Football (soccer) positions
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In the sport of football, each of the eleven players in a team (led by a team captain) are assigned to a particular named position on the field of play. The team is made up of one goalkeeper and ten outfield players who will fill various defensive, midfield and attacking position depending on the formation deployed. These positions describe both the player's main role and by implication their area of operation on the pitch. As the game has evolved, tactics and team formations have changed, and the names of the positions and the duties involved have evolved too.
The fluid nature of the modern game means that positions in football are not as formally defined as in sports such as rugby or American football. Even so, most players will play in a limited range of positions throughout their career, as each position requires a particular set of skills. Footballers who are able to play comfortably in numerous positions are referred to as utility players.
The Dutch side of the 1970s pioneered a style of play dubbed Total Football, where each member of the team was a skilful ball player and able to switch positions with ease. Total football is difficult to defend against and often exciting to watch, but it is unusual for a team to be able to field eleven players with the required talent and discipline. On the rare occasions when it can be employed, the players are still largely constrained by the position they occupy.
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Goalkeeper
The goalkeeper is the most specialized position in football. A goalkeeper's job is mainly defensive: to guard the team's goal from being breached. Goalkeepers wear jerseys that distinguish them from other outfielder players and the referee. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to handle the ball with their hands, however they are restricted to doing so only within their penalty area. If a goalkeeper is sent off or injured, and there is no substitute goalkeeper available, an outfield player have to take the goalkeeper's place.
The discipline of goalkeeping is so specialized that it is virtually unheard of in the professional game for a goalkeeper to play in any other position. One notable exception is Jorge Campos of Mexico, who played effectively as a striker when called upon. A goalkeeper with good technical skill may opt to take his team's penalties and free kicks, though this is rare as the goalkeeper would be caught out of position if possession is conceded immediately after the kick. José Luis Chilavert of Paraguay and Rogério Ceni of São Paulo FC (Brazil) are well known free-kick and penalty specialists with over 60 goals to their name.
Physical strength, height, good jumping ability and judgement is advantageous to a goalkeeper when dealing with aerial balls. Goalkeepers should also be agile and have excellent reaction to stop shots. They should also have good positional sense and quick decision-making. The standard football skills of ball control, tackling, passing and dribbling are not usually required in a goalkeeper, although the introduction of the "back-pass rule" in the early 1990s has necessitated goalkeepers improving on such skills.
Defensive positions
Centre back
The job of the centre backs or central defenders is to stop opposing players, particularly the strikers, from scoring, and to bring the ball out from their penalty area. As their name suggests, they play in a central position. Most teams employ two centre backs, stationed in front of the goalkeeper. There are two main defensive strategies used by centre backs: the zonal defence, where each centre back covers a specific area of the pitch, and man-to-man marking, where each centre back has the job of covering a particular opposition player.
Centre backs are often tall, with good heading and tackling ability. An ability to read the game well is a distinct advantage. Sometimes, particularly in lower grades of football, centre backs concentrate less on ball control and passing, preferring to merely clear the ball in a "safety-first" fashion. However, there is a long tradition of centre backs having more than just rudimentary footballing skill, enabling a more possession-oriented playing style.
The position was formerly referred to as centre half. In the early part of the 20th century, when most teams employed the 2-3-5 formation, the row of three players were called half backs. As formations evolved, the central player in this trio (the centre half), moved into a more defensive position on the field, taking the name of the position with him or her.
Sweeper
The sweeper is a more versatile type of centre back that "sweeps up" the ball if the opponent manages to breach the defensive line. His or her position is rather more fluid than other defenders who man-mark their designated opponents. Because of this, the position is often referred to as libero (from the Italian: free). The sweeper's ability to read the game is even more vital than for a centre back. A sweeper is sometimes expected to build counter-attacking moves, and as such requires better ball control and passing ability than a typical centre back. However, sweepers are often merely defensive players. For example, the catenaccio system of play, used in Italian football in the 1960s, employed a purely defensive sweeper.
Full back
The full backs take up the wide defensive positions, one on each side of the field. Their main task is to prevent opposition players crossing or cutting the ball back into the penalty area. In some defensive systems, full backs man-mark opponents. Most full backs are also expected to provide an attacking dimension by getting upfield along the wings and providing crosses.
Traditionally, the full backs (the "2" in the 2-3-5 formation) played a role today occupied by the central defenders. As the game evolved, with the old centre half taking over the central defensive role, full backs have migrated out to the flanks and the position now requires a slightly different set of skills. The modern full back is usually pacy, strong in the tackle and with good stamina to get up and down the field. Because of the experience gleaned from the use of their chosen foot, full backs often make good free kick or penalty takers (Roberto Carlos and Stuart Pearce being among many examples).
