centrocampista

El término mediocampista de área a área se refiere a mediocampistas centrales que son trabajadores y que tienen buenas habilidades generales, lo que los hace hábiles tanto en defensa como en ataque. ^{[ 7 ]} Estos jugadores por lo tanto pueden retroceder a su propia área para hacer entradas y bloquear tiros y también llevar el balón hacia adelante o correr al área de los oponentes para intentar marcar. ^{[ 8 ]} A partir de mediados de la década de 2000, el cambio de tendencias y el declive de la formación estándar 4-4-2 (en muchos casos dando paso a las formaciones 4-2-3-1 y 4-3-3) impusieron restricciones a los típicos mediocampistas de área a área de las décadas de 1980 y 1990, ya que los dos roles de mediocampo de los equipos ahora a menudo se dividían en "contenedores" o "creadores", con una tercera variación del rol que se describía como la de un "portador" o "atacante". ^{[ 9 ]} Ejemplos notables de mediocampistas de área a área son Lothar Matthäus , Michael Ballack , ^{[ 10 ]} Clarence Seedorf , Bastian Schweinsteiger , Luka Modrić , Steven Gerrard , Johan Neeskens , Sócrates , Yaya Touré , Arturo Vidal , Patrick Vieira , Frank Lampard , Bryan Robson , Roy Keane y, más recientemente, Jude Bellingham y Declan Rice . ^{[ 11 ]}

In Italian football, the term mezzala (literally "half-winger" in Italian) is used to describe the position of the one or two central midfielders who play on either side of a holding midfielder, playmaker, or both. The term was initially applied to the role of an inside forward in the WM and Metodo formations in Italian, but later described a specific type of central midfielder. The mezzala is often a quick and hard-working attack-minded midfielder, with good skills and noted offensive capabilities, as well as a tendency to make overlapping attacking runs, but also a player who participates in the defensive aspect of the game, and who can give width to a team by drifting out wide; as such, the term can be applied to several different roles. In English, the term has come to be seen as a variant of the box-to-box midfielder role.^[12][13][14]

A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their team's defence, while other midfielders may move forward to attack.^[21] The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball. This player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team, but may try some more difficult passes depending on the team's strategy. Marcelo Bielsa is considered a pioneer in the use of a holding midfielder in defence.^[9] This position may be seen in the 4–2–3–1 and 4–4–2 diamond formations.^[22] Writer Jonathan Wilson has identified three different types of holding midfielder, namely the destroyer, the creator, and the carrier.^[9]

Initially, a defensive midfielder, or "destroyer", and a playmaker, or "creator", were often fielded alongside each other as a team's two holding central midfielders. The destroyer was usually responsible for making tackles, regaining possession, and distributing the ball to the creator, while the creator was responsible for retaining possession and keeping the ball moving, often with long passes out to the flanks, in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or regista (see below).^[9] Earlier examples of a destroyer are Nobby Stiles, Herbert Wimmer, and Marco Tardelli, while later examples include Claude Makélélé, Torsten Frings and Javier Mascherano.^[9] Early examples of a creator would be Gérson, Glenn Hoddle, and Sunday Oliseh, while more recent examples are Xabi Alonso^[9] and Michael Carrick.

The latest and third type of holding midfielder developed as a box-to-box midfielder, or "carrier" or "surger", neither entirely destructive nor creative, who is capable of winning back possession and subsequently advancing from deeper positions either by distributing the ball to a teammate and making late runs into the box, or by carrying the ball themselves; recent examples of this type of player are Clarence Seedorf and Bastian Schweinsteiger, while Sami Khedira and Fernandinho are destroyers with carrying tendencies. Luka Modrić is known as a carrier with several qualities of the regista,^[24][25] widely seen as emblematic of box-to-box playmaking.^[26][27]Yaya Touré was a carrier who became a playmaker later in his career.^[9]N'Golo Kanté started as the quintessential destroyer, but developed carrying tendencies under Antonio Conte at Chelsea.^[28]

