Holding midfielder
The link between defence and attack. Always available for a pass, always protecting the middle.
Six-week programme for holding midfielders
Where you stand
The same player, four different moments. Play it through and watch how the team's tactic moves you. You are the solid orange player; your teammates are orange rings.
Your job
What every coach will ask of you, whatever the tactic.
With the ball
- Always be available: in the gap between their forwards, facing forward.
- Check your shoulder before every pass you receive.
- Keep the ball moving. A simple pass is often the best one.
Without it
- Stand between the ball and the centre-backs.
- Block the pass into their striker.
- Organise the midfield: tell teammates who to press.
When it changes hands
- When we lose it, you are the first to stop the counter. Get in the way of the ball, early.
- When we win it, find a forward pass quickly, or keep it and calm things down.
How tactics change your game
Your coach's tactic decides a lot of what you do. Here is the same position under different plans.
High press
Step up to mark their deepest midfielder, so they cannot escape the press through you.
Low block
Stay just in front of the defence. Protect the edge of the box and block shots.
Keep the ball
Drop between the centre-backs when they are pressed, and touch the ball as often as you can.
Direct
When the ball goes long, get close to the striker to win the second ball.
Try it yourself: change the tactic in the team builder and tap your position to see your job change.
Roles in this position
Coaches ask for different versions of the same position. Know which one you are playing.
Holding midfielder
Screens the defence and keeps the ball moving.
With the ball. Always be available behind the ball. Receive, turn if you can, and keep it moving.
Without. Stand between the ball and the centre-backs. Block passes into their striker.
Deep playmaker
Drops between the centre-backs to start attacks.
With the ball. Drop between the centre-backs when they are pressed. It makes three at the back and lets the full-backs push on.
Without. Back to the screen in front of the defence.
Ball-winner
Hunts the ball in midfield.
With the ball. Win it, then give it to a passer.
Without. Press the ball in midfield hard and early. Teammates cover behind you.
Practise it in three steps
First the technique on your own, then the decisions in a small game, then the whole team's idea in the match.
Step 1 On your own
first touch · 10 min · Just you
Wall passes across the body
Pass against a wall, take the rebound across your body to the other cone, and pass again. The best way to practise passing and first touch on your own.
turning · 12 min · Just you
Turn and go
Dribble to a line, turn sharply, and accelerate away. Learn four turns: the inside hook, the outside hook, the drag back and the Cruyff.
Step 2 In a small game
first touch · 12 min · You and a friend
Receive on the half-turn
Your friend passes to you from behind. Open your body, take the ball with your back foot and play forward through a gate.
possession · 12 min · Groups of 7
Rondo: 5 against 2
Five keep the ball from two. The two defenders must work together: one presses, the other cuts out the pass through the middle.
Step 3 In the match
- Play out from the backStart attacks with short passes from the goalkeeper, instead of kicking it long and hoping.
- Win it straight backThe moment you lose the ball, the nearest players press it at once, for about five seconds, before the other team can get away.
- Move as a blockWithout the ball, the team keeps its shape and slides across the pitch together, like one unit, staying close to the ball.
Skills to masterReceiving on the half-turn · inside-foot pass · Shielding the ball
What would you do?
Two quick ones for your position. Pick an answer, then see why.
Your match moments
Full moments where your position has a job: see it in a match, make the choice, then practise it.
- Beat the pressDrop into the gap between the centre-backs, facing forward.
- Get past their midfieldStay behind the ball as the safe pass back.
- We have just lost itStay in front of the defence: you stop the counter if the press fails.
- We have just won itWin it, then look forward first.
- Press togetherPush up behind the press to win the long kick.
- Defend a cornerNear post: attack anything low.
- Take a quick throw-inStay behind the throw as the safe option.
- Defend a throw-inTrack the runner into the middle.
- Defend a free kickMark the runner at the end of the wall, goal side.
- Through on goalStay behind the ball in case it breaks down.
- Defend a crossGuard the cut-back zone around the penalty spot.
- Go round themFace the empty side before the ball arrives.
- Their keeper has itStand where the long ball will drop, ready for the second ball.
- Ball over the topPress their passer, so they cannot look up and pick the pass.
- An overlap against youBe ready to step across when the winger comes inside.
- Shot from the edgeClose the shooter fast, then short steps.
- Defend the cut-backWhen the winger heads for the byline, sprint to the penalty spot area.
- The second ballStay behind the landing spot, in case they win it and play it back over.
- Five minutes left, one upStay behind the ball with the centre-backs.
Take it into your next match
Look for
- Where is their nearest forward before the ball comes to me?
- Can I play forward, or should I keep it?
- If we lose it now, where is the danger?
Your challenge. In your next match, look over your shoulder before every pass you receive. Ask a parent or teammate to count how often you do it.
In your head
Your best games often go unnoticed. Measure yourself by how often the team keeps the ball through you.
For younger players
Small-sided games give every player midfield experience. Rotate who plays in the middle.