A midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders. Their main functions are to dispossess and keep possession of the ball, and to feed it to the strikers. However, some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and strikers.

A midfielder's many responsibilities — to fetch the ball forward, to defend against or tackle the opposing team, to score or assist the strikers to score — make them amongst the most valued members of a team. In essence, a good midfield must possess the ability to be combative whilst also being creative. Most managers field at least one central midfielder with a marked task of breaking up opposition's attacks while the rest are more adept to creating goals or have equal responsibilities between attack and defense. At either side of the pitch a manager can field a winger, a specialist side midfielder used expressedly for attack.

Outstanding midfielders require a number of skills on top of fundamental ball skills and fitness. A modicum of skills—tackling, dribbling, shooting, distributing and passing—can all come in play at different points in the match. Because they occupy what is the most influential parts of the pitch, midfielders are perhaps more likely to influence the outcome of a match than most, especially through their vision for a good pass or ability to score. A good striker without midfield support would lack attacking chances, while a defence likewise would be severely tested.

Midfielders typically exhaust the most energy during a match due to the distance they cover on a pitch, as at times they can be called back into defense or required to attack with the strikers. Hence they are generally the fittest of all the soccer positions.

Defensive midfielder

A defensive midfielder or a holding midfielder is a central midfielder who is stationed in front of the back four for defensive reasons. This specialist midfielder's responsibilities are to defend against or tackle the opposing team, to recover the ball for their own team, and to safely distribute it to more attacking-minded players. The defensive midfielder position is also referred to in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese as "volante." (Spanish & Portuguese for 'Rudder' or something that gives direction). Most Brazilian teams deploy at least one 'volante' in their team, this includes the Brazilian national team who over the years have fielded some of the most famous defensive midfielders such as 1994 World Cup winning team captain Dunga.

Famous former players in this position include: Dunga, Frank Rijkaard, Fernando Redondo,Marcel Desailly,and Graeme Souness.

Famous current players in this position include: Andrea Pirlo,Patrick Vieira, Steven Gerrard, Stephen Appiah, Esteban Cambiasso, Xavi, Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, Claude Makelele, Edgar Davids, Mark Van Bommel and Roy Keane.

An attacking midfielder is a central midfielder who is stationed in an advance midfield position, usually behind the strikers. He is typically the offensive pivot of the team, sometimes known in football as 'playing in the hole', although this term can also be used to describe a deep-lying centre forward. This specialist midfielder's main role is to create goal-scoring opportunities for his own team via his superior vision and skill. The attacking midfielder is a influential position and requires the player to possess superior technical abilities in terms of passing and most importantly the ability to 'read' the opposing defence in order to deliver a defence-splitting pass for the stikers.

Famous former players in this position include: Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, and Michel Platini.

Famous current players in this position include: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Pavel Nedved, Jay-Jay Okocha, Paul Scholes, George O'Callaghan, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard.

Winger

A winger is a wide midfielder who is stationed in a wide midfield position near the touchlines. Wingers used to be classified as forwards in traditional W-shaped formations, but as tactics evolved thorugh the last 30 years wingers have dropped to deeper field positions. Modern wingers are now usually classified as part of the midfield, usually in 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 formations. It is a winger's duty to beat opposing full-backs (wide defenders) and to deliver crosses from wide positions. They are usually some of the most technically gifted players in the team and are usually have very good dribbling skills as well as a fair amount of pace.

Famous former players in this position include George Best, Stanley Matthews, John Barnes and Steve McManaman. Famous current players in this position include: Luis Figo, Ryan Giggs, Joaquin,Arjen Robben, Cristiano Ronaldo and Damien Duff.