Kylian Mbappé sparked debate earlier this year when he was asked what the easiest role in football is.
"In my opinion, it's centre back. You're covered from all sides, you can even play in a back three," he responded.
"It's the only position where you see 40-year-old players still playing in Europe at top clubs. A 40-year-old striker is finished". It's been a bad year for Cristiano Ronaldo's ego.
I'm certainly not going to disagree with General Mbappé, and will instead offer a bit more detail. For me, playing in the middle of a back three is, without question, the ‘easiest‘ role.
Now, there's nothing simple about elite-level football. Even this position is mightily tough to play. However, relative to what's asked of other players on the pitch, I think the man stationed at the heart of the backline generally has it pretty good. Why? Well, as Mbappé says, you're covered on both sides and the whole pitch is ahead of you. You see everything. You rarely need to defend out wide, and there's often a reference point to attach to. With the majority of teams lining up with one centre-forward, your task is clear-cut: shut them down.
Roberto De Zerbi raised eyebrows and turned heads with a drastic tactical switch against Coventry City on Monday night, opting for a back three. And if one summer arrival is to be a success in north London, it'll most likely be because of the Italian's switch.
Tosin Adarabioyo is quickly proving Tottenham supporters wrong
Few were excited about the arrival of Tosin Adarabioyo from Chelsea as a Kevin Danso replacement. The tall defender had an utterly indifferent time in west London, and many were resentful that he was taking the spot of a universally liked squad member.
However, Danso has endured a mightily tough start to his Sunderland loan, while Tosin has looked assured on his few outings in Lilywhite.
His first Premier League start for the club came on Monday night for the must-win encounter, and the make-up of De Zerbi's starting XI pointed towards a back three. It certainly was a back three in possession, and more of a muddle without the ball. Still, Tosin functioned at the heart of Spurs' defence with two Dutchmen on either side and saw plenty of young Coventry striker Sidiki Cherif.
I've never thought much of Tosin, in truth, but he's pleasantly surprised me so far. From what I've seen, he looks like a good culture guy. That was reinforced on Monday, when he encouraged teammates to join in the celebrations after James Maddison's opening goal. Last week at Old Trafford, he was the first one in the mix as Rodrigo Bentancur and Luke Shaw locked horns.
His performance against Coventry was hardly otherworldly, but stability is all we need. Crucially, he won his headers. Tosin won seven of his eight aerial duels and marshalled the emerging Cherif well. FotMob calculated his top speed to be 33.2 km/h on Monday night, the same as Micky van de Ven's. He's no slouch, and that's perhaps why he was preferred to Marcos Senesi against a dangerous counter-attacking side.
An injury ended his night with 20 minutes to go, but De Zerbi insisted that those who picked up knocks are unlikely to miss much time. I wasn't wholly convinced by the back three in totality, but if it's a system De Zerbi persists with, expect Tosin to reprise his role at the heart of Spurs' defence.
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