Sport-Blog.com

by Melissa Popp

A football team is generally made up of 11 players. They are each given one position, and in most cases, it is either an offensive or defensive position. In some cases, due to fouls or injuries, a team may play a match that's already started with less than 11 players on the field. However, most teams also make sure to have well above 11 players on their team to ensure they are never short-manned during a match.

Teams also have a captain who serves as the primary leader on the field during a match where a coach's words might not always be heard during the game. The captain is typically the player that shows the most on and off the field and who represents the team well in all aspects. In some cases, the captain is also determined by their seniority on the team and in the game.

The offensive positions are:
Center Forward
The Hole

The center forward is one of the most important positions on the offensive side of the field. The main goal of a center forward is to score as many goals as possible while on the pitch. This means being able to not only read the defensive nature of players around them on opposite teams. It also means being able to take the ball, create an opening and take the shot to score. Center forwards play under the highest pressure and are often relied on for taking the "winning shot" during a particularly hard match.

A center forward is further broken down by a defensive coach as a target or a link. Target center forwards are often taller than their link counterparts, they have good handling skills and often a very powerful shot from far beyond where an average player can score. Link center forwards have similar goals but most often than not assist the target by securing the ball and searching for openings to make a pass. While links are also more than capable of scoring, their main goal is to get the ball to the better shooter.

Normally, a team will play with at least two center forwards, one in the target position and one in the link position. However, depending on the formation the team also chooses to play in during the game, this can change. Defensively, a team will typically have one defender on each center forward as well as a second defender that will cover two or more forwards at a time depending on how the match plays out.

The hole, while stereotypically considered an offensive position, is sort of an overall position for players of high caliber both offensively and defensively. Normally, a player in the hole is stationed somewhere between the midfield and the offensive side of the field for their team. The goal of the hole position is that they are capable of both creating openings for the center forward or scoring themselves from openings created by other.

Teams facing a player in the hole position can expect to be put on their toes for the whole game. That's the point of being the hole. It's being able to shake up things on the defense who will often not know how to defend against such a multi-task player on the pitch. This confusion from the defense can create space and time for spectacular openings that lead to even more spectacular goals. Since there is no defensive position quite like the hole, often, a defensive player assigned to the hole will also be covering another player full-time during a game. This spreads the defense thin allowing for the hole to do what they do best: Create action.

While every team tries to find a player to be the hole, it's very hard to actually find a player capable of filling the shoes of the position. Such players as Dennis Bergkamp, Mark Hughes and more recently Ronaldinho have been able to not only wear the shoes of the hole but also show why the position is one of the deadliest for defenses all over the world.