The Perfect Player for every Football Manager role

There’s a player that all of us immediately think of for every role in Football Manager. A player that sums up the role, almost like the playstyle was named after them. This isn’t to say that they’re a great player, or the best in that particular archetype, but they are just the quintessential version of it.

So, for this piece, I am going to go through in each role in the game and pick the player that encapsulates that role perfectly, plucking the first name that comes to my mind when anyone says the role. I’ll briefly explain why for each role and also name some players who were unfortunate to narrowly miss out. So lets get into it (Also don’t expect elite tactical knowledge, most of my picks are off vibes alone)

Goalkeeper roles

Sweeper Keeper – Manuel Neuer

There’s only one name that could go in for this one. A player that revolutionised the goalkeeping position and even if he wasn’t the first goalkeeper to rush out of his box and use his feet, he was the goalkeeper that did it best. Probably the greatest goalkeeper of all time considering all factors and a key player in the modern era. Players that narrowly missed out: Ederson, Alisson,

Goalkeeper – David de Gea

The reason why I probably think of David de Gea for this role immediately is more because of his limitations than his strengths. He was never the best with his feet and in recent years has felt like the product of a bygone era. Obviously though, in his prime he was the perfect embodiment of an old fashioned goalkeeper. One of the best shot stoppers of all time and a player that kept Manchester United in games countless times with his amazing reflexes. Player that narrowly missed out: Joe Hart

Defender roles

Full back – Tony Hibbert

These days they’re all wing backs so we have to go a few years back to find the quintessential full back. When I think of a full back I think of a player that was great defensively, but doesn’t have that much pace, and isn’t very flashy. In that regard, no-nonsense, down to earth Tony Hibbert is the perfect candidate. Players that narrowly missed out: Paolo Maldini, Gary Neville, Leighton Baines, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Ashley Cole, Dan Burn.

Wing back – Andy Robertson

Whenever i think of the archetypal wing back, I think of the wing backs in those Jurgen Klopp Liverpool years when they were in their prime. So many of the chances coming from the wing backs pushing up, with seemingly unlimited stamina. It would be easy to argue that he was a complete wing back, but he’s not quite on the same level technically as Trent Alexander-Arnold. This was a hard one as there are so many these days that fit the wing back role perfectly, but Andy just stands out for me. Player that narrowly missed out: Jose Gaya, Tino Livramento.

No-nonsense full back – Gaetano Berardi

Whilst a full back can still be elite, see Paolo Maldini and Gary Neville. When I think of a no-nonsense full back, they’ve got to be below that level. This was the one of the hardest ones to pick, as I just simply can’t remember all the lower league full backs who fit the bill. So I’ve gone for one that played for the team I support, Leeds United. Gaetano fits the bill perfectly. He absolutely loved a good tackle, gave his all for the shirt, but he definitely wasn’t a modern full back. Players that narrowly missed out: any full back that played for Stoke under Tony Pulis.

Complete wing back – Marcelo

A complete wing back is a full back that essentially plays as a winger as well, and Marcelo does this perfectly. There haven’t been many, if any, wing backs with as much technical quality as him. Players that narrowly missed out: Joao Cancelo, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Alves, Jordi Alba, Alex Grimaldo

Inverted wing-back – Oleksandr Zinchenko

Pep Guardiola was the one that popularised this role, so it’s fitting that the player we all immediately think of for this role is someone who played under him. The perfect inverted wing back is a player that is also as good playing in midfield, and Zinchenko is 100% the same quality in both. In fact, he only plays for Ukraine as a midfielder. Players that narrowly missed out: Phillip Lahm, Archie Gray, Ben white.

Inverted full-back – Nathan Ake

This role’s just basically an excuse to sound fancy but get another centre back on the pitch isn’t it. Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola, I see what you’re doing. Players that narrowly missed out: Jurrien Timber.

This article is going to be far too long if I write a paragraph for every role, so from now on I’ll just name the player that fits it perfectly and players that narrowly missed out.

Central defender – Nemanja Vidic. Players that narrowly missed out – John Terry, Pontus Jansson.

Libero – Franz Beckenbauer. Player that narrowly missed out – David Luiz, Daley Blind.

