Position: Goalkeeper
- The most defensive position in soccer
- Main job to stop opposition goals
- Also organises the defence and builds play from the back
- Wears gloves, and a different coloured jersey from teammates
- Only player who can use their hands in their 18-yard box (apart from throw-ins!)
Bundesliga archetype: Manuel Neuer
arguably the best goalkeeper ever to play the game, Neuer has the shot-stopping ability of any who have gone before him, but if sweeper-keepers – players as good with their feet as with their hands – are now the most in-demand operators in the position, then soccer has Neuer to thank. colombian cult champion Rene Higuita used to try and beat opposition forwards in the 1990s, not always successfully. today, brazilian pair Alisson and Ederson win plaudits for – and trophies with – their distribution out from the back. Neuer found the fortunate base years ago ; racing off his lineage to clear the risk as Germany won the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Bayern Munich captain will beat a fore with the ball at his feet if he has to, but he ’ five hundred rather find a teammate with a laser-sighted pass. As for good antique shot-stopping : The 33-year-old has repelled closely 80 percentage of attempts on his finish in more than a DECADE in the Bundesliga, picking up seven league titles, four DFB Cups, and a UEFA Champions League on the way. Watch: The Bundesliga, home of the world ‘s best goalkeeper ( sulfur )
Position: Full-back
- Lines up either side of the defence
- Marks opposition wingers
- Provides support for the wide midfielder ahead of them
- May overlap and send crosses into the opposition box
- Often takes throw-ins
Bundesliga archetype: Benjamin Pavard Honed primarily as a centre-back at first gear Lille and recently VfB Stuttgart, Pavard has the needed grit and understand of the game to play through the middle, but those like skills make him the perfect full-back for teams who prefer to leave the attacking burden on midfielders playing in front of the defense mechanism. Stuttgart may have been relegated at the end of last season, but Pavard still won an median of eight challenges per game. Unlike more attack wing-backs who might attempt to grab the headlines themselves, Pavard successfully sought out a better-placed teammate an average of 41 times per game survive condition. That ’ s not to say the 23-year-old can ’ thyroxine union in the attack with some aplomb when called upon. A World Cup achiever with France – from right-back – in the summer of 2018, Pavard scored the goal of the tournament as Les Bleus drum Lionel Messi ’ s Argentina 4-3 in the survive 16, with an unstoppable curl volley from the edge of the opposition box .
Benjamin Pavard scored the goal of the tournament for France against Argentina at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but he normally prefers keeping chances out.
– imago/ActionPictures
Position: Wing-back
- Modern variation of the full-back
- Overlaps and sends crosses into the opposition box
- Still marks opposition wingers when needed
- Expected to stay on their touchline
- One of the most physically demanding positions
Bundesliga archetype: Joshua Kimmich merely as Bayern and Germany big Philipp Lahm called time on a aglitter career, Joshua Kimmich emerged, about like a regenerated player in Football Manager. A box-to-box midfielder in taking his early career steps with RB Leipzig, Kimmich was even used as a makeshift centre-back by Pep Guardiola amid a defensive wound crisis at Bayern in the 2015/16 temper. He ’ s been shifted back into central midfield of late by Germany coach Joachim Löw, too… Anyone who watched Kimmich for the champions last season would find ineluctable the decision that he shines brightest at right-back, though. In fact, he might good be the best in the world at it. His 252 miles covered ( 7.4 per game ) were a league best, and his lung-bursting runs didn ’ triiodothyronine negatively impingement upon his control or accuracy. Kimmich enjoyed a league-high 3,369 touches and completed 91 percentage of his passes – more than any other full-back – and his 13 assists were bettered only by Jadon Sancho, who lines astir on the right wing of Borussia Dortmund ’ s attack. Watch: The game ‘s best right-back under the tactical microscope
Position: Centre-back (stopper)
- Shuts down opposition attackers
- May employ zonal or man-marking strategies
- Brings the ball out from the back
- Often tall and physically strong
- Bravery and heading ability desirable, for use in either box
Bundesliga archetype: Niklas Süle At 6 ’ 5 ” -tall but with a top accelerate of 21.6 miles per hour – the second fastest player at Bayern behind flying winger Kingsley Coman – Süle is the quintessential contemporary center back : tall enough to both head danger clear and induce havoc in the resistance box ; but firm adequate to quash try passes to flying forwards should opponents elect to try through-balls alternatively of loft crosses. At 23, Süle ’ south numbers are already barely credible. Despite his physical stature the former Hoffenheim man averaged equitable half a foul per game in the Bundesliga last season, while Thiago Alcantara – Bayern ’ s string-pulling midfielder – was the only musician who had more than Süle ’ s 2,799 touches of the ball for the champions concluding term. National coach Löw has employed a back three in recent months. That Süle is in the middle of it, variously flanked by Jonathan Tah and Matthias Ginter among others, is of no surprise. Bayern ’ s prototype centre-back can break and make play better than about anybody in the game . In the air or on the ground, there ‘s not much getting past Bayern Munich ‘s Niklas Süle ( top ).
