Defending Crosses In A Back Four: Insights From Aston Villa, Lecce, Freiburg & Rayo Vallecano – Tactical Theory

Defending crosses is one of the most detailed tactical analysis topics, with numerous differences between different teams and coaches ideas.

The details of defending crosses begin with each defenders ability to either mark an attacker or cover a specific space.

It differs from defending with either four or five defenders due to the width of the defensive line.

Each possibility for the defenders inside the box has its advantages and disadvantages.

This tactical theory will explain various tactical approaches and executions for a back-four system defending crosses employed by different teams, including US Lecce, Aston Villa, SC Freiburg, and Rayo Vallecano, during the 2024/2025 season.

Listen to this article free on the Total Football Analysis Podcast via Spotify, Apple Podcast, or RSS.

US Lecce Zonal Defence

Marco Giampaolo, the US Lecce coach last season, is one of the few coaches in Italy who has adopted the fully zonal defence philosophy.

He polished this style during his most successful era at UC Sampdoria from 2016/2017 to 2018/2019.

Despite that, the coach made some changes by occasionally prioritising mixed defence (man-marking and zonal defence) against proper opponents.

The fully-zonal defence in box defending or defending crosses means that each defender from the three players inside the box (two centre-backs and one full-back) is responsible for covering a specific area.

When the ball enters the last 20 meters of the field at the side area, the defenders start to move towards the goal, and they move diagonally to apply the funnel principle (narrowing the distance between each other).

Additionally, in this philosophy, defenders prioritise the ball and maintain a full-body orientation toward it.

In the image below, we can see the positioning of each defender from US Lecce against SS Lazio; the defenders cover the three spaces in front of the goal (near post, centre space, and far post).

Giampaolo has a vital principle when defending with a fully zonal defence: the negative diagonal line.

This means the defenders will form an outward diagonal line.

US Lecce Zonal Defence Advantages & Disadvantages

Zonal defence has many advantages, including protecting the most essential spaces inside the box and allowing teammates to be covered from the defensive line due to its narrowing.

Another advantage is the ability to protect the depth more effectively, due to the deep positioning of the line.

Regardin