If you are passionate about playing FIFA 11 and want to win more matches, you need to improve your defense skills. That’s because even if you are good at attacking play like ‘going deep’, ‘spiking’, ‘free throws’, etc., you don’t want to lose 5: 4, but rather win 2: 0 or 1: 0.
So, pay more attention to defensive playstyle than attack, but it should be good enough to score goals in the first place because this article is about defending and not attacking.
Defensive play style you must master:
1. Stand your ground and let the opponent make a mistake. Because if you get in his way and don’t give him room to run, he can miss a pass or panic and shoot early. This does not mean that you should stand still and do nothing, but rather that you should anticipate your opponent’s move and make your move to go on the line of his run.
2. When the attacker is close to you, press B (Note: the keys mentioned here are not keyboard settings, but xbox controller keys, so use the appropriate keys you set for your keyboard) to attack, here the time is important. You have to be at the proper distance to make the entry. If you’re new and unsure of the weather and everything, tap B like 2 or 3 times when your opponent is near you.
3. Follow the attacker by pressing A + RT and press LT at the right moment as in the previous step. You have to practice and find the right moment for these tackles. But don’t use too much sprint (RT) + A, or you could lose too much energy too quickly. So use it appropriately and effectively.
4. You can block the movements of your opponents by pressing LT and RT constantly, which will help you avoid crosses and passes. This is jockey. This can also be used when you know that your opponent is going to use “ball deep.” All you have to do is give control to the defending player who is close to your opponent who has started running forward and press LT to catch up with that attacker.
5. You can ask your other defender or nearby player to join you in defense by pressing and holding B. You have to get it right before your opponent gets close to you, otherwise the player who is close to you will not have enough time to block the attacker. Use it sparingly, because you are creating some open space by calling other players close to you, and if you do it incorrectly, you may pay the price as your opponent can use that open space to pass or move towards your target.
6. Last but not least, the slide tackle. It can save your team in desperate moments, but again, you must use it at the right time. Press X to slide tackle. Do not attack the player or slide on him while you do so. Try to aim the ball and anticipate and then do a sliding tackle. As they say, sliding tackle can be spectacular if you do it at the right time, or else you may be looking at the referee signaling you with a yellow or red card.
That is all for now. Enjoy defending and playing fair games.
Update:
You can try using different keys to see how the game responds. One that I found to defend in FIFA 11 works well for me but requires some practice to master.
