you made a good couple of posts about the nature of defensive qualities that offensive players have but i disagree with you about one particular thing. those defensive skills are not taught,explained through managers.. i believe some offensive players are endowed with it, some are not. i have never seen a bad defensive striker turning into a defensive beast all of a sudden. conversly, monsterous defensive strikers are like that since the starting years of their senior professional carreer.
It can come with age as his football IQ becomes better. He's still too young to know what he'll develop into at 24-25 when he'll be in his prime basically.
Some of it can be thought though. And it does depend on managers imo. For example some managers want to hold your position and form a defensive block (drop with the midfielders in a 5 line and act basically as the widest defender, allowing midfielders to overcrowd the center). Don't go looking for the ball and don't defend high. Just drop, and wait for them to come at you. Engage in physical duels and fouls when they do.
Others managers want you to press the ball carrier with high intensity. Then proceed to press other players as they receive the ball. You waste a lot of energy in this way and accomplish nothing. Because most of the pressing is done with a big physical component, without intelligence. This is the typical English team pressing. Almost looks like chaotic movements from player to player. Physical and intense, but disorganized. It's done so poorly at times that you end up being tricked like in the schoolyard.
Other managers don't want you to press the ball carrier, but want you to block maybe some classic build-up passes from the centerbacks to more advanced players (midfielders and fullbacks), for example CB - fullback which is a classic safe build-up option. This approach is not focused to get the ball back fast, but it impedes the build-up of the other team. You basically allow the opponent time on the ball in his half. Don't press the ball carrier, don't press backward pass to the goalkeeper, but you make building from there up difficult. This is sort of the modern way. And it works well with teams that have poor off the ball movement.
Other select managers want you to press using two other variables, cover shadow and access. This is the pressing Guardiola uses and is the best most advanced type. The winger presses the central defender coming from the side, so he has the fullback behind him, unable to receive. It puts pressure on the person with the ball and it leaves him without options. It must be done by 4-5 players at least, because otherwise, a good passing option will pop-up in time and you're gonna get toast.
Some young players had maybe 1-2 managers in their life at the senior levels. Maybe even1 top manager. That manager usually is focused on some type of defensive transition that fits his vision about effective football. Either pressing based, or whatever, with some clear ideas going in the same direction. It's hard for a young player to be such a tactically astute individual, as to apply himself to every tactic. Which is why coaching is very important. And which is why for young players, visionary coaches with an identity are better. It is a lot less confusing for them. Easier for them to follow clear instructions which are almost identical on a game by game basis.
Valverde for me doesn't have any clear type of style. He's kind of a mixed bag. Very hard manager to understand well, or play well for. Today he would use pressing, next game he would park the bus and play on the counter. He is a pragmatist, with no style, basically trying to play the result. Which is why he wants his players to be mature, experienced, willing to apply themselves to whichever type of tactic works best for a particular type of situation according to him. Sometimes he would play 1-2 different types of defense and positional game in the same match if the result somehow makes him switch.
It's not a manager I like for this team and players. We would be better with someone who knows what he wants to play and who can mold the players in that direction. Some players don't need that much molding anyway. Maybe Valverde will have a good enough squad to not make him as fearful as he is. Because he looked like a manager too scared to play Barca football at times. A lot of times weaker teams exploited this fear he has, and we basically ended up being dominated by vastly inferior sides who had more courage to go out and play, not looking at the result.