A deep-lying playmaker (Strolling 10) is a holding midfielder who specialises in ball skills such as passing, rather than defensive skills like tackling.^[29] When this player has the ball, they may attempt longer or more complex passes than other holding players. They may try to set the tempo of their team's play, retain possession, or build plays through short exchanges, or they may try to pass the ball long to a centre forward or winger, or even pass short to a teammate in the hole, the area between the opponents' defenders and midfielders.^[29][30][31]

En Italia, el mediocampista organizador se conoce como regista , ^{[ 32 ]} mientras que en Brasil se le conoce como "meia-armador". ^{[ 33 ]} En Italia, el rol del regista se desarrolló a partir de la posición de mediocampista central o centromediano metodista en el sistema metodo de Vittorio Pozzo (un precursor de la posición de mediocampista central o de contención en la formación 2-3-2-3), ya que las responsabilidades del metodista no eran enteramente defensivas sino también creativas; como tal, el metodista no solo tenía la tarea de romper la posesión, sino también de iniciar jugadas de ataque después de recuperar el balón. ^{[ 34 ]}

El escritor Jonathan Wilson describió el rol de mediocampista defensivo de Xabi Alonso como el de un "creador", un jugador responsable de mantener la posesión al estilo de un mediocampista organizador o regista más tradicional , señalando que: "aunque capaz de realizar entradas, [Alonso] se centraba en mantener el balón en movimiento, ocasionalmente lanzando pases largos hacia las bandas para cambiar el ángulo de ataque". ^{[ 9 ]}

La histórica posición de mediocampista central se fue desplazando gradualmente de la línea del mediocampo para brindar mayor protección a la defensa contra los delanteros centro; ese rol defensivo específico en el centro todavía se conoce comúnmente como "mediocampista central" como legado de sus orígenes. ^{[ 35 ]} En la jerga del fútbol italiano, esta posición se conocía como centromediano metodista o metodista , ya que se convirtió en un rol cada vez más importante en el sistema metodo de Vittorio Pozzo , aunque este término también se aplicó posteriormente para describir a los jugadores que operaban como mediocampistas de contención centrales, pero que también tenían responsabilidades creativas además de las defensivas. ^{[ 34 ]}

Estos jugadores suelen ser el eje ofensivo del equipo y a veces se dice que "juegan en la mediapunta", aunque este término también puede usarse para referirse a un delantero que juega en una posición más retrasada. El mediocampista ofensivo es una posición importante que requiere que el jugador posea habilidades técnicas superiores en cuanto a pases y regates , así como, quizás aún más importante, la capacidad de leer la defensa rival para realizar pases que rompan la defensa hacia el delantero.

La función principal de este mediocampista especializado es crear buenas oportunidades de tiro y gol utilizando una visión, control y habilidad técnica superiores, mediante centros , pases en profundidad y cabeceos hacia sus compañeros. Pueden intentar generar oportunidades de tiro para sí mismos mediante regates o combinaciones con un compañero. Los mediocampistas ofensivos también pueden internarse en el área rival para disparar tras un pase de un compañero. ^{[ 2 ]}

Where a creative attacking midfielder, i.e. an Advanced playmaker, is regularly utilised, they are commonly the team's star player, and often wear the number 10 shirt. As such, a team is often constructed to allow its attacking midfielder to roam free and create as the situation demands. One such popular formation is the 4–4–2 "diamond" (or 4–1–2–1–2), in which defined attacking and defensive midfielders replace the more traditional pair of central midfielders. Known as the "fantasista" or trequartista in Italy,^[37] in Spain, the offensive playmaker is known as the Mediapunta, in Brazil, the offensive playmaker is known as the meia atacante,^[33] whereas in Argentina and Uruguay, it is known as the enganche.^[41] Some examples of the advanced playmaker would be Zico, Francesco Totti, Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Kevin De Bruyne, James Rodríguez, Wim van Hanegem and Michel Platini.

