ALL THE POSITIONS ON A FOOTBALL CLUB'S TEAM SHEET (2024)

As you no doubt know, football is a team sport that's generally played with 11 players on a turf pitch. While the choice of positioning on the pitch is the responsibility of the coach or manager, the positions themselves don't really change.

Whether you play in a 4-4-2, 4-3-3, or 3-5-2 formation, the basics are still essentially the same for the goalkeeper, the defenders, the midfielders and the forwards. There are several team formations depending on your manager's chosen tactics.

Back in the 70s and 80s, players had their own precise position and a strictly defined role, such as Michel Platini, who played on the French team from 1973 to 1987.
The defender only worried about defending, while the attackers only worried about scoring goals. Nowadays, defenders tend to be more offensively minded and, similarly, the forwards are also thinking about defence.
In this article, we're going to analyse the different positions on a football team and see which qualities are required for each of them.

ALL THE POSITIONS ON A FOOTBALL CLUB'S TEAM SHEET (2024)

FAQs

How many positions are there on a team? ›

Players. A football team consists of 11 players per side and is divided into forward, midfield, defending, and goalkeeping positions. Like most sports the team has very clear roles to support their overall success: forwards - their main responsibility is to score goals for the team.

What is position 10 in football? ›

What is a number 10? A number 10 is an attacker who operates in the spaces between central midfield and the front line. They often receive between the opposition's midfield and defence – a space commonly referred to as 'between the lines'.

How many roles are in football? ›

In the sport of association football, each of the 11 players on a team is assigned to a particular position on the field of play. A team is made up of one goalkeeper and ten outfield players who fill various defensive, midfield, and attacking positions depending on the formation deployed.

What is the SS position in football? ›

Safety (S) – There are two S positions: The Strong Safety (SS) and the Free Safety (FS). The strong safety is usually, well, strong, and fast. They are usually responsible for covering TEs, RBs, and WRs and playing down the field but are often expected to come up in run support.

Why is number 7 special in football? ›

To football players and fans alike, the number 7 is iconic in football, representing skill, creativity, and leadership on the field. One of the most famous players to wear the number 7 shirt is Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, who established himself as a Kop great during his many years at Anfield.

What does number 9 mean in football? ›

It is also the only position on the field that is required to be occupied. "9" is usually worn by strikers, also known as centre-forwards, who hold the most advanced offensive position on the pitch, and are often the highest scorers in the team.

What is a no 8 in football? ›

As the number eight operates mostly in central areas, they are tasked with connecting defence with attack, and the right side of the team with the left. In a midfield two, the number eight will have more responsibility to add extra central presence underneath the front line with forward runs from midfield.

What is a false 9 in football? ›

A false nine is a centre-forward who repeatedly moves towards the ball in deeper positions from a high starting position, often dropping to receive centrally. The main intention is to get on the ball away from the opposition centre-backs – and, in doing so, to draw players out of position and disrupt the defence.

What is a 6 in football? ›

A number six is a deep-lying midfielder or defensive midfielder who plays at the base of a central-midfield unit. A team can have one player in the number-six role, commonly supporting two number eights ahead.

What is a DM in football? ›

DM (CDM / LDM / RDM) – Defensive Midfielder (Central Defensive Midfielder / Left (off-centre) Defensive Midfielder / Right (off-centre) Defensive Midfielder).

What does fs mean in football? ›

There are two variations of the position: the free safety (FS) and the strong safety (SS). Their duties depend on the defensive scheme. The defensive responsibilities of the safety and cornerback usually involve pass coverage towards the middle and sidelines of the field.

What does CB mean in football? ›

Position abbreviations in Fantasy Football
PositionWhat It MeansWho Is Eligible
DTDefensive TacklesOnly defensive tackles
DEDefensive EndsOnly defensive ends
CBCornerbacksOnly cornerbacks
SSafetiesOnly safeties
14 more rows

What does g mean in football? ›

In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking.

What is a CF in football? ›

Centre forward, an attacking position in Association football.

What is a db in football? ›

In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage.

What are the 4 main roles in a team? ›

Here are four roles for a team: Leader, Facilitator, Coach or Member. All these are the components of a team, but remember that these need not be exclusive. A leader can act as a facilitator and a coach as well at different times.

How many team roles are there? ›

The nine Belbin Team Roles are: Resource Investigator, Teamworker and Co-ordinator (the Social roles); Plant, Monitor Evaluator and Specialist (the Thinking roles), and Shaper, Implementer and Completer Finisher (the Action or Task roles).

How many members should be in a team? ›

The widely regarded ideal size for a work team, according to Katherine Klein of Wharton University, is five people (source). When a team has more than five members, individual performance suffers, whereas teams with fewer than five members may encounter problematic team dynamics and ability gaps.

Why are there 11 players in a team? ›

Another explanation: The English colleges where the first to write rules and give order to the game. These colleges had 11 students per dorm and thus 11 players for a team. Cricket : So that there is a perfect balance of the game with 5 batsmen, 5 bowlers and a wicket-keeper.

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