Why inverted fullbacks have become so popular

Elite managers like Pep Guardiola & Jurgen Klopp have been using inverted fullbacks in recent season to huge success. But why are they so vital to their systems and dominance? JJ Bull explains.

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[IrishSnwbrdr]

Dear TIFO team, the supplementary animations and camera pans and zooms and editing etc here works really well, keep implementing these visual tricks with tactics shorts please!

[barnaclefelching]

I've been watching this video for two hours. JJ really knows his stuff

[moreece]

If inverting fullback was a thing 10 years ago I'd be playing in the premier League rn

[Tibibt]

Mate that Scotland away shirt is FIRE.

[adhnaanahmed]

Inverting a fullback not only gives chance to start a play, it also helps in covering the space whenever there is turnover from opposition and cove rather space quickly rather than taking time running from one end to another like traditional fullbacks

[_DioBrando_]

Streets won't forget Marcelo being an extra midfielder for three-peat Madrid.

[vecterpls]

Great little short, would love to see more tactical explanations like these even if I've seen them before, they're great to recap

[banterbeards]

My man’s hairdo straight out of a 1997 teen mag 😅

[booopwappp]

Props for wearing this classic Scotland top

[cdog]

Great vid. Football is constantly evolving and the use of inverted full backs has given the teams who do it well a good competitive advantage over the last 2 years.

I think over the next 2 years we'll see the use of energetic, tenacious high wide players (think Park Ji Sung) to target particularly effective inverted full backs like TAA.

It's a completely different ballgame trying to play like TAA, Zinchenko and others when your space is closed up like a typical midfielders usually us.

[damianfargoes]

I guess ten hag is trying to do the same, that's the reason he wants mount as the other no 8 along with bruno, and shaw n dalot can invert to support Casemiro

[cmd]

Inverted fullbacks are essentially the best of both worlds. They allow you to have an extra creative midfielder leading and preserving an attack while still being structually sound from the back, giving you numerical superiority on both the front foot and on any counterattacks, all while never sacrificing a direct attacking threat.

I started doing this in fifa around fifa 18 and ever since ive been in the elite league of futchamps without ever spending money on the game.

[Mr_jnk]

man sounded like yoda when he said "theres a problem"

[RatelHBadger]

It's funny seeing your formation screen at the end of your clip. Coming from a field hockey and football background. The traditional field hockey setup is 5-3-2.
2 fullbacks, 3 traditional midfielders and 5 attacking players, 2 wings and a centre forward, then two "insides" who would either be attacking players adding extra numbers for a cross from a wing, or be an extra midfielder to shut down opposition attacks.
It's funny seeing the switch in football in the last 5 or so years to teams adopting this setup, when hockey is shifting to a more football-like 3-4-3 approach. (3 defenders, 3 midfielders, 3 forwards and a floating player/pivot depending on the situation).

[ParetoEmperor-jpke]

its so efficient distance for fullback to shift more to central midfield when in possesion and using their intelligence passes than making effort to far far away of opponent flank and just crosses there

[farhadchaudhry]

Inverted fullbacks

Also known as half backs in your great grand dad's era.

[lisimbachiokejahiyazid]

Just have JJ be the front man! I could listen to his breakdowns all day

[PoucoHabilidoso]

In brazil, fullbacks have always been attackers too

[bzilla-di]

Paolo Maldini was one of the first inverted fullbacks, Paolo is actually naturally right footed, and started at RB but playing at left back early in his career turned him into a dual footed monster. Same goes for Zambrotta, who went from Central Midfield to Right Midfield to Left Back. Quite a few Italian players have done this in the past, later in his career Javier Zanetti was also deployed at Left Back.

[hackerface]

Ben White plays as a RB but inverting to CB not CDM, but does push up to a RM spot too