There are also some examples of more flexible advanced playmakers, such as Zinedine Zidane, Rui Costa, Kaká, Andrés Iniesta, Juan Román Riquelme, David Silva, and Louisa Cadamuro. These players could control the tempo of the game in deeper areas of the pitch while also being able to push forward and play line-breaking through balls.^{[42][43][44][45][46]}Mesut Özil can be considered a classic 10 who adopted a slightly more direct approach and specialised in playing the final ball.

The false attacking midfielder (falso trequartista, in Italian – not to be confused with trequartista or false ten) description has been used in Italian football to describe a player who is seemingly playing as an attacking midfielder in a 4–3–1–2 formation or a 4–4–2 diamond, but who eventually drops deeper into midfield, drawing opposing players out of position and creating space to be exploited by teammates making attacking runs; the false-attacking midfielder will eventually sit in a central midfield role and function as a deep-lying playmaker. The false-attacking midfielder is, therefore, usually a creative and tactically intelligent player with good vision, technique, movement, passing ability, and striking ability from a distance. They should also be a hard-working player who is able to read the game and help the team defensively. Riccardo Montolivo and Thiago Motta, among other players, were occasionally used in this role under Italy manager Cesare Prandelli, with his system essentially resembling a 4–1–3–2 formation.^{[47][48][49][50]}Wayne Rooney has been deployed in a similar role, on occasion during his time under Alex Ferguson at Manchester United; seemingly positioned as a number 10 behind the main striker, he would often drop even deeper into midfield to help his team retrieve possession and start attacks.^[51]

The "false 10" or "central winger"^[52] is a type of midfielder, which differs from the trequartista. Much like the "false 9", their specificity lies in the fact that, although they seemingly play as an attacking midfielder on paper, unlike a traditional playmaker who stays behind the striker in the centre of the pitch, the false 10's goal is to move out of position and drift wide when in possession of the ball to help both the wingers and fullbacks to overload the flanks. This means two problems for the opposing midfielders: either they let the false 10 drift wide, and their presence, along with both the winger and the fullback, creates a three-on-two player advantage out wide; or they follow the false 10, but leave space in the centre of the pitch for wingers or onrushing midfielders to exploit.^[53]

Los falsos 10 suelen ser extremos tradicionales a quienes se les indica que jueguen en el centro del campo, y su estilo de juego natural los lleva a abrirse hacia las bandas y buscar centrar balones al área para sus compañeros. En ocasiones, el falso 10 también puede funcionar de manera diferente junto a un falso 9, generalmente en una formación 4-6-0, disfrazada como una formación 4-3-3 o 4-2-3-1. Cuando otros delanteros o falsos 9 retroceden y atraen a los defensores lejos de los falsos 10, creando espacio en el centro del campo, el falso 10 también sorprenderá a los defensores aprovechando este espacio y saliendo de su posición nuevamente, a menudo realizando carreras ofensivas con regate hacia la portería, o recibiendo pases de los falsos 9, lo que a su vez les permite crear oportunidades de gol o ir a portería ellos mismos. ^{[ 53 ]}

Left and right midfielders have a role balanced between attack and defence, while they play a lot of crosses in the box for forwards. They are positioned closer to the touchlines of the pitch. They may be asked to cross the ball into the opponent's penalty area to create scoring chances for their teammates, and when defending, they may put pressure on opponents who are trying to cross.^[54]

Las formaciones modernas comunes que incluyen mediocampistas izquierdo y derecho son la 4-4-2 , la 4-4-1-1 , la 4-2-3-1 y la 4-5-1 . ^{[ 65 ]} Jonathan Wilson describe el desarrollo de la formación 4-4-2: "...el extremo se convirtió en un mediocampista de banda, un jugador que se movía, alguien de quien se esperaba que centrara el balón pero que también debía realizar un trabajo defensivo". ^{[ 66 ]} Dos ejemplos notables de mediocampistas de banda son David Beckham y Ryan Giggs . ^{[ 67 ]}

