Editing Midfielder (section)

=== Centre-half ===
The historic central half-back position gradually retreated from the midfield line to provide increased protection to the back line against centre-forwards – that [[centre-back|dedicated defensive role in the centre]] is still commonly referred to as a "centre-half" as a legacy of its origins.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Wilson |title=The Question: Did Herbert Chapman really invent the W-M formation? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2011/sep/20/arsenal-herbert-chapman-southampton-tactics |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 September 2011 |access-date=9 April 2012 |archive-date=26 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226104619/http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2011/sep/20/arsenal-herbert-chapman-southampton-tactics |url-status=live }}</ref> In Italian football jargon, this position was known as the ''centromediano metodista'' or ''metodista'', as it became an increasingly important role in [[Vittorio Pozzo]]'s ''[[Formation (association football)#Metodo (2–3–2–3)|metodo]]'' system, although this term was later also applied to describe players who operated in a central holding-midfielder role, but who also had creative responsibilities in addition to defensive duties.<ref name="ritiri e regista"/>