Ball playing defender – John Stones. Player that narrowly missed out: Virgil van Dijk, Alessandro Nesta

No-nonsense centre back – Robert Huth. Players that narrowly missed out: David Wheater, Jaap Stam, Ryan Shawcross, Steve Bruce

Wide centre back – Chris Basham. Player that narrowly missed out: Antonio Rudiger, Jack O’Connell

Midfielder roles

Defensive midfielder – Rodri. Player that narrowly missed out: Declan Rice.

Deep-lying playmaker – Manuel Locatelli. Players that narrowly missed out: Marco Verratti, Toni Kroos, Pascal Grob, Ruben Neves.

Ball winning midfielder – Ngolo Kante. Player that narrowly missed out: Gennaro Gattuso, Joao Palhinha

Regista – Andrea Pirlo. Player that narrowly missed out: Thiago Alcantara, Xabi Alonso

Half-back – Kristoffer Ajer. Player that narrowly missed out: Sergio Busquets, Kalvin Phillips.

Anchor – Fabinho. Players that narrowly missed out: Claude Makelele, Nemanja Matic,

Roaming playmakers – Xavi. Player that narrowly missed out: Ilkay Gundogan, Luka Modric, Martin Odegaard, Frenkie de Jong

Segundo Volante – Tiemoué Bakayoko Player that narrowly missed out: Bruno Guimaraes, Tomas Soucek.

Box-to-box midfielders – Steven Gerrard Players that narrowly missed out: Arturo Vidal, Yaya Toure, Patrick Vieira, Radja Nainggolan

Advanced playmakers – Mesut Ozil. Players that narrowly missed out: Wes Hoolahan, Andres Iniesta

Mezzala – Dominik Szoboszlai. Player that narrowly missed out: Kevin de Bruyne, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Paul Pogba

Carillero – Jordan Henderson. Players that narrowly missed out: Javier Mascherano, Moises Caicedo

Defensive winger – Marc Albrighton. Players that narrowly missed out: Solly March, Matt Ritchie.

Wide midfielder – Koke. Players that narrowly missed out: Ryan Giggs, James Milner, Saul.

Wide playmaker – David Beckham. Players that narrowly missed out: Bernardo Silva

Attacking midfielder roles

Winger – Leroy Sane. Players that narrowly missed out: Pedro, Jesus Navas, Lucas Vazquez, Ivan Perisic.

Wide target man (wide target forward) – Mario Mandzukic. Players that narrowly missed out: Marko Arnautovic.

Inside forward – Arjen Robben. Players that narrowly missed out: Cristiano Ronaldo, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane

Inverted winger – Neymar. Players that narrowly missed out: Franck Ribery, Riyad Mahrez, Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka

Trequartista – Zach Clough. Players that narrowly missed out: Diego Maradona, Kaka, Roberto Baggio.

Raumdeuter – Thomas Muller. Player that narrowly missed out: Dele Alli.

Attacking midfielder – Kevin de Bruyne. Player that narrowly missed out: Zinedine Zidane.

Enganche – Juan Roman Riquelme. Players that narrowly missed out: Hakan Calhanoglu

Shadow Striker – Frank Lampard. Players that narrowly missed out: Pele, Tim Cahill, Michu, Wayne Rooney

Striker roles

Deep lying forward – Harry Kane. Players that narrowly missed out: Alexandre Lacazette, Francesco Totti.

Advanced forward – Sergio Aguero. Players that narrowly missed out: Fernando Torres, Lautaro Martinez, Callum Wilson, Niall Ennis, Erling Haaland

Target man – Peter Crouch. Players that narrowly missed out: Alexsandr Mitrovic, Olivier Giroud, Nikola Zigic, Adebayo Akinfenwa, Andy Carroll

Poacher – Filippo Inzaghi. Players that narrowly missed out: Ruud van Nistelrooy, Javier Hernandez, Mauro Icardi, Francis Jeffers

Complete forward – Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Players that narrowly missed out: Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, Didier Drogba, Luis Suarez

Pressing forward – Carlos Tevez. Players that narrowly missed out: Alfredo Morelos, Patrick Bamford, Daizen Maeda

False nine – Roberto Firmino. Players that narrowly missed out: Lionel Messi

Trequartista – Alessandro Del Piero. Players that narrowly missed out: Raul