Center midfielder
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Anonymous
| My son, 12, plays striker or right winger. Those are his main positions. He has been asked to play center mid (attacking) for another team in a tournament in a few weeks. This is a position that he’s not very familiar with. Please recommend good videos and or players to watch. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
This is super helpful advice. Thanks so much! |
Anonymous
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This is why it’s good kids should vary positions young. My kid played wing/striker U9/10, center D u11 and center mid this year at U12. He can play equally as well. U9-I2 should not be specialized.
Iniesta from Barcelona. Paul Schoales Man U. Zidane Check old videos of these guys. De Bruyne and Silva Man city.m- current. You need to watch full fifa games as a habit. |
Anonymous
Super helpful! Thanks so much for this! |
Anonymous
| Positions aside, what is his skill set? |
Anonymous
CAM is quite different than CDM, so you may want to make sure he know exactly which one he plays before rolling the tape. Regardless, the toughest things about playing in the middle anywhere on the field, but especially in the midfield, are (1) a lot less time to and on the ball before defenders make a tackle, (2) keeping your distance from other players in the middle on offense, and (3) moving in synch with the other players forward and backward. On the latter, there is less room for error. On all points, head checks are a necessity even if there is zero expectation of getting the ball anytime soon. Final word which may be super obvious. He needs to be aggressive in the middle of the field. He cannot back off tackles and must fill space as appropriate on defense, while also assisting others aggressively on gang tackling right after his team loses the ball. Try to watch DCU U12 tape from a few years ago and watch how their players in the middle work. That is a lot closer to what you can expect than premier league highlights, though those certainly inspire. |
Anonymous
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Kevin De Bruyne and Luka Modric. Andres Iniesta also. Just have him watch YouTubes of those three.
Key things to think about. First touch always has a purpose as he’ll be surrounded by players on all sides. Head up with the ball as he will be a distributor. Look to split defense with passes to striker and wings and then to move off the ball trailing slightly to receive a return pass. Keep the defense honest by shooting from 18 to 25 yards out. Also, off the ball, find pockets of space in the middle to make himself available for a pass. |
Anonymous
Anonymous
| Don’t just make then watch videos of KDB. What is their skill set? There’s different types of holding mids like Verratti/Makelele/Javi Martinez/Medel. Different types of link mids like Xavi/Rakitic/Kroos/Aranguiz. Different types of attacking mids like Iniesta/Kaka/Riquelme/Ronaldinho. There’s box to box mids like Roy Keane and destroyers like Gattuso. Shuttlers like Paulinho/Ramires. Wide midfielders like Camoranesi/Pablo Hernandez. One size does not fit all, what fits their profile? |
Anonymous
| Can I ask why he's been asked to play in an uncomfortable position, by another team (I assume within the same club?) in a tournament of all things? |
Anonymous
| He needs to concentrate on winning every 50-50 ball and then distributing the ball up to striker or to sides. |
Anonymous
Very good question. It’s a team outside his club to represent the state. He’s been training with them. The team is full of super strong players and I’m guessing they have too many wingers/ strikers. They want my son as center midfield but he does not normally play this so he’s nervous. Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I’m going to have him watch videos! |
Anonymous
It is a game. Really nothing to be worried about. |
Anonymous
This And why not tell his coach he is nervous and wants some guidance. Watching maradona zidane or Iniesta will not give a player the technical skill pace or vision of those players. I am not sure how watching videos would really jelp |