Midfielder

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The Midfield in relation to the football positions

In football (soccer), a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). Their main functions are to dispossess and keep possession of the ball, and to feed it to the strikers. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and strikers.

A midfielder's many responsibilities — to fetch the ball forward, to defend against or tackle the opposing team, to score or assist the strikers to score — make them amongst the most valued members of a team if they're good at it. In essence, a good midfield must possess the ability to be combative whilst also being creative. Most managers field at least one central midfielder with a marked task of breaking up opposition's attacks while the rest are more adept to creating goals or have equal responsibilities between attack and defense. At either side of the pitch a manager can field a winger, a specialist side midfielder used expressedly for attack.

Outstanding midfielders require a number of skills on top of fundamental ball skills and fitness. A modicum of skills — tackling, dribbling, shooting, distributing and passing — can all come into play at different points in the match. Because they occupy what is the most influential parts of the pitch, midfielders are perhaps more likely to influence the outcome of a match than most, especially when they have vision for a good pass or ability to score. A good striker without midfield support would lack attacking chances, while a defence likewise would be severely tested.

Midfielders typically exhaust the most energy during a match due to the distance they cover on a pitch, as at times they can be called back into defense or required to attack with the strikers.

Defensive midfielder

2 holding midfielders are indicated in the yellow circle.

A defensive midfielder or a holding midfielder is a central midfielder who is stationed in front of the back defenders for defensive reasons, thus "holding back" the freedom of the opponents to attack. This specialist midfielder's responsibilities are to defend against or tackle the opposing team, to recover the ball for their own team, and to safely distribute it to more attacking-minded players.

Not only does the player protect his team's defence, he also gives his fellow midfielders the freedom to parade their more attacking flair without the worry of defensive work. For this reason, the holding midfielder may be one of the most important positions in football, as it allows the rest of the team to play a more aggressive game.

The defensive midfielder position is also referred to in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese as "volante" (Spanish & Portuguese for "Rudder" or someone who gives direction), and in Portugal as a "trinco" (meaning "lock"). Eric Cantona once referred to Didier Deschamps as "the water carrier"; this was originally intended as a derogatory term but is now an accepted alternative to "holding midfielder" in the UK. Most Brazilian teams deploy at least one "volante" in their team. This includes the Brazilian national team who have fielded some of the most famous defensive midfielders, such as 1994 World Cup winning team captain Dunga. The position is sometimes overlooked but is critical in the modern game. It is a highly specialized position, executed successfully by only a handful of players.

Perhaps the most typical case of a defensive midfielder is Claude Makélélé. For both club (Chelsea,Real Madrid) and country (France), he plays in front of the back four breaking up attacking movements. His tough yet accurate tackling and his decisive passing have more than made up for his weaker attacking abilities. When he played for Real Madrid, the modus operandi had been "Makélelé wins the ball and passes it to Zidane." A similar partnership was established at Chelsea where he plays with Frank Lampard. Other well-known defensive midfielders include Dietmar Hamann, Gennaro Gattuso, Emerson, Baraja, Javier Mascherano and Gilberto. During their successful campaign in Euro 2004,Greece frequently used formations that sported three defensive midfielders at the same time (Zagorakis, Katsouranis, Basinas).

Originally, the position was unpopular as its simplistic role and heavy emphasis on pragmatic discipline over skill made defensive midfielders look inept at playing football. The work load involved and its basic mentality (to help others) meant that defensive midfielders were often thought of as 'donkey players' and hence, they usually feel unappreciated.

The position is now better appreciated, however, due to its importance in modern football tactics. Nowadays, most teams field a defensive midfielder, as they critically operate in both protecting the defence as well as winning back possession to assist the attack. Defensive midfielders have also carved out a reputation as the 'hard men' of the team; their work rate, determination and no-nonsense attitude means that fans can easily identify with them. This resurgance also comes as a result of the attacking midfielders losing popularity, as they are now often painted as cowards who shrink away from tackles and over-react (i.e. dive) to challenges.

Roles

The primary job of a defensive midfielder is to dispossess any opposing team's player, primarily in midfield. This is a crucial aspect of the modern game since this minimises the risk of an attacking move developing into a real threat. Usually, the holding midfielder does not move much into his attacking half. A defensive midfielder must be aggressive and constantly harrass the opposing team's attacking players. Most defensive holding players are the team's "hardmen".

The secondary role of a defensive midfield player is to initiate attacking movements after they have won the ball. A good defensive midfielder not only is able to win the ball, but can also make a decisive pass in order to initiate an attacking sequence.

Deep-lying playmaker

Some central midfielders prefer to play in a more defensive position even though they do not have a defensive role. These midfielders' roles are primarily attacking, always trying to set up an attack after getting the ball from (most of the time) a holding midfielder. Players with such attributes are often coined as deep-lying playmakers, mainly because of their ability to spread play and dictate the game from a withdrawn position. Most of the time, due to their weaknesses in their defensive aspects, they have to be supported by holding midfielders. Players in this mould include Andrea Pirlo, Xabi Alonso, Michael Carrick and Xavi.