En el fútbol italiano, el rol del mediocampista de banda se conoce como tornante di centrocampo o simplemente tornante ("regreso"); se originó a partir del rol de un extremo y llegó a ser conocido como tal porque a menudo requería que los jugadores en esta posición retrocedieran y ayudaran a la línea defensiva con tareas defensivas, además de ayudar al mediocampo y al ataque. ^{[ 68 ] [ 69 ]}

La posición histórica de mediocampista ofensivo (que no debe confundirse con la de mezzala ) se asignaba a los mediocampistas (laterales) que jugaban cerca de la banda. Esta posición quedó obsoleta a medida que los jugadores de banda con funciones defensivas tendieron a integrarse más en la defensa como laterales . ^{[ 70 ] [ 71 ]}

Un extremo invertido es una evolución táctica moderna de la posición tradicional de extremo. La mayoría de los extremos se ubican en un lado del campo según su pierna dominante : los diestros en la derecha y los zurdos en la izquierda. ^{[ 72 ]} Esto supone que ubicar a un jugador en su lado natural garantiza un centro más potente y una mayor protección del balón en las líneas de banda . Sin embargo, cuando la posición se invierte y un extremo juega de adentro hacia afuera en el flanco opuesto (es decir, un jugador diestro como extremo izquierdo invertido), se convierte en un delantero de apoyo y asume principalmente un rol en el ataque. ^{[ 73 ]}

As opposed to traditionally pulling the opponent's full-back out and down the flanks before crossing the ball in near the by-line, positioning a winger on the opposite side of the field allows the player to cut-in around the 18-yard box, either threading passes between defenders or shooting on goal using the dominant foot.^[74] This offensive tactic has found popularity in the modern game due to the fact that it gives traditional wingers increased mobility as playmakers and goalscorers,^[75] such as the left-footed right winger Domenico Berardi of Sassuolo who achieved 30 career goals faster than any player in the past half-century of Serie A football.^[76] Not only are inverted wingers able to push full-backs onto their weak sides, but they are also able to spread and force the other team to defend deeper as forwards and wing-backs route towards the goal, ultimately creating more scoring opportunities.^[77]

Other midfielders within this tactical archetype include Lionel Messi^[78] and Eden Hazard,^[79] as well as Megan Rapinoe of the USWNT.^[80] Clubs such as Real Madrid often choose to play their wingers on the "wrong" flank for this reason; former Real Madrid coach José Mourinho often played Ángel Di María on the right and Cristiano Ronaldo on the left.^[81][82][83] Former Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes often played the left-footed Arjen Robben on the right and the right-footed Franck Ribéry on the left.^[84][85] One of the foremost practitioners of playing from either flank was German winger Jürgen Grabowski, whose flexibility helped Germany to third place in the 1970 World Cup, and the world title in 1974.

A description that has been used in the media to label a variation upon the inverted winger position is that of an "attacking", "false", or "goalscoring winger", as exemplified by Cristiano Ronaldo's role on the left flank during his time at Real Madrid in particular. This label has been used to describe an offensive-minded inverted winger, who will seemingly operate out wide on paper, but who instead will be given the freedom to make unmarked runs into more advanced central areas inside the penalty area to get on the end of passes and crosses and score goals, effectively functioning as a striker.^{[86][87][88][89][90]}

This role is somewhat comparable to what is known as the raumdeuter role in German football jargon (literally "space interpreter"), as exemplified by Thomas Müller, as well as Dele Alli and Tim Cahill, namely an attacking-minded wide player, who will move into effective central attacking areas to find spaces from which they can receive passes and score or assist goals, while other teammates create space for their runs by drawing opponents away from them.^[61][91]

The "false winger" or "seven-and-a-half" is a label which has been used to describe a type of player who normally plays centrally, but who instead is deployed out wide on paper; during the course of a match, however, they will move inside and operate in the centre of the pitch to drag defenders out of position, congest the midfield and give their team a numerical advantage in this area, so that they can dominate possession in the middle of the pitch and create chances for the forwards; this position also leaves space for full-backs to make overlapping attacking runs up the flank. Samir Nasri, who has been deployed in this role, once described it as that of a "non-axial playmaker".^{[92][93][94][95][96][97][98]}