There are very few wingers today who have raw pace and can just tear the opponent's defense with a blistering counter attack. The trend has shifted towards winger slash playmakers who have the ability to burst into pace in the center of the pitch as well as the wide areas. Also, they can provide defense splitting passes and combine with central players to penetrate opposition defenses. Let's take the example of Dutch winger Arjen Robben. During his time at Chelsea and Real Madrid, he mainly operated in the wings with a greatly ability to cut in and shoot. He was known more for his ability to dribble and shoot rather than combine with other attacking players. However, his game has improved immensely in the last 2-3 years which is surprising since he is 31 years old now. The reason for that is his slight decrease in pace which is understandable due to his age. But what makes him more devastating than before is that he drifts inwards more and combines dangerously with other players in addition to his blinding pace. He is able to take up central positions in midfield and operate as a playmaker when needed. Due to this, a lot of Bayern's play goes through him which results in more goal scoring opportunities.
The above example is a transitional story where a winger has adopted playmaking techniques due to age and improved maturity. Some players start out their careers with traits of both a winger and a playmaker. The best example today is Eden Hazard. Other players include Andres Iniesta, Alexis Sanchez, Willian, Mario Gotze, Juan Mata, Angel Di Maria, Lucas Moura, Phillipe Coutinho, Mesut Ozil, David Silva and Marco Reus. These are some of the most attractive players on the planet. That is largely due to their versatility and massive skill set. They are all known for their shooting, dribbling, passing, ball control, vision and pace which means that they could very well replace a couple of players in a team. Therefore, having them in the team is a massive advantage and luxury for managers to have. They occupy a role that is very well suited to the modern style of play which hinges on extremely custom formations. Gone are the days when managers would deploy simple 4-4-2 formations with each player sticking to their respective positions. In that formation, there is no room for a winger or a playmaker. The widest players are the right and left midfielders. Traditionally, they are just meant to cross the ball into the box with great accuracy of which David Beckham is a great example or Ashley Young in recent times. There would be two Lampard or Gerrard like central midfielders with no playmakers or defensive midfielders leaving huge gaps to exploit by the opposition.
The creation of the attacking midfield role has brought the playmaker to light. Nowadays, there is a great tendency to deploy right footed wingers on the left and vice versa. The main reason for this is for the wingers to cut in to the center to either create a proper shooting angle or engage in a passing move with the central players. It is relatively rare to see crossing as the obvious choice nowadays. The ability of the winger to drift inwards poses a great threat to defenders who already have one or two strikers to deal with in addition to the box to box midfielders. Put in the ability of a playmaker into the winger and you have the most creative and exciting player on the pitch which is the case with each and every player mentioned above. Every time any of these players receive the ball in a favorable position their is a high chance of a goal scoring opportunity to occur.
In my opinion, the playmaker is the most crucial player in a team. He is the creative source and the string puller of the team. He has great vision, which implies that he can see a pass several seconds before the pass is executed and he can see a pass which no one in the opposite team can see. The players mentioned above possess this ability and an important attribute of their play is that they know how to use their pace efficiently during a game. They engage in sudden bursts of pace when space provides itself without breaking into a raw sprint. This level of intelligence is what makes creative geniuses. This post would not be complete without ranking the aforementioned players. Most people would agree I think. Here it goes:
1. Eden Hazard
2. Mesut Ozil
3. David Silva
4. Juan Mata
5. Marco Reus
6. Alexis Sanchez
7. Angel Di Maria
8. Mario Gotze
9. Andres Iniesta
10. Phillipe Coutinho
11. Willian
12. Lucas Moura
As a parting note, let's form a distinction between the above players and those who are simply playmakers. Players who are purely playmakers lack pace and do not necessarily possess exquisite dribbling or shooting ability. In my opinion Luka Modric is the best player in this category. One can see the difference in Real's play when Modric is missing from the team. Other players include Santi Cazorla, Andrea Pirlo and Cesc Fabregas. As always, this is all my personal opinion.
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