Playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativity and passing ability. They are sometimes called the "number 10" of the team, as they often wear the number 10 jersey.
In English football, the term overlaps somewhat with an attacking midfielder although playmakers are not necessarily constrained to a single position. Several playmakers can also operate on the wings or as a creative, supporting striker; some can also function in a more central midfield role, alternating between playing in more offensive roles and participating in the build-up plays in the midfield. Other players still function as deep-lying playmakers, in a free role, behind the midfield line. Playmakers are not usually known for their defensive capabilities, which is why they are often supported by a defensive midfielder. As many midfielders and forwards have the aforementioned creative and technical attributes, they tend to be the playmakers of a team.
Advanced playmakers
The most complete and versatile playmakers are often known as advanced playmakers, or free-role playmakers, as they can operate both in central, attacking midfield positions, and in wider positions on the wings. The attacking playmakers are sometimes called the "number 10" of the team, as they often wear the number 10 jersey. The attacking midfield playmaker will sit in a free role between the midfield and the forwards, either in the centre of the pitch or on either flank. These offensive playmakers will often make incisive passes to the wingers or forwards, seeing them through on goal or to deliver killer crosses, as well as scoring goals themselves. They are also usually quick, agile, and highly technical players with good vision, shooting, passing, crossing and dribbling ability; they are known for scoring goals as well as providing assists, through-balls, and initiating attacking plays. In Italian football, as creative, technical, advanced playmakers are known not to be reserved to a single position, they are often described as the "fantasista" or "trequartista". In Brazil, the offensive playmaker is known as the "meia atacante", whereas in Argentina, it is known as the "enganche". In the English language, this position is sometimes colloquially referred to as playing "in the hole", as these playmakers often link the midfield and attack by essentially operating in the gap between the opposition's midfield and defence. Diego Maradona, Zico, Michel Platini, Marta, Pelé, Zinedine Zidane, Kaká, Lionel Messi, Roberto Baggio, Rui Costa, Michael Laudrup, Gheorghe Hagi, Jay-Jay Okocha, Shunsuke Nakamura, Juan Román Riquelme and Francesco Totti are some examples of footballers who have been fielded as advanced midfield playmakers throughout their career.Deep-lying playmakers
s, who often wear jersey numbers 8, 6 or 5, operate from a deep position, in or even behind the main midfield line in a seemingly central or defensive midfield role, where they can use space and time on the ball to dictate the tempo of their team's play and orchestrate the moves of the whole team, not just attacks on goal. Deep-lying playmakers are often known for their vision, technique and passing. Many are also known for their ability to switch the play or provide long passes that pick out players making attacking runs, as well as their striking ability from distance. Although several deep-lying playmakers are not known for their tackling, work-rate, or defensive skills, it has become more common for a box-to-box midfielder with good passing, technique, vision and ball-winning ability, such as Yaya Touré, to play in this role, since it is in a similar position to that of a defensive midfielder, and the role allows them to break down plays and subsequently create scoring opportunities themselves after winning back possession. In a 2013 article for The Guardian, writer Jonathan Wilson described this unique creative holding midfield role as that of a "creator," citing Xabi Alonso as a typical example of player who operated in this position, noting that: "Xabi Alonso, although capable of making tackles, focused on keeping the ball moving, occasionally raking long passes out to the flanks to change the angle of attack like an old-style regista."In Italy, the deep-lying playmaker is known as a "regista", whereas in Brazil, it is known as a "meia-armador". In Italy, the role of the regista developed from the centre half-back or centromediano metodista position in Vittorio Pozzo's metodo system, as the metodista's responsibilities were not entirely defensive but also creative; as such, the metodista was not solely tasked with breaking down possession, but also with starting attacking plays after winning back the ball. Xavi, Andrea Pirlo, Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes, Miralem Pjanić, Jorginho, Marcos Senna, Sunday Oliseh, and Pep Guardiola are some more examples of players who operated as deep-lying playmakers throughout their careers.
