What is rest defence?
When a team attacks, they commit a number of players forward in an attempt to create and finish the attack. The other players on the team provide support around and underneath the ball.
These secondary players can also help lock the opponents into the final third, working the ball to the other side of the pitch and, most importantly, stop opposing counter-attacks. When possession is lost, these deeper players focus on controlling the spaces.
Their actions, positioning, roles and responsibilities are a team’s ‘rest defence’. Typically, teams will attack with five players and have five outfield players responsible for rest defence (below). When a team is more assertive, or particularly desperate for a goal, this may move to six attacking and four in rest defence. A team reverses this when they prioritise the moments they lose possession.
Where does the term ‘rest defence’ originate?
The term is a direct translation from the German phrase restverteidigung. Rest is used in German because it associated with what is left over or remains, as opposed to the potential English meaning of relaxing.
In a football sense, rest applies to those in-possession players who are underneath or around the ball, preparing to potentially defend a counter-attack while still offering support to the attack. Thus, they are left over from the attack.
The term used by the German FA — restfeldsicherung — actually translates into ‘spare field coverage’. A similar example of a German football phrase directly translated into English would be half-spaces, which comes from the word halbraum.
How can players ensure effective application of a rest defence?
Before the ball has changed hands, the players in possession need to manage their distances and positioning from one another. The rest-defence unit needs to be far enough apart to stretch the opposition, pull players out of shape, and help move the ball into areas that allow the initial attack to flow and remain dangerous. Ultimately, the best way to stop the opposition from counter-attacking is to score through the initial attack.
Because football is a low-scoring sport, however, goals are few and far between. Therefore, the distances that the rest-defence unit manages must also consider the possibility of a counter-attack. When positioned closer together, as a compact unit, they are more likely to cut off dangerous forward-passing lanes, delay the ball, and successfully counter-press the opposition. However, they can hinder their team’s attack if the distances between them are too short.
Once they have managed distances appropriately, winning the ball back is very important. A team can achieve this through individual duelling, interceptions, tackles, or landing on loose or second balls. Predicting where the play may go next can also lead to an effective rest defence, as can reading body shapes, understanding opposing movements and qualities, and regular communication.
If a team cannot win the ball immediately upon a loss of possession, delaying the opposing counter-attack and stopping immediate forward progress from the opponent is the next step. The longer the opposition takes to build their attack, the more time there is for extra players to work back and defend.
Should the rest-defence unit apply pressure, screen and delay, players from the attacking unit higher up the pitch have time to recover back. They will often press from behind the opposition. Sometimes these recovering players can actually regain possession themselves and create a new attack. If a regain isn’t possible, adding more players back then helps form a defensive block. Most commonly, the rest-defence unit operates on a plus-one basis, instantly overloading the opponents’ attackers.
The overall rest-defence block can usually be split into two distinct lines. Most commonly this will be in a 2-3 (as with Enzo Maresca’s Parma, below) or a 3-2 shape. The higher of the two lines is responsible for the immediate shutting down of spaces around the ball, to try to stop the counter-attack at source. This line is usually made up of defensive-minded midfielders, although an increasing trend has seen the inclusion of at least one defender. They should counter-press aggressively to duel, tackle and intercept.
These actions are also known as ‘locking the edge’ of the penalty area. This line is also responsible for delaying the opposing counter-attack, allowing teammates from higher up the pitch to recover back and add to the defensive presence.
Defenders usually make up the deeper of the two lines, with some teams dropping a midfielder back. This line has to defend longer, direct passes that bypass those in front more often. Naturally they will then duel more in the air, while also facing opponents who try to pin, hold the ball up, and act as a high focal point to initiate a counter-attack. These players also have to defend big spaces in behind, with the additional support of a sweeping goalkeeper where possible, as most rest defences operate from the halfway line.
An increasing number of teams are extremely aggressive with their rest defence, placing the deeper line further and further into the opposition half. This increases the potential distance required to cover back towards their own goal, but also gives attacking players less room to operate. This potentially enables more counter-pressing support from those ahead.
Which coaches and teams are good examples of a rest defence?
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City
Guardiola prizes dominance of the ball and territory, and the 3-2 shape underneath his front line of five has formed the rest-defence unit. Initially, the likes of João Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko inverted from full-back. Then Guardiola had John Stones or Manuel Akanji move forward from centre-back, to join single pivot Rodri in managing the immediate spaces underneath the ball.
Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool
Klopp’s 4-3-3 has often relied heavily on full-back advances, creating a significant amount of their attacking play. As a result, the central midfield has often been deployed in the covering roles ahead of the two centre-backs — Virgil van Dijk as first choice, with Joël Matip or Ibrahima Konaté often alongside him. This 2-3 shape has relied on the likes of Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum, Naby Keïta, and later Wataru Endo and Dominik Szoboszlai, to cover ground, aggressively press and defend the spaces ahead of the reduced cover in Liverpool’s last line.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal
As with Guardiola, Arteta has often inverted one of his full-backs — most commonly Zinchenko — to enhance the build-up. However, there are many moments where, like Klopp, the 2-3 rest defence is used. With Arsenal’s wingers so dominant, the likes of Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White have instead narrowed to cover and protect, as the front line maintains maximum width for longer.
Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea
Tuchel utilised a back-three shape with Chelsea, which converted into a back five when defending for prolonged periods. But when attacking, his three centre-backs maintained their presence on the last line. The dynamic double pivot — mostly made up of two from Jorginho, N'Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovacic — was excellent in protecting the spaces ahead, while also recognising when to jump forward and join the counter-press.
Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton
De Zerbi relies heavily on double-pivot build-up in his preferred style of play. The double pivot, plus three of the back four in cover, often form his rest defence. With various rotations during open play, De Zerbi’s rest defence will differ in terms of personnel, but the 2-3 shape remains. His last line is extremely aggressive, constantly looking to push into the opponent’s half. They rarely defend on the halfway line, instead looking to push well into the spaces beyond the centre circle (below).
What are the benefits of a good rest defence?
The main benefit of a good rest defence is that it stops opposing counter-attacks. With intelligent positioning, aggressive and assertive duelling, pressing, interceptions and overall regains, the opposition’s counter-attacking potential can be nullified. This is ideal if a specific opposition’s counter-attacks are their main attacking outlet.
As football is an invasion game, an effective rest defence also helps lock the opposition into their own half for longer periods. This helps gain territorial control of the match, allowing the attacking team to dominate and suffocate for longer spells. Even if the defending team is particularly strong when protecting their own goal, locking them in for prolonged periods through an effective rest-defence helps to wear them down mentally. It can also force eventual errors and mistakes, such as the one seen in the video below, for Manchester City’s third goal against Manchester United in March 2024. Erik ten Hag’s United had spent long periods in their defensive third, against a City team relentless in their pressing and rest defence.
Sometimes the effectiveness of the rest defence can significantly help manage, swing or totally change the momentum of a match. It can be the difference between a match-defining counter-attack, or an opponent’s breaking of a compact block.
Ironically, a team’s rest defence can contribute to scoring goals further down the line. When a team defends in a block for a considerable period, their regains can sometimes expand in the wrong moments or areas. This is usually out of frustration, or lack of defensive discipline, and especially if they haven’t had the ball for a while.
Should the rest defence regain possession where opposing players break out from their defensive role in an attempt to counter-attack, the team in attacking transition can exploit, punish and score from new spaces that weren’t available moments before.
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