🧠 Food for Thought - Lia Wälti: The Best Destroyer in Women's World Football?
- John Maurice Otieno
- Dec 24, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 10
I was watching Lia Wälti early on in the season putting in toe-poking tackles and destroying opposition attacks, and found myself exclaiming, "She's like our Rodri!" Ballon d'Or-winning Rodri is Manchester City's holding midfielder who's morphed into a box-to-box destroyer out of possession under Pep Guardiola's tutelage, but his ability on the ball is also truly remarkable.
There is no question about Lia Wälti's in-possession qualities, hence the nickname "Snake Hips" - a fond sobriquet the Swiss has been dubbed due to her incredible ability to wriggle her way out of pressure situations and retain and recycle possession for her team. However, it's the unsung, off-the-ball "dirty work" that she does ever so diligently that I'd like us to focus on.
But first, in case you were wondering...
What is a Destroyer?
According to Football Iconic, a destroyer or “spoiler” is a term used to describe a midfielder whose main purpose is to disrupt the opposition when out of possession. A destroyer is usually positioned in the deep-lying midfield role (in front of the defensive line, but behind the midfield line). In this position, their main job is to act as the first line of defense against attacks - i.e. the shield.
The Art of "Destruction".
A destroyer disrupts the opposition's attacks by reading the game, tracking opposing attackers, making tackles and regaining possession. These are all qualities that Lia Wälti portrays in abundance. After retrieving the ball, a destroyer will then look to pass it to creative players who are more adept at starting attacks (i.e. Kim Little, Mariona Caldentey, Victoria Pelova, etc.). Ergo, to get the most out of a midfield destroyer, it is wise to pair them with creative midfielders, and vice versa.
Lia Wälti: The Destroyer.
Now that we've learned all about the art of destruction, we're primed to explore how our Swiss international's off-the-ball attributes paint her as an elite destroyer - possibly the best in the world, but definitely one of the best! Her apt reading of the game means she's able to spoil the opposition's attacking playbook routines through techniques such as:
1. Winning Tackles.
Probably the best way to destroy the opposition's attacks is not just by putting in crunch tackles, but making sure you win them 'cause otherwise, you're just giving away fouls and set-piece opportunities. Lia Wälti's 95% score in percentile rankings for tackles won (2.51 per 90) is phenomenal and flirts with the best of the best in world football. She also has an 88% percentile ranking for overall tackles (3.27 per 90).
[Stats courtesy of FBRef. Player compared to positional peers in Women's Top 9 Competitions over the last 365 days.]
2. Stopping Transitions.
A team is arguably at its most vulnerable when attacking because of the susceptibility to fast breaks going the other way. This is where your destroyer earns their keep and our no. 13's impressive 95% percentile ranking for tackling in the middle third (1.95 per 90), as well as 88% in the final third (0.50 per 90) portray a player acute to the opposition's counter attacking threats and snuffing them out before they materialize.
[Stats courtesy of FBRef. Player compared to positional peers in Women's Top 9 Competitions over the last 365 days.]
3. Clipping Dribblers' Wings.
Dribblers are some of the trickiest species to deal with in the world of football and are naturally a headache to most defenders and defensive midfielders. Our Swiss destroyer, however, doesn't seem to shy away from a challenge with such tricksters, ranking at 92% for dribblers tackled (1.57 per 90) and a whopping 97% for dribbles challenged (3.45 per 90).
[Stats courtesy of FBRef. Player compared to positional peers in Women's Top 9 Competitions over the last 365 days.]
4. Ball Recoveries.
As discussed earlier, regaining possession is one of the key responsibilities of a midfield destroyer and Lia Wälti's 79% percentile ranking for ball recoveries (7.10 per 90) helps her stand out amongst her peers.
[Stats courtesy of FBRef. Player compared to positional peers in Women's Top 9 Competitions over the last 365 days.]
5. Air Marshalling.
The art of destruction can tend to heavily focus on the ground work, but it's just as important to cut out any aerial balls the opposition might attempt to play over the top. Our Swiss "Air Marshall" has an elite percentile ranking of 87% for percentage of aerial duels won (64.3% per 90), showing once again a knack for spoiling any fun the opposition might dare dream of having against her team.
[Stats courtesy of FBRef. Player compared to positional peers in Women's Top 9 Competitions over the last 365 days.]
The Nutshell.
So, in a nutshell, there isn't much love lost for a destroyer by opposing fans as the player tends to spoil most of the opposition attacking plays, hence snuffing out any sort of joy the opposition might look to have. Destroyers' not-so-glamorous, off-the-ball work also means they might not gain as much recognition as the attacking players with flare, making them the unsung heroes of the team.
Lia Wälti's world-class, elite numbers certainly make her one of the best at the art of destruction in her position, if not the best! With a penchant for reading the game and destroying the opposition's attacking plays both on the ground and aerially, would you say Lia Wälti is the best destroyer in women's world football? If not, whom do you think is better, and why? Food for thought 🧠
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