Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni forbids his players from passing the ball to a midfielder “if the midfielder, in addition to having his back to the opponent’s goal, has an opponent pressing him.”

Speaking on Clank! (Translation by Juani Jimena):

For example, I don’t like midfielders receiving the ball with their backs to the opponent’s goal. It’s something I talk about a lot with the goalkeepers and central midfielders.

In the build-up, I don’t like that pass to the midfielder who has his back to the opponent’s goal. […] If the midfielder is free, he can pass the ball to him and use a center-back as a third man. They do that, in fact. But if the midfielder, in addition to having his back to the opponent’s goal, has an opponent pressing him, I don’t like that. That I forbid. I think it’s an unnecessary risk.

In fact, we put pressure on opponents who do it, and we steal balls that way. It’s just a centimeter ahead, and that’s it; it’s a chance to score. They already know that I don’t like that; maybe some new players don’t know that.

The goalkeeper knows that if he gives the ball to the midfielder with his back to the opponent’s goal, it’s because he’s completely alone, without pressure from behind. Emi Martinez tells us that in his club (Aston Villa), they give the ball to the midfielder if he’s under pressure and with his back to the rival goal because they use a third man. But I don’t like that, because if the defender who presses you steals it from you or he’s already prepared for that.

These are things that each coach has his way of understanding the game, and I want the players to know mine.

Aston Villa has since changed the way they orient their bodies to not have their back to the opponent’s goal.