attacking midfielder

[xTottixCorex]

hey, i'm currently playing centre-back for my college team and wanted to move to a more offensive role into the team as a attacking mifielder. my fitness is quite dodgy(but i'm working on it) i have good pace and can pass ok. but i lack vision and don't really have good close ball control. is there anything else i need to work on or develop in oder to perform well in the position?

[Wingtips1]

hey, i'm currently playing centre-back for my college team and wanted to move to a more offensive role into the team as a attacking mifielder. my fitness is quite dodgy(but i'm working on it) i have good pace and can pass ok. but i lack vision and don't really have good close ball control. is there anything else i need to work on or develop in oder to perform well in the position?

sorry to say it, but if you are already in college playing center back, you're not going to turn into a proficient attacking player any time soon.
if you don't have vision by now, you're not going to develop it to a high enough level.
your close control can improve, but if you lack any type of 'flair', you're probably not going to acquire it.

[ranova]

I think that is a bit too pessimistic. A lot depends on the circumstances, but an 18-year-old still has a lot of room for improvement. Its just that significant improvement takes months if not a year or two. This is certainly an achieveable goal, just not something that is likely to happen in the short term. I suggest that you ask one of your coaches for advice on what you can work on individually before or after regular practices to improve these areas. To a certain extent, vision can be improved by better habits on the field. Looking around you while you are off the ball instead of simply ball watching is one idea. That way you know generally the situation before you receive the ball. Ball skills and fitness can definitely be improved. Collecting (receiving) the ball is very important. Having a good first touch makes all the difference to an attacking player. Also overlooked is how you play off the ball. Most of your time as an attacker is spent off the ball. It is a very important skill in creating space and opportunities for yourself and your teammates to exploit. Finally regardless of what your abilities are, the coach is trying to make the most effective team with the players you have. So its who can do what jobs.

[schmuckatelli]

hey, i'm currently playing centre-back for my college team and wanted to move to a more offensive role into the team as a attacking mifielder. my fitness is quite dodgy(but i'm working on it) i have good pace and can pass ok. but i lack vision and don't really have good close ball control. is there anything else i need to work on or develop in oder to perform well in the position?
You've really hit on almost all the key points already. Any midfield player must be highly fit, because you tend to run considerably more than defenders, especially central defenders. Vision is critical to any central midfielder, and close control/first touch is also a very important quality in an attacking mid. Good passing is a dead necessity, particularly the ability to play passes to space, rather than just to feet.

I think that speed of thought (closely allied with vision) is important, too. If you can see yourself as a chess player who thinks the 4-5 moves ahead, instead of only seeing maybe the next move, then you begin to understand this idea. Good luck - this is not an easy transition to make.

[xTottixCorex]

You've really hit on almost all the key points already. Any midfield player must be highly fit, because you tend to run considerably more than defenders, especially central defenders. Vision is critical to any central midfielder, and close control/first touch is also a very important quality in an attacking mid. Good passing is a dead necessity, particularly the ability to play passes to space, rather than just to feet.

I think that speed of thought (closely allied with vision) is important, too. If you can see yourself as a chess player who thinks the 4-5 moves ahead, instead of only seeing maybe the next move, then you begin to understand this idea. Good luck - this is not an easy transition to make.
well, this is actually my 3rd year of playing soccer for a team. i spent last year as a winger, but thanks to my bad habits of eating (i tend to eat alot) i ended up playing in defense to get minutes.

[youcan'tseeme]

hey man i'm an attacking mid-fielder, and it's probably one of the hardest positions to play sometimes. you have to command the entire field, everyone, tell the D up or back, decide which player is the best option when starting an offensive attack.

The biggest thing with mid-field though in my book is not passing, it if thinking, you have to be able to decide who the ball is going to, where it's going to them nad how it's gonna get there in undr 5 seconds or else your gonna have 3 or 4 guys on you.

So I'd say you don't have to be the most talented or the most flashy but you need to be one of if not the smartest, something I've always thought i've been, I'm not the fastest, not the flashiest, but alwaysa step ahead of who's covering you.

Also if you haven't already work hard of your long ball, i know for a fact there is nothing more dangerous then a central mid-fielder who can strike one into the top of the net from 40 yards out, or even mid-field which I've done on two occasions.

good luck man and if you ge tthe chance to try central mid stay vocal, thinknig and vocalization is the key, due those twothings and you'll due fine! once again good luck!

[bosterosoy]

i agree

along with possibly sweeper and arguably goalkeeper, the attacking mid has to have a high IQ and be able to make quick decisions. Also, another helpful skill is creativity.

[xTottixCorex]

i agree

along with possibly sweeper and arguably goalkeeper, the attacking mid has to have a high IQ and be able to make quick decisions. Also, another helpful skill is creativity.

well, would there be any ways of improving in these areas?

i've only been at it for 3 years now, so i know alot of work will have to take place for this to happen:o

[Alex_8]

I would also like improve myself as a attacking midfielfer. Would picturing plays in my head before the attack is done help me?

[boldaring]

Try dribbling with your eyes closed everyday, and look up, soon you will not need to look at the ball all the time when you dribble, just when you make a touch on it.

