|The central midfield|
|Around the Academy:
No doubt about it. Playing in the centre of midfield is crucial to a team's success.
The best clubs in the country all have world class players in this position.
Such as Patrick Vieira for Arsenal, Roy Keane for Man Utd and Steven Gerrard at Liverpool.
They are described as the orchestra conductors, the engines of the team, the players pulling the strings from the middle.
You have to have stamina by the bagful to play in this position. It involves endless running.
You will need to be a strong tackler to win the ball back and the skill to create opportunities for the strikers ahead of you.
A lot of your work will go unnoticed as you will make forward runs to join your attackers.
But so too will your opposite number and you must match those runs to assist your defence.
It's in the centre of midfield that games are often won or lost, so dominating the opposition in this area could result in three points.