These days, the best defensive midfielders in the world tend to be specialists who stay deeper in the engine room. But this was never the case 30 years ago: midfielders tended to chip in to do a little of everything, getting forward when needed and tracking back in reverse. As the role of a DM evolves, it's not unusual that some of the best players in the world right now play at the base of a midfield, given that it's a position that you need vision, awareness and a high IQ so let's delve into what makes a world-class no.6 in 2025.
Say what you like about Hansi Flick, but the first-team head coach isn't for turning. Win, lose or draw, he clearly won't have his Barça side playing any other way than with the high-risk, high-reward high line. As we saw again at Celta, when it doesn't work and the Blaugranes are so easily exposed, it looks amateurish. However, in the second half, there was a clear indication of how well it can contain opposition teams when used correctly.
Amorim stated, "I really have an idea and I love training my players. I truly believe in my work - for me, that is the fun part."
In the Bundesliga more teams try to play out from the back, more teams press and sometimes even play man-v-man. Therefore, the spaces are a bit bigger, which we can take advantage of by bringing pace into our game.
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