Traits of a Good Midfielder in Soccer
A midfielder is a soccer or American football position. A midfielder is positioned on the field between the home forwards and defenders. Midfielders play a defensive position; they stop attacks and make counter plays.
In short, some midfielders are defensive midfielders. Another set of midfielders make passes and other plays; this type of midfielders are playmakers.
The number of midfielders depends on the formation during the game. They are collectively known as midfield. In a normal game, managers or coaches would assign a minimum of one midfielder to disrupt an opposing team in their offense while other midfielders are tasked to score goals and switch between offense and defense.
In terms of distance, midfielders cover the most, since this position holds the ball the longest during a game and should have incredible stamina and endurance, especially in a professional setting.
You have to understand that the aforementioned is just the general overtone, but this position is very diverse with its multiple types and sub-types.
Characteristics of Center Soccer Midfielders
Starting with the center midfielders (type), they play both defense and offense but dominate around the center playing field.
They are assigned to pass the ball to attacking members of the team, and they must disrupt the opposing team’s attacks. Box-to-box midfielders (sub-type) are referred to as central midfielders who have all-around abilities, so they must be skilled both at offense and defense.
They tackle, block shots and initiate the attack to score points. Mezzala (sub-type), which is a term for half-winger in Italian, is a position for two central midfielders who flank and is a playmaker. They are inside forwards and should be quick to attack. They are like box-to-box midfielder but are positioned to be more on offense.
Wide Midfielder
The next type of midfielder is the wide midfielder, and like the other roles, switch to attack and defense, but this midfielder is positioned at the touchlines of the pitch. They can cross the ball into an opponent’s penalty area to allow their teammates to score. They can also put pressure on players who cross their court.
Defensive Midfielders
This type of midfielder is a midfield player who focuses on protecting the goal. They specialize in defense as well as marking the opposing players. To play this position, you should have a sense of marking, tackling, intercepting, passing, and should have great endurance and stamina, as well as strength, since you will be tackling opposing players a lot.
Holding Soccer Midfielders
Otherwise known as a deep-lying midfielder, is also a defensive type. These midfielders ensure that they cover their home base, especially the back of their court. They are also responsible for ensuring that the opposing team cannot score. Additionally, they make short passes to the attacking players.
The deep-lying playmaker is a sub-type of holding midfielders who have ball-handling skills such as passing. They make effective passes to the offending players and make defensive plays.
However, unlike other defensive midfielders, they do not focus much on tackling and other defensive skills. The central-half back midfielders is a position that is retreated gradually from midfield to protect the back-line against offensive attacks.
Attacking Midfielder
Attacking midfielder is a midfield player assigned to advance midfield positions between the team’s forwards and central midfield. They are primarily offensive players.
The advanced playmaker is a subtype of attacking midfielders, which serves an offensive role. They can be interchanged with deep-lying forwards. The false attacking midfielder is a position that attacks with a 4-3-1-2 formation but can go deeper into the midfield, drawing opposing players out of the position.
They are deep-lying playmaker. False ten or a central winger, on the other hand, is different from a false-attacking midfielder since they have to move out of position and cover a wider area to take possession of the ball and take care of flanking.
Another type of midfielder is a winger. The winger is a non-defending player who plays either left or right in the pitch. They can go attack alongside the left or right forwards.
An inverted winger is a subtype of winger and is used for more tactical purposes. They are assigned on either side and assume a more powerful cross and ball protection along the contact lane.
The false winger is a subtype position described as a player who would normally play center and dominate the position of the pitch, especially in a congested midfield.
Recruitment for Midfielders in Soccer
As with any sport, in general, there is a set of criteria for recruiting soccer players. Each scout has its own set of requirements, and in this article, we will talk about what scouts would look for in footballers, in midfielders specifically.
Talent on the Pitch
The first thing scouts would look for is whether or not a potential athlete has prodigal talent. Soccer midfielder must possess great pitch IQ in such a way that their instincts align with their success in the game.
Players must also be aligned to their game sense, overall ability to make plays and the knack for adapting to different situations in football. Players must also possess drive, as some players may be extremely talented but lack the motivation to do work for it.
Confidently humble.
Much like with being a prodigy, scouts often look for players who are talented and have the potential but are not arrogant. They want someone with the ability to lead the team, and at the same time be able to perform when they are told to do so.
Butting heads is natural, so is being confident in your plays, but being down to earth, especially humble, is key to successful games.
Does Data Tell A Story
Another thing that scouts look at is data. Rather, players proving data wrong. Some data are fabricated, that much is given. This is why scouts have to go down themselves to their practice site or even match just to make sure what was written on endorsement paper can be backed up by their plays (Fenn, 2016).
Physical Ability
The physical ability has a wide scope from muscle strength to power and balance, agility and speed, and speed and endurance. As a midfielder, you will all need this since soccer is a tenacious sport that requires all these physical aspects. No matter how talented you are, if you cannot last on the field, then it is for naught.
Mental Toughness
Psychologically speaking. Scouts would also look for discipline, determination, confidence, attention, motivation, awareness, respect, and ambition. These traits will drive players to aim high for the sport and complete the requirements for them to win.
Technical Skills
Midfielders in soccer must have ball-handling skills and tackle, scoring, and passing ability. All the technical skills in soccer, including the ability to make plays and disrupt plays, are all being looked upon by the scouts.
They may see prodigy, but an unpolished stone is not enough to get their attention.
Hence, if you are a prodigy or someone who has exemplary work conduct just to get where you are in the midfield position in soccer, then you have a better chance of getting recruited than someone who does have more superior talent but cannot back it up.
Overall, a thorough understanding of the position known as the midfield is necessary to be recruited. Still, providing the work to back-up the recruitment is your ticket into a professional soccer club.
Learn more about soccer and recruiting.
Midfielder Sources:
Fenn, A. (2016). What do scouts look for in footballers?. FourFourTwo. Retrieved on April
21, 2020 from https://www.fourfourtwo.com/performance/skills/what-do-scouts-look-
footballers.