Player Positions
The players are really only divided into two different types: Outfielders and Goalkeepers. Any outfielder can play at any outfield position, but they will of course (like in real life) do it with different success. When match day comes you should disregard what your long term plans you have for the specific player and instead concentrate on utilizing your players the best way you can to overcome the opponent of the day. Tactics do matter in FreeKick, so choose what players to use, and at what positions, wisely. If you don't know what to do, you can always trust your assistant that will tell you what player he thinks is best for each position at match day.
Regardless of what position you choose for your player to play at he can have use for all his skills but to a drastic different degree. All outfielders need Constitution for example, but even a defender can make use of his Scoring and Ball Control skill during set pieces. Every position has a few skills that are decisively more important for them and we will explain the strength for each position below.
In your player listing, the assistant helps you to divide your squad into different positions and you can instruct how you want him to categorize players under preferences. If you are VIP manager you can override the evaluation of the assistant and decide what position you aim to develop a specific player to. Just remember that this is only to get a smooth overview of your squad so you can decide what you want each player to train and to allow you to spot weaknesses in your squad. The long term position that is assigned to a player has no other impact. You are the boss.
Attackers
What would any football club be without the over glorified players that score the goals? In FreeKick you can't just get a player with high Scoring attribute and think that you are alright. We make life a bit difficult for you, but that's the charm right?
Scoring is the main skill to score the goals, but the attacker must get in the position to actually get to fire that shot or header the ball. To do this he needs Offensive Positioning, Ball Control and (if the ball is in the air) Aerial. How much does the attacker need in each skill to get to shoot? That totally depends on the skill of the Centre Backs he faces. Having one extreme value in (for example) Offensive Positioning might get him to avoid tackles and then Ball Control gets less important, but technique also helps in beating the keeper.
Besides the mandatory Constitution skill to avoid getting tired or getting injured, and the four skills mentioned above, the attacker also have good use of the Passing skill. Each attacker will get an opportunity in midfield during the match and he needs a reasonable Passing skill in order to handle this (see adjusting skills to midfield). Besides that, the attackers are almost only active in the opponent's penalty box. The defensive skills of Defensive Positioning and Tackling are of little use for the attackers (with the exception defending during set pieces).
There are two names on the attackers in FreeKick: Forward (FW) and Striker (ST). The latter works just the same as first one, but may receive more passes than the former from midfield if the midfielders choose to focus on delivering them to him (you can only have one striker).
Midfielders
This is a term for all positions that abide to the midfield rule of needing to understand the midfield play in order to be effective. That's why Passing is the core skill that the other skills depend upon to be able to be utilized to it's full (read more about this under "adjusting skills to midfield"). The midfielders all have good use of both offensive and defensive skills and even Scoring and Aerial (although the latter can be seen as the least desirable skill), and this in excess to the mandatory Constitution skill.
Being less extreme than the attackers and central defenders because they need so many skills, they are ill suited to appear in the penalty box to defend or attack. Instead they battle it out between themselves in the midfield section. This doesn't make midfielders weak positions, the play origins in their section and the attacking side must prevail here before bringing the play into the box or finishing off with a long shot.
The midfield offers many different positions, every one with its own advantage and disadvantage. The standard midfielder (LM, RM and CM) is the easiest choice with the only advantage that there is no specific disadvantage and the only disadvantage that there is no specific advantage. The standard midfielder needs offensive and defensive values to an equal degree.
Wingbacks (LWB and RWB) are regarded as defensively minded flank midfielders who only attack if they have the energy to do so. If they have a really high Constitution they can create several opportunities for their side. Some may argue that the flank defenders in real life are more defensive than this, but because of the nature of the FreeKick game, we have chosen to label the flank defender as a midfielder. The flank defenders are always important in the assistance to the penalty box though (read more about that under assistance) and because of his defensive responsibilities, he will only be able to use 20% of his offensive values (OP & BC) above his defensive values (TA & DP)*1.25.
The Winger (LW and RW) and Offensive Midfielder (OM) both have the similar pros and cons. The message to the squad is to pass the ball to the player in this position which means that he should have nice offensive capabilities, including Scoring in order to be the best asset to his side. These positions are still a part of the defensive game though. The drawback is that using these positions opens up the game for the opponent to attack as well (the opponent gets an extra opportunity per position used).
The Defensive Midfielder (DM) is the central defensive player who is more active defensively than any other midfield position. The drawback (similar to the offensive positions above) is that the position opens up an opportunity for the opponent because of its drawn back position.
Using more than one OM, W or DM will create different effects that you can read more about under tactics. FreeKick is a very tactical game which is why it would be a mistake to overlook the tactical options that players, position and player settings provide. The manager that can get the most of his squad using the tools available can prevail against superiority in player talent.
Flank Defenders and Wing Backs
The flank defenders (LB and RB) are regarded as defensively minded flank midfielders who use high constitution in order to reduce the risk of dangerous attacks on their flank. They also defend actively in the centre midfield from time to time. Although defensive by nature, they still need to support the normal flank midfielder in his attempt to get through.
Details:
Flank defenders are active defenders in centre midfield 15% of the time. Furthermore they make it more difficult for the opponents to reach clear margin in their flank depending on high Constitution 45-65. Flank backs assist in clearing free balls from the penalty box 25% more than their Defensive Positioning would indicate. Bonus to assistance because of constitution above 50 doesn't apply for flank defenders.
Flank defenders are active defenders in centre midfield 15% of the time. Furthermore they make it more difficult for the opponents to reach clear margin in their flank depending on high Constitution 45-65. Flank backs assist in clearing free balls from the penalty box 25% more than their Defensive Positioning would indicate. Bonus to assistance because of constitution above 50 doesn't apply for flank defenders.
