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For the Australian Rules position, see Midfielder (Australian Rules). The positions as seen on an oval In the sport of Australian rules football, each of the eighteen players in a team are assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. ...

The Midfield in relation to the football positions

In association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). Their main functions are to dispossess (tackle) the opposing team, to retain possession of the ball, and to feed it to the strikers, and perhaps, to score as well.^[1] Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role. The group of midfielders in a team is called the midfield. Image File history File links 396px-Boisko_PositionsMidfield. ... Image File history File links 396px-Boisko_PositionsMidfield. ... “Soccer” redirects here. ... This article is about association football players. ... The Bolton players in white are defending - the nearest player is trying to prevent the Fulham forward in cyan from crossing the ball. ... For other uses, see Tackle. ... In Association football, the formation describes how the players in a team are positioned on the pitch. ...

More complete midfielders require a number of skills on top of fitness: they tackle, dribble, shoot and pass during any match. Most managers field at least one central midfielder with a marked task of breaking up opposition's attacks while the rest are more adept to creating goals or have equal responsibilities between attack and defence. At either side of the pitch a manager can field a right or left midfielder, who are used equally for both attack and defense, or a winger, a more attacking player used primarily for attack. In football (soccer), a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders. ... For other uses, see Tackle. ... Jerec is a fictional character of the Star Wars universe, appearing in the computer game Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. Jerec is the leader of the seven Dark Jedi that the player must face in the game. ...

In essence, a good midfield must possess the ability to be combative whilst also being creative. A good striker without midfield support could lack attacking chances, while a defence likewise could be severely tested. Because they occupy the most influential parts of the pitch, midfielders are perhaps more likely to influence the outcome of a match than other positions,^[2] especially if they have vision for a good pass or ability to score.

Midfielders typically exhaust the most energy during a match due to the distance they cover on a pitch, as at times they can be called back into defence, or required to attack with the strikers.^[1]

Central midfielders

Central midfielders play several roles on the field of play, and are probably the most important in terms of setting up attacks. Their position enables them to have an all-round view of the match, and as most of the action takes place in and around their area of the pitch, midfielders often exert the greatest degree of control over how a match is played. This section of the field is often known as a team's "engine room", because great teams rarely succeed without skillful, commanding central midfielders.

Defensive midfielder

2 holding midfielders are indicated in the yellow circle.

A defensive midfielder or a holding midfielder is a central midfielder who is stationed in front of the back defenders for defensive reasons, thus "holding back" the freedom of the opponents to attack.^[3] This specialist midfielder's responsibilities are to defend against or tackle the opposing team and hold his defensive position, safely distributing the retrieved ball to more attack-minded players. Image File history File links 396px-Boisko_PositionsDMidfield. ... Image File history File links 396px-Boisko_PositionsDMidfield. ... The Bolton players in white are defending - the nearest player is trying to prevent the Fulham forward in cyan from crossing the ball. ...

This is possibly one of the newest roles in modern football tactics. It is often likened to an evolved version of the old-school sweeper. All the positions. ...

The defensive midfielder position is also referred to in Brazilian Portuguese as "volante" and in South American Spanish as "volante de marca" (Spanish & Portuguese for "Rudder" or someone who gives direction), and in Portugal as a "trinco" (meaning "lock"). Most Brazilian teams deploy at least one "volante" in their team, including the Brazilian national team who have fielded defensive midfielders, such as 1994 World Cup winning team captain Dunga. Stern-mounted steering oar of an Egyptian riverboat depicted in the Tomb of Menna (c. ... First international Argentina 3 - 0 Brazil (Buenos Aires, Argentina; September 20, 1914)[1] Biggest win Brazil 14 - 0 Nicaragua (Mexico; October 17, 1975) Biggest defeat Uruguay 6 - 0 Brazil (Viña del Mar, Chile; 18 September 1920) World Cup Appearances 18 (First in 1930) Best result Winners, 1958, 1962, 1970... Dunga (born Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri on October 31, 1963 in Ijuí, Rio Grande do Sul) is a Brazilian former football defensive midfielder, of Italian and German descent, and a World Champion for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup. ...