This is possibly one of the newest roles in modern football tactics. It is often likened to a more advanced version of the old-school sweeper. Although it still remains unclear as to who first started playing in this role, Josep Guardiola has been credited as the player who popularised it.

Centre midfielder

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The central midfielders are circled in yellow.

Central midfielders play several roles in the game, depending on their particular strengths and weaknesses and the tactics of the team. They are the link between defence and attack, and must also defend when the opposition are in possession. Their central position enables them to have an all-round view of the match, and, as most of the action takes place in and around their area of the pitch, midfielders often exert the greatest degree of control over how a match is played. They must be equally skilled at tackling, passing and keeping possession.

An attacking midfielder is often confused with a central midfielder. Steven Gerrard is an example of a central midfielder, as are Michael Ballack and Roy Keane. All are capable of playing from "box to box" and, as the norm rather than the exception, use their strength, their passing ability, and their workrate to effect their team's gameplay. This section of the field is often known as a team's "engine room", because rarely have great teams succeeded without skillful, commanding central midfielders.

Attacking midfielder

Two possible positions for an attacking midfielder are indicated in the yellow circle. The position is often referred as the hole or the No. 10 position.

An attacking midfielder, or number 10 is a central midfielder who is stationed in an advance midfield position , usually behind the strikers. He is typically the offensive pivot of the team, sometimes known in football as "playing in the hole", although this term can also be used to describe a deep-lying centre forward. This specialist midfielder's main role is to create goal-scoring opportunities for his own team. The attacking midfielder is an influential position and requires the player to possess superior vision and technical abilities in terms of passing and most importantly the ability to 'read' the opposing defence in order to deliver a defence-splitting pass for the strikers. Pelé, considered by many fans to be the greatest football player who ever lived, enjoyed great success as an attacking midfielder; one example is his play in leading Brazil to the title in the 1970 World Cup. Ronaldinho and Juan Roman Riquelme are attacking midfielders widely considered to be two of the best players in the world. Other just as accomplished attacking midfielders include Totti, Nedved, Kaká and Zidane. Less accomplished but arguably as talented players of this position include Juninho Pernambucano, Yoann Gourcuff, and Tomáš Rosický.

Although the attacking midfielders and the attacking midfield position is still highly popular amongst football fans and players today, it has received its fair share of criticisms. Many argue that as a result of their relieved defensive responsibilities and lack of instructions, the attacking midfielders tend to be the laziest and most inconsistent players in a team. Many also believe them to be primadonnas, who despite being the focal point in a team, is ultimately rendered useless without the help of team-mates. An example would be Zinedine Zidane during his last years with Real Madrid. With the sale of the influential Makélelé, he was often forced to drift back and was usually caught out in unfamiliar midfield battles. And without Makélelé winning back possession, Zidane seemed to see little of the ball and hence, this affected his ability to control the match.

Winger

Wingers are indicated in red, whilst the 'wide men' (who play to the flanks of the centre midfielders) are indicated in blue.

A winger is an attacking midfielder who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines. Wingers such as Stanley Matthews used to be classified as forwards in traditional W-shaped formations, and were formally known as "Outside Right" or Outside Left," but as tactics evolved through the last 30 years, wingers have dropped to deeper field positions. Modern wingers are now usually classified as part of the midfield, usually in 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 formations (but whilst the team is on the attack, they tend to resemble 4-2-4 and 4-3-3 formations respectively). It is a winger's duty to beat opposing fullbacks and to deliver cut-backs or crosses from wide positions. They are usually some of the most technically gifted players in the team and usually have very good dribbling skills as well as a fair amount of pace. Examples are Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao Sabrosa, Zé Roberto, Ryan Giggs and Joe Cole. Traditionally wingers were purely attacking players who hugged the touch line and were not expected to track back and defend. Some still exist today - for example Arjen Robben of Chelsea F.C. and Joaquin Sanchez of Valencia CF, although they are a dying breed. Nowadays, most modern wingers have a more demanding role in the sense that, they are also expected to defend and track back to repossess the ball. Sometimes, they are also expected to cover/attack the central area, as well as switch flanks.

Wingers used to be highly prized in the older times, but their importance has dwindled through the years. In the 1966 World Cup for example, England manager Alf Ramsey led a team without natural wingers to the championship. This team was known as the "Wingless Wonders". In the modern game, some wide midfielders replace the role of wingers, whose contributions include providing defensive cover for fullbacks. One good example is David Beckham, who played in the position of right wing during his days at Manchester United, but is not commonly regarded as a winger, since he functions primarily as a right midfielder and does not use either speed or dribbling ability to support play.

See also

• Football (soccer) positions
• Formation (football)