Other variants
Playmakers are not necessarily constrained to a single position; many attacking playmakers in modern football play a combination of these different attacking roles, often operating in a free position. Some playmakers can also function in a more central midfield role, or can even be given the freedom to alternate between playing in more offensive creative roles and participating in the build-up plays and controlling the team's tempo in a deeper midfield position, such as Zinedine Zidane, Nécib, or Juan Román Riquelme. Creativity, skill, vision, technique, tactical awareness and good passing ability are the true requirements of a good playmaker. With the increasing physical and athletic demands of modern football, it has also become increasingly common for midfield playmakers, in particular those who are known for their dynamism, ability to read the game, and work-rate off the ball, to play in deeper roles and be given more defensive responsibilities, in addition to their creative duties: midfielders such as Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, and Paul Pogba often play in the centre of the pitch and occupy multiple roles, functioning both as box-to-box midfielders and creators, usually dropping back and helping to press opponents and win back possession, and then subsequently either carrying the ball forward, or dictating play and starting an attack with their vision, technique, and passing.According to Jonathan Wilson, Luka Modrić is another example of a midfielder who occupies multiple roles on the pitch; although he initially started out as an attacking midfielder at Dinamo Zagreb, he was moved into a deeper central midfield playmaking role during his time with Tottenham, which enabled him to conduct the attack and create chances for teammates. He continued to play in a deeper midfield role in Real Madrid's 4–2–3–1 system. However, Wilson has noted that, although Modrić seemingly plays as a holding midfielder, he is "neither entirely destructive or creative", but a "carrier" who is "capable of making late runs or carrying the ball at his feet", but in his case "with a hint of regista".
Winger
Advanced playmakers can also operate on the wings, in more of a wide offensive position, as a half-winger, inverted winger, or also as an outside forward, in a 4–3–3 or a 4–2–3–1 formation. This position has become more common for offensive playmakers to carry out in recent years, as formations that employ a purely attacking playmaker, such as the 4–3–1–2/4–1–2–1–2, can often cause teams defensive problems when possession is lost, as attacking midfielders are not usually renowned for their defensive contribution, although modern playmakers are often more tactically responsible in this respect than classical playmakers. This position also allows players to take on defenders in one on one situations along the flank, cut inside to the centre of the pitch with the ball, and either shoot on goal with their stronger foot, or provide in-swinging lobbed passes or crosses. Lionel Messi, for example, who is naturally left-footed, was initially deployed in this position on the right under his former Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard, alongside the right-footed Ronaldinho on the left side of the pitch. Some playmakers, such as David Beckham, even operate as a wide midfielder in a 4–4–2, using their vision to find teammates making runs, to whom they can then deliver long passes and curling crosses, although this position of a "pure winger" has become less common in modern formations.Nine and a half
There are also other similar variants upon the advanced playmaking role. Other advanced playmakers seemingly operate as a free, creative second striker, or inside-forward, often playing on the wing, alongside a main striker, or even down the centre of the pitch, and then falling back into a deeper role to link up the midfield and the attack. Attacking midfielder/playmaker Michel Platini would describe this more advanced creative role as a nine and a half, as it was halfway between the role of a goalscoring forward and a playmaking attacking midfielder.This free position allowed these mobile, creative, and technical players, who were also often gifted with an eye for goal as well as good vision, acceleration, and ball skills, the freedom to burst forward suddenly and make dribbling runs, drop deep to lose their markers and pick up the ball, link-up with teammates, and score many goals themselves as well as assisting them. Unlike a pure number ten playmaker, however, the nine and a half/supporting forward does not usually participate in the build-up play as much as an attacking midfielder would. Their role is primarily that of an assist-provider, who can play one-twos as well as hold up and lay-off the ball for more offensive teammates. As the supporting forward initially originated from free-role attacking midfielders adapting to a more advanced position in the tactically rigorous 4–4–2 formations of the 1990s, in which they were often paired up with a more physically gifted out-and-out striker, their defensive contribution is also usually higher than that of a pure number ten playmaker.
In Italy, this role is known as a "rifinitore" or "seconda punta", whereas in Brazil, it is known as a "segundo atacante" or "ponta-de-lança".