The wingbacks are a modern variation on the full back with heavier emphasis on attack. The name is a portmanteau of "winger" and "back". They are usually employed in a 3-5-2 formation, and could therefore be considered part of the midfield. As the role combines that of the winger and the full back, wingbacks need to be blessed with good stamina. As they have the support of three centre backs, they are expected to concentrate more on providing support for strikers and less on their defensive duties.
Wing back
The wing back is a position that is becoming increasingly common in football. It is most often used in teams with 5 defenders however is also sometimes employed with a back four. The wing back merges the positions of a right or left back with that of a winger- the player defends against the enemy wingers and in turn counter attacks as a winger themself
Midfield positions
Centre midfield
Central midfielders play several roles on the field of play, depending on their particular strengths and weaknesses and the tactics of the team. They are the link between defence and attack, and must also defend when the opposition are in possession. Their central position enables them to have an all-round view of the match, and as most of the action takes place in and around their area of the pitch, midfielders often exert the greatest degree of control over how a match is played.
Central midfielders are often divided into defensive and attacking midfielders. A defensive midfielder, or "holding midfielder", shares many characteristics with a sweeper. Their main priority is to distribute a ball effectively when in possession of the ball, or to break up an opponent's attack when not. Attacking midfielders are expected to create scoring chances for team mates and to try to score goals themselves.
Most midfielders, barring those whose game centres exclusively around disrupting the opponents' play, need excellent fundamental footballing skills, i.e. good ball control and passing, as well as good stamina. In addition, defensive midfielders should particularly be strong in the tackle. For attacking midfielders, especially the breed known as "playmakers", the vision and awareness to spot and pass to team-mates in a good position can create invaluable scoring chances for a striker. Of all the positions, midfield is possibly the one where raw speed is the least important, as this can be compensated for by ability on the ball.
Winger and wide midfielder
The out-and-out winger is a position that has been less fashionable since Alf Ramsey's England side — the "Wingless Wonders" — won the World Cup in 1966. The job of the winger is simply to provide crosses or cut-backs into the penalty area for the strikers to score from. Traditionally this was done using pace or dribbling ability to beat opposing full backs. Wingers were not expected to contribute to the defence.
The wide midfielder is a modern development of the winger role. Wide midfielders are similarly expected to support the strikers, but are also expected to help with defensive duties in the wide areas. Other roles include retaining possession of the ball in the wings to allow the fullback to overlap them, and offering wide passing options for the central midfielders in games where the midfield is heavily congested. However, the distinction between wingers and wide midfielders is blurred: many outside midfielders can still legitimately be classed as wingers.
There has been a recent revival of the more traditional wing role, owing to the trend for playing one central striker flanked by two wingers. In a 451 formation, the two wide players will push up and in when attacking, forming a three-player attack.
Attacking positions (strikers)
Centre forward
The centre forward, or "out and out" striker, has one main task: to score goals. Centre forwards can sometimes act predominantly as "targets" and sometimes work to link the play between midfield and attack. Some centre forwards are "poachers", who work in and around the goal area to snatch goals; they are sometimes called a "fox in the box".
Players who specialise in playing as a target are usually of above-average height, with good heading ability and an accurate shot. They tend to be the "outlet" player for both midfielders and defenders, able to hold the ball up and allow other players time to enter the game. They tend to score goals from crosses, often with the head, and use their body strength to shield the ball while turning to score.
Other forwards may rely on their pace to run onto balls passed over or through the opposition defence, rather than to collect the ball with their back to goal in the manner of a target man.
Linking players tend to play in a more withdrawn role, looking to use their superior vision and creative ability to make goals as much as score them.
Deep-lying forwards
Deep lying forwards have a long history in the game, but the terminology to describe them has varied over the years. Originally such players were termed inside forwards, or deep-lying centre forwards. More recently, the preferred terms have been "withdrawn striker", or playing "in the hole" (i.e., the space between the midfield and defence of the opposing team). The position itself was popularized in Italian football as the Trequartista - the playmaker who plays neither in midfield nor as a forward, but effectively pulls the strings for his team's attack.
Whatever the terminology, the position itself is a loosely-defined one somewhere between the out-and-out striker and the midfield. Such a player is either a skilful, attack-minded midfielder or a striker who can both score and create opportunities for a centre forward.
The list of deep-lying forwards of renown below thus contains players who can be described as inside forwards, attacking midfielders, or "hole" players, depending largely on the terminology of their own day.
Deep-lying forwards have often been referred to as "No. 10" players, due to the popularity of that particular shirt number among such players (e.g. Maradona, Bergkamp, Ronaldinho, Baggio etc).de:Fußballmannschaft it:Ruoli del calcio he:עמדות כדורגל ja:サッカーのポジション pt:Posições no futebol zh:足球位置