AM schooling in different countries

There're many differences in other positions but between AMs (attacking midfielders) , they're apparent.

Spain: AMs are more like converted central midfielders who spread the ball further up the field.They act 70% as midfielders+30% as attacker

Germany: The opposite of Spain, AMs are schooled as versatile attackers who could slot into any offensive position bar CF (left wing, right wing or SS). They act 80% as attacker + 20% as midfielder

Brazil: They had the best balanced AMs in the past. 60% attacker+40 % midfielder, currently Ganso isn't up to standards and plays like a Spanish AM but they do school their AMs in a very balanced way

Netherlands: They produce all kind of technical AMs. They're just the ones from Germany, more attacker than a midfielder but just a little bit better balanced towards midfield role :70% attacker+30%midfielder

France: Their academies picked up the idea of AMs recently. That's the reason they don't have many up and coming AMs so I wouldn't generalize them. France nurtured SS attackers more than AMs in modern meaning. The only notable guy is Martin but I wouldn't generalize their whole AM policy on a single example

Italy: Just like France,they put their emphasis more on SS than on real AMs. There's also no changes at the moment. Unlike France they put an extra midfielder behind the SS to cover for him and let the SS roam free as trequartista. The trequartista playmkers are a dying breed, nowadays they just use SS with central midfielders

For sciacca:

--------trequartista----------

-----CF------------CF--------

The problem, the system requires two strikers. One striker too much for the modern game. Second, the trequartista has to do almost all the creative work in free role, a super hard feat inbetween 3-4 opponent's midfielders, I'm not counting defenders If you make both CFs SS and let them drop into midfield alternately then it's another story. Di Natale is someone like that

So far, that was my impression of the different football schools In my opinion, countries without proper AMs are at a disadvantage in modern game with all the zonal marking. Even the attackers have to be able to drop deep into the midfield and act as one to get the proper balance against other teams. Teams can't afford to play an out and out CF with a SS behind him anymore without majour drawbacks in top games. Even the CF's are SS part time in top teams One of the reasons Manu sucked against Farca so much in the last final was because they started Chica in CF role = one man less in midfield while defending

Discuss! :lol!:

This is completely false about Italy, we always and still up to this date rely on Trequartistas

Ganso is pretty much the only type of AM with his style in Brazil(maybe Lucas Piazon).We produce mostly kaka-ish AMs

Ganso 85% midfield 15% attack

In reference to Espana:

It must be more specified as each province have their own philosophy and school of thought and training as its on a whole, the idea is the same, but many variances exist.

e.g differences between the Asturian, Catalan, Galician, Basque.....etc

Babun the amount of smiley faces is frightening and for some strange reason it makes me lmao.....

Nice read though

Arquitecto wrote:In reference to Espana:

It must be more specified as each province have their own philosophy and school of thought and training as its on a whole, the idea is the same, but many variances exist.

e.g differences between the Asturian, Catalan, Galician, Basque.....etc

We have also difference in Bayern (more emphasis on ball control), Leverkusen (very direct midfielders midfielders),Stuttgart ( direct B2B midfielders who can act as AM), Bremen ( a lot of emphasis on passing and creativity) etc. They're different and some of the schools declined (HSV etc.). I don't want to list all of them
The basic idea is the same, AMs in Germany are more like versatile attackers than midfielders

sciacca wrote:This is completely false about Italy, we always and still up to this date rely on Trequartistas

Read through, there's a section extra for you

Ganso wrote:Ganso is pretty much the only type of AM with his style in Brazil(maybe Lucas Piazon).We produce mostly kaka-ish AMs

Ganso 85% midfield 15% attack

I don't like Ganso anyway I meant guys like Kaka, Rivaldo etc. A typical Brazilian AM comes deep into midfield, takes the ball and runs at the defence with different results Ozil plays like one from time to time but he is in attack more often than deeper in midfield

I updated OP

and England?

B-Mac MUFC wrote:and England?

is there any AM out there ?

lol not yet...player in the United academy Ravel Morrison is tho...best player to come thru our youth since scholes

Rooney is probably the closest thing England has to a AM

England has AMs that play on the flanks

Lampard used to be considered a AM i guess...but not a very good one lol

Babun...

B-Mac MUFC wrote:Lampard used to be considered a AM i guess...but not a very good one lol

Steven Gerrard Lampard is like Ganso 85% midfielder and 15% attacker. At the moment, Rooney is the closest thing to an AM
Wilshere was the best bet but he is being converted to CM because England and Arsenal are in dire need of one He'd be your typical modern AM

--------B2B---B2B---------
winger-------------winger-
-----------SS--------------
---------------CF----------

That was your typical English setup of old or the more defensive version:

---------CM-------------
----B2B------CM-------
winger---------winger--
----------CF-------------

sciacca wrote:Babun...

Thx :lol!:

my sig.....

VibeTribe wrote:You just imagined one distinctive player as an example for every country.Completely generalized...

