The Complete Guide to Soccer Positions: Striker

Welcome to Part VI of the Complete Guide to Soccer Positions!

If you haven’t yet, check out our previous posts in the series to help round out your understanding of each position on the pitch!

Part I – Center Defensive Midfield (CDM)

Part II – Outside Back

Part III – Winger

Part IV – Center Back

Part V – Center Attacking Midfield (CAM)

In today’s post we’re going to be talking about the most important position on the field (at least that’s what they think), the striker.

Love it or hate it, strikers (or forwards) are the focal point of any team’s attack and are often the names you see on the highlight reels… but there’s more to it. They’ve got more to do than just score goals.

Keep reading as we dive deeper into the roles, responsibilities, and skills needed to be an effective striker.

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What does a striker do?

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Score Goals

Well, we said it already, but the primary responsibility of a striker is to score goals. If you’ve ever been a part of a team that is missing a true striker – you’ll know it’s painful. Game after game ofdominating possession only to go home with a 0-0 tie… or worse, a 1-0 loss to a garbage goal on the other end.

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Create Chances

While scoring goals is the primary responsibility of the striker, most of the time they don’t just fall into their lap. They’ve got read the game, anticipate, and make runs to create the opportunities for themselves and their teammates.

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Holding the Ball Up

While you wouldn’t believe it by watching many youth level games, a striker isn’t meant to constantly chase down through-balls.

They also play a role in providing an outlet to their teammates as they build out of their defensive half. By coming lower into the shape, the striker gives another option to possess the ball and hold it, allowing for their teammates to advance the shape into the opponent’s half.

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Defending from the Front

Another underappreciated and overlooked responsibility of a striker is to start the team’s press when possession is lost. This prevents the opponent from easily restarting their build out, and potentially creates scoring opportunities if the balls is won in the attacking half.

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What skills does a striker need?

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Finishing

The most important skill for a striker is the ability to finish. Strikers must have excellent technique, accuracy, and composure in front of goal. They must be able to finish with both feet and with their head.

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Pace and Agility

Strikers need to have pace and agility to make quick runs and get into good positions to score. They must be able to change direction quickly and accelerate rapidly to beat defenders.

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First Touch

Strikers must have excellent ball control skills to hold the ball up when under pressure and create opportunities for themselves and their teammates.

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Passing

Strikers must have good passing skills to create chances for their teammates. They must be able to make quick and accurate passes to set up their teammates for scoring opportunities.

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Physicality

Strikers must be physically strong and able to hold off defenders when necessary. They must also have good stamina and be able to run for the full 90 minutes of a game.

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Mental Toughness

Playing striker isn’t all goals and glory. The back of the net is hard to come by, so while things may be all good when you’re scoring, they can get really tough when you’re in a goal scoring drought.

Successful strikers must have the mental toughness to remain confident and take the next chance … even though they just shanked the last one.

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Who to Watch

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Erling Haaland - Manchester City (English Premier League)

Harry Kane – Tottenham Hotspur (English Premier League)

Karim Benzema – Real Madrid (La Liga)

Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona (La Liga)

Jonathan David – RB Lepzig (Bundesliga)

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So, if you want to become a successful striker - you should focus on your finishing technique to become and effective goal scorer, while also ensuring your first touch is solid enough to hold the ball up and distribute to your teammates. In addition to the technical skills needed, successful strikers must also possess mental toughness and a strong work ethic.

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