Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals. This very advanced position and its limited defensive responsibilities mean forwards normally score more goals than other players; accordingly, they are often among the best-known and most expensive players in their teams. This is one of modern football's most demanding positions; it requires intelligence and speed, both of execution and of thought, to perform the role well.

Modern team formations

Formation (association football)

In association football, the formation describes how the players in a team are positioned on the pitch. Different formations can be used depending on whether a team wishes to play more attacking or defensive football....

usually include one to three forwards; two is the most common. Coaches typically field one striker who plays in an advanced position (the centre forward), and another attacking forward who plays somewhat deeper and assists in making goals as well as scoring (the second striker).

Centre forward

The Centre forward is often a tall player, typically known as a target man, whose main function is to score the majority of goals for his team. He may also be used to win long balls or receive passes and "hold up" the ball as team-mates advance, to help teammates score by providing a pass ('through ball' into the box); the latter variation usually requiring quicker pace. Some forwards operate on the wings of the field and work their way goalward. A centre forward usually must be strong, to win key headers and 'outmuscle' defenders. His classic number is 9.

The term centre forward is taken from the early football playing formation

Formation (association football)

in which there were five forward players: two Outside forward

Outside forward

Outside forward is a position in association football which refers to a footballer who plays as an advanced forward on the right or left wing - as an outside right or outside left. Typically as part of a 2-3-5 formation or one of its variants...

s, two inside forward

Inside forward

In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...

s, and one centre forward.
When numbers were introduced in the 1933 English FA Cup final

1933 FA Cup Final

The 1933 FA Cup Final was a football match between Everton and Manchester City on 29 April 1933 at Wembley Stadium in London. The deciding match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup , it was the 62nd final, and the 11th at Wembley...

, one of the two centre forwards that day wore the number nine and the number would then become synonymous with the centre forward position (only one that day because one team was numbered 1–11 whilst the other was numbered 12–22). The modern era has different formations and has squad numbers rather than numbers 1–11, but some positions still retain their original numbers and a traditional centre forward or target man is often found wearing the number nine, such as Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

, who wore the number 9 shirt at club and international level or Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres

Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....

the Spanish centre forward player who is wearing number nine in his team and international level.

The striker however varies greatly from the centre-forward. Strikers are more known for their ability to peel off defenders and to run into space via the blind side of the defender and to receive the ball in a good goalscoring position. They are typically fast players with decent ball control and dribbling abilities. A good striker should be able to shoot

Shooting (association football)

In association football, shooting is a specialized kicking technique mainly used by forwards. The purpose of shooting is to get the ball past the goal line , though some shots may be made in order to win corners or force the keeper to deflect the ball into the path of a teammate - this will only be...

confidently with both feet, possess great power and accuracy, and have the ability to slot the ball under pressure in breakaway situations.

Second striker

Deep-lying forwards have a long history in the game, but the terminology to describe them has varied over the years. Originally such players were termed inside forwards, or deep-lying centre forwards. More recently, two more variations of this old type of player have developed: the second or shadow or support or auxiliary striker and, in what is in fact a distinct position unto its own, the Number 10, the Trequartista who are often described to be an attacking midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

or the playmaker

Playmaker

In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals....

.

The second striker position is a loosely-defined and often misapplied one somewhere between the out-and-out striker, whether he is a target-man or more of a poacher, and the Number 10 or Trequartista, while possibly showing some of the characteristics of both. In fact, a coined term, the "nine-and-a-half", has been an attempt to define the position. Conceivably, a Number 10 can alternate as a second-striker provided that he is also a prolific goalscorer, otherwise a striker who can both score and create opportunities for a less versatile centre forward is more suited. This has been true of natural trequartistas like Roberto Baggio

Roberto Baggio

Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...

, Francesco Totti

Francesco Totti

Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...

and Alessandro Del Piero

Alessandro Del Piero

Alessandro Del Piero Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus, of which he is also club captain....

and outside of Italy the likes of Kenny Dalglish

Kenny Dalglish

Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...

who seldom played in a team formation which permitted them the creative license to play as a number 10 and so they adapted themselves to the second-striker role. Second or support strikers do not tend to get as involved in the orchestration of attacks, nor bring as many other players into play, as the Number 10 since they do not have the range of vision, nor the burden of responsibility that the latter, around whom the team's attack is built, possess.

Successful attacks generally require the collaboration of many players, and goals can be made from the flanks or from the center, all in one movement. In the diagram shown, some of the most successful strikers of the 20th century help to create a goal for a midfielder. The fast German winger Libuda starts the move by floating a long cross to Seeler at the far post. Seeler heads down for Muller, who plays it back to midfielder Overath for a goal. Though considered a centre-forward, Seeler's dangerous aerial skills created countless chances for his team-mates. Skillful combined play will see a centre-forward switch to a supporting role as the situation demands.

Winger

A winger is an attacking player who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines. They can be classified as forwards, considering their origin as the old "outside-forward" position, and continue to be termed as such in most parts of the world, especially in Latin and Dutch footballing cultures. However, in the Anglo-Saxon world, they are usually counted as part of the midfield.

