The Inverted Parabox

The box midfield has never been so popular. Whether it comes from John Stones stepping forward, Gavi going central or Oleksandr Zinchenko zipping inside, the elites have found a new toy to play with. But is the use of the inverted fullback causing tactical dilemmas with control?

Written by Joel Parker.

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Just like most things in life, football tactics are largely a game of imitation. Within that, tactics are constantly recycled and when a club achieves a great level of success, it is hard for that particular model not to be replicated by other fish in the pond. Manchester City and their evolution of the box midfield marched towards a treble, now the elites have a new template to follow. 

Perhaps the biggest positional change in recent years, amongst top European clubs, is the reshaped role of the fullback. This remodel is no surprise as more teams are defending higher and narrower, the fullback can be utilized to break a defensive block in a variety of different ways. Kyle Walker; an aggressive, overlapping machine at Tottenham Hotspur, is now held firmly in the defensive line for his recovery speed to take centerstage. When Walker tucked inwards, his farsided partner inverted into the next line of the attack. Fullbacks in elite teams went from overlapping for crosses and cutbacks into another cog of the deeper buildup unit.

The top clubs have followed suit; Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have left their fullbacks behind and the box midfield has started to be stitched into a coach’s game plan, whether this has come situationally or a more direct part of their approach. What has evolved in the club’s decision-making to build the box midfield? And are fullbacks able to bring the level of control they are after? 

Eights blended with tens and the next step of inversion

Box midfields are not a new concept in football. Look no further than a classic 3-4-2-1 formation; two inside forwards connect the central box, with width maintained by wing-backs moving into more offensive positions. Attacks can then move into a 3-box-3 formation state and elite teams have become more interested in working on the ball in this particular situation. To look at why this trend has taken place, we also have to look at what teams are doing defensively to lead to these solutions. 

Football’s most popular defensive formation has remained the 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 system and when you match that with a 3-box-3 formation on the ball, overloads naturally form behind and in front of the opponent’s midfield. There are also better passing angles involved: the three in the first line of buildup have more passing angles in circulation and the wide center-backs have more space to carry the ball into spaces. The central box presents you with a natural overload over the two / three opposition midfielders and in the attack, all five vertical lanes are covered. 

Arsenal’s 3-box-3 set-up vs Everton’s 4-5-1 defensive arrangement. The box created positional superiority within their circulation, the width and pinning from the front line kept the defensive line from engaging and access to the halfspace attackers could be made by distributing in a good tempo.

In these vertical lanes, the halfspace gives you the most control and attacking diversity, have two elite attackers filling this position and you gain a huge offensive advantage. That being said, this type of player not only has to remain attached to the circulation, but also has to be able to retain the ball within the tightest of areas for this to be a success. 

Even with two players holding the width, space for the interiors is limited when facing an effective low block. However, an attacker with excellent close control is going to cause the most disruption from this position, whether it brings an opposition center-back out of his line or forces the fullback to drop inwards, which opens space for the wide player. Teams that have deployed box midfields successfully have had fantastic technical players in the center to manipulate space in very quick circumstances.

Antonio Conte’s Chelsea team had Eden Hazard working in this zone. The grandest version of Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta had Papu Gómez roaming out of the ten area, but they produced a box through Duván Zapata and Josip Iličić in the halfspace – although their overloads were more situated down the wings than the center. With Pep’s box midfield, take your pick at which elite attacking midfielder can position themselves in the left or right halfspace.

Once the elites realized they could add an extra attacker within this arrangement, it was reflected in the market. Liverpool added Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, Man United added Mason Mount, Arsenal brought in Kai Havertz. In the Bundesliga, Xabi Alonso brought in Jonas Hofmann to partner next to Florian Wirtz to build the situational box in possession.

There are multiple ways for a team to establish their box midfield. The 3-4-2-1 formation has this naturally embodied, with the narrow positioning of the outside forwards. Xavi has used Gavi as an inverted winger to build his box at Barcelona. Brighton does situationally slot their fullbacks into the center, but their midfield box is built by the two strikers that move vertically into the halfspaces and the width is maintained by both the fullbacks and wingers. This establishes a 4-2-4-0 structure, one that is reliable in moving through lines of pressure with a variety of different predetermined patterns.

AC Milan’s passmap in their 2-1 win vs AS Roma. Davide Calabria’s inverted position is highlighted in the passmap, even if his touches and connections are not as much as his highly flexible fullback partner, Theo Hernández.

