Mastering the midfield in Football Manager 2023 presents an intriguing conundrum. With so many midfield options to choose from, you’ll find yourself questioning every selection you make. However, once you consider factors such as the level of your opponent, your pressing approach, and your transitional speed, it may make your decision somewhat simpler. Let’s first talk about the more defensive positions, and then move on to further up the pitch.
If you want more Football Manager 2023, check out our other guides, including these:
- Football Manager 2023: Defensive Roles Guide
- Football Manager 2023: Best Tactics for Possession
- Football Manager 2023: Best Tactics for Counterattacking
- 5 Best Challenges on Football Manager 2023
- 7 Best Football Manager 2023 Tactics for All Kinds of Teams
- 15 Best Teams to Manage in Football Manager 2023
- Football Manager 2023: Best Tactics for Pressing
Defensive Midfield
Traditional Defensive Midfielder
The Defensive Midfielder sits right in front of the defense, acting as an extra line of protection that looks to eliminate the threat before it reaches the backline. The Defensive Midfielder accomplishes this by applying pressure on the opposition out of possession to win back the ball. Additionally, they act as a facilitator of the ball by moving it up the pitch in order to let the more creative midfielders shine through. Their job is simple yet effective, and they are best suited for a balanced side looking to get the best of both counter-attacking and possession football.
You can assign one of two duties to the Defensive Midfielder. With the Defend duty they will prioritize staying in the defensive half of the field, taking pressure off their backline. With the support duty, they will look to combine slightly higher up the field with their creative counterparts, but they will never venture too far forward in any case.
A trio that provides control for a balanced style.
Deep Lying Playmaker
Up next in this Football Manager 2023 Midfield Roles guide we have the Deep Lying Playmaker. These specialists take control from deep inside their own half, just in front of the backline, but behind regular midfielders. Their aim is to initiate intricate attacking sequences by stringing together passes, making the opposition chase the ball and thus create spaces for the player positioned further forward to exploit. However, their passing attributes also allow them to pass their way out of the opposition high press, thus, they offer defense in the form of keeping the ball. This role is well-suited for possession based managers looking to build out from the back.
Like the Defensive Midfielder, you can instruct the Deep Lying Playmaker to perform one of two duties. With the Defend Duty, you can expect them to cover more defensive responsibilities by helping out the backline both through tackles and passing. With the support role, they will have more freedom to venture further forward if the opportunity presents itself.
Ball Winning Midfielder
Let’s now talk about the Ball Winning Midfielder. As the name implies, they will chase down the opposition player with the ball and look to press him relentlessly until the ball is won. The perfect example in real-world football would be N’gole Kante. This role is thus excellent for teams that like to play on the counter as the ball can be won in dangerous areas to convert defense into attack through quick transitions.
The two duties assignable to the Ball Winning Midfielder are more or less the same except that with the Support duty, the player will look to press higher up the pitch resulting in more dangerous opportunities as compared to the Defend duty.
Balance out the passiveness of the regista with the aggressive nature of the ball winning midfielder
The Anchor
The Anchor functions in a very similar area as the Deep Lying Playmaker. However, his main responsibility is not to initiate attacks from deep, but rather to provide the defenders an extra man to turn to to alleviate the pressure off them and help them hold their position – hence the name Anchor. The Anchor is there to connect the defense with the midfield by providing easy passing options without doing anything too fancy. Hence, you can only assign the Defend duty to this role.
Regista
A Regista is very similar to a Deep Lying Playmaker in that he looks to initiate plays from deep inside his own half. However the key difference is the amount of freedom the Regista has compared to the Deep Lying Playmaker. He can be expected to venture further up the pitch, finding creative passing lanes for the attacking players ahead of him, but will always stay behind them. The Regista is thus an interesting outlet in attack, allowing you to overload the opposition with an extra man in attack. Thus if you are looking to play a hybrid possession/pressing system, the Regista seems like a good bet. This role only comes with the support duty in which the defensive and attacking responsibilities are balanced out.
Half-Back
The best way to think of the Half-Back in Football Manager 2023 is to think of it as an advanced defender. The Half-Back will be positioned slightly ahead of the backline, and will look to intercept dangerous passes into the defensive third of the field. In addition, you can expect aggressive tackling from your half-back as they look to win the ball as quickly as possible to initiate quick counter-attacking opportunities. This role only comes with the Defend duty, and is perfectly suited for teams that like to sit back behind the ball and park the bus against stronger opponents.
