from down under, who was contributing to a
slide
tackling forum when he offered this confession:Yes indeed, that is the big question. Before we look at a few slide tackle examples, let's consider the various levels of slide tackling success:
A. Stops the attack
B. Doesn't earn a card
C. Cleanly strips the ball
D. Puts the ball handler on the ground
E. Wins possession of the ball by deflecting it to another defender
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F. The tackler comes away with possession of the ball...Nirvana!
Let's start with what is a beautifully executed slide tackle which succeeds at levels A, B, C, & D. From the COPA America Final, Mexico's Castro cleanly strips Columbia's Grisales of the ball, while at the same time slamming him to the ground from a full sprint. For a side lines slide tackle, this is as good as it gets, because winning possession from that position is close to impossible.
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From the same match, let's take a look at a example which demonstrates so much of what I don't like about the slide tackle. The tables are turned here, since Grisales' role has switched from victim to aggressor. But even if you embrace the notion that it was Grisales' responsibility to stop the initiation of the side lines attack, there is no reason to dive in so hard into the ball handler's planted foot. At all levels of play, referees allow strikers to get away with excessively violent tackles, often from behind, and I don't know if the attitude is that they are loathe to remove the best goal scorers from the match, or if they simply turn a blind eye to sloppy tackling by forwards for some strange reason. OK, it might be true that Grisales was working under the weight of expectation to do everything possible to stop the initiation of the side lines attack, but if that were true I would have thought that the center of the tackle would have been slightly further up field, and he would have been making an effort to deflect the ball out with the lead foot. Grisales lead foot was instead folded back, and then the back foot was violently kicked forward to insure contact with the player and the ball. Anyway, it's an injustice that this tackle didn't earn a foul, when if the Mexican's player's cleats had held firm and the ankle had been rolled or even broken, Grisales would have surely earned a yellow or even red card for the exact same tackle. This tackle also succeeds at levels A, B, C, & D.
Now let's get in a quote from the average player on the pitch, in this case it's from 'millerthescouser'
from down under, who was contributing to a
slide
tackling forum when he offered this confession:
"i love slide tackling, it gets u the ball as well as clearing the fag that just hacked ya. any special techniques? i run in mad then wen about 4 meters away i jump, n try and get the ball as well as the opponent. so"
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Now let's look at slide-tackles of this variety, when the offending party approaches the ball at breakneck speed then leaps into the air, brings his legs legs up under him, then returns to earth totally out of control. And just as with the above tackle by Grisales, the violent attitude of the tackle is revealed in that there is absolutely NO intention of making contact with the front leg. Here Arsenal's Toure also collapses his front leg somewhat, so as not to interfere with his back leg kick through the ball and the onrushing opponent's legs. By the way, no foul was assessed here either, and don't anyone try to tell me that it was the ball handler's responsibility to step over the tackle in that case. Had Toure's defensive choice been to go after a simple front leg deflection out of bounds, then I'd agree, but Warnock had no idea that Toure was going to play Superman and throw his whole body in such an out of control and violent way. Anyway you cut it, Toure deserved a yellow card on that one, and possibly a serious leg injury as well. Exactly why Warnock went down here is beyond my soccer expertise, but the fact that he did choose to meet Toure's slide tackle with his own slide is what saved Toure from getting carded in this situation, sort of a "2 wrongs don't earn a foul" kind of thing. This tackle succeeds at levels A, B, & maybe D.
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Now let's consider an example of how to deal with players who love to slide tackle, and are damn good at it . Here Henry makes toast of 2 of Barcelona's best defenders, but the fact is that strikers possessing the talent to deal with tacklers this effectively are few and far between. It's just so much more natural for a striker to dive in similar situations. Now let's consider defender #3, which is actually Carlos Puyol again, who incredibly has caught back up to the action, allowing the central defender to stay where he can deal with a potential pass back across the middle. But this time Puyol wisely chooses to stay on his feet, and in fact broke away from the action at the last moment so as not to interfere with the goalkeeper. His presence was all it took to influence the play, since by pushing the ball so far out front, it's clear that Henry expected Puyol to slide tackle again, and given the keeper's perfect near post position, Henry was about to succumb to the striker's instinct to hit the turf and flop around for a while. Even I have to admit...there's a time to stay up, and there's a time to dive, and with Arsenal up a goal, and down a man, and presented with an opportunity to weigh down a world class defender Puyol with a card, and possibly get him out of the match entirely [ I'll not even mention the PK possiblity ;~) ] a 3rd slide tackle in the box would have presented the perfect opportunity for any ball handler to exercise his right (and might I suggest: responsibility?!?) to hit the turf and flop around like a fish. Wonderfully, both slide tackles fail at all levels, don't really even slow the ball handler down.
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Here's another example of what frustrates me so about slide tackling. Henry has executed that same tackle a thousand times, clearly getting to the ball before the ball handler, without a foul being called. But for some reason here he gets a yellow card...at a time when Arsenal is already down a man due to a Professional Foul. Worthy of note is that Henry is so far ahead of the ball handler that he gets kicked into up around the knees. It wasn't even close, and yet a yellow card is assessed, forcing Henry to question himself going into every challenge for the remaining 40 minutes of that UEFA Champions League Final match. This tackle succeeds at levels A, C, & D.
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For those of you who doubt that stopping the attack is job #1 for the defender, let's take a look at a slide tackle which any coach would maintain was totally required at that moment, even if a card had been assessed, since it immediately put the stop to a sideline advance by a dangerous striker which could have lead to a crucial goal. The fact is that - along the sidelines - some coaches might go so far as to direct their defenders to go for the sure player contact even if contact with the ball seemed like a sure thing. This tackle succeeds at levels A, B & D.
