Two Moves to Master to be a Dominant Center Midfielder

As a center midfielder, your main job is to control the middle of the pitch – don’t let the other team use it, and then distribute the ball through the middle of the field when you’re on the attack.

Of course, this isn’t easy because the other team wants to do the exact same thing. So, how do you control the middle third of the field? 

Two very effective moves with the ball that will give you ample opportunities to distribute through the midfield are the Nagbe Turn and La Croqueta. Here’s how to execute both of them:

The Nagbe Turn 

Darlington Nagbe just retired from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 season, and he is arguably the greatest center midfielder in the history of the MLS.

His signature move is what we call the Nagbe Turn. Whether other people call it that or not, well, we don’t care. We saw him do it countless times when we played together in Atlanta and it is one of the best tools a CM can have to not get dispossessed.

In short: the Nagbe Turn is a great way to receive and maintain control of the ball when a defender is playing you tight.

In order to perform a Nagbe Turn, you have to know which side the defender is on. This video shows Darlington Nagbe looking over his shoulder before receiving the ball, allowing him to see that the defender is closing in on his left side.

So, the moment he receives the ball, Nagbe turns to his right. The Nagbe Turn essentially combines two actions - receiving the ball and turning - into one. Instead of receiving the ball, pausing, and then turning, Nagbe literally turns his body as he’s receiving the ball and shields the ball from the defender.

This is a move that works at any level – and always makes the defender trying to dispossess you look really clumsy.  

La Croqueta

Like the Nagbe Turn, La Croqueta is a simple move, but when it’s well executed it works at every level of the game. It was made famous most recently by Andres Iniesta and there are countless highlight reels on YouTube of him doing it during his time at Barça.  

The difference between La Croqueta and the Nagbe Turn is that while the Nagbe Turn is intended for when a defender is behind you, La Croqueta is intended for when you have the ball and a defender is in front of you.

The idea is to use the inside of your foot to slide - not kick - the ball across to your other foot, and then give the ball a soft kick with this foot to continue moving forward.

Why is this so effective? A few reasons:

1. If you’re dribbling up the field,  the defender is getting in position to push you a certain way based on which foot you are dribbling with.

2. You’re pushing the ball to the other side, which immediately forces your defender to shift their weight in response, slowing them down as you’re speeding up.

3. Since the defender is shifting their positioning, you have that extra split second to move the ball away from where the defender expects it to be.

Practicing Croquetas is simple enough – you’re using the inside of your foot to pass the ball from one foot to another. Then, add doing it while you’re dribbling. To execute it at a high-level, you need to also work on your timing to throw the defender off balance and get them to get caught right before they are going to dive into a tackle.  

Of course, there are countless other moves you can master that will help you as a CM, but if you get comfortable doing these two you will be able to handle the majority of situations when you have a defender on your back or a defender in front of you – and you will be well on your way to getting to the next level of the game.

Do you want to learn more ins and outs of a center midfielder? Check out BGTV, a massive library of professional games organized by position with analysis from professional players. These clips feature high-level players making smart (and not-so-smart) decisions and utilizing effective techniques during important moments of the match.

The more footage you watch, the easier it is to implement the same techniques in your own matches when you find yourself in similar situations. BGTV is like a cheat code for elevating your soccer IQ and decision-making speed, two of the first things college coaches and pro scouts look at when evaluating players.

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