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A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.^[1] Midfielders may play an exclusively right back role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders. There are also attacking midfielders with limited defensive assignments.

The size of midfield units on a team and their assigned roles depend on what formation is used; the unit of these players on the pitch is commonly referred to as the midfield.^[2] Its name derives from the fact that midfield units typically make up the in-between units to the defensive units and forward units of a formation.

Managers frequently assign one or more midfielders to disrupt the opposing team’s attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match. Midfielders arguably have the most possession during a game, and thus they are some of the fittest players on the pitch.^[3] Midfielders are often assigned the task of assisting forwards to create scoring chances.

Central midfielder[edit]

Central or centre midfielders are players whose role is divided mostly equally between attacking and defensive duties to control the play in and around the centre of the pitch. These players will try to pass the ball to the team’s attacking midfielders and forwards and may also help their team’s attacks by making runs into the opposition’s penalty area and attempting shots on goal themselves. They also provide secondary support to attackers, both in and out of possession.

When the opposing team has the ball, a central midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward and press the opposition ball-carrier to recover the ball. A centre midfielder defending their goal will move in front of their centre-backs to block long shots by the opposition and possibly track opposition midfielders making runs towards the goal.

The 4–3–3 and 4–5–1 formations each use three central midfielders. The 4−4−2 formation may use two central midfielders,^[4] and in the 4–2–3–1 formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. Prominent central midfielders are known for their ability of pacing the game when their team is in possession of the ball, by dictating the tempo of play from the centre of the pitch.

Box-to-box midfielder[edit]

The term box-to-box midfielder refers to central midfielders who are hard-working and who have good all-round abilities, which makes them skilled at both defending and attacking.^[7] These players can therefore track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots and also carry the ball forward or run to the opponents’ box to try to score.^[8] Beginning in the mid-2000s, the change of trends and the decline of the standard 4–4–2 formation (in many cases making way for the 4–2–3–1 and 4–3–3 formations) imposed restrictions on the typical box-to-box midfielders of the 1980s and 1990s, as teams’ two midfield roles were now often divided into «holders» or «creators», with a third variation upon the role being described as that of a «carrier» or «surger».^[9] Some notable examples of box-to-box midfielders are Lothar Matthäus, Clarence Seedorf, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Steven Gerrard, Johan Neeskens, Sócrates, Yaya Touré, Park Ji-sung, Patrick Vieira, Frank Lampard, Bryan Robson and Roy Keane.^[10]

Mezzala[edit]

In Italian football, the term mezzala (literally «half-winger» in Italian) is used to describe the position of the one or two central midfielders who play on either side of a holding midfielder and/or playmaker. The term was initially applied to the role of an inside forward in the WM and Metodo formations in Italian, but later described a specific type of central midfielder. The mezzala is often a quick and hard-working attack-minded midfielder, with good skills and noted offensive capabilities, as well as a tendency to make overlapping attacking runs, but also a player who participates in the defensive aspect of the game, and who can give width to a team by drifting out wide; as such, the term can be applied to several different roles. In English, the term has come to be seen as a variant of the box-to-box midfielder role.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Wide midfielder[edit]

Left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence whilst they play a lot of crosses in the box for forwards.They are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the opponents’ penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates, and when defending they may put pressure on opponents who are trying to cross.^[18]

Common modern formations that include left and right midfielders are the 4−4−2, the 4−4−1−1, the 4–2–3–1 and the 4−5−1 formations.^[19] Jonathan Wilson describes the development of the 4−4−2 formation: «…the winger became a wide midfielder, a shuttler, somebody who might be expected to cross a ball but was also meant to put in a defensive shift.»^[20] Two notable examples of wide midfielders are David Beckham and Ryan Giggs.^[21]

In Italian football, the role of the wide midfielder is known as tornante di centrocampo or simply tornante («returning»); it originated from the role of an outside forward, and came to be known as such as it often required players in this position to track back and assist the back-line with defensive duties, in addition to aiding the midfield and attacking.^[22][23]

Wing-half[edit]

The historic position of wing-half (not to be confused with mezzala) was given to midfielders (half-backs) who played near the side of the pitch. It became obsolete as wide players with defensive duties have tended to become more a part of the defence as full-backs.^[24][25]

Defensive midfielder[edit]

Defensive midfielders are midfield players who focus on protecting their team’s goal. These players may defend a zone in front of their team’s defence, or man mark specific opposition attackers.^[26][27][28] Defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back positions if those players move forward to join in an attack.^[29][30]

Sergio Busquets described his attitude: «The coach knows that I am an obedient player who likes to help out and if I have to run to the wing to cover someone’s position, great.»^[30] A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of opponent’s play, marking, tackling, interceptions, passing and great stamina and strength (for their tackling). In South American football, this role is known as a volante de marca, while in Mexico it is known as volante de contención. In Portugal, it is instead known as trinco.^[31]

Holding midfielder[edit]

A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their team’s defence, while other midfielders may move forward to attack.^[32] The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball. This player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the team’s strategy. Marcelo Bielsa is considered as a pioneer for the use of a holding midfielder in defence.^[9] This position may be seen in the 4–2–3–1 and 4–4–2 diamond formations.^[33]

Initially, a defensive midfielder, or «destroyer», and a playmaker, or «creator», were often fielded alongside each other as a team’s two holding central midfielders. The destroyer was usually responsible for making tackles, regaining possession, and distributing the ball to the creator, while the creator was responsible for retaining possession and keeping the ball moving, often with long passes out to the flanks, in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or regista (see below). Early examples of a destroyer are Obdulio Varela, Nobby Stiles, Herbert Wimmer, Marco Tardelli, while later examples include Claude Makélélé, Lee Carsley and Javier Mascherano, although several of these players also possessed qualities of other types of midfielders, and were therefore not confined to a single role. Early examples of a creator would be Gérson, Glenn Hoddle, and Sunday Oliseh, while more recent examples are Xabi Alonso and Michael Carrick.

The latest and third type of holding midfielder developed as a box-to-box midfielder, or «carrier» or «surger», neither entirely destructive nor creative, who is capable of winning back possession and subsequently advancing from deeper positions either by distributing the ball to a teammate and making late runs into the box, or by carrying the ball themself; recent examples of this type of player are Clarence Seedorf and Bastian Schweinsteiger, while Sami Khedira and Fernandinho are destroyers with carrying tendencies, Luka Modrić is a carrier with several qualities of the regista, and Yaya Touré was a carrier who became a playmaker, in later part of his career, after losing his stamina.^[9]

Deep-lying playmaker (Strolling 10)[edit]

A deep-lying playmaker is a holding midfielder who specializes in ball skills such as passing, rather than defensive skills like tackling.^[35] When this player has the ball, they may attempt longer or more complex passes than other holding players. They may try to set the tempo of their team’s play, retain possession, or build plays through short exchanges, or they may try to pass the ball long to a centre forward or winger, or even pass short to a teammate in the hole, the area between the opponents’ defenders and midfielders.^[35][36][37] In Italy, the deep-lying playmaker is known as a regista,^[38] whereas in Brazil, it is known as a «meia-armador».^[39] In Italy, the role of the regista developed from the centre half-back or centromediano metodista position in Vittorio Pozzo’s metodo system (a precursor of the central or holding midfield position in the 2–3–2–3 formation), as the metodista‘s responsibilities were not entirely defensive but also creative; as such, the metodista was not solely tasked with breaking down possession, but also with starting attacking plays after winning back the ball.^[40]

Writer Jonathan Wilson instead described Xabi Alonso’s holding midfield role as that of a «creator», a player who was responsible for retaining possession in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or regista, noting that: «although capable of making tackles, [Alonso] focused on keeping the ball moving, occasionally raking long passes out to the flanks to change the angle of attack.»^[9]

Centre-half[edit]

The historic central half-back position gradually retreated from the midfield line to provide increased protection to the back line against centre-forwards – that dedicated defensive role in the centre is still commonly referred to as a «centre-half» as a legacy of its origins.^[41] In Italian football jargon, this position was known as the centromediano metodista or metodista, as it became an increasingly important role in Vittorio Pozzo’s metodo system, although this term was later also applied to describe players who operated in a central holding-midfielder role, but who also had creative responsibilities in addition to defensive duties.^[40]

Attacking midfielder[edit]

An attacking midfielder is a midfield player who is positioned in an advanced midfield position, usually between central midfield and the team’s forwards, and who has a primarily offensive role.^[42]

Some attacking midfielders are called trequartista or fantasista (Italian: three-quarter specialist, i.e. a creative playmaker between the forwards and the midfield), who are usually mobile, creative and highly skilful players, known for their deft touch, technical ability, dribbling skills, vision, ability to shoot from long range, and passing prowess.

However, not all attacking midfielders are trequartistas – some attacking midfielders are very vertical and are essentially auxiliary attackers who serve to link-up play, hold up the ball, or provide the final pass, i.e. secondary strikers.^[43] As with any attacking player, the role of the attacking midfielder involves being able to create space for attack.^[44]

According to positioning along the field, attacking midfield may be divided into left, right and central attacking midfield roles but most importantly they are a striker behind the forwards. A central attacking midfielder may be referred to as a playmaker, or number 10 (due to the association of the number 10 shirt with this position).^[45][46]

Advanced playmaker[edit]

These players typically serve as the offensive pivot of the team, and are sometimes said to be «playing in the hole», although this term can also be used as deep-lying forward. The attacking midfielder is an important position that requires the player to possess superior technical abilities in terms of passing and dribbling, as well as, perhaps more importantly, the ability to read the opposing defence to deliver defence-splitting passes to the striker.

This specialist midfielder’s main role is to create good shooting and goal-scoring opportunities using superior vision, control, and technical skill, by making crosses, through balls, and headed knockdowns to teammates. They may try to set up shooting opportunities for themselves by dribbling or performing a give-and-go with a teammate. Attacking midfielders may also make runs into the opponents’ penalty area to shoot from another teammate’s pass.^[2]

Where a creative attacking midfielder, i.e. an Advanced playmaker, is regularly utilized, they are commonly the team’s star player, and often wear the number 10 shirt. As such, a team is often constructed so as to allow their attacking midfielder to roam free and create as the situation demands. One such popular formation is the 4–4–2 «diamond» (or 4–1–2–1–2), in which defined attacking and defensive midfielders replace the more traditional pair of central midfielders. Known as the «fantasista» or «trequartista» in Italy,^[43] in Spain, the offensive playmaker is known as the «Mediapunta, in Brazil, the offensive playmaker is known as the «meia atacante«,^[39] whereas in Argentina and Uruguay, it is known as the «enganche«.^[47] Some examples of the advanced playmaker would be Zico, Francesco Totti, Kevin De Bruyne, Martin Ødegaard and Juan Riquelme.

There are also some examples of more flexible advanced playmakers, such as Zinedine Zidane, Andrés Iniesta, David Silva, and Nécib. These players could control the tempo of the game in deeper areas of the pitch while also being able to push forward and play line-breaking through balls.^{[48][49][50][51][52]}

Mesut Özil can be considered as a classic 10 who adopted a slightly more direct approach and specialised in playing the final ball.

False attacking midfielder[edit]

The false attacking midfielder description has been used in Italian football to describe a player who is seemingly playing as an attacking midfielder in a 4–3–1–2 formation, but who eventually drops deeper into midfield, drawing opposing players out of position and creating space to be exploited by teammates making attacking runs; the false-attacking midfielder will eventually sit in a central midfield role and function as a deep-lying playmaker. The false-attacking midfielder is therefore usually a creative and tactically intelligent player with good vision, technique, movement, passing ability, and striking ability from distance. They should also be a hard-working player, who is able to read the game and help the team defensively.^[53] Wayne Rooney has been deployed in a similar role, on occasion; seemingly positioned as a number 10 behind the main striker, he would often drop even deeper into midfield to help his team retrieve possession and start attacks.^[54]

«False 10» or «central winger»[edit]

The «false 10» or «central winger»^[55] is a type of midfielder, which differs from the false-attacking midfielder. Much like the «false 9», their specificity lies in the fact that, although they seemingly play as an attacking midfielder on paper, unlike a traditional playmaker who stays behind the striker in the centre of the pitch, the false 10’s goal is to move out of position and drift wide when in possession of the ball to help both the wingers and fullbacks to overload the flanks. This means two problems for the opposing midfielders: either they let the false 10 drift wide, and their presence, along with both the winger and the fullback, creates a three-on-two player advantage out wide; or they follow the false 10, but leave space in the centre of the pitch for wingers or onrushing midfielders to exploit. False 10s are usually traditional wingers who are told to play in the centre of the pitch, and their natural way of playing makes them drift wide and look to provide deliveries into the box for teammates. On occasion, the false-10 can also function in a different manner alongside a false-9, usually in a 4–6–0 formation, disguised as either a 4–3–3 or 4–2–3–1 formation. When other forwards or false-9s drop deep and draw defenders away from the false-10s, creating space in the middle of the pitch, the false-10 will then also surprise defenders by exploiting this space and moving out of position once again, often undertaking offensive dribbling runs forward towards goal, or running on to passes from false-9s, which in turn enables them to create goalscoring opportunities or go for goal themselves.^[56]

Winger[edit]

«Right winger» redirects here. For the political position, see Right-wing politics.

In modern football, the terms winger or wide player refer to a non-defender who plays on the left or right sides of the pitch. These terms can apply to left or right midfielders, left or right attacking midfielders, or left or right forwards.^[18] Left or right-sided defenders such as wing-backs or full-backs are generally not called wingers.

