Player roles

Player roles

In my humble opinion, describing a player with a player role rather than a position is highly underrated.

It makes a discussion, comparison, or even analysis much simpler.

It’s probably the first question I ask myself when I scout a player – what’s his role on the pitch?

These are the roles I usually use:

line-keeper: a player who stands out on the line, his main job is to make crucial saves and keep the clean sheet at any cost (Jan Oblak, Mike Maignan, Giorgi Mamardashvili)

ball-playing goalkeeper: in addition to his main skills, he’s also a technically gifted footballer who likes to be involved in the build-up and stands out with his distribution at all distances and composure in possession/under pressure, most of them can function as a sweeper keeper as well (Manuel Neuer, Ederson, Allison)

non-nonsense centre-back: a stopper, who concentrates mostly on his defensive duties and makes many key tackles and clearances for his team; usually a hard-tackling and tenacious player; not the most gifted passer with limited skills in the build-up (Stefan Savic, Nemanja Vidic, Diego Godin)

complete, dominant and/or elegant centre-back: a stopper who also excels in the build-up and has some above-average ball-playing skills (Milan Skriniar, Josko Gvardiol, Virgil van Dijk)

ball-playing centre-back: in addition to his defensive skills, he’s also a very technically gifted player with superb playmaking skills who takes a major impact at all of the team’s build-up process (Marquinhos, Alessandro Bastoni, Leonardo Bonucci)

defensive full-back: a dying breed of players who are concentrated mostly on the defensive aspect of the game and are rarely involved in attacks; very often these players are used on either side of a three-man defensive line or in specific games/game situations due to tactical reasons (César Azpilicueta, Reinildo Mandava, Juan Foyth)

complete full-back: a player who’s equally competent offensively as defensively and impacts the game at both ends of the pitch; always tries to push forward with good timings without forgetting about his defensive responsibilities (Nuno Mendes, Reece James, Davide Calabria)

attacking full-back/wing-back: a player who always looks to overlap, make dribbling runs, cross, and even enter the penalty area whenever possible; he impacts the game a lot in the attacking phase but also does not possess good defensive skills and leaves many gaps behind (Alphonso Davies, Jeremie Frimpong, Theo Hernández)

playmaking full-back: a player who prefers to combine with his teammates rather than making runs or cross; often moves into midfield, possesses great passing skills and significant football IQ; likes to be given a lot of creative freedom on the pitch; also called an inverted full-back, especially when positioned on the opposite side of the field from the dominant foot (Trent Alexander-Arnold, João Cancelo, Oleksandr Zinchenko)

utility player: a highly versatile player who can cover and do solid job on multiple positions if needed; usually someone with above-average technical and physical abilities (Marcel Sabitzer, Saúl Ñíguez, James Milner)

holding midfielder: an anchorman who fills in the area between the midfielders and defenders; he protects the backline, and makes many important tackles and interceptions thanks to his anticipation and tenacity; in the build-up, he tries to transport the ball to more creative teammates as soon as possible (Claude Makelele, Florentino, Mohamed Camara)

modern holding midfielder: in addition to his normal holding midfielder duties, he’s also a tireless runner who roams and makes attacking runs almost as a box-to-box midfielder; needs to have a significant pace, determination, and stamina (Moisés Caicedo, Manu Koné, Ibrahim Sangaré)

deep-lying playmaker: the main controller and creator from deep who’s fielded in front of the defence and dictates tempo using his good vision and passing ability at all distances; highly intelligent, technical, and press-resistant player (Andrea Pirlo, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets)

box-to-box midfielder: a tireless runner who covers a lot of ground and impacts the game at both ends of the pitch; usually a player with above-average passing, defensive, physical, and tactical skills; in addition he’s also a goal threat especially while making late runs into the penalty area (Frank Lampard, Nicolò Barella, Bastian Schweinsteiger)

midfield playmaker: a pure midfield leader who orchestrates the play with his fantastic vision and passing ability; not the most mobile and hardworking player but excels with his positioning, spatial awareness, and football IQ, usually gives his ‘approval’ for every action of his team; a position that has been pushed away from football quite a lot in recent years by the new wave of roaming playmakers (Toni Kroos, Dani Parejo, Michael Carrick)

roaming playmaker: a combination of a box-to-box midfielder with a midfield playmaker; a technically gifted, intelligent, and mobile player who orchestrates the play with his passing but also makes many progressive carries; in addition to his passing game, he also needs to excel in dribbling, close control, and ability to maneuver in small spaces (Frenkie de Jong, Tanguy Ndombele, Vitinha)

advanced playmaker: a highly technical and creative orchestrator in the final third; an unpredictable player with extraordinary thinking on the ball and ability/confidence to provide good through/killer passes; formerly known as number 10, nowadays becoming more of an 8/10 with many more defensive duties (Kevin De Bruyne, Bruno Fernandes, Pedri)

wide playmaker: also called a ‘central winger’ or ‘false winger’; a wing player who’s a great passer rather than dribbler, however, he’s also gifted in take-ons; an intelligent player who likes to move into midfield areas and combine with his teammates; possesses good passing ability, tactical intelligence, and vision; capable assist and pre-assist-man (Bernardo Silva, Michael Olise, Dejan Kulusevski)

explosive winger: an old-school winger with fantastic pace and acceleration; a very vertical player who loves to beat his man and provide a good cross into the penalty area or enter the penalty area at top speed; counter-attacking weapon (Kingsley Coman, Luis Sinisterra, Jesus Navas)

flamboyant winger: a wing player who likes to vary his play by cutting inside, running to the by-line, and even swapping wings; in addition to his motor skills, he’s also creative and possesses significant passing and playmaking skills (Angel Di Maria, Jadon Sancho, Neymar)

inside forward: an offensive allrounder who always tries to cut inside and enter the penalty area whenever possible to shoot or make quick combinations with his teammates; a skillful striker of the ball with possibly high G/A numbers per season (Vinicius Junior, Rafael Leão, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia)

shadow striker/false 9: a player who usually plays behind the main striker and likes to roam around in the space between the opposition’s midfield and defence; unpredictable, creative, technical, good dribbler and a good striker of the ball; likes to play in a free attacking role (Paulo Dybala, João Félix, Antoine Griezmann)

advanced striker: usually not the tallest player; a pacey striker who likes to attempt off the ball/shoulder runs to beat the defensive line and feels very comfortable in the counter-attacking style; technically gifted and a good dribbler who’s also prolific when attacking from deep and wing (Samuel Eto’o, Loïs Openda, Julián Álvarez)

target man: an old-school role of usually tall and not the fastest player who likes to play with back to goal, holds the ball up and the lays it off to his teammates; often uses his strength and aerial presence to bring teammates into play; also a good striker of the ball with good instinct, movement in the penalty area, and a decent number of goals per season (Olivier Giroud, Wout Weghorst, Luuk de Jong)

complete forward: goal poacher who combines all qualities of a modern striker – finishing, off-the-ball movement, instinct, heading, strength, link-up play, technique; an absolute killer in the penalty box who also possesses many qualities of a target man and advanced striker (Robert Lewandowski, Victor Osimhen, Harry Kane)

modern target man: the new breed of strikers who are usually tall and strong/elite athletes; they have the ability of a traditional target man but also love to attack face to goal and able to make surging runs into the penalty box thanks to their pace, power, and verticality (Erling Haaland, Rasmus Højlund, Darwin Núñez)