What is the in-possession value?

Taking a player that is used to a lot of space to venture on the outside and putting him in the middle has some risk to it. Teams align themselves in a 3-box-3 to gain positional advantages, but does it entirely comfort a natural fullback, not only to move into the midfield line but also his partner who has to remain in the defensive line? 

A team that has done this well has been Arsenal. Ben White has provided the more conservative play, able to slot in as that third center-back whilst also being comfortable when taking the ball further forward and out wide. Oleksandr Zinchenko is more aggressive by inverting from the left to make a double pivot. Arsenal were able to establish a situational box midfield last season, with Granit Xhaka also down that left side and the results were Arsenal becoming an offensive beast. 

This season, Mikel Arteta has taken this a step further. Havertz and Fábio Vieira have filled the left halfspace role, so has this churned out more creativity from this side? When you compare Arsenal’s passmaps, their circulation and creativity still sway heavily towards the right side of Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka. Xhaka and Thomas Partey established the situational double pivot, but Zinchenko is now relied upon to stick to his inverted position even more to keep the spacing between Declan Rice and the left side of their buildup.

Arsenal’s passmap in their 1-0 win over Everton. Heavy circulation against a low block, but spacing and progressive contributions all came down the right side of the buildup.

As a result, Arsenal are more box-like than last season, and with Zinchenko more inverted, it has encouraged Gabriel Martinelli to hug the touchline more than last season. Martinelli was able to pull off a lot of shots from the halfspace and also appear in central areas. He has taken just six open-play shots from the first five games and from more acute angles. 

One of the biggest debates surrounding English football has been the position of Trent Alexander-Arnold and placing him in the midfield, whilst Andrew Robertson remains closer to the center-backs. In their title-winning season, these were two fullbacks who provided a crazy amount of final third action. Robertson pinned and overlapped on the left side, whereas Alexander-Arnold could provide more dangerous crosses from deep and switches towards the opposite flank. Towards the end of last season, Jürgen Klopp decided to adapt his midfield and with Alexander-Arnold positioned next to Fabinho, the fullback was more of a dictator between the pair. 

Alexander-Arnold in the buildup to Liverpool’s first goal in their 4-3 win over Tottenham. Inverted position, within the box midfield, requires him to be much more involved in buildup actions and this can see him move further inside the center in comparison to other inverted fullbacks.

Liverpool got into a box midfield, but in a much less structured manner than the way Man City or Arsenal would establish this shape. Alexander-Arnold took more touches not only on the inside right of the buildup unit, but around the center circle too. As Cody Gakpo also dropped out of the striker position, Liverpool were very fluid in this arrangement but did not have the intensity or control that they had in previous seasons. 

With Alexander-Arnold in a more central role, his on-the-ball action close to the final third became much less. Wide rotations between Jordan Henderson and Mohamed Salah were reduced, with Alexander-Arnold deeper, Salah always aimed to slalom back inside from the wide position so Henderson had to maintain width despite the connective tissue being stretched between the trio. Whereas Robertson is encouraged to stay in the backline, Curtis Jones peeled much wider than Henderson and spaces for Robertson to move into became congested and off-balanced. 

Liverpool have started the season in fine form with these dynamics still in place, but Mac Allister and Szoboszlai have enabled them to keep the ball higher. Alexander-Arnold has been able to usher longer passes within his play and Robertson’s movements are paired with Curtis Jones, covering the leftback space behind him. Salah is still able to get high touches and move closer to the box, but Liverpool’s left side has remained deep and wide. 

Brazil’s passmap from their quarter-final defeat to Croatia. Danilo was the inverted fullback, who slotted into their situational box midfield. Brazil was over-reliant on Neymar to get the ball through the defensive block and displayed very little connections between their attackers.

Additionally, the technical ability of your offensive interiors will play into a big effect on the box midfield. If your eights in the halfspace cannot retain the ball or are disconnected from the rest of the attack, then not only does this cause isolation for both your striker and winger, but puts your team in a lot of transitional danger. 

Teams will arrange the front three to stretch across the entire pitch, in order to create spaces around the defensive line. However, the more you draw outwards the distances between your players increase and this can produce individualistic attacks, with forwards too far to connect and build combinations. If one attacker has to assist the deeper buildup unit then it leaves that side of the field isolated and a teammate can be disconnected from the action.   

