by Mothiur Rahman

Created on: May 15, 2009

Every world class team in history had brilliant players in two vital positions: defensive midfield and supporting striker.

There is no doubting the fact that football is a team game, and that everyone must play their part if success is to be achieved. We all burn in anguish if a player from our team is sent off, because we know that football-in its ideal-is played between twenty-two men. The mere fact that being a man down is a proven disadvantage is a testimony to the belief that every player is important. However, the game is about winning; and that comes down to two things: score goals, but do not concede.

The defensive midfielder's job is to assist the defence in preventing goals from going in, part of which includes the duty of marking the opposition's supporting striker. Without a strong defensive midfielder, teams consisting of the greatest players will show signs of considerable weakness. This is evident from Arsenal's lack of success since the departure of the great Patrick Vieira, who was probably the best in that position at the time. In 2002, the great Bobby Robson quoted then Newcastle midfielder Gary Speed after a premiership match at Highbury, saying that "he (Vieira) is the best midfield player he (Speed) had ever faced". Praise of that magnitude from a fellow professional should be given serious consideration from the likes of me and you (fans). It might also be worth noting that the last time Arsenal won anything, was Vieira's last kick in Arsenal colours; in the final of the 2005 FA Cup. Now how symbolic is that? An even better example than Vieira is Claude Makelele's move away from Real Madrid to Chelsea. Without going into too much detail; Madrid had some of the best players in the world, but only managed to achieve something when Mahamadou Diarra was brought in 2006 to replace Makelele. Why are they so important? Because they are the ones that are meant to stop balls getting to those supporting strikers while the defence keeps its line-otherwise one of the central defenders feels compelled to follow the supporting striker if he decides to drop off; leaving the defence open. Why must the supporting striker be marked? Because he is often the one who does indeed open a defence.

The supporting striker's primary duty is creating chances. All the other attributes that will be outlined, are contributors to the overall creativity of the player. Scoring goals is obviously a welcomed bonus, but it can be argued that a supporting striker is doing

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