Full-backs were once considered the least important players on a football pitch. Nowadays, they can be the difference between a win and a loss, especially for teams utilising them as wing-backs further forward.
As the name suggests, wing-backs are a hybrid of a full-back and a winger. They are reserved for systems with three centre-backs, which gives them extra licence to get forward, and they are an essential part of the modern game.
Below we pinpoint precisely what makes a wing-back, specifically a good one, and who the best modern examples are.
In this article we’ll cover:
What is a wing-back?
In short, a wing-back is a wide player who transitions between helping the defence and providing an important outlet in attack. However, there is a lot more to the role than just that.
Helenio Herrera’s iconic Inter Milan side of the 1960s were the first team to properly utilise wing-backs. Giacinto Facchetti and Tarcisio Burgnich were key parts of the defensive catenaccio system while also providing a threat going forward.
That was very much a 5-3-2 system, so the emphasis was on the defensive side of the role. Wing-backs were given much more freedom with the emergence of the 3-5-2 in the late 20th century, though.
The primary role of a wing-back then became to provide width. Full-backs at the time tended to defend narrowly and overlap on occasion, but wing-backs in a 3-5-2 would stay wide and look to deliver crosses to the forwards in the absence of a natural winger.
A manager has a huge say in a wing-back’s defensive responsibilities. Someone like Antonio Conte, perhaps the role’s most famous advocate, will expect his wide men to work hard and create a back five when necessary. Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim, by contrast, are more willing to use natural wingers as wing-backs, putting more emphasis on pace and pressing.
Conte is also an advocate for a goalscoring wing-back. Marcos Alonso was a master at arriving at the back post in the nick of time during his Chelsea spell under the Italian, who clearly valued his height and aerial ability.
Unsurprisingly, given the demanding nature of the position, one of the key attributes for a wing-back is stamina. Crossing ability and defensive awareness are handy skills to have, but getting up and down the flank is the main thing a wing-back must be able to do.
Which modern players play the role?
There was a 3-4-2-1 boom after Conte’s Premier League title win with Chelsea and, while many managers, including the man himself, have opted to return to four-defender formations, the likes of Xabi Alonso and Amorim have stuck by their principles.
Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo notched a combined 39 goal involvements when Alonso led Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten Bundesliga title in 2023/24, making them the most effective wing-back pairing in recent times.
Prior to that, a trend of wingers being converted to wing-backs emerged. Players like Victor Moses and Ashley Young were not the dangerous attackers they once were, and Conte knew that, converting them into two of the best wing-backs in the world.
Right now, Federico Dimarco is arguably the most effective wing-back in Europe, bringing the position full circle as it was one which came to prominence during Herrera’s spell with Inter.
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