Forward (association Football) - Winger

A winger is an attacking player who is stationed in a wide position near the touchlines. They can be classified as forwards, considering their origin as the old "outside-forward" position, and continue to be termed as such in most parts of the world, especially in Latin and Dutch footballing cultures. However, in the Anglo-Saxon world, they are usually counted as part of the midfield.

It is a winger's duty to beat opposing fullbacks, deliver cut-backs or crosses from wide positions and, to a lesser extent, to beat defenders and score from close range. They are usually some of the quickest players in the team and usually have good dribbling skills as well. In their Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese usage, the defensive duties of the winger have been usually confined to pressing the opposition fullbacks when they have the ball. Otherwise, a winger will drop closer to the midfield to make himself available, should his team win back the ball.

In British and other northern European styles of football, the wide-midfielder is expected to track back all the way to his own corner flag should his full-back require help, and also to track back his marker, as well as tucking into the midfield when the more central players are trying to pressure the opposition for the ball, a huge responsibility for attack-oriented players, and particularly those like Joaquín (winger/wide midfielder) or Lionel Messi (winger/second-striker/trequartista) or Ryan Giggs and John Barnes (winger/central midfielder) who lack the physical attributes of a wing-back or of a more orthodox midfield player. As these players grow older and lose their natural pace, they are frequently redeployed as Number 10s between the midfield and the forward line, where their innate ball control and improved reading of the game in the final third can serve to improve their teams' attacking options in tight spaces. An example is Internazionale use of veteran Luís Figo behind one or two other attackers.

In recent years there has been a trend of playing inverted wingers – wide men stationed on the 'wrong' side of the pitch, in order to enable them to cut inside and shoot on their stronger foot and sometimes provide in-swinging crosses. This tactic was used by Frank Rijkaard, who whilst at Barcelona, moved Lionel Messi from the left flank onto the right wing, initially against the player's wishes, allowing him to cut into the centre and shoot or cross with his left foot.