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This is the third part in a four part series on breaking down soccer positions for beginner players.

Outsiders
Outsiders have long since been dead. Ever since England won the World Cup in 1966 - without the help of a winger in their win the position has since been absorbed by the midfield into a more forward midfielder. Originally, the winger was responsible for making sure that crosses were passed to strikers who had a better shot at scoring a goal in the penalty box when things were crowded. With the advent of midfielders who do more work and forwards who are more skilled, the winger has fallen to the wayside and is mostly seen on amateur teams.

Most outsiders were fast and expected to have impeccable dribbling skills. They were also expected to be able to anticipate where the ball would go and act on their intuition in order to make plays. In the modern sport of soccer, many midfielders act in a capacity as outsiders without officially being called them. They share the same skills, goals and aspirations on the field as outsiders did when they were on the pitch.

Outsiders were often much faster than defenders. This allowed them to catch up to a defender that gained a few steps on the field towards the goal, pass them and make a play to take change position. Today though most players are expected to do the job of the winger from wherever they are on the pitch and the extra duties expected of their assigned position and offensive or defensive specialty.

Center Forward
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.