The player whose job is to score. There are different types of Striker: poachers who live in the six-yard box (e.g. Inzaghi), complete forwards who do everything (e.g. Henry), target men who hold the ball up (e.g. Drogba), pressing forwards who hunt defenders (e.g. Firmino). The role has evolved a bit, and modern strikers are now often expected to press, link play, and create for others, not just finish.
Ronaldo Nazário (R9) was the complete striker - he had pace, excellent technique, and was a clinical finisher.
A type of run-up that some players make when striking a penalty kick. Ronaldo perfected the stutter penalty. It offers greater control over the ball but loses out on the power of a long run-up, also playing mind games with the keeper, waiting until the last moment to strike the ball, hoping that the keeper dives first.
Did you see how many stutter penalties were missed In the 2026 World Cup? Even the very best players like Messi, Mbappé and Kane missed them. Just go and smash the ball as hard as possible!
The modern game is all about the squad. The deeper your bench, the better chance you have of success, especially if you have a super sub. Substitutes are the players not selected in the starting 11. They can be brought on during the match to replace players, due to injuries, for tactical reasons, poor performance, or fitness concerns. In the Premier League there are 9 substitutes on the bench, 5 of which can be used during three substitution windows. The number of players on the bench increases to 12 for Champions League matches.
The first ever substitute in the English game was Keith Peacock of Charlton, who came on to replace the injured goalkeeper Mike Rose in a match against Bolton in August 1965. Before then, injured players would have to play on or leave the team with 10 men.
A super sub is a player that performs well when being brought on as a substitute rather than starting a game, usually scoring a late winning goal. There are plenty of examples of players who have been given the tag of ‘Super Sub’ because of how good they were at reading the match when sitting on the bench, then coming on and exploiting the weaknesses they had picked up on. A good manager knows who and when to substitute on to change a match.
During Manchester United’s treble-winning season of 1998/1999, Alex Ferguson was lucky enough to have four top-quality strikers to call upon. With Andrew Cole and Dwight Yorke mostly leading the line, he had two super subs to bring on late in matches, none more famously so than the Champions League final where Teddy Sheringham equalised in the 91st minute and Ole Gunnar Solskjær scored the improbable winner in the 93rd minute.