It is a winger's duty to beat opposing fullbacks, deliver cut-backs or crosses from wide positions and, to a lesser extent, to beat defenders and score from close range. They are usually some of the quickest players in the team and usually have good dribbling

Dribbling

In sports, dribbling refers to the maneuvering of a ball around a defender through short skillful taps or kicks with either the legs , hands , stick or swimming strokes...

skills as well. In their Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

and Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

usage, the defensive duties of the winger have been usually confined to pressing the opposition fullbacks when they have the ball. Otherwise, a winger will drop closer to the midfield to make himself available, should his team win back the ball.

In British and other northern European styles of football, the wide-midfielder is expected to track back all the way to his own corner flag should his full-back require help, and also to track back his marker, as well as tucking into the midfield when the more central players are trying to pressure the opposition for the ball, a huge responsibility for attack-oriented players, and particularly those like Joaquín (winger/wide midfielder) or Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi

Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...

(winger/second-striker/trequartista) or Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

and John Barnes

John Barnes

-Sportsmen:*Jack Barnes , English professional footballer*John Barnes , Jamaican-born England footballer*John Barnes , Australian rules footballer...

(winger/central midfielder) who lack the physical attributes of a wing-back or of a more orthodox midfield player. As these players grow older and lose their natural pace, they are frequently redeployed as Number 10s between the midfield and the forward line, where their innate ball control and improved reading of the game in the final third can serve to improve their teams' attacking options in tight spaces. An example is Internazionale

F.C. Internazionale Milano

Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...

use of veteran Luís Figo

Luís Figo

Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...

behind one or two other attackers.

In recent years there has been a trend of playing 'unorthodox' wingers – wide men stationed on the 'wrong' side of the pitch, in order to enable them to cut inside and shoot

Shooting (association football)

on their stronger foot and sometimes provide in-swinging crosses. Stewart Downing

Stewart Downing

Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...

, Arjen Robben

Arjen Robben

Arjen Robben is a Dutch footballer who plays for the German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Though often classified as a forward, he usually plays behind the forwards as a winger, and he is also known for his dribbling skills...

, Ricardo Quaresma

Ricardo Quaresma

Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo is a Portuguese footballer of partial Romani descent who currently plays as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig side Beşiktaş J.K and the Portuguese national team. Quaresma began his career at Sporting Clube de Portugal, and has also played for FC Barcelona, FC Porto,...

, Ashley Young, Nani

Nani

-People:*Nani, a Portuguese footballer who plays for Manchester United*Gianluca Nani, former technical director at West Ham United*Nanabhoy Palkhivala, nicknamed Nani, an Indian jurist and economist*Nani Roma, a Spanish rally racing driver...

and Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

all have been used regularly playing on the opposite wing. Sometimes the wingers swap sides several times during a match to confuse defenders, especially if one is right footed and the other left footed.

Strike teams and combinations

A strike team is two or more strikers that work well together to a devastating effect. The history of football has been filled with many effective combinations. Two-player partnerships, such as Dwight Yorke

Dwight Yorke

Dwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland...

and Andy Cole

Andy Cole

Andrew Alexander Cole is a retired English footballer. He is most well known by the name Andy Cole , but in 2000, he reputedly asked to be known as Andrew Cole...

of the 1999 Manchester United treble winning squad, are well known, but also important to any attack are bigger groups of players who form distinct strike packages. Three-man teams often operate in "triangles", giving a wealth of attacking options. Four-man packages expand options even more.

Whatever the number of players involved, the strikers must possess good technical skills, be creative and have a hunger for goal. Strikers must also be flexible, and be able to switch roles at a moment's notice, between the first (advanced penetrator position), second (deep-lying manoeuvre) and third (support and expansion, e.g. wings) attacker roles.

Depicted is an illustration of strikers at work, from one of the most potent strike teams of the 20th century – Pelé

Pelé

However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...

, Jairzinho

Jairzinho

Jair Ventura Filho, better known as Jairzinho , is a former association footballer. A quick, powerful forward or winger, he was a member of the legendary Brazilian national team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, during which he scored in every game Brazil played...

and Tostão

Tostão

Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade , better known as Tostão, is a former Brazilian footballer, who played as a forward. In his prime, he was considered one of the best offensive players in the world, while also contributing with many assists thanks to his passing abilities.-Football career:Born in Belo...

of Brazil. During Brazil's 1970 campaign, centre-forward Tostão played the advanced penetration role of first attacker as described above in the article. Pelé often dropped back into midfield not only to escape tight marking but to draw his markers with him, opening gaps and helping create attacks. The third attacker- the winger Jairzinho, often took an advanced position but specialized in working the right side of the field.

In the semi-final against the ultra-defensive Uruguay, it is Pelé who takes on the role of target man, dropping infield to receive from Jairzinho. Tostão becomes the second attacker and Pelé finds him with a soft back-heel. Jairzinho meanwhile becomes the most advanced man, sprinting far upfield to receive Tostão's pass. This tight exchange put Jair through for a score, and illustrates how three strikers can work together to blow open the tightest defences.

Another example was the Total Football

Total Football

"Total Football" is the label given to an influential tactical theory of association football in which any outfield player can take over the role of any other player in a team. It was pioneered by Dutch football club Ajax from 1969 to 1973, and further used by the Netherlands National Football...

played by the Dutch team in the 1970s, where the ability of their players, and in particular Johan Cruijff, to swap positions allowed a flexible attacking approach which opposition teams found difficult to effectively mark.

Centre forward

Striker

Second striker

Winger

Strike teams and combinations

See also