Football: Soccer Positions

Unlike the American football, all the players of the European football (including the goalkeeper) can play both offense and defense. Soccer is played with 11 players on each side which is composed of defenders, midfielders, forwards and a goalkeeper. The number of players of the first 3 positions may vary on the type of formation or strategy that the team employs. But in any game, there must only be one goalkeeper for the team. Forwards (or more commonly called as strikers) have only one main job: to score a goal. They play nearest to the opposing goal and posses speed, strength, ball control and accuracy in striking the ball. Other duty of forwards is to set up other players for scoring opportunities. Because they score more goals than any other players in the field, they are usually the most popular, highest paid and superstars of the game. There are 3 varieties of forwards: centre forward (CF), deep-lying forward (SS) and striker (S).Midfielders are excellent defenders and attackers. They play in the middle of the field where they can provide defense from the attacking team and great scoring options when they advance the ball. Midfielders' main job is to keep possession of the ball, take the ball from the other team and receive the ball from the defenders and feed it to the forwards. A soccer team usually has 4 midfielders during the game. The attacking midfielder (AM) who is stationed in the middle of the field, the defensive midfielder (DM) who is in front of the back defenders for defensive purposes, the center midfielder who plays several roles and is the link between the defenders and the attackers, and the winger or wide midfielder who is positioned on either side of the midfield. Defenders or Fullbacks are usually positioned behind the midfielders. Their main tasks are to prevent the attacker of the opposing side from scoring and to provide assistance to the goalkeeper. Defenders usually remain within the team's side of the field. Taller defenders move forward, near the opponent's goal during corner kicks to provide extra passing options. Specific positions for the defenders are sweeper or libero (SW), full-back (FB/RB/LB), center-back (CB) and wingback (WB/RWB/LWB). Goalkeeper (GK) is the only person who can use his hands while the ball is at play. He is the one stands and defends the team' goal post and prevent the opponent from scoring. "Goalie" is also used as a term for the same position.
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