What are the different field positions in football?

Centre-forward/Striker

The primary job of a centre-forward/striker is to score goals.

The focal point of the attack, the player tasked with scoring goals to win games, the centre-forward or striker are the most attack-minded players in the team and are stationed closest to the opposition goal. Although this is a single position, different types of strikers exist and correspondingly different attributes. However, the single common skill every type of centre-forward possesses is that of scoring goals.

There are the pacy and agile strikers such as Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who beat defenders using their sheer pace and are very effective in counter-attacking teams. Then, there are the tall, strong target men such as Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud such who allow for a more direct style of play with their ability to win headers and knock-down the ball for his team-mates to pounce upon.

Some strikers such as Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero possess exceptional finishing ability while another breed, albeit a dying one, exists in the form of goal poachers whose key attribute is to score loads of goals in the six-yard box. These strikers are rare these days but Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy and AC Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi were some of the best players in that role.

Sergio Aguero certainly knows where the back of the net is

Another relatively recent invention is the false-nine position in football. Used sporadically over the years due to different circumstances, this role came into the limelight when Pep Guardiola implemented it at Barcelona with Lionel Messi, a winger having exceptional goalscoring and technical ability, playing as the false-nine. Normally the number 9 is associated with strikers and so false-nine indicates the player is not a striker normally but being played in such a position.

The player plays slightly deeper than the usual striker position and allows for the wingers to cut in, can drop to midfield and thereby pull the defenders along with him leading to spaces opening. A deadly tactic when implemented perfectly but it requires exceptional ability to play the role combining both midfield and attacking skills and hence the rarity of usage.

These are the various positions that have been used in football over the decades. As the game evolves further over the years, we can expect new positions to come into existence while a few of the old positions can become obsolete.