Accomplished defensive midfielders playing today include Claude Makélélé,^[4] Gennaro Gattuso,^[5] and Javier Mascherano.^[6] Claude Makélélé (born February 18, 1973 in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is a French international football player, who currently plays defensive midfield for Chelsea in the English Premiership. ... Gennaro Ivan Rino Gattuso, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI,[2][3] (born January 9, 1978 in Corigliano Calabro) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. ... Javier Alejandro Mascherano (pronounced IPA: ) (born 7 June 1984 in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe) is an Argentine football player who currently plays for Liverpool. ...

Deep-lying playmaker

Some players prefer to set up an attack from a withdrawn position, and are often coined deep-lying playmakers, mainly because of their ability to spread play and dictate the game from a withdrawn position. Despite their deep role, they are not classed as defensive midfielders as tackling and defense are not the main function of their roles - they may have to be supported by a holding midfielder. In football (soccer), a playmaker is an attacking player who controls the flow of the teams offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals[1]. The term overlaps somewhat with attacking midfielder, but playmakers are not constrained to a single position - creativity is the...

Players in this mould include Michael Carrick,^[7] Andrea Pirlo^[8] and Xavi.^[9] Michael Adrian Carrick (born 28 July 1981 in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear) is an English footballer who currently plays for Manchester United as a midfielder. ... Andrea Pirlo, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[1][2], (born May 19, 1979 in Flero, Lombardy), is an Italian World Cup and Champions League winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club A.C. Milan and the Italian national team. ... Xavier Hernandez Creus (born January 25, 1980, Terrassa, Catalonia), normally known as Xavi is a Catalan footballer who plays in central midfield for Barcelona. ...

Attacking midfielder

Two possible positions for an attacking midfielder are indicated in the yellow circle.

An attacking midfielder is any midfielder who is stationed in a more advanced midfield position to assist goalscoring.^[2] The attacking midfielder is an influential position and requires the player to possess good technical abilities, an eye for a pass, shooting, running, and dribbling skills. Image File history File links 396px-Boisko_PositionsAMidfield. ... Image File history File links 396px-Boisko_PositionsAMidfield. ...

Playing in a very advanced central midfield role just behind the strikers is sometimes known as "playing in the hole", although this term can also be used to describe a deep lying forward. This specialist midfielder's main role is to act as the offensive pivot of the team, to create goal-scoring opportunities for his team mates, and perhaps to score himself. He may be referred to as the playmaker.^[3] This article is about association football players. ... In football (soccer), a playmaker is an attacking player who controls the flow of the teams offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals[1]. The term overlaps somewhat with attacking midfielder, but playmakers are not constrained to a single position - creativity is the...

Francesco Totti,^[10] Paul Scholes,^[11] Juan Roman Riquelme^[12] and Kaká^[13] are attacking midfielders widely considered to be among the best today. Francesco Totti, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI,[1][2] (born 27 September 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. ... Paul Aaron Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football player who has spent his whole career at Manchester United. ... Juan Román Riquelme (born June 26, 1978 in San Fernando, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) is a football player, who currently plays for the Villarreal CF of Spain, on loan from FC Barcelona. ... This article is about the Brazilian footballer. ...

"Box-to-box" midfielders

The term 'box-to-box' player is often used to refer to the most dynamic all-round/complete midfielders, who provide both defensive and attacking prowess.^[14] The most versatile of players, they typically possess exceptional stamina and are usually skilled at tackling, passing, shooting and keeping possession.^[2]

Notable examples include Roy Keane,^[15] Patrick Vieira,^[16] Steven Gerrard^[17] and Michael Essien,^[18] all capable of making defensive and attacking contributions from "box to box" - their own penalty area and the opposition's.^[14] Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971 in Mayfield, Cork City, Ireland) is an Irish former professional footballer and the current manager of English Premier League club Sunderland. ... Patrick Donalé Vieira (born June 23, 1976 in Dakar, Senegal)[1] is a French football midfielder who currently plays for Internazionale Milano. ... Steven George Gerrard MBE (IPA: []) (born 30 May 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player. ... Michael Essien (born December 3, 1982 in Ghana) is a Ghanaian International footballer. ...