In the 2−3−5 formation popular in the late 19th century wingers remained mostly near the touchlines of the pitch, and were expected to cross the ball for the team’s inside and centre forwards.^[57] Traditionally, wingers were purely attacking players and were not expected to track back and defend. This began to change in the 1960s. In the 1966 World Cup, England manager Alf Ramsey did not select wingers from the quarter-final onwards. This team was known as the «Wingless Wonders» and led to the modern 4–4–2 formation.^[58][59]

This has led to most modern wide players having a more demanding role in the sense that they are expected to provide defensive cover for their full-backs and track back to repossess the ball, as well as provide skillful crosses for centre forwards and strikers.^[60] Some forwards are able to operate as wingers behind a lone striker. In a three-man midfield, specialist wingers are sometimes deployed down the flanks alongside the central midfielder or playmaker.

Even more demanding is the role of wing-back, where the wide player is expected to provide both defence and attack.^[61] As the role of winger can be classed as a forward or a midfielder, this role instead blurs the divide between defender and midfielder. Italian manager Antonio Conte has been known to use wide midfielders or wingers who act as wing-backs in his trademark 3–5–2 and 3–4–3 formations, for example; these players are expected both to push up and provide width in attack as well as track back and assist their team defensively.^[62]

On occasion, the role of a winger can also be occupied by a different type of player. For example, certain managers have been known to use a «wide target man» on the wing, namely a large and physical player who usually plays as a centre-forward, and who will attempt to win aerial challenges and hold up the ball on the flank, or drag full-backs out of position; Romelu Lukaku, for example, has been used in this role on occasion.^[63] Another example is Mario Mandžukić under manager Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus during the 2016–17 season; normally a striker, he was instead used on the left flank, and was required to win aerial duels, hold up the ball, and create space, as well as being tasked with pressing opposing players.^[64]

Today, a winger is usually an attacking midfielder who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines.^[60] Wingers such as Stanley Matthews or Jimmy Johnstone used to be classified as outside 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 and are now usually classified as part of the midfield, usually in 4–4–2 or 4–5–1 formations (but while the team is on the attack, they tend to resemble 4–2–4/2–4–4 and 4–3–3 formations respectively).

The responsibilities of the winger include:

• Providing a «wide presence» as a passing option on the flank.
• To beat the opposing full-back either with skill or with speed.
• To read passes from the midfield that give them a clear crossing opportunity, when going wide, or that give them a clear scoring opportunity, when cutting inside towards goal.
• To double up on the opposition winger, particularly when they are being «double-marked» by both the team’s full back and winger.

The prototypical winger is fast, tricky and enjoys ‘hugging’ the touchline, that is, running downfield close to the touchline and delivering crosses. However, players with different attributes can thrive on the wing as well. Some wingers prefer to cut infield (as opposed to staying wide) and pose a threat as playmakers by playing diagonal passes to forwards or taking a shot at goal. Even players who are not considered quick, have been successfully fielded as wingers at club and international level for their ability to create play from the flank. Occasionally wingers are given a free role to roam across the front line and are relieved of defensive responsibilities.

The typical abilities of wingers include:

• Technical skill to beat a full-back in a one-to-one situation.
• Pace, to beat the full-back one-on-one.
• Crossing ability when out wide.
• Good off-the-ball ability when judging a pass from the midfield or from fellow attackers.
• Good passing ability and composure, to retain possession while in opposition territory.
• The modern winger should also be comfortable on either wing so as to adapt to quick tactical changes required by the coach.

Although wingers are a familiar part of football, the use of wingers is by no means universal. There are many successful football teams who operate without wingers. A famous example is Carlo Ancelotti’s late 2000s Milan, who typically play in a narrow midfield diamond formation or in a Christmas tree formation (4–3–2–1), relying on full-backs to provide the necessary width down the wings.

Inverted winger[edit]

An inverted winger is a modern tactical development of the traditional winger position. Most wingers are assigned to either side of the field based on their footedness, with right-footed players on the right and left-footed players on the left.^[65] This assumes that assigning a player to their natural side ensures a more powerful cross as well as greater ball-protection along the touch-lines. However, when the position is inverted and a winger instead plays inside-out on the opposite flank (i.e., a right-footed player as a left inverted winger), they effectively become supporting strikers and primarily assume a role in the attack.^[66]

As opposed to traditionally pulling the opponent’s full-back out and down the flanks before crossing the ball in near the by-line, positioning a winger on the opposite side of the field allows the player to cut-in around the 18-yard box, either threading passes between defenders or shooting on goal using the dominant foot.^[67] This offensive tactic has found popularity in the modern game due to the fact that it gives traditional wingers increased mobility as playmakers and goalscorers,^[68] such as the left-footed right winger Domenico Berardi of Sassuolo who achieved 30 career goals faster than any player in the past half-century of Serie A football.^[69] Not only are inverted wingers able to push full-backs onto their weak sides, but they are also able to spread and force the other team to defend deeper as forwards and wing-backs route towards the goal, ultimately creating more scoring opportunities.^[70]

Other midfielders within this tactical archetype include Lionel Messi^[71] and Eden Hazard,^[72] as well as Megan Rapinoe of the USWNT.^[73] Clubs such as Real Madrid often choose to play their wingers on the «wrong» flank for this reason; former Real Madrid coach José Mourinho often played Ángel Di María on the right and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left.^[74][75][76] Former Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes often played the left-footed Arjen Robben on the right and the right-footed Franck Ribéry on the left.^[77][78] One of the foremost practitioners of playing from either flank was German winger Jürgen Grabowski, whose flexibility helped Germany to third place in the 1970 World Cup, and the world title in 1974.

A description that has been used in the media to label a variation upon the inverted winger position is that of an «attacking», «false», or «goalscoring winger», as exemplified by Cristiano Ronaldo’s role on the left flank during his time at Real Madrid in particular. This label has been used to describe an offensive-minded inverted winger, who will seemingly operate out wide on paper, but who instead will be given the freedom to make unmarked runs into more advanced central areas inside the penalty area to get on the end of passes and crosses and score goals, effectively functioning as a striker.^{[79][80][81][82][83]} This role is somewhat comparable to what is known as the raumdeuter role in German football jargon (literally «space interpreter»), as exemplified by Thomas Müller, namely an attacking-minded wide player, who will move into central areas to find spaces from which they can receive passes and score or assist goals.^[63][84]

False winger[edit]

The «false winger» or «seven-and-a-half» is a label which has been used to describe a type of player who normally plays centrally, but who instead is deployed out wide on paper; during the course of a match, however, they will move inside and operate in the centre of the pitch to drag defenders out of position, congest the midfield and give their team a numerical advantage in this area, so that they can dominate possession in the middle of the pitch and create chances for the forwards; this position also leaves space for full-backs to make overlapping attacking runs up the flank. Samir Nasri, who has been deployed in this role, once described it as that of a «non-axial playmaker».^{[85][86][87][88][89][90][91]}

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Association football midfielders at Wikimedia Commons

[[Category:Association football player non-biographical articles]

A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.^[1] Midfielders may play an exclusively right back role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders. There are also attacking midfielders with limited defensive assignments.

The size of midfield units on a team and their assigned roles depend on what formation is used; the unit of these players on the pitch is commonly referred to as the midfield.^[2] Its name derives from the fact that midfield units typically make up the in-between units to the defensive units and forward units of a formation.

Managers frequently assign one or more midfielders to disrupt the opposing team’s attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match. Midfielders arguably have the most possession during a game, and thus they are some of the fittest players on the pitch.^[3] Midfielders are often assigned the task of assisting forwards to create scoring chances.

Central midfielder[edit]

Central or centre midfielders are players whose role is divided mostly equally between attacking and defensive duties to control the play in and around the centre of the pitch. These players will try to pass the ball to the team’s attacking midfielders and forwards and may also help their team’s attacks by making runs into the opposition’s penalty area and attempting shots on goal themselves. They also provide secondary support to attackers, both in and out of possession.

When the opposing team has the ball, a central midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward and press the opposition ball-carrier to recover the ball. A centre midfielder defending their goal will move in front of their centre-backs to block long shots by the opposition and possibly track opposition midfielders making runs towards the goal.

The 4–3–3 and 4–5–1 formations each use three central midfielders. The 4−4−2 formation may use two central midfielders,^[4] and in the 4–2–3–1 formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. Prominent central midfielders are known for their ability of pacing the game when their team is in possession of the ball, by dictating the tempo of play from the centre of the pitch.

Box-to-box midfielder[edit]

The term box-to-box midfielder refers to central midfielders who are hard-working and who have good all-round abilities, which makes them skilled at both defending and attacking.^[7] These players can therefore track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots and also carry the ball forward or run to the opponents’ box to try to score.^[8] Beginning in the mid-2000s, the change of trends and the decline of the standard 4–4–2 formation (in many cases making way for the 4–2–3–1 and 4–3–3 formations) imposed restrictions on the typical box-to-box midfielders of the 1980s and 1990s, as teams’ two midfield roles were now often divided into «holders» or «creators», with a third variation upon the role being described as that of a «carrier» or «surger».^[9] Some notable examples of box-to-box midfielders are Lothar Matthäus, Clarence Seedorf, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Steven Gerrard, Johan Neeskens, Sócrates, Yaya Touré, Park Ji-sung, Patrick Vieira, Frank Lampard, Bryan Robson and Roy Keane.^[10]

Mezzala[edit]

In Italian football, the term mezzala (literally «half-winger» in Italian) is used to describe the position of the one or two central midfielders who play on either side of a holding midfielder and/or playmaker. The term was initially applied to the role of an inside forward in the WM and Metodo formations in Italian, but later described a specific type of central midfielder. The mezzala is often a quick and hard-working attack-minded midfielder, with good skills and noted offensive capabilities, as well as a tendency to make overlapping attacking runs, but also a player who participates in the defensive aspect of the game, and who can give width to a team by drifting out wide; as such, the term can be applied to several different roles. In English, the term has come to be seen as a variant of the box-to-box midfielder role.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Wide midfielder[edit]

Left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence whilst they play a lot of crosses in the box for forwards.They are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the opponents’ penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates, and when defending they may put pressure on opponents who are trying to cross.^[18]

Common modern formations that include left and right midfielders are the 4−4−2, the 4−4−1−1, the 4–2–3–1 and the 4−5−1 formations.^[19] Jonathan Wilson describes the development of the 4−4−2 formation: «…the winger became a wide midfielder, a shuttler, somebody who might be expected to cross a ball but was also meant to put in a defensive shift.»^[20] Two notable examples of wide midfielders are David Beckham and Ryan Giggs.^[21]

In Italian football, the role of the wide midfielder is known as tornante di centrocampo or simply tornante («returning»); it originated from the role of an outside forward, and came to be known as such as it often required players in this position to track back and assist the back-line with defensive duties, in addition to aiding the midfield and attacking.^[22][23]

Wing-half[edit]

The historic position of wing-half (not to be confused with mezzala) was given to midfielders (half-backs) who played near the side of the pitch. It became obsolete as wide players with defensive duties have tended to become more a part of the defence as full-backs.^[24][25]

Defensive midfielder[edit]

Defensive midfielders are midfield players who focus on protecting their team’s goal. These players may defend a zone in front of their team’s defence, or man mark specific opposition attackers.^[26][27][28] Defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back positions if those players move forward to join in an attack.^[29][30]

Sergio Busquets described his attitude: «The coach knows that I am an obedient player who likes to help out and if I have to run to the wing to cover someone’s position, great.»^[30] A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of opponent’s play, marking, tackling, interceptions, passing and great stamina and strength (for their tackling). In South American football, this role is known as a volante de marca, while in Mexico it is known as volante de contención. In Portugal, it is instead known as trinco.^[31]

Holding midfielder[edit]

A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their team’s defence, while other midfielders may move forward to attack.^[32] The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball. This player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the team’s strategy. Marcelo Bielsa is considered as a pioneer for the use of a holding midfielder in defence.^[9] This position may be seen in the 4–2–3–1 and 4–4–2 diamond formations.^[33]

Initially, a defensive midfielder, or «destroyer», and a playmaker, or «creator», were often fielded alongside each other as a team’s two holding central midfielders. The destroyer was usually responsible for making tackles, regaining possession, and distributing the ball to the creator, while the creator was responsible for retaining possession and keeping the ball moving, often with long passes out to the flanks, in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or regista (see below). Early examples of a destroyer are Obdulio Varela, Nobby Stiles, Herbert Wimmer, Marco Tardelli, while later examples include Claude Makélélé, Lee Carsley and Javier Mascherano, although several of these players also possessed qualities of other types of midfielders, and were therefore not confined to a single role. Early examples of a creator would be Gérson, Glenn Hoddle, and Sunday Oliseh, while more recent examples are Xabi Alonso and Michael Carrick.