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Now let's consider a common variety late in a match. Here the player waits to the last possible instant to drop into the slide, yet then missed the ball completely and takes the ball handler off his feet. But, not only is he not carded for the reckless play, because the ball handler didn't exhibit great pain as a result of the contact, the referee doesn't even call a foul. Just between us friends, I feel that this is whack! To my way of thinking, the only possible reason that a referee would NOT assess a foul is if he was concerned that the offending player might be racking up too many fouls...if you know what I mean. In light of the scandal which is now consuming Italian soccer at the highest levels, such decisions are not above suspicion. But some might even say that the Mexican player brought the contact on himself by briefly holding the ball. I'm confronted with this attitude quite often, particularly if the contact is anywhere near the 18 yard box. No kidding, there is an attitude out there that if the ball handler holds the ball for any period of time, it becomes the ball handler's responsibility to avoid the contact...even if the contact is coming from behind...even if the contact takes place just after the ball is passed off. This thinking is why defenders do their most important work after the ball is passed. This tackle succeeds at levels A and B.
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Here's another example of that, but this time poor defender Alonzo wasn't so lucky, as his indiscretion earned him a yellow card. This tackle fails at just about every level.
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How about an interesting example which demonstrates that life isn't always a bed of roses for the slide tacklers. Here Ashley Cole executes a typical side line slide tackle and big Mark van Bommel gives him a knee drop to the head for his efforts. Ouch. But the tackle succeeds at levels A, B, C, and D.
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Sharing some midfield love! Here's an example of what life is like in the heart of the pitch at the highest level of the game. With bodies flying everywhere, watch this and tell me that you honestly believe that the slide tackle is considered a 'weapon of last resort' at the professional level. Forget about it! The tackle does succeed at levels A, B, C, and D.
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Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes the goofiest slide tackle yet...the two legged drop. Now I ask you, how much talent does it take to kick out both legs together and then drop onto you butt?!? And the idiocy is compounded by defenders waving his arms in the air requesting a yellow card for a dive. As an Arsenal fan, I'm embarrassed that one of our defenders would resort to such 'C-league' tactics. This tackle succeeded only at level A, since it didn't earn a card, and proves that 2 legged tackles don't usually earn a card at the highest levels of play, because it doesn't get higher than the UEFA Champions League Final Match.
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OK, I'll admit that most of the above examples are from the final matches of championship tournaments. To demonstrate that the same embrace of slide tackling holds true for league play, even very early in a match, simply feast your eyes on the video at left to see that Coach Jose has his boys swarming all over the field, double teaming and slide tackling...and not only is the match still young, but Chelsea has the lead and is still in the offensive end of the field. And this is Chelsea playing in the English Premier League at a time when they are winning it all.
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In case you're still not satisfied, check out the first 10 seconds of the video at right, and see 2 slide tackles in Chelsea's offensive half, and neither anywhere close to a last resort choice.
I hope this puts to rest once and for all the hogwash that the slide tackle is used by the best as a weapon of last resort. Get real.
Don't think that this is a statement against the Chelsea players. Playing for a club owned by Roman Abramovich, the threat of a 'loan' to CSKA Moscow should keep the Chelsea players motivated like none other in sport. Just imagine the Chelsea team meeting in which Coach Jose Mourinho casually announces to his players:
"...Roman feels that Moscow is going to be thin up front this coming fall. We may need to loan them a player, so over the next few weeks I'll be observing our offense with an eye toward determining which player's work rate might fit in with the slower pace of the Russian League..."
Hearing that, if I were Sheva or Joe Cole I'd be thinking two words: perpetual motion
This video also makes the best case for not increasing the number of substitutions allowed. It looks to me that these players aren't saving anything for overtime, at least the players involved above don't seem too concerned about it. I guess it could say something about Mourinho's likely substitution strategy, which might encourage more intense defensive play by the forwards. Who knows.
Image Credit Above: Article on Vladimir Romanov by Gus Marwood
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Lastly, if you want a clear example of what slide tackling from behind is, the video at left presents the perfect check out the following rip by Benoit Angbwa of Lille in the French League 1. Yet even with a clear cut case such as this, listen closely as the commentators are compelled to question the referee's wisdom for awarding the card. I guess this did succeed at level A and D, maybe even C, though it needs improvement at level B.
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First order of business, watch the video at right, and listen to the
commentator's thoughts on tackling skills in the EPL.
Next, ask yourself how slide tackling is taught here in America.
The answer is that it's not taught at all, but is instead viewed by
rec and club teams as some kind of rogue maneuver for which
formal instruction should never be given, as that might be viewed
as encouraging the practice of slide tacking. If you doubt this, go
to any club coach and ask him or her to hold a team skills session
focusing on proper slide tackling technique, including actual 1 on 1
practice. I can promise you that such a session will not likely happen for 2 reasons:
1. Slide tackling is viewed by clubs as far too dangerous an activity to actually
practice.
2. Coaches don't want to go on record and say that slide tackling from
behind is "right or wrong", or more fairly, coaches don't want to firmly
state what angle of attack defines "tackling from behind." And why
should they, when it's clear that even the refs don't have a consistent
idea as to what that definition is, and if they do will often times deviate
from that definition depending on where on the field the tackle occurs,
and how much pain the downed player allows himself to exhibit. This is
particularly true if the score happens to be tied at the time, and absolutely
true if a forward is executing the tackle against a defender.
Bottom line, there are millions of soccer players in America who have never really
received instruction on soccer's 2nd most dangerous tackling technique.
Mike Kimbro
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Photo Credit: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 4, 2003, page 12D, photo by Rick Moon.