5 Cleverest offside traps in modern day football

The linesmen cannot afford to lose concentration at any given momentThe offside can be the most contentious and difficult decisions to make in modern day football. The linesmen cannot afford to lose concentration at any given moment as they have to accurately judge the position of the attacker when he receives a forward pass from his team-mate.Even though majority of the decisions over the years have seen the correct calls being made, there have been some glaring ones, which have not only deprived teams of some crucial wins, but also the linesmen of their jobs.As per the recent official FIFA 'Laws Of The Game' document, a player is in the offside position if he is nearer to his opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. To make it simple, you cannot have a striker lurking between the defensive line and the goalkeeper when a ball is played to him as he would be considered inactive in the field of play and hence deemed offside.The offside rule was adopted in football during the latter half of the 19th century to make the game more quick and exciting and prevent strikers from collecting long balls conveniently to score goals at will. One of the most discussed and, at times, most confusing rule in football, the offside rule has undergone a variety of changes over the years.The evolution of this rule has led to some shrewd managers and players using this fascinating aspect of the game to their advantage. Let us have a look at some of the smartest offside traps set by teams that have baffled opponents and successfully prevented them from finding the back of the net.

#5 Playing the high-line

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This technique is one of the most common yet the trickiest offside traps to be implemented in modern day football. It involves playing a high defensive line, where you are giving less space and less time to your opponent in your half. This made sure that the opponent passes the ball more quickly than they normally would, thus giving away possession on many instances.

Not only this, with such a high line, you can easily trap forwards who are trying to lurk behind the defence whenever they sense a long ball from their team-mates. This defensive trap is an extremely effective one and should be implemented only when there some fast defenders in your team.

Otherwise, in situations where a clever run from the attacker has negated the high-line, theslow any lagging defenders would be unable to retreat back in time, getting the goalkeeper exposed to a dangerous one on one situation. Italian giants AC Milan, one of the pioneers of the Catenaccio style, had successfully implemented this useful technique on more than one occasion as shown in this video.

#4 The Last man

When the game is stretched, it can be pretty difficult to maintain that defensive line. In such a scenario, the last man of the defence becomes the most important player for the team. This defender has the responsibility to make sure he is never in line or behind the opponent's strikers when the ball is played.

By doing so, the strikers will automatically become inactive and will be ruled offside. This trick can be an effective one to implement where the defence has lost its shape completely, becoming scattered and thus, vulnerable. It can also be used in scenarios where a quick free-kick or a short corner catches the defence by surprise, who are then unable to organize themselves in time.

Take for example the following Women's World Cup 2015 match between USA and Columbia, The lurking striker Abby Wambach manages to score off the rebound, only to be ruled offside.

A careful look at the replay shows how the last defender manages to go beyond Abby just when the player on the 18-yard box is just about to touch the ball, thereby making Abby inactive in either situations, a through ball or in this case a rebound off the keeper.

#3 Arsenal hand-raise gesture

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During the early part of the 21st century, Arsenal successfully adopted this cheeky offside trap, which never went down well with the opposition. The trap saw the entire line of defence raising their hands in unison, whenever a forward pass was played to an attacker.

The result was that even the linesmen would have double thoughts over any decision he makes. Carefully monitoring such a trick shows the linesmen had indeed made incorrect calls on more than one occasion. This trap successfully found out many strikers who used to make intelligent surging runs into the box, only to be ruled offside.

Hence, they were forced to make sure that they are completely behind the defensive line when the ball is played. This would, in turn, give the defenders more time in order to deal with the odd long ball or a brilliant through ball.

Whether this trick can be deemed in the spirit of the game is another argument, but the Gunners were masters in implementing, especially their captain Tony Adams.

#2 Tackling tiki-taka

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The tiki-taka style of football is characterized by some extremely quick short passes between players, thereby moving the ball forward while also maintaining possession. An odd tackle you would say can abruptly end the danger, but to defend against opponents playing tiki-taka can be most of the difficult things to do in football.

The offside rule, however, can be used to the advantage of the defensive team in such a scenario. Sitting deep inside the box and waiting for the opponent to make a mistimed pass is the best way of tackling this unique style of football.

The defenders can make use of the entire length of the pitch to their advantage and efficiently maintain their shape to catch the attackers in an offside position when that final ball is being played. Something similar happened in the following international game between Portugal and Republic of Ireland.

The defence knew exactly where their Portuguese counterparts were positioned. The final ball towards former Manchester United player Nani caught the player in an offside positionthereby using this amazing rule to counter even such fast-paced football.

#1 Defending a set-piece

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A set piece inside your own half can at times be an awkward one to defend, especially if the ball inside the box is a good one. But with intelligent use of the offside rule, you can completely negate the attack during such a situation.

As the ball is about to be played into the box, the entire defensive line advances out simultaneously, thus catching numerable attacking players in an offside position and causing absolutely minimal damage. This offside trap is an effective trick to implement in modern day football, more so in a set piece than in open play as you know exactly when the forward pass will be played.

However, the timing of the defence needs to be spot on as even a single defender unable to retreat from goal in time can make numerous attackers active, making a mockery of such a useful technique. The following video is taken from a Serie A game featuring Inter Milan and Siena, with the Nerazzurris winning a free-kick in a dangerous position. How they tackle the threat of the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and others is simply hysterical.

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Edited by Staff Editor