The latest and third type of holding midfielder developed as a box-to-box midfielder, or «carrier» or «surger», neither entirely destructive nor creative, who is capable of winning back possession and subsequently advancing from deeper positions either by distributing the ball to a teammate and making late runs into the box, or by carrying the ball themself; recent examples of this type of player are Clarence Seedorf and Bastian Schweinsteiger, while Sami Khedira and Fernandinho are destroyers with carrying tendencies, Luka Modrić is a carrier with several qualities of the regista, and Yaya Touré was a carrier who became a playmaker, in later part of his career, after losing his stamina.^[9]

Deep-lying playmaker (Strolling 10)[edit]

A deep-lying playmaker is a holding midfielder who specializes in ball skills such as passing, rather than defensive skills like tackling.^[35] When this player has the ball, they may attempt longer or more complex passes than other holding players. They may try to set the tempo of their team’s play, retain possession, or build plays through short exchanges, or they may try to pass the ball long to a centre forward or winger, or even pass short to a teammate in the hole, the area between the opponents’ defenders and midfielders.^[35][36][37] In Italy, the deep-lying playmaker is known as a regista,^[38] whereas in Brazil, it is known as a «meia-armador».^[39] In Italy, the role of the regista developed from the centre half-back or centromediano metodista position in Vittorio Pozzo’s metodo system (a precursor of the central or holding midfield position in the 2–3–2–3 formation), as the metodista‘s responsibilities were not entirely defensive but also creative; as such, the metodista was not solely tasked with breaking down possession, but also with starting attacking plays after winning back the ball.^[40]

Writer Jonathan Wilson instead described Xabi Alonso’s holding midfield role as that of a «creator», a player who was responsible for retaining possession in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or regista, noting that: «although capable of making tackles, [Alonso] focused on keeping the ball moving, occasionally raking long passes out to the flanks to change the angle of attack.»^[9]

Centre-half[edit]

The historic central half-back position gradually retreated from the midfield line to provide increased protection to the back line against centre-forwards – that dedicated defensive role in the centre is still commonly referred to as a «centre-half» as a legacy of its origins.^[41] In Italian football jargon, this position was known as the centromediano metodista or metodista, as it became an increasingly important role in Vittorio Pozzo’s metodo system, although this term was later also applied to describe players who operated in a central holding-midfielder role, but who also had creative responsibilities in addition to defensive duties.^[40]

Attacking midfielder[edit]

An attacking midfielder is a midfield player who is positioned in an advanced midfield position, usually between central midfield and the team’s forwards, and who has a primarily offensive role.^[42]

Some attacking midfielders are called trequartista or fantasista (Italian: three-quarter specialist, i.e. a creative playmaker between the forwards and the midfield), who are usually mobile, creative and highly skilful players, known for their deft touch, technical ability, dribbling skills, vision, ability to shoot from long range, and passing prowess.

However, not all attacking midfielders are trequartistas – some attacking midfielders are very vertical and are essentially auxiliary attackers who serve to link-up play, hold up the ball, or provide the final pass, i.e. secondary strikers.^[43] As with any attacking player, the role of the attacking midfielder involves being able to create space for attack.^[44]

According to positioning along the field, attacking midfield may be divided into left, right and central attacking midfield roles but most importantly they are a striker behind the forwards. A central attacking midfielder may be referred to as a playmaker, or number 10 (due to the association of the number 10 shirt with this position).^[45][46]

Advanced playmaker[edit]

These players typically serve as the offensive pivot of the team, and are sometimes said to be «playing in the hole», although this term can also be used as deep-lying forward. The attacking midfielder is an important position that requires the player to possess superior technical abilities in terms of passing and dribbling, as well as, perhaps more importantly, the ability to read the opposing defence to deliver defence-splitting passes to the striker.

This specialist midfielder’s main role is to create good shooting and goal-scoring opportunities using superior vision, control, and technical skill, by making crosses, through balls, and headed knockdowns to teammates. They may try to set up shooting opportunities for themselves by dribbling or performing a give-and-go with a teammate. Attacking midfielders may also make runs into the opponents’ penalty area to shoot from another teammate’s pass.^[2]

Where a creative attacking midfielder, i.e. an Advanced playmaker, is regularly utilized, they are commonly the team’s star player, and often wear the number 10 shirt. As such, a team is often constructed so as to allow their attacking midfielder to roam free and create as the situation demands. One such popular formation is the 4–4–2 «diamond» (or 4–1–2–1–2), in which defined attacking and defensive midfielders replace the more traditional pair of central midfielders. Known as the «fantasista» or «trequartista» in Italy,^[43] in Spain, the offensive playmaker is known as the «Mediapunta, in Brazil, the offensive playmaker is known as the «meia atacante«,^[39] whereas in Argentina and Uruguay, it is known as the «enganche«.^[47] Some examples of the advanced playmaker would be Zico, Francesco Totti, Kevin De Bruyne, Martin Ødegaard and Juan Riquelme.

There are also some examples of more flexible advanced playmakers, such as Zinedine Zidane, Andrés Iniesta, David Silva, and Nécib. These players could control the tempo of the game in deeper areas of the pitch while also being able to push forward and play line-breaking through balls.^{[48][49][50][51][52]}

Mesut Özil can be considered as a classic 10 who adopted a slightly more direct approach and specialised in playing the final ball.

False attacking midfielder[edit]

The false attacking midfielder description has been used in Italian football to describe a player who is seemingly playing as an attacking midfielder in a 4–3–1–2 formation, but who eventually drops deeper into midfield, drawing opposing players out of position and creating space to be exploited by teammates making attacking runs; the false-attacking midfielder will eventually sit in a central midfield role and function as a deep-lying playmaker. The false-attacking midfielder is therefore usually a creative and tactically intelligent player with good vision, technique, movement, passing ability, and striking ability from distance. They should also be a hard-working player, who is able to read the game and help the team defensively.^[53] Wayne Rooney has been deployed in a similar role, on occasion; seemingly positioned as a number 10 behind the main striker, he would often drop even deeper into midfield to help his team retrieve possession and start attacks.^[54]

«False 10» or «central winger»[edit]

The «false 10» or «central winger»^[55] is a type of midfielder, which differs from the false-attacking midfielder. Much like the «false 9», their specificity lies in the fact that, although they seemingly play as an attacking midfielder on paper, unlike a traditional playmaker who stays behind the striker in the centre of the pitch, the false 10’s goal is to move out of position and drift wide when in possession of the ball to help both the wingers and fullbacks to overload the flanks. This means two problems for the opposing midfielders: either they let the false 10 drift wide, and their presence, along with both the winger and the fullback, creates a three-on-two player advantage out wide; or they follow the false 10, but leave space in the centre of the pitch for wingers or onrushing midfielders to exploit. False 10s are usually traditional wingers who are told to play in the centre of the pitch, and their natural way of playing makes them drift wide and look to provide deliveries into the box for teammates. On occasion, the false-10 can also function in a different manner alongside a false-9, usually in a 4–6–0 formation, disguised as either a 4–3–3 or 4–2–3–1 formation. When other forwards or false-9s drop deep and draw defenders away from the false-10s, creating space in the middle of the pitch, the false-10 will then also surprise defenders by exploiting this space and moving out of position once again, often undertaking offensive dribbling runs forward towards goal, or running on to passes from false-9s, which in turn enables them to create goalscoring opportunities or go for goal themselves.^[56]

Winger[edit]

«Right winger» redirects here. For the political position, see Right-wing politics.

In modern football, the terms winger or wide player refer to a non-defender who plays on the left or right sides of the pitch. These terms can apply to left or right midfielders, left or right attacking midfielders, or left or right forwards.^[18] Left or right-sided defenders such as wing-backs or full-backs are generally not called wingers.

In the 2−3−5 formation popular in the late 19th century wingers remained mostly near the touchlines of the pitch, and were expected to cross the ball for the team’s inside and centre forwards.^[57] Traditionally, wingers were purely attacking players and were not expected to track back and defend. This began to change in the 1960s. In the 1966 World Cup, England manager Alf Ramsey did not select wingers from the quarter-final onwards. This team was known as the «Wingless Wonders» and led to the modern 4–4–2 formation.^[58][59]

This has led to most modern wide players having a more demanding role in the sense that they are expected to provide defensive cover for their full-backs and track back to repossess the ball, as well as provide skillful crosses for centre forwards and strikers.^[60] Some forwards are able to operate as wingers behind a lone striker. In a three-man midfield, specialist wingers are sometimes deployed down the flanks alongside the central midfielder or playmaker.

Even more demanding is the role of wing-back, where the wide player is expected to provide both defence and attack.^[61] As the role of winger can be classed as a forward or a midfielder, this role instead blurs the divide between defender and midfielder. Italian manager Antonio Conte has been known to use wide midfielders or wingers who act as wing-backs in his trademark 3–5–2 and 3–4–3 formations, for example; these players are expected both to push up and provide width in attack as well as track back and assist their team defensively.^[62]

On occasion, the role of a winger can also be occupied by a different type of player. For example, certain managers have been known to use a «wide target man» on the wing, namely a large and physical player who usually plays as a centre-forward, and who will attempt to win aerial challenges and hold up the ball on the flank, or drag full-backs out of position; Romelu Lukaku, for example, has been used in this role on occasion.^[63] Another example is Mario Mandžukić under manager Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus during the 2016–17 season; normally a striker, he was instead used on the left flank, and was required to win aerial duels, hold up the ball, and create space, as well as being tasked with pressing opposing players.^[64]

Today, a winger is usually an attacking midfielder who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines.^[60] Wingers such as Stanley Matthews or Jimmy Johnstone used to be classified as outside 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 and are now usually classified as part of the midfield, usually in 4–4–2 or 4–5–1 formations (but while the team is on the attack, they tend to resemble 4–2–4/2–4–4 and 4–3–3 formations respectively).

The responsibilities of the winger include:

• Providing a «wide presence» as a passing option on the flank.
• To beat the opposing full-back either with skill or with speed.
• To read passes from the midfield that give them a clear crossing opportunity, when going wide, or that give them a clear scoring opportunity, when cutting inside towards goal.
• To double up on the opposition winger, particularly when they are being «double-marked» by both the team’s full back and winger.

The prototypical winger is fast, tricky and enjoys ‘hugging’ the touchline, that is, running downfield close to the touchline and delivering crosses. However, players with different attributes can thrive on the wing as well. Some wingers prefer to cut infield (as opposed to staying wide) and pose a threat as playmakers by playing diagonal passes to forwards or taking a shot at goal. Even players who are not considered quick, have been successfully fielded as wingers at club and international level for their ability to create play from the flank. Occasionally wingers are given a free role to roam across the front line and are relieved of defensive responsibilities.

The typical abilities of wingers include:

• Technical skill to beat a full-back in a one-to-one situation.
• Pace, to beat the full-back one-on-one.
• Crossing ability when out wide.
• Good off-the-ball ability when judging a pass from the midfield or from fellow attackers.
• Good passing ability and composure, to retain possession while in opposition territory.
• The modern winger should also be comfortable on either wing so as to adapt to quick tactical changes required by the coach.

Although wingers are a familiar part of football, the use of wingers is by no means universal. There are many successful football teams who operate without wingers. A famous example is Carlo Ancelotti’s late 2000s Milan, who typically play in a narrow midfield diamond formation or in a Christmas tree formation (4–3–2–1), relying on full-backs to provide the necessary width down the wings.

Inverted winger[edit]

An inverted winger is a modern tactical development of the traditional winger position. Most wingers are assigned to either side of the field based on their footedness, with right-footed players on the right and left-footed players on the left.^[65] This assumes that assigning a player to their natural side ensures a more powerful cross as well as greater ball-protection along the touch-lines. However, when the position is inverted and a winger instead plays inside-out on the opposite flank (i.e., a right-footed player as a left inverted winger), they effectively become supporting strikers and primarily assume a role in the attack.^[66]

As opposed to traditionally pulling the opponent’s full-back out and down the flanks before crossing the ball in near the by-line, positioning a winger on the opposite side of the field allows the player to cut-in around the 18-yard box, either threading passes between defenders or shooting on goal using the dominant foot.^[67] This offensive tactic has found popularity in the modern game due to the fact that it gives traditional wingers increased mobility as playmakers and goalscorers,^[68] such as the left-footed right winger Domenico Berardi of Sassuolo who achieved 30 career goals faster than any player in the past half-century of Serie A football.^[69] Not only are inverted wingers able to push full-backs onto their weak sides, but they are also able to spread and force the other team to defend deeper as forwards and wing-backs route towards the goal, ultimately creating more scoring opportunities.^[70]

Other midfielders within this tactical archetype include Lionel Messi^[71] and Eden Hazard,^[72] as well as Megan Rapinoe of the USWNT.^[73] Clubs such as Real Madrid often choose to play their wingers on the «wrong» flank for this reason; former Real Madrid coach José Mourinho often played Ángel Di María on the right and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left.^[74][75][76] Former Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes often played the left-footed Arjen Robben on the right and the right-footed Franck Ribéry on the left.^[77][78] One of the foremost practitioners of playing from either flank was German winger Jürgen Grabowski, whose flexibility helped Germany to third place in the 1970 World Cup, and the world title in 1974.

A description that has been used in the media to label a variation upon the inverted winger position is that of an «attacking», «false», or «goalscoring winger», as exemplified by Cristiano Ronaldo’s role on the left flank during his time at Real Madrid in particular. This label has been used to describe an offensive-minded inverted winger, who will seemingly operate out wide on paper, but who instead will be given the freedom to make unmarked runs into more advanced central areas inside the penalty area to get on the end of passes and crosses and score goals, effectively functioning as a striker.^{[79][80][81][82][83]} This role is somewhat comparable to what is known as the raumdeuter role in German football jargon (literally «space interpreter»), as exemplified by Thomas Müller, namely an attacking-minded wide player, who will move into central areas to find spaces from which they can receive passes and score or assist goals.^[63][84]

False winger[edit]

The «false winger» or «seven-and-a-half» is a label which has been used to describe a type of player who normally plays centrally, but who instead is deployed out wide on paper; during the course of a match, however, they will move inside and operate in the centre of the pitch to drag defenders out of position, congest the midfield and give their team a numerical advantage in this area, so that they can dominate possession in the middle of the pitch and create chances for the forwards; this position also leaves space for full-backs to make overlapping attacking runs up the flank. Samir Nasri, who has been deployed in this role, once described it as that of a «non-axial playmaker».^{[85][86][87][88][89][90][91]}

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Association football midfielders at Wikimedia Commons

[[Category:Association football player non-biographical articles]

A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.^[1] Midfielders may play an exclusively right back role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders. There are also attacking midfielders with limited defensive assignments.

