How to become a good center midfielder?

In order of becoming a good center midfielder, you need to practice your soccer skills. Finally, your soccer skill set will decide your level and style. Technical attributes such as first touch, passing, dribbling, and shooting are crucial for a center midfielder. The best time to improve those soccer skills are until age 16. Kids learn new skills faster, that’s why Soccer Coach San Diego’s kids soccer training focuses on developing technical attributes. Growing older, the soccer training focuses on the development of physical and tactical attributes. Your skill set will finally decide how you will play the position of the center midfielder, your skill set will decide your playing role.

CM Playing Role Defines Attributes

While the formation gives an idea where on the field a player will move around, the playing role defines how the player will act in their position. The playing role defines which attributes are needed for team success. One of the main goals of the midfield is to link offense and defense. In order to distribute the ball, technical key attributes such as first touch and passing are needed by the center midfielder. A CM shows good stamina to cover wide areas of the field, and often brings a mix of creative vision and work-rate. Depending on team strategy, there are often two or three players in the center with different focus more on offense or defense.

Box-to-Box Player

The Box-to-Box Player is the typical CM who links defensive and offensive play, supporting both ends of the field. The CM is expected to make runs, tackle, and distribute the ball effectively. Next to technical abilities like passing, first touch and shooting, the box-to-box player (BBM) also shows defensive abilities such as work rate, anticipation, and tackling. A BBM is often considered as a team’s ‘engine’, tributing to team success with tactical intelligence, vision, and stamina. Examples for outstanding Box-to-Box Players are Declan Rice or Steven Gerrard.

Defensive Midfielder

A Defensive Midfielder (DM) is primarily focused on supporting defense by intercepting passes, breaking up attacks, and initiate the attack by highly accurate passing. Players like Sergio Busquets or Rodri combine positional play, anticipation, and physical strength. Defensive midfielders, often referred to as ‘anchors’, give their teams stability by closing gaps and intercepting passes. After intercepting the ball, they are the one’s initiating the new attack. A Defensive Midfielder can dictate the speed of a game. The DM can slow down the game by simply holding the ball or pass it backward, giving his team the time necessary to reorder. Often, the DM passes the ball short to a more creative midfielder who then plays the ball vertically. The midfielders of San Diego FC quickly play the ball vertically after repossession to exploit the space behind the opponent’s defense and setting up SDFC forwards Chucky Lozano and Anders Dreyer.

San Diego FC scores the winning goal versus Vancouver, after repossessing the ball in the center of the field and immediately playing deep to forward Anders Dreyer.

Deep-lying Midfielder

The Deep-lying Midfielder (DLM) is positioned further back in the center of the field and focuses on orchestrating attacks with precise passing and vision. Contrary to a DM, the Deep-lying Midfielder prioritizes ball skills over defensive skills. Players like Toni Kroos, Andrea Pirlo, or Xabi Alonso showed exceptional passing range and accuracy, vision, and ball control. A Deep-lying Midfielder dictates the tempo of the game even more. The deep-lying midfielder is, usually, not the physically strongest player. Through a skillful first touch and quick and accurate passing, they play the ball before the opponent is even able to tackle them. Constantly scanning the field helps with positioning themself between the lines and anticipating where to play the ball next. More space gives you more time to play.

Deep-lying midfielders show great first touch and passing skills. The first touch is intended to move into play direction, but can also be used as a fake move. Good passing means a perfectly timed, accurate pass. Playmakers, like Kross, Zubimendi, or Pirlo, can play the ball short and long.

Ball-winning Midfielder

The Ball-winning Midfielder focuses on winning possession through tackling, marking, and intercepting passes in front of the defensive line. Players with strong tackling, high work rate, physical strength and positional awareness give their team stability. By holding the center, ball-winning midfielders cover their attacking players’ backs. If they’d lose ball possession, the Ball-winning Midfielder would still sit in front of the CBs as a safety versus counter attacks.

Attacking Midfielder

Attacking Midfielders are positioned higher up the field, typically behind the strikers, linking with the forward line, and creating scoring opportunities. The playmaker shows vision and creativity by finding solutions, setting up the strikers, and even scoring themselves. Also known as Trequartista, Attacking Midfielders, show high passing accuracy, skillful dribbling, quick decision-making, and the ability to shoot from distance. Typical AMs are Martin Odegaard, Florian Wirtz, Cole Palmer, or Kevin De Bruyne. But the greatest of them all: Zinedine Zidane.

How to Become A Good Center Midfielder

In order of becoming a good center midfielder, you need to practice your soccer skills. Finally, your soccer skill set will decide your level and style. Technical attributes such as first touch, passing, dribbling, and shooting are crucial for a center midfielder. The best time to improve those soccer skills are until age 16. Kids learn new skills faster, that’s why Soccer Coach San Diego’s kids soccer training focuses on developing technical attributes. Growing older, the soccer training focuses on the development of physical and tactical attributes. Your skill set will finally decide how you will play the position of the center midfielder, your skill set will decide your playing role.