more on playing d as a dmf.

honest self evaluation.
not a creative player. not a great midfielder. but i think im pretty decent on d as a dmf myself. in like a amateur league level.
anyways. just had a frustrating league game over the weekend. therefore, feel like saying something about the position and the game.

in regular leagues that ive played or was invited to drop in for a game or 2. a lot of times players expect the barbarian inside me to run around in the midfield scaring normal folks away. i cannot stress/emphasize anymore the fact that dmf DO NOT just RUN a hell of a lot more than regular midfielders. we dont. maybe just a little. just look at gattuso in a ucl game. he ends up with around 11-12km. maybe just a km or 2 more than average. not that much more in a 90 minute game considering most midfielders do around 10 km.



brief summary of how i see the position should be played:

1) d comes first. i always play better somehow when i keep that in mind and avoid too many forward runs.

2) stay behind and watch out for counter attacks and those shady bastards dwelling deep. o man. i hate these offside strikers. and how a lot of cb ignores them. pisses me off.

3) hustle the ballhogs or anyone whos slow-with/sticks-to the ball.

4) ignore the calls unless its a card

5) identify the star player and frustrate the hell out of them.

6) body check, play physical.

7) look for the dominant foot and try to do what basketball players do. give them room on their weak side.

8) convert possession and try to avoid clearance as much as possible.

9) try to hit the player with possession from a blind spot.

10) when not hustling down the ball. look for the open players to cut down the options or for fast coverage when a pass in made.

11) drop DEEPER when theres noone to hustle or when the other teams good with the ball. let them do whatever in their half. keep it packed on your own 1/3.

12) hide behind a player when manmarking. cut in if theres a pass.

p.s. a big part of defending is teamwork because of the size of the field. i gotta work on this part. sometimes gotta admit that its not easy to be on the same page with the other defenders.