The size of midfield units on a team and their assigned roles depend on what formation is used; the unit of these players on the pitch is commonly referred to as the midfield.^[2] Its name derives from the fact that midfield units typically make up the in-between units to the defensive units and forward units of a formation.

Managers frequently assign one or more midfielders to disrupt the opposing team’s attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match. Midfielders arguably have the most possession during a game, and thus they are some of the fittest players on the pitch.^[3] Midfielders are often assigned the task of assisting forwards to create scoring chances.

Central midfielder[edit]

Central or centre midfielders are players whose role is divided mostly equally between attacking and defensive duties to control the play in and around the centre of the pitch. These players will try to pass the ball to the team’s attacking midfielders and forwards and may also help their team’s attacks by making runs into the opposition’s penalty area and attempting shots on goal themselves. They also provide secondary support to attackers, both in and out of possession.

When the opposing team has the ball, a central midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward and press the opposition ball-carrier to recover the ball. A centre midfielder defending their goal will move in front of their centre-backs to block long shots by the opposition and possibly track opposition midfielders making runs towards the goal.

The 4–3–3 and 4–5–1 formations each use three central midfielders. The 4−4−2 formation may use two central midfielders,^[4] and in the 4–2–3–1 formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. Prominent central midfielders are known for their ability of pacing the game when their team is in possession of the ball, by dictating the tempo of play from the centre of the pitch.

Box-to-box midfielder[edit]

The term box-to-box midfielder refers to central midfielders who are hard-working and who have good all-round abilities, which makes them skilled at both defending and attacking.^[7] These players can therefore track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots and also carry the ball forward or run to the opponents’ box to try to score.^[8] Beginning in the mid-2000s, the change of trends and the decline of the standard 4–4–2 formation (in many cases making way for the 4–2–3–1 and 4–3–3 formations) imposed restrictions on the typical box-to-box midfielders of the 1980s and 1990s, as teams’ two midfield roles were now often divided into «holders» or «creators», with a third variation upon the role being described as that of a «carrier» or «surger».^[9] Some notable examples of box-to-box midfielders are Lothar Matthäus, Clarence Seedorf, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Steven Gerrard, Johan Neeskens, Sócrates, Yaya Touré, Park Ji-sung, Patrick Vieira, Frank Lampard, Bryan Robson and Roy Keane.^[10]

Mezzala[edit]

In Italian football, the term mezzala (literally «half-winger» in Italian) is used to describe the position of the one or two central midfielders who play on either side of a holding midfielder and/or playmaker. The term was initially applied to the role of an inside forward in the WM and Metodo formations in Italian, but later described a specific type of central midfielder. The mezzala is often a quick and hard-working attack-minded midfielder, with good skills and noted offensive capabilities, as well as a tendency to make overlapping attacking runs, but also a player who participates in the defensive aspect of the game, and who can give width to a team by drifting out wide; as such, the term can be applied to several different roles. In English, the term has come to be seen as a variant of the box-to-box midfielder role.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Wide midfielder[edit]

Left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence whilst they play a lot of crosses in the box for forwards.They are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the opponents’ penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates, and when defending they may put pressure on opponents who are trying to cross.^[18]

Common modern formations that include left and right midfielders are the 4−4−2, the 4−4−1−1, the 4–2–3–1 and the 4−5−1 formations.^[19] Jonathan Wilson describes the development of the 4−4−2 formation: «…the winger became a wide midfielder, a shuttler, somebody who might be expected to cross a ball but was also meant to put in a defensive shift.»^[20] Two notable examples of wide midfielders are David Beckham and Ryan Giggs.^[21]

In Italian football, the role of the wide midfielder is known as tornante di centrocampo or simply tornante («returning»); it originated from the role of an outside forward, and came to be known as such as it often required players in this position to track back and assist the back-line with defensive duties, in addition to aiding the midfield and attacking.^[22][23]

Wing-half[edit]

The historic position of wing-half (not to be confused with mezzala) was given to midfielders (half-backs) who played near the side of the pitch. It became obsolete as wide players with defensive duties have tended to become more a part of the defence as full-backs.^[24][25]

Defensive midfielder[edit]

Defensive midfielders are midfield players who focus on protecting their team’s goal. These players may defend a zone in front of their team’s defence, or man mark specific opposition attackers.^[26][27][28] Defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back positions if those players move forward to join in an attack.^[29][30]

Sergio Busquets described his attitude: «The coach knows that I am an obedient player who likes to help out and if I have to run to the wing to cover someone’s position, great.»^[30] A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of opponent’s play, marking, tackling, interceptions, passing and great stamina and strength (for their tackling). In South American football, this role is known as a volante de marca, while in Mexico it is known as volante de contención. In Portugal, it is instead known as trinco.^[31]

Holding midfielder[edit]

A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their team’s defence, while other midfielders may move forward to attack.^[32] The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball. This player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the team’s strategy. Marcelo Bielsa is considered as a pioneer for the use of a holding midfielder in defence.^[9] This position may be seen in the 4–2–3–1 and 4–4–2 diamond formations.^[33]

Initially, a defensive midfielder, or «destroyer», and a playmaker, or «creator», were often fielded alongside each other as a team’s two holding central midfielders. The destroyer was usually responsible for making tackles, regaining possession, and distributing the ball to the creator, while the creator was responsible for retaining possession and keeping the ball moving, often with long passes out to the flanks, in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or regista (see below). Early examples of a destroyer are Obdulio Varela, Nobby Stiles, Herbert Wimmer, Marco Tardelli, while later examples include Claude Makélélé, Lee Carsley and Javier Mascherano, although several of these players also possessed qualities of other types of midfielders, and were therefore not confined to a single role. Early examples of a creator would be Gérson, Glenn Hoddle, and Sunday Oliseh, while more recent examples are Xabi Alonso and Michael Carrick.

The latest and third type of holding midfielder developed as a box-to-box midfielder, or «carrier» or «surger», neither entirely destructive nor creative, who is capable of winning back possession and subsequently advancing from deeper positions either by distributing the ball to a teammate and making late runs into the box, or by carrying the ball themself; recent examples of this type of player are Clarence Seedorf and Bastian Schweinsteiger, while Sami Khedira and Fernandinho are destroyers with carrying tendencies, Luka Modrić is a carrier with several qualities of the regista, and Yaya Touré was a carrier who became a playmaker, in later part of his career, after losing his stamina.^[9]

Deep-lying playmaker (Strolling 10)[edit]

A deep-lying playmaker is a holding midfielder who specializes in ball skills such as passing, rather than defensive skills like tackling.^[35] When this player has the ball, they may attempt longer or more complex passes than other holding players. They may try to set the tempo of their team’s play, retain possession, or build plays through short exchanges, or they may try to pass the ball long to a centre forward or winger, or even pass short to a teammate in the hole, the area between the opponents’ defenders and midfielders.^[35][36][37] In Italy, the deep-lying playmaker is known as a regista,^[38] whereas in Brazil, it is known as a «meia-armador».^[39] In Italy, the role of the regista developed from the centre half-back or centromediano metodista position in Vittorio Pozzo’s metodo system (a precursor of the central or holding midfield position in the 2–3–2–3 formation), as the metodista‘s responsibilities were not entirely defensive but also creative; as such, the metodista was not solely tasked with breaking down possession, but also with starting attacking plays after winning back the ball.^[40]

Writer Jonathan Wilson instead described Xabi Alonso’s holding midfield role as that of a «creator», a player who was responsible for retaining possession in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or regista, noting that: «although capable of making tackles, [Alonso] focused on keeping the ball moving, occasionally raking long passes out to the flanks to change the angle of attack.»^[9]

Centre-half[edit]

The historic central half-back position gradually retreated from the midfield line to provide increased protection to the back line against centre-forwards – that dedicated defensive role in the centre is still commonly referred to as a «centre-half» as a legacy of its origins.^[41] In Italian football jargon, this position was known as the centromediano metodista or metodista, as it became an increasingly important role in Vittorio Pozzo’s metodo system, although this term was later also applied to describe players who operated in a central holding-midfielder role, but who also had creative responsibilities in addition to defensive duties.^[40]

Attacking midfielder[edit]

An attacking midfielder is a midfield player who is positioned in an advanced midfield position, usually between central midfield and the team’s forwards, and who has a primarily offensive role.^[42]

Some attacking midfielders are called trequartista or fantasista (Italian: three-quarter specialist, i.e. a creative playmaker between the forwards and the midfield), who are usually mobile, creative and highly skilful players, known for their deft touch, technical ability, dribbling skills, vision, ability to shoot from long range, and passing prowess.

However, not all attacking midfielders are trequartistas – some attacking midfielders are very vertical and are essentially auxiliary attackers who serve to link-up play, hold up the ball, or provide the final pass, i.e. secondary strikers.^[43] As with any attacking player, the role of the attacking midfielder involves being able to create space for attack.^[44]

According to positioning along the field, attacking midfield may be divided into left, right and central attacking midfield roles but most importantly they are a striker behind the forwards. A central attacking midfielder may be referred to as a playmaker, or number 10 (due to the association of the number 10 shirt with this position).^[45][46]

Advanced playmaker[edit]

These players typically serve as the offensive pivot of the team, and are sometimes said to be «playing in the hole», although this term can also be used as deep-lying forward. The attacking midfielder is an important position that requires the player to possess superior technical abilities in terms of passing and dribbling, as well as, perhaps more importantly, the ability to read the opposing defence to deliver defence-splitting passes to the striker.

This specialist midfielder’s main role is to create good shooting and goal-scoring opportunities using superior vision, control, and technical skill, by making crosses, through balls, and headed knockdowns to teammates. They may try to set up shooting opportunities for themselves by dribbling or performing a give-and-go with a teammate. Attacking midfielders may also make runs into the opponents’ penalty area to shoot from another teammate’s pass.^[2]

Where a creative attacking midfielder, i.e. an Advanced playmaker, is regularly utilized, they are commonly the team’s star player, and often wear the number 10 shirt. As such, a team is often constructed so as to allow their attacking midfielder to roam free and create as the situation demands. One such popular formation is the 4–4–2 «diamond» (or 4–1–2–1–2), in which defined attacking and defensive midfielders replace the more traditional pair of central midfielders. Known as the «fantasista» or «trequartista» in Italy,^[43] in Spain, the offensive playmaker is known as the «Mediapunta, in Brazil, the offensive playmaker is known as the «meia atacante«,^[39] whereas in Argentina and Uruguay, it is known as the «enganche«.^[47] Some examples of the advanced playmaker would be Zico, Francesco Totti, Kevin De Bruyne, Martin Ødegaard and Juan Riquelme.

There are also some examples of more flexible advanced playmakers, such as Zinedine Zidane, Andrés Iniesta, David Silva, and Nécib. These players could control the tempo of the game in deeper areas of the pitch while also being able to push forward and play line-breaking through balls.^{[48][49][50][51][52]}

Mesut Özil can be considered as a classic 10 who adopted a slightly more direct approach and specialised in playing the final ball.

False attacking midfielder[edit]

The false attacking midfielder description has been used in Italian football to describe a player who is seemingly playing as an attacking midfielder in a 4–3–1–2 formation, but who eventually drops deeper into midfield, drawing opposing players out of position and creating space to be exploited by teammates making attacking runs; the false-attacking midfielder will eventually sit in a central midfield role and function as a deep-lying playmaker. The false-attacking midfielder is therefore usually a creative and tactically intelligent player with good vision, technique, movement, passing ability, and striking ability from distance. They should also be a hard-working player, who is able to read the game and help the team defensively.^[53] Wayne Rooney has been deployed in a similar role, on occasion; seemingly positioned as a number 10 behind the main striker, he would often drop even deeper into midfield to help his team retrieve possession and start attacks.^[54]

«False 10» or «central winger»[edit]

The «false 10» or «central winger»^[55] is a type of midfielder, which differs from the false-attacking midfielder. Much like the «false 9», their specificity lies in the fact that, although they seemingly play as an attacking midfielder on paper, unlike a traditional playmaker who stays behind the striker in the centre of the pitch, the false 10’s goal is to move out of position and drift wide when in possession of the ball to help both the wingers and fullbacks to overload the flanks. This means two problems for the opposing midfielders: either they let the false 10 drift wide, and their presence, along with both the winger and the fullback, creates a three-on-two player advantage out wide; or they follow the false 10, but leave space in the centre of the pitch for wingers or onrushing midfielders to exploit. False 10s are usually traditional wingers who are told to play in the centre of the pitch, and their natural way of playing makes them drift wide and look to provide deliveries into the box for teammates. On occasion, the false-10 can also function in a different manner alongside a false-9, usually in a 4–6–0 formation, disguised as either a 4–3–3 or 4–2–3–1 formation. When other forwards or false-9s drop deep and draw defenders away from the false-10s, creating space in the middle of the pitch, the false-10 will then also surprise defenders by exploiting this space and moving out of position once again, often undertaking offensive dribbling runs forward towards goal, or running on to passes from false-9s, which in turn enables them to create goalscoring opportunities or go for goal themselves.^[56]

Winger[edit]

«Right winger» redirects here. For the political position, see Right-wing politics.

In modern football, the terms winger or wide player refer to a non-defender who plays on the left or right sides of the pitch. These terms can apply to left or right midfielders, left or right attacking midfielders, or left or right forwards.^[18] Left or right-sided defenders such as wing-backs or full-backs are generally not called wingers.

