There’s a reason so many of the world’s best managers like Pep Guardiola,
Jurgen Klopp, and Marcelo Bielsa have their teams play out from the back,
and that’s because it allows them to keep the ball and retain control of the game.
Teams who play this way need to be technically proficient, positionally aware,
and calm under pressure as passing the ball out from goalkeeper to defender to midfielder
allows the opposition to get high up the pitch and press in dangerous areas.
And although this pressure sometimes causes errors on the ball and results
in the opposition gaining possession near the box, the benefits outweigh the risk.
By building patiently with short passes the team in possession can work their way up the
pitch and arrive in the final third as coached on the training ground, rather than having to
rely on the lottery of kicking it long and contesting a high ball. It gives managers control,
and that means the team can attack with cohesion, as intended when designing the tactical system.
From there they can work the ball around the final third until they find an opening,
making use of their attacking strengths.
The team shape will usually change to facilitate it. For example, a team playing in a 4-3-3 will
often resemble a 2-3-2-3 in the first phase of build up as the centre-backs split, a holding
midfielder drops to support and full-backs push up, creating vertical passing options.
Players need to move in relation to where the ball is in order to maintain these passing lanes
and create new ones, particularly when the opposition presses high to close them down.
When the best teams do this, the shape becomes a fluid, automated looking structure
as individuals identify space and positions which allow diagonal, vertical passes.
Sideways and backwards passes can give the opposition the chance to push even higher,
and so maintaining the structure of the team shape is essential for escaping the press.
The risk is clearly in losing the ball while in a vulnerable and exposed defensive shape,
but if players pass with accuracy and at the right tempo, the team can move up the pitch as a unit
and arrive in the opposition half in their designated attacking shape, with possession.
Those teams who have mastered this style of play are able to quickly pass their way through an
opponent’s press, swiftly turning defence into attack, leading to chances on goal.
Of course, a far easier way to get the ball closer to the opposition
box and nullify any danger that a high-pressing opponent poses is to
hit long balls from goal kicks, but launching passes up the pitch results in 50/50 aerial duels
and means the team in possession doesn’t really have possession, or any control.
And a big reason the best teams play this way is that they have the most technically proficient
players. Without them, attempting to play out from the back can be extremely problematic.
Even high level individuals can struggle, with Unai Emery heavily criticised for his
then-Arsenal side’s often perilous attempts to pass from goalkeeper to defender,
partly because Petr Cech found it so difficult to adapt his style.
He is not alone. Many goalkeepers are simply unable to pass to a high enough standard
for this style of buildup, making those who can highly valuable. Those goalkeepers give
their manager an additional player to support the structure and build out from the back,
ensuring the team keeps possession, and - crucially - a tight grip of the game.