BERTI VOGTS RATING

Famous for man-marking Cruyff out of the 1974 final, Vogts has always been portrayed as a dour but terrier like man-marker extraordinaire who stuck to opponents like glue and harangued them out of the game. Whilst that depiction of him is true to a large degree, it was only one aspect of his game. He was also a quality 'footballer', technically proficient and a very balanced player who could also contribute strongly to his teams build up. The outdated description also doesn’t take into account the fact that Vogts like Krol was a very versatile player, he was capable of playing at CB and took Borussia Mongledbach to several trophies largely on the back of his own defensive leadership as a central defender.

What aided Vogts in possession was his low centre of gravity and his close ball control. He could twist and turn as if he was tailor-made to play for Barcelona but admittedly lacked flair in possession. When he did play as a free-roaming defensive midfielder, he was positionally very astute. His know-how of how to behave in various areas of the pitch was impressive. Aside from flair, what he lacked was a range of passing, or more willingly an appetite for risk. His passes were generally short and to the point, but there was always a hint of he could have done more - such was the understated elegance of his technique.

Vogt's toughest marking assignment was not Cruyff but Dragan Dzajic. The German struggled to contend with the Yugoslavian wizard, who was a bulky yet agile classic winger/modern day wing-forward hybrid and combined elements of Bale, Robben and Giggs. It is fair to say that Vogts was bullied by him, but to the credit of 'Berti' - he fought like a lion, refusing to throw the towel in and doing his best to exercise damage limitation. He was stuck to Dzajic like glue and even when beaten, he would rush to get back at him and not allow Dzajic a free run at the defence. Nevertheless it did highlight that for all of Vogts defensive brilliance, his extremely diminutive stature could work against him when marking a powerful and agile player.. whereas Djalma would have been a formidable opponent for Dzajic in his prime... matching up to his physique as well as agility.

In summary, Vogts was a fantastic versatile footballer who was one of the greatest man-markers the game has seen. He was much more than just a little terrier who barked at great players ankles, he was a proper player in his own right and a defensive colossus inspite of his stature. His ideal position would be right centre back in a back three, but he would also operate brilliantly in a free-roaming defensive midfield role where he has to man-mark the biggest threat of the opposition. His lack of physicality could count against him if up against all-round athletically blessed great footballers but he was not one to shirk the challenge.