In the 2−3−5 formation popular in the late 19th century wingers remained mostly near the touchlines of the pitch, and were expected to cross the ball for the team’s inside and centre forwards.^[57] Traditionally, wingers were purely attacking players and were not expected to track back and defend. This began to change in the 1960s. In the 1966 World Cup, England manager Alf Ramsey did not select wingers from the quarter-final onwards. This team was known as the «Wingless Wonders» and led to the modern 4–4–2 formation.^[58][59]

This has led to most modern wide players having a more demanding role in the sense that they are expected to provide defensive cover for their full-backs and track back to repossess the ball, as well as provide skillful crosses for centre forwards and strikers.^[60] Some forwards are able to operate as wingers behind a lone striker. In a three-man midfield, specialist wingers are sometimes deployed down the flanks alongside the central midfielder or playmaker.

Even more demanding is the role of wing-back, where the wide player is expected to provide both defence and attack.^[61] As the role of winger can be classed as a forward or a midfielder, this role instead blurs the divide between defender and midfielder. Italian manager Antonio Conte has been known to use wide midfielders or wingers who act as wing-backs in his trademark 3–5–2 and 3–4–3 formations, for example; these players are expected both to push up and provide width in attack as well as track back and assist their team defensively.^[62]

On occasion, the role of a winger can also be occupied by a different type of player. For example, certain managers have been known to use a «wide target man» on the wing, namely a large and physical player who usually plays as a centre-forward, and who will attempt to win aerial challenges and hold up the ball on the flank, or drag full-backs out of position; Romelu Lukaku, for example, has been used in this role on occasion.^[63] Another example is Mario Mandžukić under manager Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus during the 2016–17 season; normally a striker, he was instead used on the left flank, and was required to win aerial duels, hold up the ball, and create space, as well as being tasked with pressing opposing players.^[64]

Today, a winger is usually an attacking midfielder who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines.^[60] Wingers such as Stanley Matthews or Jimmy Johnstone used to be classified as outside 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 and are now usually classified as part of the midfield, usually in 4–4–2 or 4–5–1 formations (but while the team is on the attack, they tend to resemble 4–2–4/2–4–4 and 4–3–3 formations respectively).

The responsibilities of the winger include:

• Providing a «wide presence» as a passing option on the flank.
• To beat the opposing full-back either with skill or with speed.
• To read passes from the midfield that give them a clear crossing opportunity, when going wide, or that give them a clear scoring opportunity, when cutting inside towards goal.
• To double up on the opposition winger, particularly when they are being «double-marked» by both the team’s full back and winger.

The prototypical winger is fast, tricky and enjoys ‘hugging’ the touchline, that is, running downfield close to the touchline and delivering crosses. However, players with different attributes can thrive on the wing as well. Some wingers prefer to cut infield (as opposed to staying wide) and pose a threat as playmakers by playing diagonal passes to forwards or taking a shot at goal. Even players who are not considered quick, have been successfully fielded as wingers at club and international level for their ability to create play from the flank. Occasionally wingers are given a free role to roam across the front line and are relieved of defensive responsibilities.

The typical abilities of wingers include:

• Technical skill to beat a full-back in a one-to-one situation.
• Pace, to beat the full-back one-on-one.
• Crossing ability when out wide.
• Good off-the-ball ability when judging a pass from the midfield or from fellow attackers.
• Good passing ability and composure, to retain possession while in opposition territory.
• The modern winger should also be comfortable on either wing so as to adapt to quick tactical changes required by the coach.

Although wingers are a familiar part of football, the use of wingers is by no means universal. There are many successful football teams who operate without wingers. A famous example is Carlo Ancelotti’s late 2000s Milan, who typically play in a narrow midfield diamond formation or in a Christmas tree formation (4–3–2–1), relying on full-backs to provide the necessary width down the wings.

Inverted winger[edit]

An inverted winger is a modern tactical development of the traditional winger position. Most wingers are assigned to either side of the field based on their footedness, with right-footed players on the right and left-footed players on the left.^[65] This assumes that assigning a player to their natural side ensures a more powerful cross as well as greater ball-protection along the touch-lines. However, when the position is inverted and a winger instead plays inside-out on the opposite flank (i.e., a right-footed player as a left inverted winger), they effectively become supporting strikers and primarily assume a role in the attack.^[66]

As opposed to traditionally pulling the opponent’s full-back out and down the flanks before crossing the ball in near the by-line, positioning a winger on the opposite side of the field allows the player to cut-in around the 18-yard box, either threading passes between defenders or shooting on goal using the dominant foot.^[67] This offensive tactic has found popularity in the modern game due to the fact that it gives traditional wingers increased mobility as playmakers and goalscorers,^[68] such as the left-footed right winger Domenico Berardi of Sassuolo who achieved 30 career goals faster than any player in the past half-century of Serie A football.^[69] Not only are inverted wingers able to push full-backs onto their weak sides, but they are also able to spread and force the other team to defend deeper as forwards and wing-backs route towards the goal, ultimately creating more scoring opportunities.^[70]

Other midfielders within this tactical archetype include Lionel Messi^[71] and Eden Hazard,^[72] as well as Megan Rapinoe of the USWNT.^[73] Clubs such as Real Madrid often choose to play their wingers on the «wrong» flank for this reason; former Real Madrid coach José Mourinho often played Ángel Di María on the right and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left.^[74][75][76] Former Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes often played the left-footed Arjen Robben on the right and the right-footed Franck Ribéry on the left.^[77][78] One of the foremost practitioners of playing from either flank was German winger Jürgen Grabowski, whose flexibility helped Germany to third place in the 1970 World Cup, and the world title in 1974.

A description that has been used in the media to label a variation upon the inverted winger position is that of an «attacking», «false», or «goalscoring winger», as exemplified by Cristiano Ronaldo’s role on the left flank during his time at Real Madrid in particular. This label has been used to describe an offensive-minded inverted winger, who will seemingly operate out wide on paper, but who instead will be given the freedom to make unmarked runs into more advanced central areas inside the penalty area to get on the end of passes and crosses and score goals, effectively functioning as a striker.^{[79][80][81][82][83]} This role is somewhat comparable to what is known as the raumdeuter role in German football jargon (literally «space interpreter»), as exemplified by Thomas Müller, namely an attacking-minded wide player, who will move into central areas to find spaces from which they can receive passes and score or assist goals.^[63][84]

False winger[edit]

The «false winger» or «seven-and-a-half» is a label which has been used to describe a type of player who normally plays centrally, but who instead is deployed out wide on paper; during the course of a match, however, they will move inside and operate in the centre of the pitch to drag defenders out of position, congest the midfield and give their team a numerical advantage in this area, so that they can dominate possession in the middle of the pitch and create chances for the forwards; this position also leaves space for full-backs to make overlapping attacking runs up the flank. Samir Nasri, who has been deployed in this role, once described it as that of a «non-axial playmaker».^{[85][86][87][88][89][90][91]}

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Association football midfielders at Wikimedia Commons

[[Category:Association football player non-biographical articles]

A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.^[1] Midfielders may play an exclusively right back role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders. There are also attacking midfielders with limited defensive assignments.

The size of midfield units on a team and their assigned roles depend on what formation is used; the unit of these players on the pitch is commonly referred to as the midfield.^[2] Its name derives from the fact that midfield units typically make up the in-between units to the defensive units and forward units of a formation.

Managers frequently assign one or more midfielders to disrupt the opposing team’s attacks, while others may be tasked with creating goals, or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. Midfielders are the players who typically travel the greatest distance during a match. Midfielders arguably have the most possession during a game, and thus they are some of the fittest players on the pitch.^[3] Midfielders are often assigned the task of assisting forwards to create scoring chances.

Central midfielder[edit]

Central or centre midfielders are players whose role is divided mostly equally between attacking and defensive duties to control the play in and around the centre of the pitch. These players will try to pass the ball to the team’s attacking midfielders and forwards and may also help their team’s attacks by making runs into the opposition’s penalty area and attempting shots on goal themselves. They also provide secondary support to attackers, both in and out of possession.

When the opposing team has the ball, a central midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward and press the opposition ball-carrier to recover the ball. A centre midfielder defending their goal will move in front of their centre-backs to block long shots by the opposition and possibly track opposition midfielders making runs towards the goal.

The 4–3–3 and 4–5–1 formations each use three central midfielders. The 4−4−2 formation may use two central midfielders,^[4] and in the 4–2–3–1 formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. Prominent central midfielders are known for their ability of pacing the game when their team is in possession of the ball, by dictating the tempo of play from the centre of the pitch.

Box-to-box midfielder[edit]

The term box-to-box midfielder refers to central midfielders who are hard-working and who have good all-round abilities, which makes them skilled at both defending and attacking.^[7] These players can therefore track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots and also carry the ball forward or run to the opponents’ box to try to score.^[8] Beginning in the mid-2000s, the change of trends and the decline of the standard 4–4–2 formation (in many cases making way for the 4–2–3–1 and 4–3–3 formations) imposed restrictions on the typical box-to-box midfielders of the 1980s and 1990s, as teams’ two midfield roles were now often divided into «holders» or «creators», with a third variation upon the role being described as that of a «carrier» or «surger».^[9] Some notable examples of box-to-box midfielders are Lothar Matthäus, Clarence Seedorf, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Steven Gerrard, Johan Neeskens, Sócrates, Yaya Touré, Park Ji-sung, Patrick Vieira, Frank Lampard, Bryan Robson and Roy Keane.^[10]

Mezzala[edit]

In Italian football, the term mezzala (literally «half-winger» in Italian) is used to describe the position of the one or two central midfielders who play on either side of a holding midfielder and/or playmaker. The term was initially applied to the role of an inside forward in the WM and Metodo formations in Italian, but later described a specific type of central midfielder. The mezzala is often a quick and hard-working attack-minded midfielder, with good skills and noted offensive capabilities, as well as a tendency to make overlapping attacking runs, but also a player who participates in the defensive aspect of the game, and who can give width to a team by drifting out wide; as such, the term can be applied to several different roles. In English, the term has come to be seen as a variant of the box-to-box midfielder role.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Wide midfielder[edit]

Left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence whilst they play a lot of crosses in the box for forwards.They are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the opponents’ penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates, and when defending they may put pressure on opponents who are trying to cross.^[18]

Common modern formations that include left and right midfielders are the 4−4−2, the 4−4−1−1, the 4–2–3–1 and the 4−5−1 formations.^[19] Jonathan Wilson describes the development of the 4−4−2 formation: «…the winger became a wide midfielder, a shuttler, somebody who might be expected to cross a ball but was also meant to put in a defensive shift.»^[20] Two notable examples of wide midfielders are David Beckham and Ryan Giggs.^[21]

In Italian football, the role of the wide midfielder is known as tornante di centrocampo or simply tornante («returning»); it originated from the role of an outside forward, and came to be known as such as it often required players in this position to track back and assist the back-line with defensive duties, in addition to aiding the midfield and attacking.^[22][23]

Wing-half[edit]

The historic position of wing-half (not to be confused with mezzala) was given to midfielders (half-backs) who played near the side of the pitch. It became obsolete as wide players with defensive duties have tended to become more a part of the defence as full-backs.^[24][25]

Defensive midfielder[edit]

Defensive midfielders are midfield players who focus on protecting their team’s goal. These players may defend a zone in front of their team’s defence, or man mark specific opposition attackers.^[26][27][28] Defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back positions if those players move forward to join in an attack.^[29][30]

Sergio Busquets described his attitude: «The coach knows that I am an obedient player who likes to help out and if I have to run to the wing to cover someone’s position, great.»^[30] A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of opponent’s play, marking, tackling, interceptions, passing and great stamina and strength (for their tackling). In South American football, this role is known as a volante de marca, while in Mexico it is known as volante de contención. In Portugal, it is instead known as trinco.^[31]

Holding midfielder[edit]

A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their team’s defence, while other midfielders may move forward to attack.^[32] The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball. This player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the team’s strategy. Marcelo Bielsa is considered as a pioneer for the use of a holding midfielder in defence.^[9] This position may be seen in the 4–2–3–1 and 4–4–2 diamond formations.^[33]

Initially, a defensive midfielder, or «destroyer», and a playmaker, or «creator», were often fielded alongside each other as a team’s two holding central midfielders. The destroyer was usually responsible for making tackles, regaining possession, and distributing the ball to the creator, while the creator was responsible for retaining possession and keeping the ball moving, often with long passes out to the flanks, in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or regista (see below). Early examples of a destroyer are Obdulio Varela, Nobby Stiles, Herbert Wimmer, Marco Tardelli, while later examples include Claude Makélélé, Lee Carsley and Javier Mascherano, although several of these players also possessed qualities of other types of midfielders, and were therefore not confined to a single role. Early examples of a creator would be Gérson, Glenn Hoddle, and Sunday Oliseh, while more recent examples are Xabi Alonso and Michael Carrick.

