central midfielder

IPA/ˌsen.trəl mɪdˈfiːl.dər/
IPA/ˌsen.trəl ˈmɪd.fiːl.dɚ/

central midfielder — noun

1. a football player whose job is to control the game from the middle of the field,

1.nounB2
Definition

a football player whose job is to control the game from the middle of the field, linking the players who defend and the players who attack

Example

Constanza played as a central midfielder, winning the ball and passing it forward to the strikers.

play as a central midfielder

The coach moved Caleb to central midfielder so he could spread passes across the whole pitch.

move someone to central midfielder

Common collocations
  • box-to-box central midfielder
  • holding central midfielder
  • talented central midfielder
Synonyms
  • midfielder

    broader term; a central midfielder is the one who plays in the middle rather than out wide

  • playmaker

    stresses creating chances; a central midfielder may or may not be the main creator

Usage Note

Often shortened to 'midfielder' or labelled by role, such as 'defensive midfielder' or 'attacking midfielder', depending on whether the player sits closer to the defence or the attack.

Common Mistakes

He is a central midfield in our team.
He is a central midfielder in our team.
the person is a 'midfielder'; 'midfield' names the area of the pitch, not the player.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three describe players who work in the middle of a football pitch, but they differ in focus. A central midfielder is the general term for whoever holds the middle area, linking defence and attack and doing a bit of everything. A playmaker is defined by what they produce: the clever passes and openings that set up goals, so a playmaker is judged on creativity rather than position. A defensive midfielder sits deeper, in front of the back line, mainly to break up the other team's attacks and protect the defenders. So you might say: 'Élise is our central midfielder, but she plays as a defensive midfielder when we are protecting a lead, while Eli is the real playmaker who threads the killer pass.'

central midfielder ↗playmakerdefensive midfielder

Common collocations

Nouns

  • central midfield role
  • central midfield partnership

Phrases

  • box-to-box central midfielder
  • holding central midfielder

Prepositions

  • in central midfield

Etymology

LatinEnglish

A compound built from everyday English words. 'Central' comes from 'centre' (via Latin 'centrum', a fixed point), meaning the middle. 'Midfielder' joins 'mid' (middle) and 'field' (the playing area) with the '-er' ending that names a person who does something. The phrase grew with the language of football in the twentieth century, as teams began describing positions by the part of the pitch a player covers.