– 2018 DFL
Position: Centre-back (sweeper)
- A safety net for the stopper(s) alongside them
- Races to cover gaps when defence is breached
- Less concerned with man-marking
- Reads the game from deep
- Joins midfield build-up when in possession
Bundesliga archetype: Makoto Hasebe Hasebe won the Bundesliga as a midfielder with Wolfsburg in 2009, but immediately, 10 years on, he has used some of the skills honed in the stead to become possibly the best example of a carpet sweeper the league has to offer. The Japan captain may be 35, but if he has lost a yard of pace in his peg, he more than makes up for it with his focal ratio of think. Eintracht Frankfurt got to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals last terminus, and while Luka Jovic, Sebastien Haller and Ante Rebic grabbed most of the headlines, their success was built on a Urawa Red Diamond-crafted fundamentals. If a ball over the top eludes one of Hasebe ’ s teammates – more physically imposing centre-backs like David Abraham or Evan N ’ Dicka – Hasebe is constantly there behind them, having read the danger before it ’ s had time to manifest. Four yellow cards in 28 games are the narrative of a player who prefers to intercept rather than tackle ; 42 completed passes per bet on the story of a possession victor who keeps the testis once he ’ mho won it back. Watch: Hasebe, Frankfurt ‘s humble fundamentals
Position: Centre-back (quarter-back)
- Same, central defensive position as the stopper
- Also more likely to be used in a back three
- Keeping the ball as important as winning it back
- Confident in possession
- Greater onus on long, accurate passes
Bundesliga archetype: Mats Hummels equal parts stopper and sweeper, Hummels and long-time Bayern and Germany counterpart Jerome Boateng redefined the central defensive function on approaching their corporate peaks around the 2010 marker. The copulate – european U21 champions with Germany in 2009 – have been split ahead of the 2019/20 campaign, with Hummels returning to previous club Dortmund. At 30, Hummels could however prove to be the scoop of the summer for Die Schwarzgelben, though. Bayern overturned Dortmund in last season ’ mho Rückrunde to pick up a record seventh consecutive Bundesliga deed, and Hummels was, quite literally, central to their comeback. His average of five forward pass duels won per game made him dangerous in both boxes, but it ’ s not for nothing that his nickname on Instagram is aussenrist15. Aussenrist is german for the outside of your animal foot, and Hummels uses his to devastating effect. constantly playing left centre-back, the right-footer span the ball to a teammate with a heat-seeking 92 percentage of his passes death season, even though he attempted some 118 long balls. He teed up 15 shots on the confrontation goal, one of which was scored. Tom Brady eat your affection out . Quarter-back Mats Hummels will be launching balls forward from Borussia Dortmunds defense adjacent season, after returning to the club from Bayern Munich in the summer.
– 2014 DFL
Position: Defensive midfielder (ball-winner)
- Sits in front of the defence
- Wins the ball back with tackles and interceptions
- Covers teammates when they go forward
- Harries opposition attackers
- Physically fit and tenacious
Bundesliga archetype: Thomas Delaney The play careers of Roy Keane, Edgar Davids and Gennaro Gattuso were beginning to fade from the collective footballing memory – the rise of deep lie playmakers largely creditworthy – but the battle, ball-winning midfielder is beginning to make a comeback, and in the Bundesliga, Dortmund ’ s Danish destroyer Thomas Delaney is leading the charge. Delaney and Axel Witsel arrived at the Signal Iduna Park from Werder Bremen and Tianjin Quanjian respectively concluding summer, Die Schwarzgelben adding serious steel to their already admirable silk. Whilst doubly pivot dance partner Witsel is adept at winning the ball rear, he besides likes to build play. Delaney deals more entirely in the dark arts, a hyphen more Schwarz than Gelb. With his humble center of gravity and top accelerate of 21 miles per hour, Delaney is able to get in around the feet of enemy attackers, winning the ball back an modal of 10 times per game. When he doesn ’ t get the ball, he might clip the valet, as his 41 foul attest, but entirely seven of those instances resulted in scandalmongering cards last condition, and he ’ mho never been sent off. In short, Delaney can slow down resistance attacks without leaving his team a man down for the rest of the plot . Thomas Delaney has made a habit of running through players at Borussia Dortmund, but he ‘s yet to be sent off in his senior professional career.