The latest and third type of holding midfielder developed as a box-to-box midfielder, or «carrier» or «surger», neither entirely destructive nor creative, who is capable of winning back possession and subsequently advancing from deeper positions either by distributing the ball to a teammate and making late runs into the box, or by carrying the ball themself; recent examples of this type of player are Clarence Seedorf and Bastian Schweinsteiger, while Sami Khedira and Fernandinho are destroyers with carrying tendencies, Luka Modrić is a carrier with several qualities of the regista, and Yaya Touré was a carrier who became a playmaker, in later part of his career, after losing his stamina.^[9]

Deep-lying playmaker (Strolling 10)[edit]

A deep-lying playmaker is a holding midfielder who specializes in ball skills such as passing, rather than defensive skills like tackling.^[35] When this player has the ball, they may attempt longer or more complex passes than other holding players. They may try to set the tempo of their team’s play, retain possession, or build plays through short exchanges, or they may try to pass the ball long to a centre forward or winger, or even pass short to a teammate in the hole, the area between the opponents’ defenders and midfielders.^[35][36][37] In Italy, the deep-lying playmaker is known as a regista,^[38] whereas in Brazil, it is known as a «meia-armador».^[39] In Italy, the role of the regista developed from the centre half-back or centromediano metodista position in Vittorio Pozzo’s metodo system (a precursor of the central or holding midfield position in the 2–3–2–3 formation), as the metodista‘s responsibilities were not entirely defensive but also creative; as such, the metodista was not solely tasked with breaking down possession, but also with starting attacking plays after winning back the ball.^[40]

Writer Jonathan Wilson instead described Xabi Alonso’s holding midfield role as that of a «creator», a player who was responsible for retaining possession in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or regista, noting that: «although capable of making tackles, [Alonso] focused on keeping the ball moving, occasionally raking long passes out to the flanks to change the angle of attack.»^[9]

Centre-half[edit]

The historic central half-back position gradually retreated from the midfield line to provide increased protection to the back line against centre-forwards – that dedicated defensive role in the centre is still commonly referred to as a «centre-half» as a legacy of its origins.^[41] In Italian football jargon, this position was known as the centromediano metodista or metodista, as it became an increasingly important role in Vittorio Pozzo’s metodo system, although this term was later also applied to describe players who operated in a central holding-midfielder role, but who also had creative responsibilities in addition to defensive duties.^[40]

Attacking midfielder[edit]

An attacking midfielder is a midfield player who is positioned in an advanced midfield position, usually between central midfield and the team’s forwards, and who has a primarily offensive role.^[42]

Some attacking midfielders are called trequartista or fantasista (Italian: three-quarter specialist, i.e. a creative playmaker between the forwards and the midfield), who are usually mobile, creative and highly skilful players, known for their deft touch, technical ability, dribbling skills, vision, ability to shoot from long range, and passing prowess.

However, not all attacking midfielders are trequartistas – some attacking midfielders are very vertical and are essentially auxiliary attackers who serve to link-up play, hold up the ball, or provide the final pass, i.e. secondary strikers.^[43] As with any attacking player, the role of the attacking midfielder involves being able to create space for attack.^[44]

According to positioning along the field, attacking midfield may be divided into left, right and central attacking midfield roles but most importantly they are a striker behind the forwards. A central attacking midfielder may be referred to as a playmaker, or number 10 (due to the association of the number 10 shirt with this position).^[45][46]

Advanced playmaker[edit]

These players typically serve as the offensive pivot of the team, and are sometimes said to be «playing in the hole», although this term can also be used as deep-lying forward. The attacking midfielder is an important position that requires the player to possess superior technical abilities in terms of passing and dribbling, as well as, perhaps more importantly, the ability to read the opposing defence to deliver defence-splitting passes to the striker.

This specialist midfielder’s main role is to create good shooting and goal-scoring opportunities using superior vision, control, and technical skill, by making crosses, through balls, and headed knockdowns to teammates. They may try to set up shooting opportunities for themselves by dribbling or performing a give-and-go with a teammate. Attacking midfielders may also make runs into the opponents’ penalty area to shoot from another teammate’s pass.^[2]

Where a creative attacking midfielder, i.e. an Advanced playmaker, is regularly utilized, they are commonly the team’s star player, and often wear the number 10 shirt. As such, a team is often constructed so as to allow their attacking midfielder to roam free and create as the situation demands. One such popular formation is the 4–4–2 «diamond» (or 4–1–2–1–2), in which defined attacking and defensive midfielders replace the more traditional pair of central midfielders. Known as the «fantasista» or «trequartista» in Italy,^[43] in Spain, the offensive playmaker is known as the «Mediapunta, in Brazil, the offensive playmaker is known as the «meia atacante«,^[39] whereas in Argentina and Uruguay, it is known as the «enganche«.^[47] Some examples of the advanced playmaker would be Zico, Francesco Totti, Kevin De Bruyne, Martin Ødegaard and Juan Riquelme.

There are also some examples of more flexible advanced playmakers, such as Zinedine Zidane, Andrés Iniesta, David Silva, and Nécib. These players could control the tempo of the game in deeper areas of the pitch while also being able to push forward and play line-breaking through balls.^{[48][49][50][51][52]}

Mesut Özil can be considered as a classic 10 who adopted a slightly more direct approach and specialised in playing the final ball.

False attacking midfielder[edit]

The false attacking midfielder description has been used in Italian football to describe a player who is seemingly playing as an attacking midfielder in a 4–3–1–2 formation, but who eventually drops deeper into midfield, drawing opposing players out of position and creating space to be exploited by teammates making attacking runs; the false-attacking midfielder will eventually sit in a central midfield role and function as a deep-lying playmaker. The false-attacking midfielder is therefore usually a creative and tactically intelligent player with good vision, technique, movement, passing ability, and striking ability from distance. They should also be a hard-working player, who is able to read the game and help the team defensively.^[53] Wayne Rooney has been deployed in a similar role, on occasion; seemingly positioned as a number 10 behind the main striker, he would often drop even deeper into midfield to help his team retrieve possession and start attacks.^[54]

«False 10» or «central winger»[edit]

The «false 10» or «central winger»^[55] is a type of midfielder, which differs from the false-attacking midfielder. Much like the «false 9», their specificity lies in the fact that, although they seemingly play as an attacking midfielder on paper, unlike a traditional playmaker who stays behind the striker in the centre of the pitch, the false 10’s goal is to move out of position and drift wide when in possession of the ball to help both the wingers and fullbacks to overload the flanks. This means two problems for the opposing midfielders: either they let the false 10 drift wide, and their presence, along with both the winger and the fullback, creates a three-on-two player advantage out wide; or they follow the false 10, but leave space in the centre of the pitch for wingers or onrushing midfielders to exploit. False 10s are usually traditional wingers who are told to play in the centre of the pitch, and their natural way of playing makes them drift wide and look to provide deliveries into the box for teammates. On occasion, the false-10 can also function in a different manner alongside a false-9, usually in a 4–6–0 formation, disguised as either a 4–3–3 or 4–2–3–1 formation. When other forwards or false-9s drop deep and draw defenders away from the false-10s, creating space in the middle of the pitch, the false-10 will then also surprise defenders by exploiting this space and moving out of position once again, often undertaking offensive dribbling runs forward towards goal, or running on to passes from false-9s, which in turn enables them to create goalscoring opportunities or go for goal themselves.^[56]

Winger[edit]

«Right winger» redirects here. For the political position, see Right-wing politics.

In modern football, the terms winger or wide player refer to a non-defender who plays on the left or right sides of the pitch. These terms can apply to left or right midfielders, left or right attacking midfielders, or left or right forwards.^[18] Left or right-sided defenders such as wing-backs or full-backs are generally not called wingers.

In the 2−3−5 formation popular in the late 19th century wingers remained mostly near the touchlines of the pitch, and were expected to cross the ball for the team’s inside and centre forwards.^[57] Traditionally, wingers were purely attacking players and were not expected to track back and defend. This began to change in the 1960s. In the 1966 World Cup, England manager Alf Ramsey did not select wingers from the quarter-final onwards. This team was known as the «Wingless Wonders» and led to the modern 4–4–2 formation.^[58][59]

This has led to most modern wide players having a more demanding role in the sense that they are expected to provide defensive cover for their full-backs and track back to repossess the ball, as well as provide skillful crosses for centre forwards and strikers.^[60] Some forwards are able to operate as wingers behind a lone striker. In a three-man midfield, specialist wingers are sometimes deployed down the flanks alongside the central midfielder or playmaker.

Even more demanding is the role of wing-back, where the wide player is expected to provide both defence and attack.^[61] As the role of winger can be classed as a forward or a midfielder, this role instead blurs the divide between defender and midfielder. Italian manager Antonio Conte has been known to use wide midfielders or wingers who act as wing-backs in his trademark 3–5–2 and 3–4–3 formations, for example; these players are expected both to push up and provide width in attack as well as track back and assist their team defensively.^[62]

On occasion, the role of a winger can also be occupied by a different type of player. For example, certain managers have been known to use a «wide target man» on the wing, namely a large and physical player who usually plays as a centre-forward, and who will attempt to win aerial challenges and hold up the ball on the flank, or drag full-backs out of position; Romelu Lukaku, for example, has been used in this role on occasion.^[63] Another example is Mario Mandžukić under manager Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus during the 2016–17 season; normally a striker, he was instead used on the left flank, and was required to win aerial duels, hold up the ball, and create space, as well as being tasked with pressing opposing players.^[64]

Today, a winger is usually an attacking midfielder who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines.^[60] Wingers such as Stanley Matthews or Jimmy Johnstone used to be classified as outside 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 and are now usually classified as part of the midfield, usually in 4–4–2 or 4–5–1 formations (but while the team is on the attack, they tend to resemble 4–2–4/2–4–4 and 4–3–3 formations respectively).

The responsibilities of the winger include:

• Providing a «wide presence» as a passing option on the flank.
• To beat the opposing full-back either with skill or with speed.
• To read passes from the midfield that give them a clear crossing opportunity, when going wide, or that give them a clear scoring opportunity, when cutting inside towards goal.
• To double up on the opposition winger, particularly when they are being «double-marked» by both the team’s full back and winger.

The prototypical winger is fast, tricky and enjoys ‘hugging’ the touchline, that is, running downfield close to the touchline and delivering crosses. However, players with different attributes can thrive on the wing as well. Some wingers prefer to cut infield (as opposed to staying wide) and pose a threat as playmakers by playing diagonal passes to forwards or taking a shot at goal. Even players who are not considered quick, have been successfully fielded as wingers at club and international level for their ability to create play from the flank. Occasionally wingers are given a free role to roam across the front line and are relieved of defensive responsibilities.

The typical abilities of wingers include:

• Technical skill to beat a full-back in a one-to-one situation.
• Pace, to beat the full-back one-on-one.
• Crossing ability when out wide.
• Good off-the-ball ability when judging a pass from the midfield or from fellow attackers.
• Good passing ability and composure, to retain possession while in opposition territory.
• The modern winger should also be comfortable on either wing so as to adapt to quick tactical changes required by the coach.

Although wingers are a familiar part of football, the use of wingers is by no means universal. There are many successful football teams who operate without wingers. A famous example is Carlo Ancelotti’s late 2000s Milan, who typically play in a narrow midfield diamond formation or in a Christmas tree formation (4–3–2–1), relying on full-backs to provide the necessary width down the wings.

Inverted winger[edit]

An inverted winger is a modern tactical development of the traditional winger position. Most wingers are assigned to either side of the field based on their footedness, with right-footed players on the right and left-footed players on the left.^[65] This assumes that assigning a player to their natural side ensures a more powerful cross as well as greater ball-protection along the touch-lines. However, when the position is inverted and a winger instead plays inside-out on the opposite flank (i.e., a right-footed player as a left inverted winger), they effectively become supporting strikers and primarily assume a role in the attack.^[66]

As opposed to traditionally pulling the opponent’s full-back out and down the flanks before crossing the ball in near the by-line, positioning a winger on the opposite side of the field allows the player to cut-in around the 18-yard box, either threading passes between defenders or shooting on goal using the dominant foot.^[67] This offensive tactic has found popularity in the modern game due to the fact that it gives traditional wingers increased mobility as playmakers and goalscorers,^[68] such as the left-footed right winger Domenico Berardi of Sassuolo who achieved 30 career goals faster than any player in the past half-century of Serie A football.^[69] Not only are inverted wingers able to push full-backs onto their weak sides, but they are also able to spread and force the other team to defend deeper as forwards and wing-backs route towards the goal, ultimately creating more scoring opportunities.^[70]

Other midfielders within this tactical archetype include Lionel Messi^[71] and Eden Hazard,^[72] as well as Megan Rapinoe of the USWNT.^[73] Clubs such as Real Madrid often choose to play their wingers on the «wrong» flank for this reason; former Real Madrid coach José Mourinho often played Ángel Di María on the right and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left.^[74][75][76] Former Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes often played the left-footed Arjen Robben on the right and the right-footed Franck Ribéry on the left.^[77][78] One of the foremost practitioners of playing from either flank was German winger Jürgen Grabowski, whose flexibility helped Germany to third place in the 1970 World Cup, and the world title in 1974.

A description that has been used in the media to label a variation upon the inverted winger position is that of an «attacking», «false», or «goalscoring winger», as exemplified by Cristiano Ronaldo’s role on the left flank during his time at Real Madrid in particular. This label has been used to describe an offensive-minded inverted winger, who will seemingly operate out wide on paper, but who instead will be given the freedom to make unmarked runs into more advanced central areas inside the penalty area to get on the end of passes and crosses and score goals, effectively functioning as a striker.^{[79][80][81][82][83]} This role is somewhat comparable to what is known as the raumdeuter role in German football jargon (literally «space interpreter»), as exemplified by Thomas Müller, namely an attacking-minded wide player, who will move into central areas to find spaces from which they can receive passes and score or assist goals.^[63][84]

False winger[edit]

The «false winger» or «seven-and-a-half» is a label which has been used to describe a type of player who normally plays centrally, but who instead is deployed out wide on paper; during the course of a match, however, they will move inside and operate in the centre of the pitch to drag defenders out of position, congest the midfield and give their team a numerical advantage in this area, so that they can dominate possession in the middle of the pitch and create chances for the forwards; this position also leaves space for full-backs to make overlapping attacking runs up the flank. Samir Nasri, who has been deployed in this role, once described it as that of a «non-axial playmaker».^{[85][86][87][88][89][90][91]}

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Association football midfielders at Wikimedia Commons

[[Category:Association football player non-biographical articles]

Футбольная позиция ассоциации, играемая на обоих концах поля

GK CB CB RB LB RWB LWB DMDMRMLMCMCMRAM LAM CAM CAM RW LW CF CF Позиции полузащиты, выделенные по отношению к другим позициям в ассоциативном футболе.

