Soccer

Soccer has many different positions and many different names that come along with them. To simplify, we will categorize the football positions into four: the goalkeeper, defenders(fullbacks), midfielders, and forwards.There is always just one Goalkeeper per team. The Goalkeeper's job is to defend his team's goal and he usually stays close to his goal. You can identify the Goalie because he wears a different colored shirt or a vest over his shirt. Except for "Throw-Ins" and to pick up the ball in "Re-Start" situations, the Goalie is the only player who can legally use his hands. In front of the keeper as have 2 or 3 Defenders who are called Fullbacks. Fullbacks play closest to their goal (which is the goal their Goalkeeper defends). Along with the Goalkeeper, they have the primary job of stopping the opponents from scoring. To a degree, every player should be a "defender" when the opponent has the ball. After Defender we usually have 2, 3 or  4 Midfielders. The Midfielders play between the Fullbacks and the Forwards. They are often in the "Middle Third" of the field. There can be "Offensive Midfielders" who play closer to the Forwards and "Defensive Midfielders" (also called "Stoppers") who play closer to the Fullbacks.   So the midfielders help the Usually 1, 2 or 3 Forwards.Forwards play closer to the opponent's goal, which is the goal guarded by the opposing Goalkeeper. The Forwards are the primary scorers, although Midfielders sometimes score and at older ages Fullbacks even occasionally score. Offense is more creative than defense and players often need to move to "open space" or work together
                                                                                                                    Martins 2
and be opportunistic in order to score; this is particularly true with Midfielders and Forwards, because most coaches may want their Fullbacks to be conservative and stay in a defensive position in case there is a counterattack by the opponent....