The central midfielder in football is not always shining with his skills on the pitch, but he must be a man, who has a perfect understanding of the game. In addition, the perfect central midfielder must be disciplined and must have a great vision.
The first important quality for the central midfielder is positioning. If he is in good position, he might help his team take the ball from the opponent and then he will be able to organize well the counter attack. Then, as I already said, the playmaker must have a good vision for the game. Before he receives the ball, the midfielder must have seen his next move on the pitch. He must have already seen where are his teammates and opponents, in order to take the right decision.
To continue with, the central midfielder must pass the ball really well. He mustn’t take any risks in front of his own goal, but must act a little more risky when being in the opponents’ half. Whether the pass will be short or long – it depends on the situation and the playing style of the team. The short passes keep the players stick together and that makes defending easier when they lose the ball, while if the players are passing long – that means they are on a bigger distance and will hardly manage to get the ball immediately after they lose it.
To be a good central midfielder in most of the time means that you will be invisible on the pitch. But, this role is maybe one of the most important in football, because the playmaker is the man who pulls the strings and takes the important decisions. The central midfielder decides what will be the tempo of the game. There are midfielders, who pass the ball on more than 100 occasions in a game on average. They are the men who touch the ball the most during the match.
So, if you don’t see a midfielder shining bright during a match, don’t think he is doing nothing. He is just a hard-worker, who dictates the game speed and he is responsible for team’s possession of the ball.