Fabregas , Mendieta and others from the past weren't different
Muller , he isn't an AM
Kaka , Rivaldo, even Dinho was an LAM
Sneijder , Bergcamp and co.
Totti or Del Piero, they're a dying breed indeed

Makes sense actually,you just failed in delivery

I'm not talking about players, I'm talking about academies. Ozil plays more Brazilian than German AM wise. Götze is your old school German AM. They're all taught to be able to play in all offensive positions from the start. Each of them develop differently of course but there is a set program
Verdict:you imagined something by yourself...

First decent football thread I see on the new foruma

English attacking mids generally (with the execption of scholes) have less ball control and technique then any of the other midfielders mentioned; though they do possess outstanding shooting and physical attributes, with also a good final ball and an eye for goal

lol england,the best AM they produced in last 10 years is lampard and he is not even half the player Seedorf at his prime.

nice thread.

In Italy the use of the trequartista is not a constant thing like some have said and in the past even the greatest ones in the country like Baggio and Del Piero found themselves in and out of sides at times, and when used they were often deployed as SS and not trequartistas, same can be said about Maradona and Totti.

There was always great attacking mids in Italy but In the late 90s in the heyday of Serie A most teams were happy not to use the trequartista or a regista. Many teams instead chose to play with "broken teams' using an attacking 3 occasionally joined by a wing back or midfielder, and a defensive 7 who played a high line and pressed, so the field shrunk and the playmaker would not have had space. This arguably didnt change until Ancelotti used Pirlo as his regista(deep lying playmaker).

These days it is much harder for teams to play a hard pressing game with a high line because of the change in the offside rule around 2005(what it means to be interfering with play) This has effectively changed the playing area from 35-40 meters to now 55-60 meters. This means there is more time and space and less physical contact which has allowed the re emergance of the elegant AMs we see today like Iniesta Sneijder or Ozil. with the mid and attack further apart these days the need to link them has become very important again and the trequartista has returned, the problem is in Italy most of them are foreign now (Hamsik, Sneijder, Hernanes, Jovetic etc)

The age of the playmaker has returned and hopefully there will be another great Italian one.

checazzofai wrote:nice thread.

In Italy the use of the trequartista is not a constant thing like some have said and in the past even the greatest ones in the country like Baggio and Del Piero found themselves in and out of sides at times, and when used they were often deployed as SS and not trequartistas, same can be said about Maradona and Totti.

There was always great attacking mids in Italy but In the late 90s in the heyday of Serie A most teams were happy not to use the trequartista or a regista. Many teams instead chose to play with "broken teams' using an attacking 3 occasionally joined by a wing back or midfielder, and a defensive 7 who played a high line and pressed, so the field shrunk and the playmaker would not have had space. This arguably didnt change until Ancelotti used Pirlo as his regista(deep lying playmaker).

These days it is much harder for teams to play a hard pressing game with a high line because of the change in the offside rule around 2005(what it means to be interfering with play) This has effectively changed the playing area from 35-40 meters to now 55-60 meters. This means there is more time and space and less physical contact which has allowed the re emergance of the elegant AMs we see today like Iniesta Sneijder or Ozil. with the mid and attack further apart these days the need to link them has become very important again and the trequartista has returned, the problem is in Italy most of them are foreign now (Hamsik, Sneijder, Hernanes, Jovetic etc)

The age of the playmaker has returned and hopefully there will be another great Italian one.

Here's the thing people need to realize though. In Italy as of today a trequartista is not regarded as the classic ones like back in the day, where it's mostly depended on creativity. Nowadays we use a trequartista more for supporting the midfield and defending, in rotation with all CM's, so at times you're going to get the one who's great at creativity and the one who's going to defend.

Look at the national team for example. You got De Rossi, Motta, Pirlo and Montolivo. The ideal Trequartista is Montolivo, but if you actually notice on how Prandelli uses his tactics, he demands his players to go in rotation. You Might get Pirlo from the Regista going straight in the whole, you might get Motta/De Rossi in the whole for a descive ascept. That's just how it is now adays in Italy.

Don't worry my friend, the next great Italian is going to be Diego Fabbrini currently on the U21 as the next big trequartsita, they say he's like the next Kaka in Italy. Then of course you got Lorenzo Tassi, claimed to be the next Baggio... with Inter. But anyways thats for another day...

Ive watched a fair amount of Fabbrini and while hes a promising player I doubt he will reach the heights of Baggio or Totti, Im not sure he can even be as good as Cassano. I have heard great things about Tassi but I have never seen him play. of course this is all speculation but for me the most promising young AM in Italy is El Shaarawy of Milan, he is special.

I see him more as a support striker, he can also play as a winger I believe. Even Fabbrini can as well. Right now though, Fabbrini is regarded as the next big thing, he's actually being used now to replace Sanchez in Udinese, we shall see how good he does. Some say he's the biggest prospect to look out for in Serie A this season.

Adit wrote:lol england,the best AM they produced in last 10 years is lampard and he is not even half the player Seedorf at his prime.