What Happened to Sweepers in Football?

The Sweeper position - a position in defence crucial to teams throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s. But now seemingly redundant. But is it really gone? Or has it evolved?

As Alex Stewart explains, changes in styles of play, the development of tactics and the desire for more well-rounded goalkeepers mean that sweepers are still there, if we look hard enough.

Illustrated by Alice Devine.

Follow Tifo Football:

Listen to the Tifo Football podcast:

About Tifo Football:
Tifo loves football. We create In-depth tactical, historical and geopolitical breakdowns of the beautiful game.

We know there’s an appetite for thoughtful, intelligent content. For stuff that makes the complicated simple.

We provide analysis on the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, World Cup and more.

Our podcasts interview some of the game’s leading figures. And our editorial covers football with depth and insight.

#Sweepers #FootballTactics #TifoTactics

[danpreston]

I used to play as a sweeper. I told people it was because I read the game well and was good on the ball, so I could bring it out from defence. The reality was that I was too lazy to push up with a defensive line and too ill disciplined to man mark.

[kmru]

Very surprised that Allison and Ederson were mentioned when it came to sweeper keepers but no mention of Neuer who has been doing it for over a decade.

[Natshara]

Sheffield United being mentioned twice in a positive light on a Tifo video, honestly the best thing that's happened to us this season so far.

[dreadful_name]

If the sweeper was invented today it’d be called the ‘False 4’.

[PETROVICGAMES]

Dude, I really love this type of video. Good to see this community, I used to think that I was the only crazy person to think and discuss about themes like this.
LONG LIVE TIFO

[animeshpati]

It's criminally illegal to not mention Neuer for the sweeper keeper

[kohchungwei]

The closest thing modern football has to sweepers are ball-playing goalkeepers who come out to encourage a high line like Manuel Neuer

[lenin]

Every time I hear sweepers term in football I get reminded of franz beckenbaur and Manuel Neuer.

[GDjo-ioop]

Great video, as usual. Just one thing : the sweepers in the 70', 80', 90' were not necessarily in a back 3. Actually, they were very rarely in a back 3. They were, most of the time, in a classic back 4.

[sizwe.amabaso]

I wish South African coaches can watch these videos and learn tactics

[kelvinsudirman]

I'd like a further explanation of LaVolpe exit. I mean, I already know what it means and has watched lots of defensive midfielders do that. It's however the first time I heard that it's called LaVolpe exit and I want to hear the more historical side of that tactic.

[percentSNAFU]

I'd like to see a video about the stopper position, another defunct position from a bygone era that I used to play. It would be pretty similar to a CDM, but not exactly the same. Maybe it wasn't that common but my high school team used what would be considered today some strange tactics. It was a 3-1-3-3 formation with the stopper set between the defence and midfield, and our number 8 was called a "rover" and functioned similarly to a false-9.

[ItsMeHammie]

I played sweeper for school and college. Taught me how to read the game extremely well, and combined with my speed we rarely got scored on from counter attacks.

[aaronngui]

I started as a sweeper due to my relative size, but gave the ball away too quickly in dangerous areas. Eventually I played as striker so even if I lost the ball, it was lost in the opponent’s half or near the opposition’s goal. Those were good times.

[michiadams]

How did Neuer not get a mention in here 🤯

[coachhbosoccer]

Jorge Campos(Mex), Rene Higuita(Colombia)Antoine Bell(Cameroon) and more recently Manny Neuer were doing the sweeper keeper thing before Ederson OR Allison

[PassivesAbseits]

Not even a Munich Fan... but when you mention "the best Goalkeepers", you got to start with Neuer. He put the playmaking keeper on a new level.

[LaureusSport]

Another well-researched video from Tifo!

[atharvakelkar]

A lot of modern 3-man defenses play the traditional sweeper, with players who excel in carrying the ball out but might be caught defensively. A perfect example of this was David Luiz in Conte's 3-4-3 at Chelsea - he was always deeper than the other 2 defenders and distributed the ball brilliantly. Even under Tuchel, Thiago Silva plays almost as a sweeper. This helps highlight his strengths (reading of the game, distribution) while covering for his slight weaknesses (reduced pace due to age). Also, in some back 4s, a midfielder drops in deep to split the defense (like a pseudo-sweeper) and move the ball forward (Xabi Alonso from Bayern is the first example that comes to mind).

[CJ_Yo_]

The animation in this video is top notch. Great video and doesn't focus on just the offside rule or player development.