Italian positions guide: Libero

The word libero means free in Italian and was coined to describe the player in a five-man defence with no specific marking duties – known as a sweeper in English. Operating deeper than the other two central defenders, the libero’s job was to deal with any problems that the markers could not solve. Some, like 1982 World Cup winner Gaetano Scirea, were sometimes permitted to advance from the back to help midfielders and forwards during attacks. A good libero needed to have excellent vision and judgement, a cool head and an ability to anticipate situations quicker than anyone else. Franco Baresi also performed this role for the Italy side before he was made a central defender in Arrigo Sacchi’s revolutionary 4-4-2 system at AC Milan. Because of Sacchi’s success, the libero is now almost obsolete. Even in teams with three centre-backs, it is rare to see one of those players drop deeper than the other two. The role was reintroduced by Cesare Maldini during his time as Italy coach from 1996-98, but had only defensive duties. Both Alessandro Costacurta and Giuseppe Bergomi played there under Maldini, but neither man had quite the class of Scirea or Baresi.

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