trequartista

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian trequartista.

Noun

trequartista (plural trequartistas)

1. (soccer) A player who operates between the midfielders and the strikers, acting as a playmaker and creating chances for their team to score.
   • 2013 April 16, Rob Hughes, “After 2 Decades of Creativity: Why Stop Now?”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-11-06:

     The trequartista is the pivotal role in attack, though it is neither a striker nor a creator, per se, but three-quarters of both those positions.

   • 2019, Michael W. Cox, Zonal Marking: The Making of Modern European Football, PublicAffairs, →ISBN:

     However, the classic Italian trequartista role, which generally refers to a number 10 playing behind two strikers, was under threat. Arrigo Sacchi's emphasis on a heavy pressing 4-4-2 left no place for a languid trequartista, and therefore players like Baggio were having to prove their worth.

   • 2022 September 28, Marcus Christenson, Steven Bloor, Garry Blight, “Next Generation 2022: 60 of the best young talents in world football”, in The Guardian‎^[2], archived from the original on 2023-01-23:

     A tall, skilful trequartista with impeccable technique, he has an eye for the goal, being especially dangerous in the air.

References

• “trequartista”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Italian

Etymology

From tre +‎ quarto +‎ -ista.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tre.kwarˈti.sta/, /trek.kwarˈti.sta/
• Rhymes: -ista
• Hyphenation: tre‧quar‧tì‧sta

Noun

trequartista m or f by sense (masculine plural trequartisti, feminine plural trequartiste)

1. (soccer) attacking midfielder

Further reading

• trequartista in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana