"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."
"Firstly, defensive midfielders in this list were categorised by their position and not their role: whether a player is a regista, a deep-lying playmaker, a destroyer or they play as a lone-pivot or in a two-man midfield, FourFourTwo's experienced expert panel were asked to account for the midfielders who play deepest in their team."
"Judgement was made on three major factors: overall ability plays a factor, but form over the past year and historical importance matter, too: so while Rodri, for example, has struggled with injury, his standing as a world-class DM should still be considered. Statistical metrics such as progressive passes and tackles won were also added from Europe's top five leagues, in order to bring data to the argument, leaving us with 30 defensive midfielders to choose from before judgement calls were made over the likes of Declan Rice and Frenkie De Jong to move them to our list of the best central midfielders in the world, since they're deployed more as no.8s these days."
Defensive midfield roles have shifted from versatile, box-to-box duties to specialised deep-lying positions focused on protection and play initiation. Selection is based on positional deployment rather than role labels, distinguishing registas, deep-lying playmakers, destroyers, lone pivots and two-man midfields by where they play. Judgement combines overall ability, recent form, and historical importance, with injured but established players retained in consideration. Statistical metrics such as progressive passes and tackles won from Europe's top five leagues inform evaluations. Thirty defensive midfielders were shortlisted, while players deployed more as no.8s are classified among central midfielders. Defensive midfield is one of ten assessed positions.
Read at www.fourfourtwo.com
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