– 2019 DFL
Position: Defensive midfielder (deep-lying playmaker)
- Sits in front of the defence
- Creative playmaker from deep
- Distributes to teammates, near and far
- Sets the team’s tempo
- Capable of tackling, though a secondary task
Bundesliga archetype: Thiago Alcantara Father meter may be an undefeated champion, but Bayern ’ s midfield metronome Thiago is able to bend it to his will with inerrable regularity using his focal ratio of control, proficiency, and 20/20 distributive vision from the root of the champions ’ midfield. No midfielder could boast more than Thiago ’ s 2,916 touches in 2018/19, and he completed 93 percentage of his passes at an eye-watering rate of 75 per game. Dortmund ’ s Witsel completed 94 percentage of his, but he wasn ’ t trying to thread the ball through the eye of a acerate leaf : Witsel had one help end term ; Thiago had six.
Read more: Lille OSC
“ It ’ s Thiago or nothing, ” so said Guardiola on taking up the reins at Bayern in the summer of 2013. The stream Manchester City passenger car got his serviceman, and the Bavarians have been reaping the rewards ever since. Watch: How Thiago pulls Bayern ‘s strings
Position: Box-to-box midfielder
- Lines up in the middle of the field
- Equally adept at attacking and defending
- Maintains possession
- Tracks back to tackle and block shots
- Breaks into the opponent’s box and tries to score
Bundesliga archetype: Weston McKennie “ I ’ d play goalkeeper if Schalke told me to, ” therefore said McKennie during a season in which he played once at right-back, once at right midfield, three times at centre-back and even once up movement. football team of his 24 appearances saw him start in his preferable cardinal midfield function, though, and he can expect to stay there for the foreseeable. Box-to-box midfielders are frequently built like middleweight boxers, match enough to dominate the crippled in attacking and defensive phases, sometimes seconds apart, and McKennie fits the bill. No midfielder won more than McKennie ’ s 101 headers last season, despite the Texan stand at 6 ’ flat, and if tell of his increasing goal-threat were required, look no further than the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he has fired the USA into the final with two goals in his last two games. Schalke are rebuilding after a disappointing season – Nabil Bentaleb and Hamza Mendyl are among those to have left – but McKennie has had his contract extended until 2024. For the Royal Blues, this box-to-box midfielder ticks all the boxes . Weston McKennie ( l. ) is adding goals to his game for the USA, despite lining up in a deeper position than erstwhile Borussia Dortmund favored christian Pulisic ( r. ) for the USMNT.
– 2019 Getty Images
Position: Wide midfielder
- Provides width in midfield
- Gives full-backs defensive protection
- Compresses play in opponents’ half
- May cross from deeper positions than wingers
- Combines speed and stamina
Bundesliga archetype: Filip Kostic It scantily seems fathomable that Kostic suffered two relegations just two years apart with first Stuttgart and then Hamburg. The Serbia broad man was crucial to Frankfurt ’ s impressive season, contributing a team-high 10 assists in the league and another two in Die Adler ’ s run to the Europa League semi-finals. It is the manner of Kostic ’ s assists that make him so difficult to handle. His delivery is akin to a left-footed David Beckham, but he has a top speed of 21.4 miles per hour. If a defender sits off him, he can spin it in foremost time, as he did for Jovic ’ s Goal of the Season rival in the 7-1 end of Fortuna Düsseldorf. If the confrontation full-back marks him tight, Kostic merely races past his valet and squares it. In Frankfurt ’ s 3-4-1-2 system, Kostic doesn ’ metric ton normally have a left-back to help him out, but he doesn ’ metric ton seem to need it. His 396 duels won last season were a league fifth-best mark, and came in at a pace of seven per game . Filip Kostic ‘s delivery is moment to none, but the Eintracht Frankfurt serviceman is therefore quick that he does n’t always have to send crosses in from distance.
