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The primary responsibility of a forward is to score goals and create chances for his teammates. He has to sniff out opportunities, get into good positions and be aggressive in the way he goes about his business as defenders won't willingly afford him an inch.
However, a forward's duties are not limited to what happens in the attacking third. When his side is out of possession, he is required to help out his teammates by being an extra man in defense. He has to track back and alleviate the burden on the midfielders and defenders.
To be fair, shuttling up and down the field requires an indefatigable engine and not many players possess the same. There are several forwards who shy away from contributing a great deal in defence.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five world-class forwards who don't track back.
#5 Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Duvan Zapata used to be a hard-working forward during defensive transitions. But he has shown considerably less of that vigor in recent seasons. He presses hard and this has been crucial to Atalanta's exploits in recent campaigns but age is clearly starting to catch up with Zapata.
Aside from the pressing, Zapata doesn't contribute much in defence. Once his line of defence is breached, the 31-year-old likes to stay up and wait for the ball to be played out to him.
He won just one successful tackle inside the defensive third in the 2021-22 Serie A season and just four successful tackles in total in the league last term.
#4 Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan)
Chelsea made Romelu Lukaku their most expensive signing in the summer of 2021. They shelled out €113 million re-sign their former player, but the big Belgian endured an extremely underwhelming campaign upon his return to Stamford Bridge. He is currently on loan at Inter Milan.
At Chelsea last term under Thomas Tuchel, Lukaku proved to be a rather passive figure when the team was out of possession. He won a total of three tackles in the league last season and all three of them came in the attacking third.
The Belgium international is not one to bust his lungs in a bid to help out his defenders and is content to just stay up and break on the counter.
#3 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
Kylian Mbappe is one of the most lethal attackers in the game right now. He possesses incredible pace and is also quite intelligent with his movements. Mbappe is nearly unstoppable when he is in the mood as his exemplary dribbling skills make him an elusive presence on the pitch.
However, the defensive side of his game has been found to be lacking. Mbappe often becomes a non-entity when Paris Saint-Germain go out of possession and seeing him dig in and put in a defensive shift is a bit of a rarity.
Mbappe made a total of 14 tackles in Ligue 1 last term. This is quite ordinary for a player who played 35 matches in the league and started 34 of them.
#2 Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of all time. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has made a career out of terrorizing defenders with his silky dribbling skills, burst of pace, intelligent link-up play and unreal shooting range.
In recent years though, Messi's interest in helping out in defence has waned considerably. He is often reduced to a passenger during defensive transitions. He made a total of 10 tackles in his underwhelming debut campaign in Ligue 1 (2021-22).
Messi has received much flak for strolling about when his team is out possession and having turned 35, he is unlikely to turn it around.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Cristiano Ronaldo is yet another world-class forward who has gained notoriety for his lack of defensive contributions. Many argue that Ronaldo's incluion in the starting lineup led to Manchester United losing their defensive solidity in the 2021-22 season.
It's a fairly decent argument when you consider the fact that Ronaldo is quite poor at pressing and that he hardly ever tracks back. He made a total of 10 tackles in the Premier League last term and that's quite appalling under the circumstances.
United thrived under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when Anthony Martial led the line and acted as an excellent first line of defense. In the 2019-20 season where the Frenchman was the Red Devils' first-choice striker, he made 379 presses. Ronaldo made a total of 182 last season.
