The Offensive Midfielder...

The offensive midfielder position is very lucrative as you will be part of some of the most crucial plays in every game. You will be mainly involved in scoring goals and your team’s offensive game will rest on your shoulders. Your position will be somewhere between the midfield and your forward line which means that you’ll be able to influence the attack high up in the field.

To perform well on this position you will need to have exceptional skills with the ball (e.g. dribbling, passing, shooting). You also need to be creative and find unexpected solutions to confuse your opponents. Also, having strong mentality and be able to encourage your teammates is also very important.

The great thing with this position is that you will always be in the centre of the action. However, there are drawbacks as well in form of getting the whole blame when your team fails to play well in the offense. You also need to be prepared that your opponents will use all kind of measurements to stop you.

Some of the greatest players are playing as offensive midfielders (e.g. Kaka and Gerrard). If you study these players you’ll notice one common thing, they are both great in utilizing all the things mentioned above. As with any other position you’ll need to spend a lot of time on learning and making mistakes.

So, here is a summary of the fundamental skills you need to have in order to succeed on this position:

• Excellent skills with the ball, including control, shooting, passing, dribbling, receiving etc.

• Being creative, which means that you should perform unexpected things in order to confuse your opponents.

• Intelligence without ball, to anticipate passes from your teammates and create scoring opportunities.

• Strong mentality, ability to encourage your teammates during the games.

• Scoring goals.

If you want to learn all the secrets and small details behind this position I recommend you to check out The Ultimate Guide To Soccer Positions. This book will also teach you the skills you need to pose in order to succeed on this position and explain what you can to improve them. Now, get out there and start to practice :-)

Return from Offensive Midfielder to Soccer Positions Index

Back to Soccer Training Home