FIFA World Cup 2014: Midfielders hold court

Chennai: Luiz Gustavo may not be a household name in football but the Wolfsburg player will be one of the first names to go into the Brazilian team sheet at the 2014 World Cup. For Selecao coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, the defensive midfielder is as important as superstar and forward Neymar. Top teams do enter the field in the absence of an out and out striker these days but they never leave out a defensive midfielder from their playing rosters. If the role of midfielders who specialise in preventing opponents from scoring has become sexy in modern football, the ‘blame’ squarely lies with former Real Madrid player Claude Makelele. Defensive players in the middle of the park had been plying their trade even before Makelele burst on to the scene but the Frenchman made the position more noticeable through his effectiveness.

After Real president Florentino Perez sold “10-yard passer” Makelele and bought “40-yard passer” David Beckham in 2003, the Spanish giants’ fortunes plummeted. Makelele went on to enjoy a productive stint with Chelsea before winding down his career on the rolls of PSG at home. Worryingly for some purists, though, the number of defensive midfielders in top club and international teams has gone up to two now. The destroyers hunt in pairs like fast bowlers in cricket. If it is Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira for Real, Brazil have Gustavo and Ramires. Scolari also has a stand-bye in Paulinho. Even a team like Brazil that built their CV on attacking prowess have fallen for the lure of holding it tight in midfield.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque might contemplate replacing Xavi and Andres Iniesta if his team enjoy a healthy lead but he would never be tempted to pull out Sergio Busquets and Alonso. The second pair was ever present in Spain’s triumph in the 2010 World Cup. Busquets has been as integral to the success of Barcelona, who have attacking play in their DNA, as Lionel Messi has been despite not remotely being gifted with the skills of the Argentine. The selection policy of Germany’s boss Joachim Loew for the 2014 World Cup illustrates the influence defensive midfielders exert on the thinking of modern coaches. Khedira and forward Mario Gomez missed a lot of action last season as a result of injury. Khedira made his much-awaited comeback for Real only in the final of the Champions League in the final week of May. Gomez was also up and running for Fiorentina towards the end of the season. Loew gave the boot to Gomez and included Khedira in his 23-member final squad.

Loew’s decision is instructive because he discarded a striker even though his squad was severely short on firepower up front. After cutting youngster Kevin Volland from the final list for Brazil, the German coach has Miroslav Klose as his only out and out forward. As effective as defensive midfielders have been in linking up play between defence and attack, they also contribute immensely to the drying up of goals. If teams that deploy two destroyers in the middle go on to do well in Brazil, some coach might have a brainwave of adding one more to the tribe. The days of a classical centre forward are numbered as many teams call a midfielder False Nine euphemistically these days. He might one day be extinct like a dinosaur.