What Is The CAM Soccer Position? (+4 Of The Best Ever Players)
In recent years, football fans, pundits and experts have developed a whole new vocabulary for speaking about tactics, formations, and positional play within the game. Many casual viewers and supporters are now comfortable using terms like inverted fullback or libero to describe roles on the soccer field, and our knowledge of the various soccer formations available to coaches has also improved significantly. But this wasn't always the case.
One of the first modern soccer positions to become widely discussed amongst football fanatics was the CAM position, which has only emerged in the 21st century. But what exactly does this position involve, and how does it differ to other key roles on the pitch?
In this article, that's our focus; we'll be answering the question "What does CAM mean in soccer?" and giving you an in-depth guide to the specific roles, responsibilities, and skills needed to perform effectively within the CAM soccer position.
What Does CAM Mean In Soccer?
In soccer, the term CAM stands for Central Attacking Midfielder. A CAM is a player who operates in the spaces between midfield and attack, providing a creative spark and linking up with players in advanced positions to generate goal-scoring opportunities.
A CAM in soccer will often occupy central areas, as the name suggests, but typically they will also have plenty of freedom to roam around and find space in other parts of the pitch, switching places with a teammate or drifting out wide to open up different passing lanes and cause confusion amongst opposition defences.
Generally speaking, a Center Attacking Midfielder will be the most important creative outlet on a pitch, the player that most attacks tend to go through. However, they can be utilised by coaches in a number of different ways, and there's plenty of room for tactical tweaks to be made when it comes to the precise role of a CAM in professional soccer.
Let's spend some time working through the specific roles and responsibilities of this position.
CAM Soccer Position: Roles And Responsibilities
It's not easy to play as a CAM. Central Attacking Midfielders are relied upon heavily by their teammates for offering moments of magic and helping to unpick opposition defences at the most crucial times. T
here's a huge sense of responsibility created as a result, and the best CAMs are able to shoulder this burden and provide their team with the goods when they're needed most.
The primary function of the central attacking midfield role is to link up midfield and attack. These players will constantly be attempting to find pockets of space in the opposition's final third and deeper in midfield, looking to receive the ball and drive their team up the pitch, either by making an incisive pass or embarking on a forward dribble or run.
In the modern day, CAMs will also often be asked by their coaches to press opposition defenders in a structured way, which can also help create chances.
The offensive responsibilities of a central attacking midfielder also often include set-piece taking. Given the technical quality that players in this position must have, they will generally be one of the first names to be designated corner kick or advanced free kick taking responsibilities, offering them a chance to deliver dangerous set-pieces into the penalty area.
In terms of personality and character, CAMs can vary massively; some will be talismanic figures relied upon for their leadership qualities, while others will prefer to drift quietly around, providing key moments of flair and quality but often staying on the margins of the game.
There are also various more specific terms used to describe different types of CAM; Bayern Munich legend Thomas Muller is often referred to as a "raumdeuter" or "space investigator" due to his focus on clever movement and arriving in the penalty area at the right time, while the Italian "trequartista" role describes luxury attacking midfield players who aren't usually relied upon for defensive contributions.
The Key Traits Of A Central Attacking Midfielder In Soccer
Anyone who has deployed a CAM on FIFA (the game where many people are first introduced to this role) will know that a wide variety of different physical and technical traits are required in this position. Below are some of the most crucial.
Vision
A CAM can be utilised in a formation like 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 behind a lone striker, or they could feature in a shape like 4-3-1-2 or 4-1-2-1-2 with a striking partnership in front of them. Either way, they need to be able to provide these forwards with a good supply of chances, and in order to do so they must have excellent creative vision.
This involves spotting forward runs and being able to pick out the right pass at the perfect time, and constantly being aware of the movement of both teammates and opposition players in the final third.
Passing Ability
Creative vision is crucial, but it means nothing if you're not able to pull off the pass you're envisaging.
CAMs must be able to deliver inch-perfect passes in a range of situations; short, intricate midfield triangles, long, raking forward balls, switches to the winger on the opposite flank, or perfectly weighted cutbacks into the box are all crucial passes to be able to consistently make in this position in soccer.
Dribbling Skills
Sometimes, CAMs will break the defensive lines using a clever pass, but on other occasions, it will be their dribbling ability that gets them into dangerous positions.
A great CAM should be able to dribble effectively past defenders to open up new areas of the pitch, showcasing speed, agility, close footwork, and technical skill.
Intelligent Movement
As well as picking out the runs of teammates, central attacking midfielders must also make clever runs themselves; sometimes this will be with the hope of receiving the ball in space, but it can also be simply to drag markers out of position and create space for teammates to exploit.
In terms of intelligent attacking movement, CAMs tend to be some of the best players on the pitch.
Finishing Ability
Given the advanced areas occupied by the CAM, these players also need to be able to effectively finish any goalscoring opportunities that come their way.
Whether it's slotting in a cutback from close range, taking a strike from distance, or dispatching penalties and free kicks, an attacking central midfielder must have excellent finishing skills if they want to reach the top.
The Best CAMS In History
A number of legendary players from across the world have showcased their skills within this hallowed space on the football pitch, and below you'll find a list of some of the greatest of them all.
Thomas Muller
As we mentioned earlier, the self-declared "Raumdeuter" has pioneered a fresh take on the central attacking midfielder role, scoring and assisting prolifically for Bayern Munich and Germany over almost 15 years of excellence at the top of the European game.
In total, Muller has recorded 144 goals and 197 assists in 447 Bundesliga games for Bayern, an astonishing tally.
Zinedine Zidane
The France icon played a pivotal role in his nation's dominance during the late 1990s and early 2000s, arguably becoming the greatest player in the world during this period. A playmaker in the truest sense of the word, Zidane was a supremely skillful central attacking midfielder who floated around the pitch showcasing beautiful footwork and ball skills, an excellent passing range, and a knack for flair moves that endeared him to fans wherever he went.
He went on to have a successful managerial career with Real Madrid, and remains one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Diego Maradona
Any list of the greatest ever central attacking midfielders would not be complete without iconic Argentine World Cup winner Diego Maradona, who in his homeland enjoys even more legendary status than Lionel Messi.
The skillful, lethal, charismatic little forward is one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and he was at his best operating in the spaces between midfield and attack, dazzling defenders with his dribbling skills and rifling beautiful goals into the back of the net.
Ronaldinho
Brazil is a nation that has produced some of the greatest attacking players in football history, so it would be wrong not to include a Selecao representative on this list. Ronaldinho was an extremely technically gifted player, a trickster with a joyful approach to playing the game, and while he was often deployed out wide, he was best known as a more central attacking midfielder. Here, he created some moments of real magic for clubs such as Barcelona, AC Milan, and PSG.
When it comes to advanced positions on a soccer field, there are a number of opportunities for overlap and flexibility, the nuances of each tactical setup ultimately depending on the head coach.
If you'd like to find out more about how managers can ensure their team's creativity levels are high, check out our broader guide to the attacking midfielder role. Or for a glimpse into the role occupied by the most advanced player on the pitch, take a look at our article on the role of the striker in soccer.