by MaddFM.
“There are many actions to build up — to make our play quicker, better — but we can’t do them. Not because the other players are not good but because he is the only left-footed central defender”. Pep Guardiola after signing Aymeric Laporte for Manchester City.
It has long been heralded that there is something special about Left-Sided footballers - often widely recognised that they can be more difficult to defend against, provide better balance within a team, offer a unique proposition on either side of the pitch and overall are often “easier on the eye” and more aesthetically appealing when you look at their passing, technique, skill and of course their shooting range/goal-scoring ability…who doesn’t have fond memories of Laurent Robert sh*tpingers, outrageous Robert Carlos free-kicks, Arjen Robben cutting inside from the right wing, David Silva’s beautifully arced through balls, Gareth Bale’s ball-striking ability and basically anything that Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi ever did with a football?
Traditionally the appeal of left-sided players leaned towards the more attacking side of the beautiful game, however modern-day football has somewhat switched this desire towards the more defensive aspects wherein the appeal and impact of having a left-sided defender has become more and more prevalent. M more and more clubs are willing to pay top dollar to bag themselves such a commodity as part of a two-man or three-man back line - deploying a left-sided ball-playing centre-half who is confident on the ball and can make a key pass has become a powerful trait as is has become evident through the likes of David Alaba, Pau Torres, Presnel Kimpembe & Alessando Bastoni who are all integral components of their teams’ tactical setup.
As usual Football Manager is no different (even Championship Manager respected the legend that was Taribo West), and with the recent evolution of the Wide Centre Back and Ball-Playing Centre Back roles, the concept of a Left-Sided Centre Half in your back three/back four can make for a powerful weapon in your in-game arsenal. While previous LCB wonderkids such as Joško Gvardiol, Nico Schlotterback, Benoit Badiashile and Sven Botman are all somewhat out of reach when we load up FM23 due to their recent big transfer moves, there are a number of top class options in this year’s game who all have the ability and/or potential to fulfil your left-sided centre-back needs.
1. Arthur Theate (Rennes)
Belgium has a pretty good track record when it comes to Centre-Back pedigree right? Step forward Arthur Theate - arguably the future of the Belgian back line considering the average age of their recent starting pair at the World Cup was 34 years of age and look where that got them. Still only 22, Theate has had a rapid ascension in his short career, currently in his third full season of top tier football having signed for Rennes after a highly impressive season at Bologna following his breakout season at Oostende in the Belgian Pro League. Tall, strong, fond of surging runs forward with the ball and a confident ability to make long range passes and through balls forward - he has already exceeded his Ball Progression and Pass Completion numbers from last year with still half a season to go, while also looking comfortable in either a Back 3 or Back 4 system for club and country.
In FM23 Theate has only just signed for Rennes and though relatively unattainable at the beginning of a save, he regularly ends up with a move to an elite club (Real Madrid and Dortmund in my own save) and looking at his all round physical, mental and technical attributes (look at that Determination 😍) as well as his ability to play in almost any Centre-Back role, he is definitely a signing worth considering if you are looking for an LCB at an elite-tier club that isn’t short of a bit of cash. BEAST.
2. Jorge Cuenca (Villareal)
Another 22-year-old with a similar if not better profile at the start of FM23 takes us South to La Liga, where Jorge Cuenca is starting to attract attention as he creates some long awaited competition for Villareal’s regular partnership of Raul Albiol and the aforementioned Pau Torres. Like many ex-Barcelona graduates, Cuenca saw that first-team opportunities would be limited in Catalonia and made a smart move to Villareal knowing that he could rival the ageing Albiol for a place in the Yellow Submarine back line, and though the club have struggled slightly since the international break, Cuenca has looked more than at home whenever the opportunity has presented itself, so much so that Barcelona are already linked with a return move from him next summer as they look to add more depth and competition to their back line.
In FM23 Cuenca is highly valued but with his deal ending in 2025 it may be worth keeping an eye out for him in your second or third season - his combined strength, speed, positioning and tackling are as good as you may find for a defender his age and with the right partner could form one hell of a solid defensive line for any top tier club in-game.
3. Piero Hincapié (Bayer Leverkusen)
Ecuadorians are all the rage lately and with good reason. While it was the likes of Moises Caicedo, Pervis Estupiñán and Enner Valencia who stole most of the headlines at World Cup 2022, Hincapié gave a very good account of himself for Ecuador featuring in all three group games and showing an ability to play in both a back four and back three as Ecuador switched tactics throughout the group stages. Since joining Bayer Leverkusen from Talleres in the Argentinian Primera Division he has been a first team regular, helping them finish 3rd in the Bundesliga last season and regularly featuring in the 90th percentiles for Progressive Carries, Take-Ons and Passes Received, proving his confidence on the ball and contribution to both defensive and attacking play.
In FM23 he is a ready made elite-level Centre-Half who can also play as a left-back and fit into any defensive setup. Though he may cost you if you intend to sign him early on, there is little doubt that he will hit the ground running and at 20 still has huge room to rapidly develop and progress in-game.
