Editing Midfielder (section)

==Central midfielder==
{{anchor|Centre midfielder}}
[[File:Xavi Hernández - 001.jpg |alt=|thumb|left|Former [[Spain national football team|Spain]] midfielder [[Xavi (footballer, born 1980)|Xavi]] was voted to the [[FIFPro#FIFPro World XI|FIFPro World XI]] six consecutive years.]]

'''Central''' or '''centre midfielders''' are players whose role is divided  between attacking and defensive duties to control the play in and around the centre of the pitch. These players will try to [[Passing (association football)|pass]] the ball to the team's [[#Attacking midfielder|attacking midfielders]] and forwards and may also help their team's attacks by making runs into the opposition's [[penalty area]] and attempting [[Shooting (association football)|shots]] on goal themselves. They also provide secondary support to [[Forward (association football)|attackers]], both in and out of possession.

When the opposing team has the ball, a central midfielder may drop back to protect the goal or move forward and [[Glossary of association football terms#P|press]] the opposition ball-carrier to recover the ball. A centre midfielder defending their goal will move in front of their [[Defender (association football)#Centre-back|centre-backs]] to block long [[Shooting (association football)|shots]] by the opposition and track opposition midfielders making runs towards the goal.

The [[Formation (association football)#4.E2.80.933.E2.80.933|4–3–3]] and [[Formation (association football)#4.E2.80.935.E2.80.931|4–5–1]] formations each use three central midfielders. The [[4-4-2 formation|4−4−2]] formation may use two central midfielders,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4197518.stm |title=Formations guide |date=September 2005 |access-date=31 October 2014 |publisher=BBC Sport |archive-date=17 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817105540/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4197518.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> and in the [[Formation (association football)#Common modern formations#4-2-3-1|4–2–3–1]] formation one of the two deeper midfielders may be a central midfielder. Prominent central midfielders are known for their ability to pace the game when their team is in possession of the ball, by dictating the tempo of play from the centre of the pitch.

=== Box-to-box midfielder ===
[[File:The big 4-0.jpg|thumb|A hardworking box-to-box midfielder, [[Steven Gerrard]] has been lauded for his effectiveness both offensively and defensively;<ref name="thetimes.co.uk">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/steven-gerrard-completes-decade-at-liverpool-d5wq20nm3ck|title=Steven Gerrard completes decade at Liverpool|newspaper=[[The Times]]|access-date=18 December 2014|archive-date=18 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218103145/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/football/clubs/liverpool/article2302644.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> and his ability to make late runs from behind into the penalty area.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/03/30/retro-premier-league-review-200809-steven-gerrards-peak-season/ |title=Retro Premier League review: Why 2008/09 was Steven Gerrard's peak season |work=The Telegraph |last1=Bull |first1=JJ |date=30 March 2020 |access-date=16 May 2020 |archive-date=30 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230174424/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/03/30/retro-premier-league-review-200809-steven-gerrards-peak-season/ |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

The term ''box-to-box midfielder'' refers to central midfielders who are hard-working and who have good all-round abilities, which makes them skilled at both defending and attacking.<ref name="BBCsport3">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1957308.stm |title=Box to box Bowyer |date=29 April 2002 |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=21 June 2008 |location=London |archive-date=15 May 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040515092011/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1957308.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> These players can therefore track back to their own box to make tackles and block shots and also carry the ball forward or run to the opponents' box to try to score.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/story/1861193/in-praise-of-the-box-to-box-midfielder |title=In praise of the box-to-box midfielder |date=4 June 2014 |access-date=31 October 2014 |website=ESPN FC |last=Cox |first=Michael |archive-date=7 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107164741/http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/story/1861193/in-praise-of-the-box-to-box-midfielder |url-status=live }}</ref> Beginning in the mid-2000s, the change of trends and the decline of the standard 4–4–2 formation (in many cases making way for the 4–2–3–1 and 4–3–3 formations) imposed restrictions on the typical box-to-box midfielders of the 1980s and 1990s, as teams' two midfield roles were now often divided into "holders" or "creators", with a third variation upon the role being described as that of a "carrier" or "surger".<ref name="WilsonHolding13">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/dec/18/question-holding-midfielders-changing-role |title=The Question: what does the changing role of holding midfielders tell us? |work=[[The Guardian]] |last=Wilson |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Wilson (writer) |date=18 December 2013 |access-date=31 October 2014 |archive-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328172618/https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/dec/18/question-holding-midfielders-changing-role |url-status=live }}</ref> Some notable examples of box-to-box midfielders are [[Lothar Matthäus]], [[Clarence Seedorf]], [[Bastian Schweinsteiger]], [[Steven Gerrard]], [[Johan Neeskens]], [[Sócrates]], [[Yaya Touré]], [[Arturo Vidal]], [[Patrick Vieira]], [[Frank Lampard]], [[Bryan Robson]], [[Roy Keane]], and more recently, [[Jude Bellingham]] and [[Declan Rice]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.90min.com/posts/the-best-box-to-box-midfielders-of-all-time |title=The Best Box-to-Box Midfielders of All-Time |date=8 June 2020 |access-date=29 October 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029052025/https://www.90min.com/posts/the-best-box-to-box-midfielders-of-all-time |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Mezzala ===
In Italian football, the term ''mezzala'' (literally "half-winger" in Italian) is used to describe the position of the one or two central midfielders who play on either side of a holding midfielder and/or playmaker. The term was initially applied to the role of an [[Forward (association football)#Inside forward|inside forward]] in the [[Formation (association football)#WM|WM]] and ''[[Formation (association football)#Metodo (2–3–2–3)|Metodo]]'' formations in Italian, but later described a specific type of central midfielder. The Mezzala is often a quick and hard-working attack-minded midfielder, with good skills and noted offensive capabilities, as well as a tendency to make overlapping attacking runs, but also a player who participates in the defensive aspect of the game, and who can give width to a team by drifting out wide; as such, the term can be applied to several different roles. In English, the term has come to be seen as a variant of the box-to-box midfielder role.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.football-italia.net/127534/just-what-mezzala |title=Just what is a mezzala? |publisher=Football Italia |last1=Tallarita |first1=Andrea |date=4 September 2018 |access-date=3 January 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731234253/https://www.football-italia.net/127534/just-what-mezzala |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/italian-english/mezzala |title=English translation of 'mezzala' |publisher=Collins Dictionary |access-date=15 April 2020 |archive-date=2 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702093232/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/italian-english/mezzala |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11096/11258105/how-antonio-conte-got-the-best-from-paul-pogba-at-juventus |title=How Antonio Conte got the best from Paul Pogba at Juventus |publisher=Sky Sports |last1=Walker-Roberts |first1=James |date=25 February 2018 |access-date=15 April 2020 |archive-date=23 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123115857/https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11096/11258105/how-antonio-conte-got-the-best-from-paul-pogba-at-juventus |url-status=live }}</ref>