Association football position
This article is about the association football position. For other uses, see Midfielder (disambiguation)
GK SW RB CB CB🍇 CB LB RWB LWB DM DM DM RM CM CM CM LM AM AM AM RW SS LW CF CF🍇 CF The midfield positions highlighted in relation to other positions in association football
A midfielder is an outfield position in association🍇 football.[1] Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive 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. 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 opportunities.
Central midfielder [ edit ]
Former Spain midfielder Xavi was voted to the FIFPro World🍇 XI six years in a row.
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 to pace 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 ]
A hardworking box-to-box midfielder, Steven Gerrard has been lauded for🍇 his effectiveness both offensively and defensively;[5] and his ability to make late runs from behind into the penalty area.[6]
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, Arturo Vidal, Patrick Vieira, Frank Lampard, Bryan Robson, Roy Keane, Tugay Kerimoğlu, Paul Scholes, Juan Sebastián🍇 Verón, Andrés Iniesta, Andrés Guardado, Gaizka Mendieta, Emre Belözoğlu, Diego Pablo Simeone, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Martin Ødegaard, Edgar Davids,🍇 Piotr Zielinski, İlkay Gündoğan, Luka Modrić, Ruud Gullit and Kim Källström.[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]
The number 8 generally, refers🍇 to the heartbeat of the team, like a box-to-box midfielder, having both offensive and defensive duties, but their main role🍇 to control the tempo of the game. For example, Xavi was the Number 8 in the Spanish national team during🍇 its highly successful period between 2008 and 2013; in this role, he could act as a double pivot or controller🍇 in a box midfield, and in a positional play system. The tiki-taka era of the Spanish national team was where🍇 the "Number 8" thrived. These midfielders require a sense of 'what' and 'when,' depending on the phase of buildup, opponent,🍇 and the team's style of play. For example, under a manager such as José Mourinho, the number 8's role would🍇 be to speed up play, so that the offensive transition is quick and hard to catch up, and would generally🍇 be played as a wide midfielder; however under a manager such as Pep Guardiola, Vicente del Bosque, Johan Cruyff, or🍇 Zinedine Zidane, the number 8 would be played as a deeper or more central midfielder whose job is to slow🍇 down play, hold and pass, or create small breaches to open more passes. Examples under these managers would be Xavi,🍇 Guardiola himself during his playing career, and Luka Modrić, respectively.[citation needed]
Wide midfielder [ edit ]
A wide midfielder, David Beckham was🍇 lauded for his range of passing, vision, crossing ability and bending free-kicks, which enabled him to create chances for teammates🍇 or score goals.[14][15][16]
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 opponent's penalty area to make scoring chances for their teammates, and when defending they🍇 may put pressure on opponents who are trying to cross.[17]
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.[18] 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."[19] Two notable examples of wide midfielders are David Beckham and Ryan Giggs.[20]
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.[21][22]
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.[23][24]
Defensive midfielder [ edit ]
Spain holding midfielder Sergio Busquets (16, red) moves to block a shot from Italian striker Mario🍇 Balotelli.
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.[25][26][27] Defensive midfielders may also move to the full-back or centre-back🍇 positions if those players move forward to join in an attack.[28][29]
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."[29] A good defensive midfielder needs good positional awareness, anticipation of the 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.[30]
Holding midfielder🍇 [ edit ]
Yaya Touré, pictured playing for the Ivory Coast in 2012, was a versatile holding midfielder; although his playing🍇 style initially led him to be described by pundits as a "carrier", due to his ability to carry the ball🍇 and transition from defence to attack, he later adapted to more of a playmaking role.
A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays🍇 close to their team's defence, while other midfielders may move forward to attack.[31] 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 a pioneer🍇 in 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.[32] Writer Jonathan Wilson has identified three different types of holding midfielder, namely the destroyer, the creator, and the carrier.[9]
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).[9] Early examples of a destroyer are🍇 Nobby Stiles, Herbert Wimmer, and Marco Tardelli, while later examples include Claude Makélélé and Javier Mascherano,[9] although several of these🍇 players also possessed qualities of other types of midfielders, and were therefore not confined to a single role.[citation needed] Early🍇 examples of a creator would be Gérson, Glenn Hoddle, and Sunday Oliseh, while more recent examples are Xabi Alonso,[9] as🍇 well as Michael Carrick and Keira Walsh.