A полузащитник — это позиция в ассоциативном футболе. Полузащитники обычно располагаются на поле между защитниками и нападающими. Некоторые полузащитники играют дисциплинированную оборонительную роль, прерывая атаки, и их также называют опорными полузащитниками. Другие стирают границы, будучи более мобильными и эффективными в пасах: их обычно называют глубокими полузащитниками, плеймейкерами, опорными полузащитниками или опорными полузащитниками. Количество полузащитников в команде и их роли зависят от формирования команды ; коллективную группу этих игроков на поле иногда называют полузащитой .

Большинство менеджеров назначают по крайней мере одного полузащитника для срыва атак противоположной команды, в то время как другим может быть поручено создавать цели, или иметь равные обязанности между атакой и защитой. Полузащитники — это игроки, которые обычно преодолевают наибольшее расстояние во время матча. Полузащитники, вероятно, обладают наибольшим владением мячом во время игры, и поэтому они являются одними из лучших игроков на поле.

Содержание

• 1 Центральный полузащитник
  • 1.1 Полузащитник между боксами
  • 1.2 Меццала
• 2 Широкий полузащитник
  • 2.1 Полузащитник
• 3 Опорный полузащитник
  • 3.1 Опорный полузащитник
  • 3.2 Глубокий плеймейкер
  • 3.3 Центральный полузащитник
• 4 Атакующий полузащитник
  • 4.1 Продвинутый плеймейкер
  • 4.2 Ложно атакующий полузащитник
  • 4.3 «Ложная 10» или «центральный нападающий»
• 5 Вингер
  • 5.1 Перевернутый нападающий
  • 5.2 Ложный нападающий
• 6 См. Также
• 7 Ссылки
• 8 Внешние ссылки

Центральный полузащитник

Бывший Испания полузащитник Хави восемь лет подряд избирался в FIFPro World XI.

Центральный или центральные полузащитники — это игроки, роль которых примерно поровну разделена между атакой и защитой и которые доминируют в игре вокруг центра поля. Эти игроки будут пытаться передать мяч атакующим полузащитникам и нападающим команды, а также могут помочь в атаках своей команды, совершая пробеги в штрафную площадь соперника и пытаясь сами бьют по воротам.

Когда мяч принадлежит противоположной команде, центральный полузащитник может отступить, чтобы защитить ворота, или двинуться вперед и нажать на игрока соперника, чтобы забрать мяч. Центральный полузащитник, защищающий свои ворота, будет двигаться впереди своих центральных защитников, чтобы блокировать длинные удары противника и, возможно, отслеживать бегущих к воротам полузащитников противника.

Каждая формация 4–3–3 и 4–5–1 использует по три центральных полузащитника. В расстановке 4−4−2 могут использоваться два центральных полузащитника, а в схеме 4–2–3–1 один из двух более глубоких полузащитников может быть центральным полузащитником.

промежуточный полузащитник

Термин промежуточный полузащитник (сокращенно BBM или B2B ) относится к центральным полузащитникам, которые трудолюбивы и обладают хорошими универсальными способностями, что делает их умелыми как в защите, так и в атаке. Таким образом, эти игроки могут возвращаться в свою штрафную площадку, чтобы делать отборы и блокировать удары, а также нести мяч вперед или бежать к своей штрафной площади, чтобы попытаться забить. Начиная с середины 2000-х гг. Смена тенденций и снижение стандартной формации 4–4–2 (во многих случаях уступая место формациям 4–2–3–1 и 4–3–3) наложили ограничения на типичные полузащитники 80-х и 90-х годов прошлого века, поскольку две полузащитные роли команд теперь часто делятся на «держателей» или «создателей», с третьим вариантом роли, описываемой как «игрок-игрок» или «игрок». хирургия ». Известные примеры полузащитников между боксами: Стивен Джеррард, Бастиан Швайнштайгер, Яя Туре, Артуро Видал и Рой. Keane.

Mezzala

в итальянском футболе термин mezzala (буквально «наполовину вингер» на итальянском языке) используется для описания положения одного или двух центральных полузащитников, которые фланг опорного полузащитника и / или плеймейкер. Этот термин изначально применялся к роли внутреннего форварда в формациях WM и Metodo на итальянском языке, но позже стал использоваться для описания определенного типа центрального полузащитника. Мезсала часто является быстрым и трудолюбивым полузащитником с атакующим складом ума, с хорошими навыками и заметными атакующими способностями, а также со склонностью к перекрывающимся атакам, но также и игроком, который участвует в защитном аспекте игры и который может расширить команду, расширившись; как таковой, этот термин может применяться к нескольким различным ролям. В английском языке этот термин стал рассматриваться как вариант роли полузащитника между ячейками.

Широкий полузащитник

Левый и правый полузащитник играют определенную роль. сбалансированы между атакой и защитой, как и у центральных полузащитников, но они расположены ближе к боковым линиям на поле. Их могут попросить перебросить мяч в штрафную площадь соперника, чтобы получить голевой момент для своих товарищей по команде, и при защите они могут оказывать давление на соперников, которые пытаются выполнить навес.

Обычное. современные расстановки, включающие левых и правых полузащитников, — это 4-4-2, 4-4-1-1, 4-2-3-1 и 4−5−1. Джонатан Уилсон описывает развитие схемы 4−4−2: «… вингер стал широким полузащитником, шаттлером, кем-то, кто можно было ожидать, что он перекроет мяч, но это также должно было привести к смене защиты «. Яркими примерами широких полузащитников являются Дэвид Бекхэм и Райан Гиггз.

Методика : полузащитники (желтые) занимают более оборонительную позицию, поддерживая внутренних нападающих.

В итальянском футболе роль широкого полузащитника известна как tornante di centrocampo или просто tornante («возвращение»); он возник из роли внешнего нападающего и стал известен как таковой, поскольку часто требовал от игроков на этой позиции прослеживаться назад и помогать задней линии в защите, в дополнение к помощи полузащите

Полузащитник

Историческое положение полузащитника (не путать с меццалой) было отдано полузащитникам (полузащитникам), которые играли рядом с краем поля. Он стал устаревшим, поскольку широкие игроки с защитными обязанностями, как правило, становились частью защиты как крайние защитники.

Опорный полузащитник

Испания опорный полузащитник Серхио Бускетс (16, красный) блокирует удар Марио Балотелли.

Опорные полузащитники — это полузащитники, которые сосредоточены на защите ворот своей команды. Эти игроки могут защищать зону перед защитой своей команды или человекоподобными атакующими противниками. Опорные полузащитники также могут перейти на позиции защитника или центрального защитника, если эти игроки продвигаются вперед, чтобы присоединиться к атаке. Серхио Бускетс описал свое отношение: «тренер знает, что я послушный игрок, который любит помогать, и если мне нужно бежать к флангу, чтобы прикрыть чью-то позицию, отлично». Хороший полузащитник нуждается в хорошем позиционное понимании, предвкушении игры соперника, маркировка, борьба, перехватов, прохождение и большая выносливость и силы (их решение). В южноамериканском футболе эта роль известна как volante de marca («рулевое колесо» по-испански), а в Мексике она известна как volante de contención. В Португалии это вместо этого известно как тринко.

Опорный полузащитник

A, держащий или глубокий полузащитник, остается рядом с защитой своей команды, в то время как другие полузащитники могут перейти в атаку. Опорный полузащитник также может иметь обязанности, когда его команда владеет мячом. Этот игрок будет делать в основном короткие и простые передачи большему количеству атакующих членов своей команды, но может пробовать и более сложные передачи в зависимости от стратегии команды. Марсело Бьельса рассматривается как пионер для использования опорного полузащитника в защиту. Это положение можно увидеть в формациях 4–2–3–1 и 4–4–2 алмазов.

… мы знали, что Зидан, Рауль и Фигу не вернулись назад, поэтому нам пришлось поставить парня перед задними четырьмя, который должен был защищаться.

Арриго Сакки описывает Реал нужно ‘s для Макелеле в качестве опорного полузащитника.

Первоначально опорный полузащитник, или «разрушитель», и плеймейкер, или «творец», часто выставлялись рядом друг с другом в качестве двух опорных центральных полузащитников. Эсминец обычно отвечал за отборы, восстановление владения и передачу мяча создателю, в то время как создатель отвечал за удержание владения и поддержание движения мяча, часто с длинными передачами на фланги, как это было раньше. — вылепленный глубокий плеймейкер или региста (см. ниже). Ранние примеры эсминца: Нобби Стайлз, Герберт Виммер, Марко Тарделли, а более поздние примеры — Клод Макелеле и Хавьер. Маскерано, хотя некоторые из этих игроков также обладали качествами других типов полузащитников и поэтому не ограничивались одной ролью. Ранними примерами создателя могут быть Герсон, Гленн Ходдл и Санди Олисе, а более поздними примерами являются Хаби Алонсо и Майкл Кэррик. Последний и третий тип опорных полузащитников, разработанных как полузащитник между боксами, или «несущий», или «хирург», не являющийся полностью разрушительным или творческим, который способен отыгрывать владение мячом и впоследствии продвигаться из более глубоких позиций, либо распределяя мяч. мяч товарищу по команде и совершение поздних забегов в штрафную, или с мячом при себе; недавними примерами игроков этого типа являются Кларенс Зеедорф и Бастиан Швайнштайгер, в то время как Сами Хедира и Фернандиньо — эсминцы с тенденциями к переносу, Лука Модрич — носитель с несколькими качествами regista, а Яя Туре был носителем, который на более позднем этапе своей карьеры стал плеймейкером, потеряв выносливость.

Глубоко лежащий плеймейкер

Итальянский глубинный плеймейкер Андреа Пирло выполняет пас. Пирло часто называют одним из лучших плеймейкеров всех времен.

A глубоко лежащий плеймейкер — опорный полузащитник, который специализируется на навыках с мячом, таких как передача, а не на защитных навыках, таких как отбор мяча. Когда этот игрок владеет мячом, он может выполнять более длинные или более сложные передачи, чем другие игроки, удерживающие мяч. Они могут попытаться установить темп игры своей команды, сохранить владение мячом или выстроить игру путем коротких обменов, или они могут попытаться передать мяч длинным центральному нападающему или крайнему нападающему, или даже передать короткую передачу на товарищ по команде в лунке, зоне между защитниками и полузащитниками соперника. В Италии глубоко укоренившийся плеймейкер известен как regista, в то время как в Бразилии он известен как «meia-armador». В Италии, роль regista развилась из центра полузащитника или centromediano позиции metodista в Поццо ‘ы Metodo системы (предшественник центрального или положения удержания полузащиты в 2–3–2–3 формирования), поскольку обязанности методиста были не только оборонительными, но и творческими; Таким образом, перед методистом была поставлена ​​задача не только нарушить владение мячом, но и начать атакующую игру после отыгрывания мяча.

Писатель Джонатан Уилсон вместо этого описал Хаби Алонсо играет в полузащите роль «созидателя», игрока, который отвечал за сохранение владения мячом в манере более старомодного глубоко укоренившегося плеймейкера или региста, отмечая, что: «хотя и способен отбивать мяч, [Алонсо ] сосредоточены на том, чтобы мяч оставался в движении, время от времени выполняя длинные пасы на фланги, чтобы изменить угол атаки ».

Схема 2–3–5 : половинки крыла (желтые) фланкируют центральную половину. 309>Центральный полузащитник

Исторически сложившаяся позиция центрального полузащитника постепенно отступала от линии полузащиты, чтобы обеспечить усиленную защиту задней линии от центральных нападающих — эта особая защитная роль в центре До сих пор его обычно называют «центральным полузащитником» как наследие его истоков. В итальянском футбольном жаргоне, эта позиция была известна как centromediano metodista или metodista, хотя этот термин был позже также применяется для описания игроков, которые действовали в центральной роли холдингового полузащитника, но который также имели творческие обязанности в дополнении к оборонительным обязанностям.

Атакующий полузащитник

«Атакующий полузащитник» — это полузащитник, который занимает передовую позицию полузащиты, обычно между центральным полузащитником и нападающими команды, и который играет преимущественно атакующую роль.

Некоторых атакующих полузащитников называют trequartista или fantasisti (итал. : трехчетвертный специалист, т.е. креативный плеймейкер между нападающими и полузащитниками), которые обычно являются мобильными, креативными и очень умелыми игроками, известными своим ловким прикосновением, зрением, способностью стрелять с расстояния и мастерством паса. Однако не все атакующие полузащитники являются трекуартистами — некоторые атакующие полузащитники очень вертикальны и по сути являются вспомогательными нападающими, которые служат для согласования игры, удержания мяча или обеспечения финального паса, т.е. второстепенные нападающие.

Согласно При позиционировании на поле атакующая полузащита может быть разделена на левую, правую и центральную роли атакующей полузащиты, но наиболее важно то, что он является нападающим позади нападающих. Центральный атакующий полузащитник может называться плеймейкером,или номером десять (из-за связи рубашки с номером 10 с этой позицией). Хорошему атакующему полузащитнику нужны хорошие пасы, зрение, умение делать дальние удары и хорошие навыки дриблинга.