Wide midfield positions

Winger

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

A winger is an attacking midfielder who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines.^[19] Wingers such as Stanley Matthews or Jimmy Johnstone used to be classified as forwards in traditional W-shaped formations, and were formally known as "Outside Right" or "Outside Left," but as tactics evolved through the last 40 years, wingers have dropped to deeper field positions and are now usually classified as part of the midfield, usually in 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 formations (but whilst the team is on the attack, they tend to resemble 4-2-4 and 4-3-3 formations respectively). Image File history File links 396px-Boisko_PositionsWMidfield. ... Image File history File links 396px-Boisko_PositionsWMidfield. ... Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (February 1, 1915 - February 23, 2000) was a football player. ... James Connolly Jimmy Johnstone (30 September 1944 – 13 March 2006), was a Scottish football legend. ... Vittorio Pozzo’s Metodo system from the 1930s was one of the many variants of 2-3-5 formation which featured attacking wingers Outside right is a position in football which refers to a footballer who plays as a forward on the right wing, typically as part of a 2... A position in football. ...

It is a winger's duty to beat opposing full-backs and to deliver cut-backs or crosses from wide positions.^[3] They are usually some of the quickest players in the team and usually have very good dribbling skills as well.^[20] Sometimes, they are also expected to cover/attack the central area, as well as switch flanks. Technically gifted wingers are able to dribble infield, and by means of using a plethora of tricks, pass defenders and shoot or set up a teammate. The Bolton players in white are defending - the nearest player is trying to prevent the Fulham forward in cyan from crossing the ball. ... In sports such as football (soccer), basketball, bandy and water polo, dribbling refers to the maneuvering of a ball around a defender through short skillful taps or kicks with either the legs (football/soccer), hands (basketball), stick (bandy) or swimming strokes (water polo). ...

In recent years there has been a trend of playing 'unorthodox' wingers - wide men stationed on the 'wrong' side of the pitch, in order to enable them to cut inside and shoot on their stronger foot. One example of this is the tactical use of Robin van Persie by Netherlands coach Marco van Basten at the 2006 World Cup; the Netherlands played with a front three of Arjen Robben wide left, target-man Ruud van Nistelrooy in the middle and the left-footed van Persie wide right. Such deployment usually leads to players being referred to as playing 'from the right' rather than 'on the right'. Similarly, former Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce, who favours a front three, started the 2007-08 season with right-footed James Milner playing from the left, Mark Viduka as a centre forward and left-footed Obafemi Martins from the right, whilst at Manchester United it is common for right-footed Cristiano Ronaldo and left-footed Ryan Giggs to switch sides continually throughout a match. Robin van Persie (born August 6, 1983 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch footballer. ... Marcel Marco van Basten (October 31, 1964 in Oog in Al, Utrecht) is a Dutch football manager, currently in charge of the Dutch national team. ... 2006 World Cup redirects here. ... Arjen Robben (born January 23, 1984 in Bedum) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as a winger for Real Madrid. ... -1... Robin van Persie (born August 6, 1983 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch footballer. ... For the Australian soccer club see Newcastle United (Australia). ... Samuel Allardyce (born October 19, 1954 in Dudley, West Midlands) is an English former professional football player and is the manager of Newcastle United. ... The 2007–08 Premier League season (known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth since its establishment. ... James Philip Milner (born January 4, 1986, Wortley, West Yorkshire) is an English footballer who plays for the English club Newcastle United, as a winger and left-sided midfielder. ... Marko Anthony Mark Viduka (IPA: ) (born October 9, 1975 in Melbourne) is an Australian football striker of Croatian descent. ... Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984 in Lagos) () is a Nigerian football player who plays as a striker for the Nigeria national team, and for the English club Newcastle United. ... Manchester Uniteds emblem Manchester United F.C. (often abbreviated to Man United or just Man U, pronounced man-yoo) is an English football club based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. ... Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (pron. ... Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE[1] (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973 in Ely, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom) is a Welsh footballer who has played for Manchester United as a midfielder for the entirety of his club career to-date, and is famed as one of the greatest wingers...

