Arsenal. If go further back...Marcel Desailly started as the holding midfielder for Marseilles and Milan, but as his career matured he slotted back to central defense and with Laurent Blanc, created the central defensive pairing that guided Les Bleus to the World Cup and European Cup glory. Could this be the direction for Toulalan??? Why not? Here is why -

  • High work rate - one of Toulalan's great strengths is his high engine. His work rate is phenomenal. He would be able to pinch up the field when need be but his energy would never be placed in doubt late in the match if he needed to track down a striker or break down an offensive attack.
  • Strong defensive positioning - Toulalan has very good instincts at destroying offensive plays and threats. Being a solid central defender requires a great anticipation and vision of the team in front of you. His experience at midfield would translate well into a position where he would be set back further on the pitch so see more of the field.
  • Tackling ability -Toulalan is a strong tackler of the ball, granted sometimes this gets him in trouble, however he does not shy away from physical contact. Les Bleus do not have that style of play on defense currently.
  • Lack of offense - Much like a Makelele, Jeremy is very limited in his ability to add much to the offensive end of the pitch. At times this becomes a negative for the team when opponents do not need to fear any offensive threats coming from his position. Being back in the central defense this need would become inconsequential.
Another reason why this might work for Les Bleus, assuming he can make the switch, is that there is strong depth in the holding/defensive - LDiarra, ADiarra, Flamini, MSissoko, Matuidi, to name a few. Slotting back at central defense (again I am assuming Toulalan can do this at a high level on the international and club levels) would strength a current weakness on Les Bleus - central defense while allowing more of France's talented midfielders to get on the pitch.

Why not try it, or at least explore moving Toulalan back one level.

2 comments:

philip said...

Yeah I was thinking that after the match too.

Surely it was just one game but I was very impressed. Since France have one to many Def. Midfielders and need a Central back this could be perfect. Sadly though it will probably not happen with Domenech in favor of 2 Def. Midfielders.

GFC said...

I think that Domenech would love to slot Toulalan back to central defense, again suspending reality and assuming one game will translate to the long term for Toulalan, that would allow Domenech to slot another defensive midfielder so he could argue he has THREE defensive/holding midfielders...just that one is playing center back!