Needle Player

A needle player is used to maintain ball possession in tight pockets – mostly in the central attacking midfield. The player moves like a needle through the opposing formation. As the increasing athletic abilities lead to tighter spaces and give the attacking players less time to receive the ball properly, needle players have become important. Particularly smaller players can utilize their low body’s centre of gravity to be more agile. Moreover, a needle player must be able to receive fast passes without misplays and should have a good vision to see in which direction the player has to move to maintain ball possession and lead the attack on.