For the Australian Rules position, see Midfielder (Australian Rules). In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team are assigned to a particular named position on the field of play
In association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Strikers, also known as forwards and attackers, are the players on a team in Association football (soccer in the row nearest to the opposing In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring Their main functions are to dispossess (tackle) the opposing team, to retain possession of the ball, and to feed it to the strikers, and perhaps, to score as well. Most forms of Football have a move known as a tackle. In most cases this move is one that prevents an opposing player from carrying out what they intend Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and strikers. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role. In Association football, the formation describes how the players in a team are positioned on the pitch. The group of midfielders in a team is called the midfield. [1]
Outstanding midfielders require a number of skills on top of fitness: they tackle, dribble, shoot, distribute and pass during any match. Most forms of Football have a move known as a tackle. In most cases this move is one that prevents an opposing player from carrying out what they intend In Sports such as Football (soccer, Basketball, Bandy and Water polo, dribbling refers to the maneuvering of a ball around a defender 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 defence. At either side of the pitch a manager can field a winger, a specialist side midfielder used primarily for attack.
In essence, a good midfield must possess the ability to be combative whilst also being creative. A good striker without midfield support would lack attacking chances, while a defence likewise would be severely tested. Because they occupy the most influential parts of the pitch, midfielders are perhaps more likely to influence the outcome of a match than other positions, especially if they have vision for a good pass or ability to score.
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 defence, or required to attack with the strikers.
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Defensive midfielder
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. In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring This specialist midfielder's responsibilities are to defend against or tackle the opposing team and hold his defensive position, safely distributing the retrieved ball to more attack-minded players.
This is possibly one of the newest roles in modern football tactics. It is often likened to an evolved version of the old-school sweeper. In the Sport of Association football, each of the eleven players on a team is assigned to a particular position on the field of play
The defensive midfielder position is also referred to in Brazilian Portuguese as "volante" and in South American Spanish as "volante de marca" (Spanish & Portuguese for "Rudder" or someone who gives direction), and in Portugal as a "trinco" (meaning "lock"). A rudder is a device used to steer a Ship, Boat, Submarine, Hovercraft, or other conveyance that move through a fluid (generally air or Most Brazilian teams deploy at least one "volante" in their team, including the Brazilian national team who have fielded defensive midfielders, such as 1994 World Cup winning team captain Dunga. The Brazil national football team is the national team of Brazil and is managed by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF that represents Brazil in international Dunga (born Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri on October 31, 1963 in Ijuí, Rio Grande do Sul) is a Brazilian former football
Accomplished defensive midfielders playing today include Claude Makélélé, Gennaro Gattuso, Owen Hargreaves and Javier Mascherano. Claude Makélélé Sinda (born 18 February 1973 is a French international football player who currently plays defensive midfield for Paris St Gennaro Ivan "Rino" Gattuso, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born January 9 1978 in Corigliano Calabro) is an Italian World Owen Lee Hargreaves (born 20 January 1981 in Calgary Alberta, Canada is a Canadian-born English two-time UEFA Champions League winning football Javier Alejandro Mascherano (pronounced ˌmaskeˈɾano (born 8 June 1984 in Santa Fe) is an Argentine football player who currently
The term "box to box" player (see below) is often used to refer to more dynamic defensive midfielders.
Central midfielders
Central midfielders play several roles on the field of play, and are probably the most important in terms of setting up attacks. [2] Their 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.
Some players prefer to set up an attack from a withdrawn position, and are often coined deep-lying playmakers, mainly because of their ability to spread play and dictate the game from a withdrawn position. Due to their weaknesses in their defensive aspects, some have to be supported by holding midfielders. Players in this mould include Michael Carrick, Andrea Pirlo and Xavi. Michael Adrian Carrick (born 28 July 1981 in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear) is an English footballer who currently plays for Manchester United as a Andrea Pirlo, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born May 19, 1979 in Flero, Lombardy) is an Italian World Cup and Champions Xavier Hernández Creus (born January 25
"Box-to-box" midfielders
Box-to-box' provide the link between defence and attack and can score and defend at either ends of the field. [3] The most versatile of players, they typically possess exceptional stamina and are usually skilled at tackling, passing, shooting and keeping possession.