4. Mika Mármol (FC Andorra)
An ex-Barcelona graduate currently enjoying a breakout season with Gerard Pique’s FC Andorra - what more could you want? This has FM narrative written all over it and we are here for it. 21-year-old Mika Mármol rose through the ranks at La Macia to make his full first team debut in 2022, before moving to FC Andorra in the Spanish Segunda Division on a free transfer at the start of the season (if you think Barcelona don’t have a buy-back clause then you are sorely mistaken). Since joining FC Andorra Mármol’s defensive and possession stats have been highly impressive - 2.1 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per 90 minutes while also averaging an 87% passing accuracy and 89 passes per 90.
In FM23, 20-year-old Mármol is contracted at Andorra until 2024 and is both ready and affordable if you are in the hunt for a progressive left-sided CB; at 5’11” he is shorter than most but with decent Heading and Jumping Reach this shouldn’t be an issue - it certainly isn’t for Lisandro Martinez who we should also mention is left-footed 😉.
5. Mikey Van De Ven (Wolfsburg)
The Dutch are somewhat blessed when it comes to left-sided centre-halves and Mikey Van De Ven is next off the conveyor belt following the likes of Daley Blind, Nathan Aké and of course the aforementioned Sven Botman. Plucked from Dutch Second Tier obscurity in 2021, he has quickly become a first team regular at Wolfsburg impressively has played every minute of their league campaign so far this season and narrowly missed out on a place in the Netherlands World Cup 2022 squad after being included in their preliminary draft prior to the competition.
In FM23 we see a 21-year-old 6’4” versatile defender with 17 Pace and 16 Determination, with strong all round attributes and bags of room to develop as you see fit. Contracted until 2025, he should be both affordable and attainable and would be a force to be reckoned with in any back line…think Dan Burn meets Usain Bolt, yep I went there.
6. Anders Børset (Molde)
According to our friend Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout on Twitter), 16-year-old Anders Børset is “one of the leaders of a very interesting generation of Norwegian players born in 2006” and considering he has already made two senior appearances at the time of writing, it’s easy to see why. Quick, tenacious, confident moving forward and showing early signs of strong technical ability and positional intelligence, Børset is yet another reason for Norwegian fans to feel very hopeful for the future and if he continues on this upward trajectory it certainly won’t be long before some of the bigger clubs in Europe come calling.
In FM23 he is certainly one for the future however at just 16 we are looking at a player with 16 Determination, a Perfectionist personality type and already possessing the “Brings Ball Out of Defence” player trait. With his contract up for renewal in June 2023 - seriously, what are you waiting for.
7. Mattea Viti (OGC Nice)
An Italian Centre-Half tearing up Ligue 1, that’s the dream right? At 18 Mattea Viti quickly emerged as a first choice centre-back for Empoli in Serie A attracting national interest as one of Italy’s most promising defenders, after being linked with several moves it was OGC Nice who eventually won the race for his signature for a reported €13 million. At the time of writing he is still working on displacing the likes of Dante and Jean-Claire Todibo at Nice however with the former now 39 years of age, one has to expect that Viti is being primed as a ready-made replacement when the time comes especially looking at his high-scoring Pass Completion (90%+ for short/medium passes), Successful Take-Ons (97th percentile) and interceptions made (1.6 per 90).
In FM23 we have a 20-year-old 6’3” Ball-Playing Defender who is pricey but equally will be an asset to almost any club in the Top 5 Leagues - regularly compared to Alessandro Bastoni and with the Italian national back line very much going through a transition at present, Viti should be well within the reckoning if you can develop him accordingly (we know @FridayNightFM is already a fan so there’s your seal of approval).
8. Luke Mbete (Manchester City)
Probably should look to include an English player in this list right? Levi Colwill is probably one of the more obvious choices however we (and @FMDoop in particular) are big fans of Man City’s 18-year-old defender Luke Mbete who at the time of writing is an established England U21 international and has just joined Bolton on loan for the rest of the season. Starting his career in the Brentford academy before a decision was made to close it (Joe likes this), he joined Man City in 2016 and it’s safe to say he has been on a pretty good development path and has already shown an excellent read of the game as well as a strong passing range from deep.
In FM23 he has excellent Strength, Passing and Tackling for an 18-year-old - also don’t let that Pace/Acceleration fool you, we have seen these numbers rapidly increase in all of our saves once you progress a couple of years into a save and as we all know, a bit of Quickness training never does any harm 😉.
There we have it. Eight Left-Sided Centre-Halves of varying profiles and levels which will hopefully inspire you to refresh or rethink your defensive strategy as well as how much impact your back-line are having when it comes to transition, possession and offensive play. Deploying the right player in the right role can often give you that extra bit of edge and quality on the ball particularly in a world where getting dispossessed easily and giving the ball away can be more common than we would often like in-game. One thing is for sure - if it’s good enough for Pep, it should be good enough for us right?
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