Editing Midfielder (section)

=== Holding midfielder ===
[[File:Yaya Toure 9229.JPG|thumb|right|upright|[[Yaya Touré]], pictured playing for the [[Ivory Coast national football team|Ivory Coast]] in 2012, was a versatile holding midfielder; although his playing style initially led him to be described by pundits as a "carrier", due to his ability to carry the ball and transition from defence to attack, he later adapted to more of a playmaking role.]]

A holding or deep-lying midfielder stays close to their team's [[Defender (association football)|defence]], while other midfielders may move forward to attack.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com/2014/1/28/5353188/on-going-beyond-holding-midfielders|title = On Going Beyond Holding Midfielders|date = 28 January 2014|access-date = 31 October 2014|website = Cartilage Free Captain|last = F.|first = Edward|archive-date = 31 May 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230531092831/https://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com/2014/1/28/5353188/on-going-beyond-holding-midfielders|url-status = live}}</ref> The holding midfielder may also have responsibilities when their team has the ball. This player will make mostly short and simple passes to more attacking members of their team but may try some more difficult passes depending on the team's strategy. [[Marcelo Bielsa]] is considered a pioneer in the use of a holding midfielder in defence.<ref name="WilsonHolding13"/> This position may be seen in the [[Formation (association football)#Common modern formations#4-2-3-1|4–2–3–1]] and [[Formation (association football)#Common modern formations#4–4–2 diamond or 4–1–2–1–2|4–4–2 diamond]] formations.<ref>{{Cite web| last = Cox| first = Michael| title = Teams of the Decade #11: Valencia 2001-04| date = 29 January 2010| url = http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/01/29/teams-of-the-decade-11-valencia-2001-04/| access-date = 28 July 2013| publisher = zonalmarking.net| archive-date = 7 November 2019| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191107183750/http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/01/29/teams-of-the-decade-11-valencia-2001-04/| url-status = dead}}</ref> Writer Jonathan Wilson has identified three different types of holding midfielder, namely the ''destroyer'', the ''creator'', and the ''carrier''.<ref name="WilsonHolding13"/>

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 |quote  = …we knew that [[Zinedine Zidane|Zidane]], [[Raúl (footballer)|Raúl]] and [[Luís Figo|Figo]] didn't track back, so we had to put a guy in front of the [[Defender (association football)|back four]] who would defend.
 |source = [[Arrigo Sacchi]] describes [[Real Madrid C.F.|Real Madrid]]'s need for [[Claude Makélélé]] as a holding midfielder.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan Wilson (writer)|title=Inverting the Pyramid|date=2013|publisher=Nation Books|isbn=9781568589633}}</ref>
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Initially, a defensive midfielder, or "destroyer", and a playmaker, or "creator", were often fielded alongside each other as a team's two holding central midfielders. The destroyer was usually responsible for making tackles, regaining possession, and distributing the ball to the creator, while the creator was responsible for retaining possession and keeping the ball moving, often with long passes out to the flanks, in the manner of a more old-fashioned deep-lying playmaker or ''regista'' (see below).<ref name="WilsonHolding13"/> Earlier examples of a destroyer are [[Nobby Stiles]], [[Herbert Wimmer]], and [[Marco Tardelli]], while later examples include [[Claude Makélélé]] and [[Javier Mascherano]],<ref name="WilsonHolding13"/> although several of these players also possessed qualities of other types of midfielders, and were therefore not confined to a single role.{{cn|date=June 2023}} Early examples of a creator would be [[Gérson]], [[Glenn Hoddle]], and [[Sunday Oliseh]], while more recent examples are [[Xabi Alonso]],<ref name="WilsonHolding13"/> as well as [[Michael Carrick]] and [[Keira Walsh]].<ref>{{cite web|date=2022-09-13|title=Keira Walsh – The Metronome|url=https://analyticsfc.co.uk/blog/2022/09/13/keira-walsh-the-metronome/ |access-date=2022-09-13|website=Analytics FC}}</ref>

The latest and third type of holding midfielder developed as a box-to-box midfielder, or "carrier" or "surger", neither entirely destructive nor creative, who is capable of winning back possession and subsequently advancing from deeper positions either by distributing the ball to a teammate and making late runs into the box, or by carrying the ball themselves; recent examples of this type of player are [[Clarence Seedorf]] and [[Bastian Schweinsteiger]], while [[Sami Khedira]] and [[Fernandinho (footballer, born May 1985)|Fernandinho]] are destroyers with carrying tendencies. [[Luka Modrić]] is a carrier with several qualities of the ''regista'', and [[Yaya Touré]] was a carrier who became a playmaker later in his career after losing his stamina.<ref name="WilsonHolding13" /> [[N'Golo Kanté]] started out as the quintessential destroyer, but developed carrying tendencies under [[Antonio Conte]] at [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]].{{cn|date=October 2023}}