– 2019 DFL
Position: Attacking midfielder
- Dictates play from behind the strikers
- Creates goalscoring chances for the attackers
- Technique and creativity crucial
- Ability to shoot from range an advantage
- Historically associated with the No.10 jersey
Bundesliga archetype: Marco Reus The classical No.10 was a string-pulling midfielder, typically with technique dripping from every pore, playing in the hole behind his team ’ mho central striker. They didn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate constantly have to be the fastest – who can run quicker than the ball can move anyhow ? – imagination and creativity were key. current Real Madrid director Zinedine Zidane wore the number on his new jersey in steering France to their maiden over FIFA World Cup triumph in 1998, and the most recent Bundesliga musician in that mildew was possibly James Rodriguez, who returned to play under the Frenchman in Madrid in June following his biennial loan spell at Bayern. But good as full-backs have become wing-backs and defensive midfielders have evolved into ball-players, indeed excessively has the function of the attacking midfielder changed. Dortmund captain Reus may occupy a similar starting stead to Zidane the musician, or James, but he is just arsenic probable to send himself flying ahead to join the attack as he is the ball. The results speak for themselves. Reus still plays slick through-balls – his eight assists last season were no accident – but his 17 league goals, a best Bundesliga return for him in seven years, told the narrative of a No.10 who is precisely equally glad to take as he is to make. Watch: How Reus runs the show for Dortmund
Position: Winger
- The widest attacking player
- Takes on opposition defenders
- Provides crosses into the box
- Meets crosses from the opposite wing
- Often the fastest player on the field
Bundesliga archetype: Jadon Sancho Sancho may alone be 19, but he is already the ultimate contemporary winger. late years have seen the ascent of overlapping full-backs expected to put crosses in from wide areas. Wingers naturally became invert – right-footers on the leave and frailty versa – with that particular task of old taken off their hands. Yet Sancho is right-footed, and 22 of his 26 Bundesliga starts last term came on Dortmund ’ s right wing. Sancho ’ s speed of dominance, skill, trickery and decision-making are such that it doesn ’ thyroxine count. He can outpace his enemy full-back and whip in a cross for a grateful centre-forward about at will, but the fact he can besides trick his way back inside leaves his defender guessing the whole time. Sancho ’ s 14 league assists last season were more than Messi managed for Barcelona, and he besides helped himself to 12 goals with his willingness to break into the box without the ball a well as with it. Watch: Sancho, the best winger in the earth ?
Position: False 9
- Starts up front near the opposition goal
- Replaces the traditional striker in most formations
- Drops deep to pull opposition defenders out of position
- Often a converted midfielder
- Dribbles and creates chances
Bundesliga archetype: Mario Götze Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, 13 July 2014, 5.43pm local time: “ Show the populace you are better than Messi and decide the World Cup ” – Germany coach Joachim Löw to a 22-year-old Mario Götze… Maracana, Rio, 13 July 2014, 6.08pm local time: Götze, having replaced Miroslav Klose, steers home Andre Schürrle ’ s crabbed with an exquisite volley to lift Die Mannschaft to a one-fourth World Cup at Argentina ’ randomness expense. The way Götze ghosted in between Martin Demichelis and Ezequiel Garay made him impossible to pick up. The centre-backs know who was marking Klose, a natural striker, and when, all game. When Götze came on, he drifted between the lines of Argentina ’ s defense and midfield. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. In a few shortstop seconds, Argentina were floored. metabolic troubles had threatened to derail Götze ’ s career in late seasons, but he was back to something approaching his best last term, with his seven goals and seven assists coming in at a rate of every 120 minutes he played. On his day, cipher is capable of a sucker punch quite like Götze . Germany World Cup winner Mario Götze ( c. ) might not have found so much space between Argentina ‘s centre-backs had he started in a natural No.9 position.
– gettyimages
Position: Forward
- Plays between midfield and attack
- Assists the striker in scoring goals
- Elusive and difficult to mark
- More versatile than the target-man
- Vision, technical skill and creativity
Bundesliga archetype: Thomas Müller To describe Müller as an original of any position might seem, on initial inspection, to be doing him down. The self-titled Raumdeuter, Müller ’ mho manner has been leaving pundits – and indeed defenders – perplexed for years. however, his coaches and teammates know better. Of the above list, it is only technical skill that the Bayern icon allegedly lacks. And even then, Müller ’ s awkward gait belies an ability to control the ball that few can match. No ordinary player could bag 10 goals across two World Cups, while 110 Bundesliga strikes and 124 assists tell their own floor . “ Look at all this quad ! ” – Bayern Munich forward Thomas Müller is possibly the most elusive actor in world football.
– 2018 DFL
Position: Striker
- Closest player to the opponent’s goal
- Responsible for scoring goals
- Holds the ball up until teammates can join the attack
- Harries opposition defenders
- Physically strong
Bundesliga archetype: Robert Lewandowski A character in his position, Lewandowski was accountable for a scantily fathomable 0.94 goals per game he played in all competitions for Bayern and Poland end season, the latter of which he besides captains. merely Paris Saint-Germain and France forward Kylian Mbappe had a higher rank in this see across Europe ’ s five major leagues, and even that needs to be taken with a pilfer of salt. Germany outranked France by 13,429 points in the latest UEFA country coefficients, the solution of the sensed military capability of the Bundesliga versus Ligue 1. Mbappe ’ sulfur France are besides the worldly concern champions, rated second base in the latest FIFA World Rankings, in which Poland were 19th. With harder opposition at home and weaker teammates internationally, Lewandowski ’ s 40 goals and 11 assists is an incredible haul. twelve of his goals were game-winners, 28 percentage were headers, 15 percentage left-footers, 57 percentage right-footers, while and he hasn ’ t missed three consecutive games through wound in his entire nine seasons in Germany. As grim as he is arrant, Lewy remains one of the very best in the occupation.
Read more: Real Sociedad
Watch: ALL 22 of Lewandowski ‘s Bundesliga goals from 2018/19 !