Продвинутый плеймейкер

Итальянский атакующий плеймейкер Франческо Тотти в бою за Рома в 2013 году

Эти игроки обычно служат опорой команды в атаке, и иногда говорят, что они «играют в лунку», хотя этот термин также может использоваться как глубоко лежащий нападающий. Атакующий полузащитник — это важная позиция, которая требует от игрока превосходных технических способностей в плане паса и дриблинга, а также, что, возможно, более важно, способности читать оборону соперника, чтобы обеспечить защиту. разделение пасов на нападающего.

Основная роль этого специализированного полузащитника — создавать хорошие возможности для стрельбы и забивания голов, используя превосходное зрение, контроль и технические навыки, совершая кроссы, через мячи и головой нокдауны товарищам по команде. Они могут попытаться создать для себя возможности для броска, ведя мяч или выполняя уступки с товарищем по команде. Атакующие полузащитники также могут совершать пробежки в штрафную площадь соперников, чтобы выполнить бросок от паса другого товарища по команде.

Если креативный атакующий полузащитник, то есть продвинутый плеймейкер, регулярно используется, он или она обычно является звездным игроком команды и часто носит рубашку номер 10. Таким образом, команда часто строится таким образом, чтобы позволить атакующему полузащитнику свободно перемещаться и действовать в соответствии с требованиями ситуации. Одним из таких популярных форматов является «ромб» 4–4–2 (или 4–1–2–1–2), в котором определенные атакующие и защитные полузащитники заменяют более традиционную пару центральных полузащитников. Известный как «fantasista» или «trequartista» в Италии, в Бразилии атакующий плеймейкер известен как «meia atacante», тогда как в Аргентине и Уругвае он известен как «enganche». 66>

Примеры продвинутых плеймейкеров: Зико, Зинедин Зидан, Хуан Рикельме, Алессандро дель Пьеро, Франческо Тотти и, совсем недавно, Давид Сильва.

Ложный атакующий полузащитник

Описание ложного атакующего полузащитника использовалось в итальянском футболе для описания игрока, который По-видимому, играет как атакующий полузащитник в расстановке 4–3–1–2, но в конечном итоге он опускается глубже в центр поля, вытаскивая игроков соперника из позиции и создавая пространство для использования товарищами по команде, совершающими атакующие ходы; ложно атакующий полузащитник в конечном итоге займет роль центрального полузащитника и будет выполнять роль глубокого плеймейкера. Таким образом, ложно атакующий полузащитник обычно является творческим и тактически умным игроком с хорошим зрением, техникой, движением, способностью передавать и наносить удары на расстоянии. Он или она также должны быть трудолюбивым игроком, способным читать игру и помогать команде в защите.

«Ложная 10» или «центральный нападающий»

«Ложная 10» «Центральный нападающий» — это тип полузащитника, который отличается от полузащитника, который ложно атакует. Как и в случае с «ложным 9 », их специфика заключается в том, что, хотя на бумаге они кажутся атакующими полузащитниками, в отличие от традиционного плеймейкера, который остается позади нападающего в центре поля, Цель фальшивых 10 — сместиться с позиции и уйти в сторону, когда владеет мячом, чтобы помочь как вингерам, так и защитникам перегрузить фланги. Это означает две проблемы для полузащитников соперника: либо они позволяют фальшивой 10 дрейфовать в ширину, и их присутствие вместе с крайним нападающим и защитником создает преимущество игрока «три на два» в ширину; или они следуют за ложной 10, но оставляют пространство в центре поля для использования нападающими или атакующими полузащитниками. Ложные 10 обычно являются традиционными вингерами, которым говорят играть в центре поля, и их естественный стиль игры заставляет их дрейфовать широко и стремиться обеспечить подачу в штрафную для товарищей по команде. Иногда ложная-10 может также действовать по-другому вместе с ложной-9, обычно в формации 4–6–0, замаскированной как формация 4–3–3 или 4–2–3–1. Когда другие форварды или фальшивые 9 падают глубоко и уводят защитников от фальшивых 10, создавая пространство в середине поля, фальшивая 10 также удивляет защитников, используя это пространство и снова выходя из позиции, часто выполнение атакующего дриблинга приводит к бегу вперед к воротам или бегу к передачам от ложных девяток, что, в свою очередь, позволяет им создавать возможности для взятия ворот или самим забивать гол.

Winger

GK CB CB RB LB RWB LWB DMDMRMLMCMCMRAM LAM CAM CAM RW LW CF CF Игроки, занимающие полужирные позиции, могут упоминаться как вингеры.

В современном футболе термины вингер или широкий игрок относятся к не защищающемуся игроку, который играет на левой или правой стороне поля. Эти условия могут применяться к левым или правым полузащитникам, левым или правым атакующим полузащитникам, левым или правым нападающим. Левые или правые защитники, такие как крайние защитники или крайние защитники, обычно не называются вингерами.

В расстановке 2-3-5, популярной в конце 19-го века, вингеры оставались в основном у боковых линий поля, и ожидалось, что они будут перекладывать мяч за внутри команды. и по центру вперед. Традиционно вингеры были исключительно атакующими игроками, и от них не ожидалось, что они будут отступать и защищаться. Это начало меняться в 1960-х годах. На Чемпионате мира 1966 года, Англия менеджер Альф Рэмси не выбирал вингеров начиная с четвертьфинала. Эта команда была известна как «Бескрылые чудеса» и привела к современной формации 4–4–2.

Это привело к тому, что большинство современных широких игроков стали играть более требовательную роль в том смысле, что от них ожидается защитное прикрытие для своих крайних защитников и откат, чтобы вернуть мяч, а также умелые кроссы для центральных нападающих и нападающих. Некоторые нападающие могут действовать как вингеры за одиноким нападающим. В полузащите из трех человек специализированные вингеры иногда размещаются по флангам вместе с центральным полузащитником или плеймейкером.

Еще более требовательной является роль крайнего защитника, где ожидается, что широкий игрок обеспечит и защиту, и атаку. Поскольку роль крайнего нападающего можно отнести к классу нападающего или полузащитника, эта роль стирает разрыв между защитником и полузащитником.

Иногда роль крайнего нападающего также может исполнять другой тип игрока. Например, известно, что некоторые менеджеры используют на фланге «широкую мишень», а именно крупного и физического игрока, который обычно играет в роли центрального нападающего и который будет пытаться побеждать в воздушных испытаниях и удерживать мяч на флангах. флангировать или вытаскивать крайних защитников из позиции; Ромелу Лукаку, например, иногда использовался в этой роли. Другой пример — Марио Манджукич под руководством тренера Массимилиано Аллегри в «Ювентусе» в сезоне 2016–17; обычно нападающий, вместо этого он использовался на левом фланге, и от него требовалось выигрывать воздушные поединки, удерживать мяч и создавать пространство, а также ему было поручено прессинговать игроков соперника.

Вингеры обозначены красным, в то время как «широкие игроки» (которые играют на флангах центральных полузащитников) обозначены синим.

Сегодня вингер — это обычно атакующий полузащитник, который занимает широкую позицию рядом с боковыми линиями. Вингеры, такие как Стэнли Мэтьюз или Джимми Джонстон, раньше классифицировались как внешние нападающие в традиционных W-образных формациях и были формально известны как «Outside Right » или «Outside Left », но по мере развития тактики за последние 40 лет вингеры перешли на более глубокие позиции и теперь обычно классифицируются как часть полузащиты, обычно в 4–4–2 или 4–5 –1 расстановки (но пока команда находится в атаке, они имеют тенденцию напоминать расстановки 4–2–4 / 2–4–4 и 4–3–3 соответственно).

В обязанности крайнего нападающего входит:

• Обеспечение «широкого присутствия» в качестве возможности для паса на фланге.
• Обыгрывать крайнего защитника соперника либо умело, либо быстро.
• Чтобы считывать передачи из полузащиты, которые дают им четкую возможность навесить, при уходе в ширину или которые дают им четкую возможность забить, когда пробивает мяч изнутри к воротам.
• Чтобы удвоить мяч на воротах. Нападающий соперника, особенно когда он или она получает двойную оценку как защитником, так и нападающим команды.

Типичный нападающий быстр, хитрый и любит «обнимать» боковую линию, то есть бегать по полю рядом с флангом. боковая линия и доставка крестов. Тем не менее, игроки с разными атрибутами также могут преуспеть на флангах. Некоторые вингеры предпочитают обрезать приусадебный участок (в отличие от того, чтобы оставаться на флангах) и представляют угрозу в качестве плеймейкеров, выполняя диагональные передачи нападающим или нанося удар по воротам. Даже игроки, которых не считают быстрыми, успешно использовались в качестве вингеров на клубном и международном уровне за их способность создавать игру с фланга. Иногда крайним нападающим предоставляется возможность свободно перемещаться по линии фронта и сниматься с оборонительных функций.

Типичные способности вингеров:

• Технические навыки, чтобы обыграть крайнего защитника один на один.
• Темп, чтобы обыграть крайнего защитника один на один -one.
• Способность проходить мимо ворот.
• Хорошее владение мячом при чтении пасов из полузащиты или других нападающих.
• Хорошие пасы и хладнокровие, чтобы сохранять владение мячом, находясь на территории соперника.
• Современный вингер должен также чувствовать себя комфортно на любом фланге, чтобы адаптироваться к быстрым тактическим изменениям, требуемым тренером.

Хотя вингеры — привычная часть футбола., использование вингеров отнюдь не универсально. Есть много успешных футбольных команд, которые действуют без вингеров. Знаменитый пример — Карло Анчелотти из конца 2000-х Милан, который обычно играет в узкой ромбовидной формации полузащиты или в форме рождественской елки (4–3–2–1), полагаясь на на спине, чтобы обеспечить необходимую ширину крыльев.

Перевернутый нападающий

Полузащитник Арьен Роббен на протяжении всей своей карьеры использовался как перевернутый нападающий.

Перевернутый нападающий — это современная тактическая разработка традиционная позиция вингера. Большинство крайних нападающих распределяются по обе стороны поля в зависимости от их быстроногости, с правосторонними игроками справа и левоногими слева. Это предполагает, что назначение игрока на его естественную сторону обеспечивает более мощный навес, а также большую защиту мяча вдоль боковых линий. Однако, когда позиция перевернута и нападающий вместо этого играет наизнанку на противоположном фланге (то есть правосторонний игрок как левый перевернутый нападающий), они фактически становятся нападающими поддержки и в первую очередь принимают на себя роль в атаке.

В отличие от традиционного вытягивания крайнего защитника соперника по флангам перед пересечением мяча рядом с строчкой, размещение крайнего нападающего на противоположной стороне поле позволяет ему или ей врезаться в 18-ярдовое поле, либо разделяя передачи между защитниками, либо нанося удары по воротам, используя доминирующую ногу. Эта атакующая тактика приобрела популярность в современной игре благодаря тому факту, что она дает традиционным вингерам повышенную мобильность в качестве плеймейкеров и бомбардиров, таких как левый правый вингер Доменико Берарди из Сассуоло кто достиг 30 карьерных целей быстрее, чем любой игрок за последние полвека футбола серии А. Мало того, что перевернутые вингеры могут подтолкнуть крайних защитников к их слабым сторонам, они также могут распространяться и заставлять другую команду защищаться глубже в качестве нападающих и крайних защитников пути к воротам, в конечном итоге создавая больше возможностей для забивания.

Среди других полузащитников этого тактического архетипа Лионель Месси и Иден Азар, а также Меган Рапино из USWNT. По этой причине такие клубы, как «Реал Мадрид», часто предпочитают играть своими вингерами на «неправильном» фланге; бывший тренер «Реала» Хосе Моуринью часто играл с Анхелем Ди Марией справа и Криштиану Роналду слева. Бывший Бавария Мюнхен тренер Юпп Хайнкес часто играл левоногого Арьена Роббена справа, а правого Франка Рибери осталось. Одним из выдающихся мастеров игры с обоих флангов был немецкий нападающий Юрген Грабовски, гибкость которого помогла Германии занять третье место на чемпионате мира 1970 года и завоевать титул чемпиона мира в 1974 году..

Описание, которое использовалось в средствах массовой информации для обозначения вариации позиции перевернутого нападающего, — это «атакующий», «ложный» или «забивающий нападающий», примером чего является роль Криштиану Роналду на левом фланге во время особенно его время в «Реале». Этот ярлык использовался для описания перевернутого нападающего, который, казалось бы, будет действовать широко на бумаге, но вместо этого ему будет предоставлена ​​свобода делать немаркированные пробежки в более продвинутые центральные зоны внутри штрафной площади, чтобы продолжить завершение передач и навесов и забивание голов, эффективно действуя как нападающий. Эта роль в некоторой степени сравнима с тем, что на немецком футбольном жаргоне известно как raumdeuter (буквально «космический интерпретатор»), примером которого является Томас Мюллер, а именно атакующий широкий игрок, который переместится в центр области, чтобы найти места, из которых он может получать передачи и забивать или ассистировать голы, даже если он не очень точен в завершении и не технически изобретателен.

Ложный крайний

» фальшивый нападающий »или« семь с половиной »- это ярлык, который использовался для описания типа игрока, который обычно играет центрально, но вместо этого широко развернут на бумаге; однако в ходе матча они будут перемещаться внутрь и действовать в центре поля, чтобы вывести защитников с позиций, перегружать полузащиту и дать своей команде численное преимущество в этой области, чтобы они могли доминировать. владение мячом в центре поля и создание моментов для нападающих; эта позиция также оставляет место для защитников, которые могут совершать перекрывающиеся атаки по флангу. Самир Насри, который был задействован в этой роли, однажды описал ее как «неаксиального плеймейкера».

См. Также

• Позиции футбольных ассоциаций

Ссылки

Внешние ссылки

• СМИ, связанные с Ассоциацией футбольных полузащитников на Wikimedia Commons