A midfielder, as the name suggets, is positioned in the middle of the pitch. But don’t think that’s the only area they go in. They probably do the most running in the whole team- they have to run up and down the pitch to support the attack and the defence.

And there’s lots of different types of midfielder. So I’m going to go through each different type and tell you what each of their roles involves. Here goes…

Winger

Wingers play outwide either on the right or the left. I personally used to play on the left wing and its a great position to play because you get to run with the ball and set up attacks as part of your job.

I remember one day in training when I was younger the coach split the pitch up into grids. The defenders were only allowed in the grid closest to their goal and the strikers only in the grid closest to the goal they were attacking. He was trying to get us to learn positional play. And the point of me telling you this, is that as a midfielder, I was allowed to go anywhere- result! As a midfielder you have the freedom to rome, attack and defend and that’s partly why it’s such a great position to play in.

Anyway, you still need to be disciplined and not just chase the ball. If you’re a winger you need to make sure you’re in space out wide so that the central players can open out the play by passing you the ball.

You need to have good dribbling ability and have pace to run fast with the ball. Being able to produce a good, accurate cross or pass into the box is also a highly useful talent to have. Meanwhile, the full back on your side might often overlap you so awareness is key to pick out a good pass in this instance.

As a winger you won’t score all the goals like a striker does, but you should certainly score some. More often the case, is that you can set up attacks and get assists for goals – and this can be equally rewarding as scoring even if it gets less credit.

If you’re a winger or wanting to play in this position I recommend you practice

- on your speed

- on your dribbling

- on your crossing

- on your passing

- on your ability to find space

You can find tips on some of these things by visiting the section of this website on soccer skills

Attacking Centre-Mid

In this position you’ll often have the chance to get forward and your main job is therefore to support the strikers and be a sort of play maker from the middle.

Being able to thread diagonal through balls to the forwards is a very useful quality for an attacking centre-mid, whilst the abilities to run with the ball and make accurate passes to keep possession or set up attacks are essentiel.

Playing in this position you might find yourself on the edge of the penalty area with the ball at your feet. Your shooting therefore needs to be strong and accurate.

This could happen when the opposition have failed to clear the ball properly from a corner or when a striker with his back to goal knocks it back to you. Whatever the circumstance, you need to be ready and able to take a good shot at goal- and you could find yourself scoring!

Although you of course need to have good all round skills, these are the particular skills I think you need and I recommend you practice where possible for being an attacking centre-mid;

- passing

- shooting

- reading the game

- speed

- dribbling

Holding Centre-Mid

A holding/defensive midfielder is mainly there to make the team a bit more solid in the middle of the park. He adds an extra line of defence and should be positioned deep so he can help the defence every time the opposition attack.

His job in therefore in between that of a defender and a midfielder. So he needs to be able to pass well and keep possession. But he also needs to keep his position well, be disciplined, be good at tackling and be in command of the area around him.

There are some great players you can look at for examples of defensive centre-mids. Claud Makelele (who has played for France, Real Madrid and Chelsea) was widely considered one of the best in the world. Gilberto (Brazil and Arsenal in his prime), however, is a bit of an unsung hero. He works hard and subtly in the midfield to break down the opposition attacks and recover the ball for his team; if you’re looking for someone to model your game on then he would not be a bad choice at all.

In terms of the specific skills you need to practice to be a holding player, I’d say these should rank pretty high;

- tackling

- position

- discipline

Role Model Midfielders

1) Gilberto (Brazil)

2) Claud Makelele (France)

3) Marc Overmars (Holland)

4) Cesc Fabregas (Spain)

5) Patrick Vieira (France)

6) David Beckham (England)

7) Steven Gerrard (England)

Zinedine Zidane (France)

9) Roy Keane (Republic of Ireland)

10) Christiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

So now you know about all the different types of midfielder, do you know which is for you? If you’re sure, why not return home from the midfielder page?