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 themselves; 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 later in his career after losing his stamina.[9] N'Golo Kanté started out as the🍇 quintessential destroyer, but developed carrying tendencies under Antonio Conte at Chelsea.[citation needed]
Deep-lying playmaker [ edit ]
Italian deep-lying playmaker Andrea Pirlo🍇 executing a pass for Juventus. Pirlo is often regarded as one of the best deep-lying playmakers of all time.
A deep-lying🍇 playmaker (Strolling 10) is a holding midfielder who specializes in ball skills such as passing, rather than defensive skills like🍇 tackling.[34] 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.[34][35][36] In Italy, the deep-lying playmaker is known as a🍇 regista,[37] whereas in Brazil, it is known as a "meia-armador".[38] 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.[39]
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]
2–3–5 formation:🍇 the wing-halves (yellow) flank the centre half.
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.[40] 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.[39]
Attacking midfielder [ edit ]
An attacking midfielder is a midfield or forward 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.[41]
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.[42] As with any attacking player, the role of the attacking midfielder involves being able to create space for attack.[43]
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).[44][45]
Advanced playmaker [ edit ]
Italian offensive playmaker🍇 Francesco Totti in action for Roma in 2013
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.
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,[42] in Spain, the offensive playmaker is known as the "Mediapunta, in Brazil, the offensive🍇 playmaker is known as the "meia atacante",[38] whereas in Argentina and Uruguay, it is known as the "enganche".[46] Some examples🍇 of the advanced playmaker would be Zico, Francesco Totti, Kevin De Bruyne, and Martin Ødegaard.
There are also some examples of🍇 more flexible advanced playmakers, such as Zinedine Zidane, Rui Costa, Andrés Iniesta, Juan Riquelme, 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.[47][48][49][50][51]
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 a distance. They should also be a hard-working player, who is able to read the game and help🍇 the team defensively.[52] 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.[53]
"False 10" or "central winger" [ edit ]
The "false 10" or "central winger"[54] 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.[55]
Winger🍇 [ edit ]
"Right winger" redirects here. For the political position, see Right-wing politics
GK CB CB RB LB RWB LWB DM🍇 DM RM LM CM CM RAM LAM CAM CAM RW LW CF CF Players in the bold positions can be🍇 referred to as wingers.
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.[17] 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.[56] 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.[57][58]
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.[59] 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.[60] 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.[61]
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.[62] Another example is Mario Mandžukić under manager Massimiliano Allegri at🍇 Juventus during the 2024–17 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.[63]
Wingers are🍇 indicated in red, while the "wide men" (who play to the flanks of the central midfielders) are indicated in blue.
Today,🍇 a winger is usually an attacking midfielder who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines.[59] 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 the 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.
Algerian international Riyad Mahrez🍇 has often been deployed as a winger throughout his career.
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 plays 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 and raumdeuter [ edit ]
USWNT midfielder Megan Rapinoe (left) has been deployed as an inverted winger throughout her career.
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.[64] 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.[65]
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.[66] 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,[67] 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.[68] 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.[69]
Although naturally left-footed Arjen Robben (left, 11) has often been deployed as an inverted winger on🍇 the right flank throughout his career, which allows him to cut inside and shoot on goal with his stronger foot.
Other🍇 midfielders within this tactical archetype include Lionel Messi[70] and Eden Hazard,[71] as well as Megan Rapinoe of the USWNT.[72] 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.[73][74][75] 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.[76][77]🍇 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.[78][79][80][81][82]
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, as well🍇 as Dele Alli and Tim Cahill, namely an attacking-minded wide player, who will move into effective central attacking areas to🍇 find spaces from which they can receive passes and score or assist goals, while other teammates create space for their🍇 runs by drawing opponents away from them.[62][83]
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".[84][85][86][87][88][89][90]
See also [ edit ]