The half-back will sweep the defense, while the Carrilero will connect him with the Advanced playmaker
Roaming Playmaker
Next up in this Football Manager 2023 Midfield Roles guide we have the Roaming Playmaker. This is a player who will cover the entire length of the field, helping his teammates out all over the pitch through his elite passing abilities as well as pressing to alleviate pressure off the backline. Out of possession, the Roaming Playmaker will set his initial position inside his own half. But once the ball is won back, he will charge forward with commanding runs, always demanding the ball and spraying it around the pitch to keep the opposition moving and create gaps for his teammates who can then exploit these through dangerous runs.
The Roaming Midfielder, if deployed correctly, can be the engine of your team, however he can also be your greatest weakness if the opposition manages to shut him down. My advice would be to pair him up in a two man midfield where the other one has a more defensive role such as the Anchor. Assign the role of the Roaming Playmaker to someone having impressive stamina, passing, and tackling ability, someone who can be the talisman of your team. This role only comes with a support duty.
Attacking Midfield
Central Midfielder
Now let’s move higher up the pitch in this Football Manager 2023 Midfield Roles guide. First up is the Central Midfielder. These are best used as one of the two advanced midfielders in a three-man midfield system. The player will be responsible for carrying the attacking momentum created from the back onwards to the forward line so it can generate the greatest threat possible. However, the Central Midfielder also has significant defensive responsibility and is expected to help out the defense during opposition counter-attacks. Overall, this is a balanced role suitable for wide variety of systems; if you are having trouble choosing a role for your advanced midfielders, then this is a safe bet.
You can assign one of four duties to the Central Midfielder role. With a Defend duty, the Central Midfielder will always be wary of opposition attacks and come back to help out the defense. With a support duty, he will be contributing in attack but will act more as a sidecast for his more creative counterpart in attack. On the other hand with the Attack duty, he will venture forward into the opposition forward to look to chip in with the goals. Finally with the Automatic duty the AI will use its intelligence to judge the situation and assign the duty accordingly.
Box to Box Midfielder
As the name implies, the Box to Box Midfielder runs across the entire length of the field to fulfill both defensive and offensive responsibilities. On the defensive front, he will look to aggressively press the opponent to win back the ball quickly near his own penalty box, much like the Ball Winning Midfielder. On the other hand, on the offensive front, he will look to overload the opposition box and become a target for teammate crosses into the danger areas. A great addition for a counter-attacking team, but requires the player to have extremely high stamina and decent physicality in order to win those fifty-fifty duel on both ends of the pitch. He is only available with the support duty as his role is very balanced in both the defensive and offensive thirds.
The box to box midfielder will help on either side of the midfield.
Advanced Playmaker
Much like the Roaming Playmaker we talked about earlier in the Football Manager 2023 Midfield Roles guide, the Advanced Playmaker aims to be the engine of attacking moves from the midfield. However, the difference is in the greater emphasis on attack by the Advanced Playmaker. The player will look to operate in the little pockets of space between the opposition midfield and defense and look to direct passes both to the wide and central attacking areas, constantly demanding and distributing the ball across the pitch. In addition, with an Attack duty, he will also charge into the box and try to chip in with the goals. Look for high passing stats for this role and pair him up with a physical box to box midfielder to make up for his low defensive contribution.
Mezella
A Mezella is essentially a false winger. This is a role that we often see Gavi of Barcelona play, whereby he occupies a slightly wide position in midfield and drifts while looking for spaces to exploit in the offensive half of the field. While not gifted with the pace and flash of traditional wingers, the Mezzala makes up for it with their technical passing abilities and contribution to the defense as well. You can assign either a Support or Attack duty to this role. With the Support duty, the Mezella will make attacking contribution quite often but at the same time look to cut counters-attacks at source in the midfield. With the Attack duty, they will prioritize their offensive responsibilities.
Attacking Midfielder
Players who are assigned this role position themselves around the opposition backline high up the pitch. Therefore, they don’t have much space to operate in or to make runs in from deep and quite often receive the ball with their back to goal. The Attacking Midfielder is responsible for creating chances for his teammates, often playing the final ball into the forwards to dispatch into the goal. With the Support duty, they will focus on creating chances for the forwards. With the Attack duty, they will also make runs into the box to help with goals.
The Attacking Midfielder can enjoy the creative freedom up front.
Carrilero
Finally in this Football Manager 2023 Midfield Roles guide we have the Carrilero. This is a supporting role used to link the defensive component of midfield with the attacking component. Their primary job is to fill the numbers, and provide a solid link for the ball to move forward in attack, or recycled back for control. Most of their movement will be horizontal rather than vertical, and accordingly they only come with the Support duty.
Conclusion
That concludes my Football Manager 2023 Midfield Roles guide. I hope that you now know more about the different midfield roles, both in deeper and more advanced areas, and that you will be able to apply this knowledge to get the best out of your team. Look carefully at your style of play and the position of the match, and change your roles accordingly. Do not be afraid to experiment!