[rca2]

I would also like improve myself as a attacking midfielfer. Would picturing plays in my head before the attack is done help me?

Visualization is a valid technique. But you can't do it during the run of play. You could use it before the match or before taking a free kick for instance but trying to visualize each pass or shot before you make it will only slow your play down. And there is little time or space in the attacking third, so you don't want to waste any of it. As a forward during stoppages, I will look at the goal and visualize taking a perfect shot. Don't know if it actually helps me, but it can't hurt.

[coppa]

I'm in the same boat but I'm just 14.

I was playing center back before as well but another member of my team is "a faster sprinter" in a way. When we would play teams with very fast forwards I would struggle to keep up with them at times.

However my coach thinks that the way I play, with intelligence and aggression that I would be better suited in a CM/stopper position. We had a tournament yesterday and I started to really settle into my role and get a better feel for it.

But you will definitely need to work on your fitness. That has been a tad restricting for me so far. But if you don't have good vision and your passing is only ok I don't see how you can play attacking CM?

I don't know about others but to me some of the most important things about a CM is good passing, fitness, and vision.

Anyways, you will have to work on all of that and not to forget, your touch. Good luck, I can relate.

[persianfootball]

hey, i'm currently playing centre-back for my college team and wanted to move to a more offensive role into the team as a attacking mifielder. my fitness is quite dodgy(but i'm working on it) i have good pace and can pass ok. but i lack vision and don't really have good close ball control. is there anything else i need to work on or develop in oder to perform well in the position?

lol, sorry but you need to be naturally talented to play attacking midfielder. all of the teams offense depends on the attacking midfielder. if you look at teams who play with attacking midfielders the AM is usually the best player on the team. you need natural vision and dribbling skills to play attacking midfielder and i just dont see how a centre back can transform into an AM. however, you are still young and if your game changes completely you might have hope.

[servotron]

I can't possibly hope to teach someone how to have vision, but I will try and explain it as best I can. I know from my playing and the feedback of my many teammates that I have pretty good vision and eye for plays.

I think it has to do with a few things:

1) If at all possible, know what you're going to do before you get the ball...you have to pay attention to the 2 to 4 passing options you've got BEFORE you get it. This requires knowing not only your own skills, but the tendencies and skills of those who you are likely to pass to.

2) Use your peripheral vision to your advantage. This is more of a physical thing, but I often feel like for some reason I can actually "see more" than other people in the wide areas. I think it's just a matter of detecting motion in your peripheral vision and deciding in an instant wether it's an attacking motion (from your own player) or a defending motion (from another player not on your team) and acting on it. This skill/trait works in concert with point #1.... you have to know what's happening and then count on your peripheral to know if the option to play in whatever direction still exists.

3) Know your passing. As a creative midfielder you need to know and be confident in the many ways to pass effectively, especially in attack. You need to be able to perform a good chip/lob that will have backspin on it to go over a defender's head and not go too far toward the keeper or by-line. You need to know how to hit a properly weighted ground pass... this usually involves hitting the ball in the right place so that it will use the friction of the playing surface to slow down... these two types of passes can only be performed consistently with practice.

Work on them.

I practice my chips and lobs by setting up a garbage can and wherever I am I will take a dribble (or from a deadball) and I will try and "swish" it in the can. It's not easy, but if you can come reasonably close most of the time, you're going to really be able to utilize more useful runs from your strikers and wings, or anyone who likes to score one on one with the keeper :)

[servotron]

Also if you don't know how already you're probably going to be well-served by developing a rocket-hard shot. As an effective attacker you need to have every weapon at your disposal, and if your team isn't making the runs, or you're just feeling invincible... take that shot from 30 yards! I've scored more than my share by having a go at it.

[xTottixCorex]

i already have a shot on me (i practice crosses and free kicks all the time, i liked to overlap sometimes to give a 3 winger option) and i think i'm a good passer. it's the vision part that's gonna be hard. i have the tendency to slow up looking for options on the pass and i wear glasses (which i don't wear during play) so it's hard at night for me. i try to improve my dribbling so that part of the problem's somewhat solved. i was wondering if there's anything else i can do to work on this???

[hallelujah_united]

I think what's most important about vision is to really know what area to pass the ball into during the game. As an attacking midfielder, you'll have to bring the other players like your wingers and forwards into play, and to do that you're going to have to make decisions about who to play the ball to, as well as how to spread the ball to them. Should they be running on to it, or should it be passed slightly behind them to allow the fullbacks and wingers to overlap and draw the opposing defence out? It's terribly difficult, although not impossible, to develop a knack for playing the CORRECT pass.

You sound like you want to go down the route of the playmaker though, if I'm not mistaken. There is the other kind of attacking midfielder best represented by Iniesta currently, where he just moves along with the play and links it up to ensure the flow of the play is carried on.

[xTottixCorex]

You sound like you want to go down the route of the playmaker though, if I'm not mistaken. There is the other kind of attacking midfielder best represented by Iniesta currently, where he just moves along with the play and links it up to ensure the flow of the play is carried on.Yeah, i guess. i was thinking more along the lines of a Riquelme, a passing attacking midfielder. i'm for sure faster then him, but he's a hell of a passer.