Ball Playing Defender

What is a Ball-playing defender?

Football Manager states: The main job of the Ball-playing defender is to stop the opposing attackers from playing and to clear the ball from danger when required. However, unlike standard central defenders, the Ball-playing defender is encouraged to launch defence splitting through balls from deep to generate counter-attacking opportunities.

The Ball-playing defender is available with Defend, Stopper & Cover duties.

With a defend duty he will stay in line with his defensive partner. With the Stopper duty he will push forward ahead of the defensive line to close down players. With a covering duty the Ball-playing defender will drop deeper to sweep up through balls behind the defensive line.

Dictating the attack

The Ball-playing defender will be the first player in the attack. He will be the one that will send passes into the midfield but also long-balls to your forwards and wingers. However, he will not be sending simple passes to the closest player. No, he will look for space and will need moving players to complete long passes.

When do I pick a Ball-playing defender?

You would think that a Ball-playing defender (BPD) would only suit a possession based tactic but that is not the case. As the BPD will also look for long balls, it is also a very good pick if you use a counter tactic. The BPD could then try long passes behind the opponent's defence as he looks for through balls on your quick strikers.

A BPD could suit any sort of tactic, the only thing you need to consider is how to partner him. You must have a dedicated defender next to him as the BPD could be moving out of his position when your team has the ball.

Which attributes does a Ball-playing defender need?

As a central defender the BPD still needs the basic attributes any defender needs. However, the BPD also needs the technical and mental attributes to allow him to complete passes.

Defensive Duty

Key	Desirable
Heading	First Touch
Marking	Technique
Passing	Aggression
Tackling	Anticipation
Composure	Bravery
Positioning	Concentration
Jumping Reach	Decisions
Strength	Vision
	Pace

Stopper

Key	Desirable
Heading	First Touch
Passing	Marking
Tackling	Technique
Aggression	Anticipation
Bravery	Concentration
Composure	Vision
Decisions
Positioning
Jumping Reach
Strength

Cover

Key	Desireable
Marking	First Touch
Passing	Heading
Tackling	Technique
Anticipation	Bravery
Composure	Vision
Concentration	Jumping Reach
Decisions	Strength
Positioning
Pace

Ball-playing defender player traits

Player traits are actions a player will more likely perform during a match than others.They don't give him extra abilities, but will affect his decision making. A player trait can be learned through individual training or through mentoring.

For a Ball-playing defender you could be looking at the following player traits:

• Tries to play way out of trouble
• Tries long range passes
• Brings ball out of defense
• Likes to switch ball to wide areas

Player traits to avoid:

• Plays simple passes

Ball-playing defenders in FM23

A selection of some of the best Ball-playing defenders in Football Manager 2023.