Centre forwardEdit
A centre forward has the key task of scoring goals and for this reason acts as the focal point of the majority of attacking play by a team. As such, how well a striker is performing tends to be measured purely on goals scored despite the fact that they may be contributing in other ways to a team's success. A traditional centre forward was required to be tall in height and strong physically in order to be able to win the ball in the area from crosses and attempt to score with either their feet or head, or to knock the ball down for a teammate to score. Whilst these assets are still an advantage, in the modern game speed and movement are also required as there is more interplay when attacking.
[56] In a 4–4–2 or 4–4–1–1 formation the centre forward is often paired with a second striker who may play around him or in a slightly withdrawn role respectively, though it is not unknown to play two recognised centre forwards.
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Sometimes a team may opt on a more defensive formation such as 4–5–1 in which the centre forward is required to play a "lone role" up front. In these cases a team may look for opportunities to counter-attack on the break and the centre forward may find himself attacking the goal on his own with just a defender to beat or alternatively he may hold the ball up in the opponent's half to allow other players to join in the attack. Modern footballing tactics have made more use of 4–3–3 and 4–2–3–1 formations.
[56] Here the centre forward may be involved more with the attacking build up play, supported by wingers (who often come infield) and attacking midfielders. The play uses more shorter, quick passes with movement off the ball, looking to create an opening on goal.
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