#position

position

Goalkeeper

Goalkeeper is the most defensive position in football. The goalkeeper's main job is to stop the other team from scoring by catching, palming or punching the ball from shots, headers and crosses. Unlike their team-mates, goalkeepers typically remain in and around their own penalty area for most of the game. As a result, goalkeepers have a better view of the pitch and often give advice to their defence when the other team is on the attack or during set pieces. Goalkeepers are the only players on the pitch who are allowed to handle the ball, but this is restricted to their own penalty area. Positioning is another important job and is one of the hardest to master as keeper.

Goalkeepers must also wear a different coloured kit from the outfielders and officials. Common colours include yellow, green, grey, black and shades of blue. Since the 1970s, goalkeepers have also typically worn specialised gloves. They provide better grip on the ball and protect their hands from hard shots and headers, as well making it easier to punch or push the ball away. Caps were common between the 1910s and 1960s, as well as woolly jumpers but this is much less common today.

Defender

Defenders play behind the midfielders and their primary responsibility is to provide support to the team and to prevent the opposition from scoring a goal. They usually remain in the half of the field that contains the goal they are defending. Taller defenders will move forward to the opposing team's penalty box when their team takes corner kicks or free kicks, where scoring with one's head is a possibility.

Center back

The job of the centre-back, (or central defender) (historically called a centre-half) is to stop opposing players, particularly the strikers, from scoring, and to bring the ball out from their penalty area. As their name suggests, they play in a central position. Most teams employ two centre-backs, stationed in front of the goalkeeper. There are two main defensive strategies used by centre-backs: the zonal defence, where each centre-back covers a specific area of the pitch, and man-to-man marking, where each centre-back has the job of covering a particular opposition player.

Centre midfield

Central midfielders provide the link between defence and attack, fulfilling a number of duties and tend to operate mostly in the middle third of the pitch between opposing penalty boxes. They will support attacking play by the team and when the ball is lost they will endeavour to win it back and try to break up the opposition's own attacking play before they reach the last third of the playing field. A central midfielder will endeavour to initiate attacking play after receiving the ball out from the defence or after winning the ball back and can be sometimes described as playmakers. They will also offer an additional line of defence when the team is under sustained attack and when defending corners. Central midfielders are always busy in a game and are often therefore sometimes described as the engine room of the team.

Centre foward

A centre forward (main striker) has the key task of scoring goals and for this reason acts as the focal point of the majority of attacking play by a team. As such, how well a striker is performing tends to be measured purely on goals scored despite the fact that they may be contributing in other ways to a team's success. A traditional centre forward was required to be tall in height and strong physically in order to be able to win the ball in the area from crosses and attempt to score with either their feet or head, or to knock the ball down for a team mate to score. Whilst these assets are still an advantage, in the modern game speed and movement are also required as there is more interplay when attacking. In a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation the centre forward is often paired with a second striker who may play around him or in a slightly withdrawn role respectively, though it is not unknown to play two recognised centre forwards.

Sometimes a team may opt on a more defensive formation such as 4-5-1 in which the centre forward is required to play a "lone role" up front. In these cases a team may look for opportunities to counter-attack on the break and the centre forward may find himself attacking the goal on his own with just a defender to beat or alternatively he may hold the ball up in the opponent's half to allow other players to join in the attack. Modern footballing tactics have made more use of 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 formations. Here the centre forward may be involved more with the attacking build up play, supported by wingers (who often come infield) and attacking midfielders. The play uses more shorter, quick passes with movement off the ball, looking to create an opening on goal.