A free-roaming defender who's expected to bring the ball forward and create from the back.
Definition: A free-roaming defender who's expected to bring the ball forward and create from the back.
Italian for 'free'. The libero is a sweeper who's not just a defender but also a playmaker — the deepest player on the team but also the one who initiates attacks. Franz Beckenbauer invented the modern libero at Bayern Munich and West Germany in the 70s. He won the Ballon d'Or twice as a defender — almost unheard of. Modern equivalent: ball-playing center-backs like Virgil van Dijk.