What Are Press Resistant Midfielders And Why Are They So Valuable?
Manchester City's turbulent 2024/25 campaign — featuring early exits from the UEFA Champions League and EFL Cup and a dramatic loss of Premier League form that ultimately left them battling it out for a Top Four spot — came down to several factors. Fatigue, fixture congestion, and a loss of ideas and energy after years of battling at the top of European football all played a role. But a long-term injury to their most important player — Spanish European Championship winner Rodri — was also crucial, and the reason Rodri's absence had such a massive impact comes down to the position he plays on the pitch.
In this article, we'll be explaining the precise role occupied by Rodri and other midfielders like him, as we dive into the concept of the press-resistant midfielder. We'll explore why press-resistant midfielders are so important in the modern game, and we'll give you a few examples of top-class pros who can be described in this way. But before we get into all that, it's worth briefly fleshing out exactly why pressing has become such a hot topic in football.
The Role Of Pressing In Modern Football
In football, 'pressing' is a term used to describe the closing down of players on the team in possession. The purpose is to put pressure on those with the ball, creating opportunities for tackling, blocking, or intercepting, and cutting out passing options by closing the space around the opponent's teammates.
Pressing can be used in various areas of the pitch, but usually this term is used to describe the process of trying to turn over possession by closing down opponents with speed and aggression. This strategy is closely tied to the philosophy of gegenpressing, which is all about trying to win the ball high up the pitch in order to create more dangerous goalscoring chances.
These days, pressing is widely seen as a key part of the game, but coaches still take varying approaches to pressing. While some coaches like to sit in a low block and hit teams on the counter-attack, it's more common to see teams either use a high counter-pressing system or a hybrid pressing structure. Most of the world's leading coaches ask their players to chase in packs, closing down the ball in tight groups to ramp up the pressure on the opposition and increase the chances of getting a numerical advantage when the ball is won.
The main purpose of counter-pressing is to try to bring about an attacking transition, meaning a turnover of possession that opens up an offensive opportunity. If you want to find out more about this aspect of the game, check out our deep dive on the role of transitions in football.
What Is A Press-Resistant Midfielder?
With so many teams in the modern era deploying a press, it's crucial for coaches to have players capable of retaining the ball when under pressure. This is what we mean by a press-resistant midfielder.
Press-resistant midfielders are typically central midfielders who can receive the ball while under intense pressure from opposition players and confidently keep hold of it, retaining possession and moving the ball on to teammates with calmness and efficiency. A variety of skills are needed here. They must have the physicality, movement and positional intelligence needed to shield the ball effectively, and a constant awareness of where their teammates are around them. The below video of Sergio Busquets, widely viewed as one of the most press-resistant midfielders of all time, gives a perfect demonstration of this:
On top of ball retention in confined spaces and under heavy opposition pressure, these midfielders also need to be able to perfectly execute short, medium, and long-distance passes, and their dribbling skills must also be excellent. Dribbling is an important tool that allows press-resistant midfield players to move up the pitch, which is ultimately the goal for those involved in press resistance.
Why Are Press-Resistant Midfielders So Valuable?
Johan Cruyff — one of the sport's greatest-ever minds and a pioneer of Total Football — once said “I want players who can make decisive moves in small spaces”. If a figure as legendary as Cruyff recognises the value of players who can retain and progress the ball under pressure, that tells you all you need to know about the value of press-resistant midfield players in football.
This skill doesn't come naturally to every player; while professionals all have incredible technical ability, consistently executing the skills outlined above while being pressured hard by opponents is extremely difficult. The scarcity of high-performing press-resistant midfielders, particularly at the highest level, makes this role even more valuable.
The cash being splashed on these kinds of players is massive. Some of the most expensive midfielders in the history of football — from Moises Caicedo (£115m from Brighton to Chelsea) to Aurelien Tchouameni (£68.3m from AS Monaco to Real Madrid) — are known primarily for their ability to pick up the ball deep, beat a press and get their team on the front foot creatively.
When Did This Area Of The Game Start Getting Attention?
The way the elite game has developed in recent years means beating the press is more important than ever before. According to The Athletic, "player-for-player marking in advanced areas has become increasingly common among non-elite sides in recent years — aimed at disrupting an opposition’s build-up in its early phases", and the same thing has happened at the top of the game.
This means being able to rely on a central defensive midfield player who can pick up the ball under pressure, keep possession and spark an attacking move has become crucial. The sky-high transfer fees being paid for elite-level modern defensive midfielders like Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo mean these operators are even more under the spotlight, and the difficulties faced by teams who are missing a top-class press-resisting midfielder show how crucial they are. So who are the best of the best in global football today?
Who Are The Best Press-Resistant Midfielders In World Football?
Below we've outlined a few of the world's most talented press-resistant midfielders, underlining some of their best skills and why they're able to function in this position so well.
Rodri
The absence of Pep Guardiola's star man in the middle of the park wreaked havoc for City's 2024/25 season. Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d'Or after getting his hands on the Premier League and the European Championship trophy in the space of a few weeks at the end of last season, and he has been instrumental for both club and country for a number of seasons. Known for his calmness and composure on the ball, his exquisite passing ability, and the way he dictates the tempo of games, seemingly effortlessly, Rodri is seen by many as the best press-resistant midfielder — and perhaps the best midfielder full stop — in the world right now.
Declan Rice
Arsenal may not have cemented their recent progression with a major trophy win yet, but there's no doubt Mikel Arteta's side has improved a huge amount over the last five years. At the core of their recent progress and integral to their close-run 2023/24 Premier League title challenge is Declan Rice, whose discipline, stamina, positional intelligence, and technical excellence make him the perfect press-resistant midfielder, capable of receiving the ball under pressure and launching threatening breaks multiple times per 90.
Enzo Fernandez
Another high-profile central midfielder who has commanded an enormous transfer fee in recent years is Enzo Fernandez, whom Chelsea spent £106 million on in January 2023. It was a seriously bloated fee at a time when the Qatar World Cup-winning Argentine's stock was at an all-time high, but it's also a strong indication of how valuable midfielders who can beat a press are.
Moises Caicedo
According to The Athletic's Stuart Taylor, “Caicedo, playing out from the goalkeeper, dealing with the ball under pressure when heavily marked 25 yards out, [has got] the technical ability and the awareness to help you build in the first phase." Given how crucial building from the back is to most top teams (not least Chelsea and Brighton, Caicedo's last two clubs), it's no surprise that the Ecuadorian is currently one of the most expensive players on the planet.
Toni Kroos
Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos retired last summer following another incredibly successful campaign in which he won his fourth La Liga title and his sixth Champions League medal, a remarkable return that shows his dominance at the top of the European game over the last decade-plus. While Kroos is technically no longer playing, his ball retention skills, passing ability, and tactical intelligence means it would be remiss of us to skip him in this list, especially given the impact he's had on world football in recent years. The 2014 World Cup winner helped set the benchmark for what a modern press-resistant midfielder should be expected to do, and everyone else on this list has likely been inspired by his work.
There are a number of other retired players who excelled in this role; players like Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso and Andrea Pirlo all helped lead their teams to historic trophy wins due to their press resistance, positional intelligence and passing ability. If you'd like to find out more about the exact skills needed to thrive from the base of midfield, check out our in-depth guide to the central defensive midfielder role in football.
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