Wingbacks (LWB and RWB) are balanced flank midfielders that use high constitution to create personal opportunities by running fiercely on their flank. These are the modern type of flank defenders that are common in real life football today. Depending on their constitution, they sometimes get fewer opportunities (but sometimes more) than the normal midfielders, but when they get through their passes or dribbles are extra dangerous for the defence as they overlap the regular midfield.
Details:
A Wing back produces personal opportunities if he has at least 40 in Constitution and is guaranteed to get two at 55. With 100 in Constitution he would produce four opportunities. A wing back is very likely to get a clear margin just by winning their offensive challenge and lower one extra denomination in the penalty box if they would get clear margin without being wing backs. Bonus to assistance because of constitution above 50 doesn't apply for Wing backs.
A Wing back produces personal opportunities if he has at least 40 in Constitution and is guaranteed to get two at 55. With 100 in Constitution he would produce four opportunities. A wing back is very likely to get a clear margin just by winning their offensive challenge and lower one extra denomination in the penalty box if they would get clear margin without being wing backs. Bonus to assistance because of constitution above 50 doesn't apply for Wing backs.
Defenders
In real life you can often spot the Centre Backs (CB) as being tall, deceptively sluggish, laid back and with mediocre technical skills. Still they are the last bastion for the attackers to pass if they want to get a finishing attempt off.
In Freekick, Centre Backs almost always operate in their own penalty box and really only need four skills to be effective. As all outfielders, they need Constitution to not get tired during the match and to avoid getting injured. The need Defensive Position to be able to catch attackers, Tackling to stop attackers on the ground once they catch them and Aerial to stop attackers in the air.
It's fair to say that a defender with low Defensive Positioning is a weak one. If the defender cannot keep up with the pace of the match, then who will stop the attacker? And if the attacker gets totally free, then the keeper will be in trouble. While this is true, not all attackers have high Offensive Positioning and being close to an attacker with high finishing ability might not stop him from Scoring. As always, they choice of what defenders to invest in (and field) is dependent on what opponent you face.
In comparison the other four outfielder skills are irrelevant for a Centre Back in FreeKick, but there is some use for them too of course. A reasonable Passing skill will allow the defender to counterattack from the box; while Scoring, Offensive Positioning and Ball Control sometimes could be useful during set pieces (we have all seen defenders header in corners).
Goalkeepers
The player who protects the goal is one of the most important positions to fill. As you have specific players to choose from on the transfer list for this position the choice might seem easy, but goalkeepers can look rather different from one another yet still be effective. There are only five skills that a goalkeeper needs (compared to eight for an outfielder), but he needs all five of them.
A keeper with high reflexes is the first choice, but he should be backed up with reasonable positioning. Keepers with high Interception helps the defence against high passes into the box, but without control the keeper releases dangerous rebounds or can even fumble the ball into the net. Organization is a skill that helps the defence in the penalty box in all situations, although it's most important during set pieces.
Details:
The goalkeeper is the only position that does not get tired. He can still get injured or get suspended though.
The goalkeeper is the only position that does not get tired. He can still get injured or get suspended though.
Team Captain
The team captain's role is important because it makes your squad perform a little better. Positive personality traits and high experience are needed for them to be effective. You may change who the team captain is for each match, but a player who recently joined your team would be a less effective (25%-100%) captain until they have spent at least one player year in the club. A newly drafted youth player from your scout does not suffer this "newly bought" penalty as he is loyal to his club, and the National Team is immune to these issues. If your captain doesn't play or is removed from the pitch mid-game, the vice-captain will resume the responsibility. If you don't choose a captain then your assistant will choose one for you.
The captain will contribute to your team in three ways. The first is to organize the squad by raising the effective experience level of the team - especially amongst the least experienced players. The second is to talk to the referee and calm things down to reduce the number of yellow cards and suspensions. The third way is to rally your squad in the second half if you're behind and make them play more effective offensively.
Raising experience
The captain will boost 66% of an experience level for each positive personality trait he has (in excess to the negative he has), and that boost applies to each individual player on the pitch. This effect is 33%, however, once a teammate has at least half of the captain's experience level, and if the teammate has higher experience than the captain, then the boost is 25%. If the captain has the "Team Player" personality trait, he is extra good at this task.
Countering yellow cards
You will notice in the match report when your captain steps in to talk to the referee. Just be careful as a bad captain (see further below) will cause MORE cards than otherwise. If the captain has the "Charming" personality trait he is extra good at this task.
Rally
So you're behind in the second half and want the squad to push forward for the equalizer? The captain will do his best to get the lads going by giving you a maximum of two extra opportunities, but because you are pushing hard to get the equalizer, you will also give up a maximum of two opportunities to your opponent. If you don't start losing till towards the end of the second half, you may not have the chance to use both opportunities and will only use one or sometimes none. A captain who has time to spare in his rally might make the opportunities created extra dangerous.
Positive and negative personalities
Much is probably intuitive, but we list exactly what affects what below. Remember that negative effects accumulate just like positive ones, and it's quite possible for a captain to be worse for the squad than without him
Positive
- Charming (double bonus to counter yellow cards)
- Confident
- Extrovert
- Loyal
- Resolute (double bonus to rally)
- Team player (double bonus to boosting xp)
Negative
- Diva (only negative when rallying)
- Egoist (double penalty to boosting xp)
- Nervous
- Obnoxious (double penalty to countering cards)
- Reserved
- Turncoat