Notable examples include Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, Steven Gerrard and Michael Essien, all capable of scoring and defending from "box to box". Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971 in Mayfield, Cork) is an Irish former professional footballer and the current manager of Patrick Vieira (born June 23, 1976 in Dakar, Senegal) is a Senegalese -born French - Cape Verdean international Steven George Gerrard MBE (ˈdʒɛrɑd born 30 May 1980 Whiston Merseyside) is an English football player Michael Kojo Essien or Mickaël Essien (born December 3, 1982 in Ghana) is a Ghanaian footballer nicknamed 'The Bison' due to his formidable This section of the field is often known as a team's "engine room", because great teams rarely succeeded without skillful, commanding central midfielders.
Attacking midfielder
An attacking midfielder is any midfielder who is stationed in a more advanced midfield position to assist goalscoring.
The attacking midfielder is an influential position and requires the player to possess good technical abilities, an eye for a pass, shooting, running, and dribbling skills. The attacking midfielder is similar to the playmaker role. In Association football, a playmaker is an attacking player who controls the flow of the team's offensive play and is often involved in Passing moves which lead to
He is typically the offensive pivot of the team; if it is in a centralised position, sometimes known in football as "playing in the hole", although this term can also be used to describe a deep-lying centre forward. Strikers, also known as forwards and attackers, are the players on a team in Association football (soccer in the row nearest to the opposing Strikers, also known as forwards and attackers, are the players on a team in Association football (soccer in the row nearest to the opposing This specialist midfielder's main role is to create goal-scoring opportunities for his own team, and perhaps to score himself.
Francesco Totti, Paul Scholes, Ronaldinho, Juan Roman Riquelme and Kaká are attacking midfielders widely considered to be among the best today. Francesco Totti, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born September 27 1976 in Rome) is a World Cup -winning footballer who plays for Italian Paul Aaron Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football player who has spent his whole career at Manchester United. Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born March 21 1980 in Porto Alegre) commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer Juan Román Riquelme (born June 24 Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (hiˈkaɾdʊ
Winger
A winger is a midfielder who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines. [4] Wingers such as Stanley Matthews or Jimmy Johnstone 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 40 years, wingers have dropped to deeper field positions. Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE ( 1 February 1915 — February 23 2000) was an English football player James Connolly 'Jimmy' Johnstone ( 30 September, 1944 &ndash 13 March, 2006) was a Scottish footballer. Outside forward is a position in football which refers to a footballer who plays as an advanced forward on the right or left wing - as an outside right or outside Outside forward is a position in football which refers to a footballer who plays as an advanced forward on the right or left wing - as an outside right or outside Wingers are now 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. In Association football (soccer a defender is a player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring They are usually some of the quickest players in the team and usually have very good dribbling skills as well. In Sports such as Football (soccer, Basketball, Bandy and Water polo, dribbling refers to the maneuvering of a ball around a defender Today, some of the best examples are Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Franck Ribery, and Ryan Giggs. Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (kɾɨʃˈtiɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu born 5 February 1985 in Funchal, Madeira) is a Portuguese footballer Lionel Andrés Messi (born June 24 1987 in Rosario) is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona in La Liga. David Robert Joseph Beckham, and is also a member of the England national team. Franck Bilal Ribéry (born April 1, 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer) is a French football Midfielder who plays for Bundesliga Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973 in Ely, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Traditionally wingers were purely attacking players who hugged the touch line and were not expected to track back and defend. This began to change around the time of the 1966 World Cup, when England manager Alf Ramsey led a team without natural wingers to the championship. The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup was held in England from 11 July to 30 July The English national football team represents England in international football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football Sir Alfred Ernest 'Alf' Ramsey (22 January 1920 &ndash 28 April 1999 was a footballer and manager of the English national football team from 1963 to 1974 This team was known as the "Wingless Wonders".
This has led to most modern wingers having a more demanding role in the sense that they are expected to defend and track back to repossess the ball, as well as provide skillful crosses for centre forwards and strikers. Sometimes, they are also expected to cover/attack the central area, as well as switch flanks. Technically gifted wingers are able to dribble infield, and by means of using a plethora of tricks, pass defenders and shoot or set up a teammate.
See also
References
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