Changing Positions: 5 football players whose careers thrived after changing playing position
Seeing players change their preferred playing position is no new sight in football. Players and managers continue to experiment with playing roles and trying new innovations in positions and styles. Multiple players at all levels have undertaken positional changes, for a myriad of reasons, to varied levels of success.
For every successful Gianluca Zambrotta-like switch, which redefined the fullback role for generations to come, there exists a calamitous Steven Caulker-like switch. Why Jurgen Klopp played the center-back as a striker is something only he can answer.
Leaving aside the position changes that did not go as planned, here we take a look at active players thriving in their changed positions, so much so that most people have already forgotten about their previous playing roles.
1. Sergio Ramos
The most famous player on this list, Sergio Ramos carved a spot for himself in the center of defense for Real Madrid and Spain, and will be looking to continue the trend at Paris St. Germain. While fairly common knowledge amongst La Liga fans, followers of other leagues might not know/remember that this central defending player started off his career playing right back for Sevilla.
He switched to the center of defense for his initial seasons at Real Madrid after signing in 2005. But the arrival of Pepe and Christoph Metzelder during the 2007-08 season pushed him to the right of the defense once again. Ramos played every minute of Spain’s victorious 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign as a right back. The Castrol Performance Index rated him as the highest rated player at the tournament.
It was at the beginning of the 2009-10 season where he fully transitioned to center back, pairing up with either Raul Albiol or Ezequiel Garay, following a serious injury to Pepe. As we all know now, Ramos would go on to become a defensive mainstay for club and country and give the world of football a career full of iconic moments. Ramos makes a strong case to be heralded as one of the best central defenders of all time.
2. Alphonso Davies
The jet-heeled player, who held multiple age records in the USL (United Soccer League), including the youngest to sign a contract and the youngest to score, sped to the scene with 2 impressive seasons in the MLS with Vancouver Whitecaps FC. A nimble left winger, who in addition to his express pace also has great dribbling and crossing ability, Alphonso Davies naturally attracted interest from across the pond.
Bayern Munich got Davies’ signature on the dotted line in 2018, paying what was then a record fee for the MLS. Davies featured sporadically in his first season, with Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry ahead in the pecking order. His first appearance was as a substitute for Coman.
It was at the beginning of the 2019-20 season that coach Niko Kovac made a decision that would change the course of Davies’ career. With injuries ruling out Niklas Sule and Lucas Hernandez, Kovac preferred to play usual left back David Alaba in the center of defense and subsequently had Davies fill in at left back. He took to that role like a duck to water, dropping top tier performances as Bayern won the treble in a pandemic hit season. Davies was one of the best players for Bayern during their iconic 8-2 annihilation of Barcelona.
He earned praise from pundits and had players and fans raving about him, with many proclaiming him to be one of the best left backs of this generation. Davies finished third in the 2020 Golden Boy standings, something which wouldn’t have been possible had he not found a niche for himself in the left back spot