Brazil went in the 2022 World Cup with a situational box, between Casemiro and Danilo/Alex Sandro, with Neymar and Lucas Paquetá. Tite established a strong game plan for Brazil, but the distances left between forwards left very little interaction between them and relied on Neymar to push them through the low blocks. In retrospect, despite the great goals scored by Neymar and Richarlison, their attacking performance left little to be inspired, and although Danilo is a highly adaptable defender, capable of breaking lines, Brazil left the competition with high circulation but an unbalance that Tite could not resolve. Box midfields are designed for control, but slotting the fullbacks inside without the desired personnel or profiles can lead to off-balanced circulation and an overreliance on your eights to take the reigns. 

Unbalance festers in off-ball situations

When the defense becomes distorted, it can lead to counterattacking opportunities for the opponent to take advantage of. This has always been the risk for the elites when facing a low block, even for a team as strong as Manchester City. If your counterpress is not organized and you lose the ball in deeper positions, then the chances of a counter against you become more likely. So what is the difference for the inverted fullback in a box midfield? 

The problem comes with your inverted fullback not covering his set defensive position. The situation could lead to further problems when the player is attracted to the ball carrier or pass, which can lead to more issues. In 3-4-2-1 formations, wing-backs can still be caught out but at least their recovery can be made by running back in the same channel. Inverted fullbacks do not have the same luxury, they have to recover vertically, and in more space. If they lose their narrow position, it gives the attacker a lot more options.

Buildup to Croatia’s equalizer. Casemiro was unable to stop Modrić on the counterpress and Nikola Vlašić received inside a lot of space. Alex Sandro could not close the distance, and this enabled Croatia to get two players at the back post. Sandro filled behind Danilo, when Mislav Oršić carried, but the separation remained on Bruno Petković as Marquinhos and Thiago Silva tried to react.

This can make the reshaping and second phase of the counter also problematic if your defensive line remains out of position. Inter’s recent battering of Milan is a great example; for their second goal, Rade Krunić counterpressed but Henrikh Mkhitaryan evaded such pressure. Calabria was not in a position to recover and Denzel Dumfries was already behind Hernández. Even though the switch fizzled towards the corner of the field, Marcus Thuram was still able to cut back inside, even when Milan tried to reset. 

Liverpool also had this backline issue towards the end of last season. Ibrahima Konaté was often tasked with covering the right side when they were in defensive transition and huge spaces would open in the backline as Virgil van Dijk and Robertson were dragged out. Even when Fabinho or Henderson were in a position to move into the last line, the second phase of the counterattack would still have Liverpool’s reset with players out of their usual positions.

Tottenham’s chance against Man City highlights the risk when your counterpress from the midfield box is not engaged. Heung-min Son received in a lot of space, and as Rico Lewis attempted to recover his narrow position, two Spurs players moved towards the right and Ivan Perišić provided a passing option on the left.

One team that has stopped the inversion of the fullbacks has been, of course, Manchester City. John Stones stepping next to Rodri created the box midfield; City’s counterpressing mechanism, spacing between the players in their set formation and Stones’ very unique skillset, trumps even the best teams, but it does also indicate why a center-back moving into the pivot position can work. Structurally, the movement is less aggressive and can leave smaller spaces if both fullbacks are more conservative. During  defensive transitions, the center-back will already be inside of the formation and can recover his position without the backline being so distorted for the second phase.  

The elites are keeping their fullbacks inside of the box because they believe it’s within that box that they can assert the most control. This can make their on-ball game plan stronger, but losing strength on the defensive transition is a conflict of interest. Coaches are now banking on the framework in possession and the quality of their offensive eights/tens in the halfspace over the final third contribution of the fullback. If the counterpress is not organized, then transitions can easily be played through. 

Takeaways

It’s easy to see why a box midfield became so popular in the modern age of football. This isn’t a pro or anti-inverted fullback article. Box midfields can have their problems regardless of how they got there, but the role of a narrow fullback comes at a greater defensive risk and with your wingers sticking further out wide, their offensive productivity also comes at a risk. 

Of course, this is all relative to the profiles and personnel of your team, but being caught out with your inverted fullback can lead to one of the more chaotic moments in a game and not all teams have the meticulous game plans that Guardiola has installed. There will be bad replicas, but that is the art of football.