Notable orthodox right-wingers currently playing include Joaquín and Mauro Camoranesi. Orthodox left-wingers include Florent Malouda, Vicente Rodríguez and Ryan Giggs. Joaquín, full name Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez, (born July 21, 1981 in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz) is a Spanish footballer. ... Mauro Germán Serra Camoranesi, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[2][3], (born October 4, 1976 in Tandil, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) is an Italian-Argentinian World Cup-winning footballer, who currently plays for Juventus football club. ... Florent Malouda (born June 13, 1980 in Cayenne, French Guiana) is a French professional football player. ... Vicente Rodríguez Guillén, more commonly known simply as Vicente, (born July 16, 1981 in Valencia) is a Spanish football (soccer) midfielder who currently plays for Valencia CF. He started his professional career at rival club Levante UD and made his debut for the club in the 1997/1998... Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE[1] (born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973 in Ely, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom) is a Welsh footballer who has played for Manchester United as a midfielder for the entirety of his club career to-date, and is famed as one of the greatest wingers...

'Unorthodox' right-wingers (left-footed) include Lionel Messi and Shunsuke Nakamura. Unorthodox left-wingers (right-footed) include Robinho and Ronaldinho. Lionel Andrés Messi (born June 24, 1987 in Rosario) is an Argentine professional footballer who currently plays for FC Barcelona in the Spanish Primera División. ... Shunsuke Nakamura , born June 24, 1978) is a Japanese football player who currently plays for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League. ... Robson de Souza (born January 25, 1984 in São Vicente, São Paulo), nicknamed Robinho, is a Brazilian footballer currently playing for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid C.F. and the Brazilian national team. ... For other persons named Ronaldinho, see Ronaldinho (disambiguation). ...

Contemporary players who can play from either side include Simão Sabrosa, Franck Ribéry and Cristiano Ronaldo. In the 1970s, one of the foremost practitioners of playing from either flank was the German winger, Juergen Grabowski, whose flexibility helped Germany to third place in 1970, and a championship in 1974. Simão Pedro Fonseca Sabrosa, OIH, commonly known as Simão Sabrosa (pron. ... Franck Bilal Ribéry (born April 1, 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer) is a French football midfielder who currently plays for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. ... Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH (pron. ...

Right/left midfielders

Traditionally wingers were purely attacking players who hugged the touch line and were not expected to track back and defend. This began to change around the time of the 1966 World Cup, when England manager Alf Ramsey led a team without natural wingers to the championship. This team was known as the "Wingless Wonders" and led to the modern 4-4-2 formation.^[21][22] Qualifying countries The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from July 11 to July 30. ... First international Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Biggest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Ireland; 18 February 1882) Biggest defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First in... Sir Alfred Ernest Alf Ramsey (born 22 January 1920 in Dagenham, England; died 28 April 1999). ...

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.^[19]

A wide player who plays in a deeper, more defensive role would not be classed as a winger, though there is some crossover between the terms.^[3][22][23] An example of this would be David Beckham, who plays as a right-midfielder but does not rely on pace and trickery to dribble past opponents to cross from the byline, rather he uses his passing ability to set up attacks. David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham OBE (born May 2, 1975) is an English footballer born in Leytonstone, London. ...

Even more demanding is the role of wing-back, where the wide player is expected to provide both defence and attack.^[24] As the role of winger can be classed as a forward or a midfielder, so this role blurs the divide between defender and midfielder.

See also

• Association football positions
• Formation
• Striker
• Defender
• Goalkeeper
• Playmaker

This article is about association football players. ... The Bolton players in white are defending - the nearest player is trying to prevent the Fulham forward in cyan from crossing the ball. ... A goalkeeper. ... In football (soccer), a playmaker is an attacking player who controls the flow of the teams offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals[1]. The term overlaps somewhat with attacking midfielder, but playmakers are not constrained to a single position - creativity is the...

References