What Is "Playing Out From The Back" (And Why Is It So Popular)?
In the last decade, there has been a huge amount of evolution in terms of playing styles at the highest level of football, particularly in England. It wasn't long ago that 4-4-2 was the norm across the Premier League, and physical, long-ball football was widely accepted as the most effective way to survive in a relegation battle in England's top tier. Even the teams challenging for the title would usually aim to hit the ball long to a forward player each time they got the opportunity to regroup and distribute from a goal kick.
However, there is now an almost universal consensus that the ideal way of playing football is to move away from long goal kicks and instead "play out from the back". But what is playing out from the back and why has it become so popular across English football and the European game more broadly?
That's what we'll be focusing on in this article, as we explain how building out from the back can bring serious advantages in modern football (and explore the potential weaknesses of this style of play).
What Is Playing Out From The Back?
The phrase "playing out from the back" has become widespread within modern football culture, partly because of its sheer simplicity. To play from the back means to consistently seek to build possession from the deepest players on the pitch, specifically the goalkeeper and the defensive back line.
For teams that build up from the back, a large amount of responsibility is placed on the goalkeeper, who is required to start virtually every single move by taking a goal kick short, usually passing to a centre-back stationed on the left or right hand side of the goal. Sometimes, it can even be the centre-back who takes the initial kick, rolling it in to the keeper before splitting to provide an angle for the pass.
✅Aston Villa Build up
— Football Bunseki (@Footballbunseki) March 6, 2023
Here’s great example of playing out from the back. Find out more detail about Aston Villa’s build up tactics below ⬇️
pic.twitter.com/pHXUDuN2n7
Due to the fact that opposition players can't enter the penalty area when a goal kick is taken, these central defenders will usually receive the ball with some space around them, but this space will soon be closed down as attackers press them. Here, the goalkeeper, other defenders, and defensive midfield players will aim to find space and receive passes, allowing the team to build up play by gradually progressing it from deep inside their own box into midfield areas.
Every coach will have their own ideas about the best way to build from the back in football. Some managers might have an industrious and super technical central defensive midfielder who they are always looking to bounce the ball to quickly, whereas other coaches might like to shift the ball wide from the centre-backs to the full-backs whenever possible.
There are various strategies when it comes to playing out from the back, and most teams will use this method of building possession in different ways.
Why Is Playing Out From The Back So Popular?
Playing from the back has become extremely popular across world football. Statistics from The Athletic show that possessions with build-ups in the Premier League grew from 12.5% to 17.5% in the Premier League between 2019/20 and 2023/24, while in the EFL build-ups increased from just under 10% to over 17%, almost on par with the top division.
Meanwhile, in the 2023/24 Premier League season, 12 of the league's 20 teams spent more than 50% of playing time in build-up phase. These figures show that playing from the back and attempting to pass your way around the opposition press is becoming the norm.
There are a number of reasons for this shift. Firstly, it's important to note some rule changes that have had an impact on how teams seek to build up possession. In 2019, the rule that stated goal kicks needed to be played outside the penalty area before being touched by another player was scrapped, meaning that defenders could step into the box and receive a short pass from their goalkeepers to start off a move.
Another significant law change that happened before this in 1992 was the introduction of the back pass rule, meaning goalkeepers could no longer pick up the ball after being passed to by their own players.
This earlier change made it far more important for goalkeepers to be able to confidently control and pass the ball in their own penalty area. However, it took many years for this to become a more widely viewed phenomenon. Pioneering European coaches firmly committed to a possession-based style of play — chiefly legendary Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola — have had a huge influence on the popularity of playing out from the back in England.
Coaches like Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, Ange Postecoglou and Roberto De Zerbi argue that this footballing strategy can draw opponents out of position, opening up space in key midfield areas which can then be exploited using clever movement and sharp, precise passing.
Across the divisions, from the Premier League down to the fifth-tier National League, coaches have been convinced that this calm, possession-based build-up play can be highly effective, and they're sticking to this principle regardless of the dangers. In addition, numerous national teams are wedded to this style of play, partly because most international players are used to being asked to deploy this philosophy at club level.
While there are some critics of this style of play, it's clearly reaping rewards for many teams, with the standard of football at all levels of English football vastly improved over the last decade in the eyes of most fans. That being said, there is still plenty of distrust directed towards this philosophy, particularly from the less wealthy and well-resourced teams.
The Dangers Of Playing Out Of The Back
Playing out from the back is understandably seen as a risky strategy. Many supporters have struggled to get used to the idea of seeing their goalkeeper pass it five yards to their centre-back before receiving it back on their own goal line under huge pressure from an onrushing opposition forward. There's no denying it can be scary, and it can sometimes create calamitous situations.
A recent compilation shared by Sky Sports showed that even the best goalkeepers sometimes get themselves mixed up in disastrous situations when trying to pass out from the back, from David Raya putting it on a plate for Tottenham defender Cristian Romero to slot home, to Luton Town punishing Manchester City after Mattheus Nunes miscontrolled an Ederson pass. However, in recent Premier League seasons, it's been teams lower down the table who have consistently messed up their build-up play and been punished for it.
Southampton's costly errors when trying to play out from the back under Russell Martin ensured they stayed anchored to the bottom of the table throughout the 2024/25 season, and this ultimately cost the former manager his job.
The previous EPL season, Vincent Kompany's Burnley repeatedly handed the ball to the opposition in their own defensive third, with many unforced errors leading to goals (and eventually relegation). These two case studies show how without a hugely talented playing squad and serious resources, playing out from the back as a newly-promoted team isn't always the most effective strategy.
However, advocates of build-up play from deep argue that the advantages of playing out from the back outweigh the potential risks that it creates. They say that by drawing in opponents and then beating their press, huge attacking advantages can be gained and space can be unlocked in important zones of the pitch.
It's also worth noting that playing out from the back has had huge benefits for teams like Brighton & Hove Albion, and talented teams who regularly use this system actually don't hand the ball to the opposition very often. It's just that when they do, it can look pretty disastrous.
The Importance Of Press-Resistant Players In The Modern Game
It used to be that only the most possession-oriented and attack-minded teams, like Pep Guardiola's Barcelona for example, would structure their game around playing out from the back. But that has changed, and build-up play is widely accepted as a great way of asserting control over a game and harming the opposition team.
Alongside the surge in teams playing out from the goalkeeper, the rise of tactical ideas like counter-pressing — a form of pressing where teammates close down the opposition in packs to win back possession quickly following a transition — has further boosted the importance of defensive players being able to control the ball under pressure and retain possession.
With more teams playing out from the back than ever before, it has become crucial that coaches have players at their disposal who are capable of controlling the ball in tight spaces, having the strength and positional awareness to shield it from opponents, and ultimately making sharp, accurate passes to teammates (thereby starting attacks).
These developments have led to a huge increase in the valuation of high-quality press-resistant midfielders like Rodri, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice. Those latter three players were all signed by Premier League clubs for over £100m after the importance of their press-resistant abilities was recognised by recruitment staff and coaches.
As playing out from the back continues to be seen as the preferable way of playing football in the Premier League, the EFL Championship and beyond, the importance of these types of players will only continue to grow.
There are many things coaches can do to train players in dealing with an opposition press when playing out from deep. Across a full session on the training ground, you could deploy a variety of small-sided drills and larger matches to ensure midfielders will regularly be required to train their ball retention skills. If you want to find out more about the significance of this part of the game, check out our guide to the role of the press-resistant midfielder.
Related Articles
Why Do Footballers Cut Holes In Their Socks?
