Footballers who used to play in a different position at youth level | OneFootball

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In football, versatility is so often key. After all, it's a vital part of Total Football that all outfield players should be able to play in every other position on the field. Still, players tend to have a preffered role.

However, we do quite often have instances where players take a little while before settling on their best position. Gareth Bale and Declan Rice are famous examples of footballers who changed positions and then truly established themselves as top-level footballers. And Kai Havertz is one player who may still be searching for his best role, having been played at left-back during the November international break while away with Germany.

But some players make the decision to change their positions at a much younger age when they are still developing in the youth teams. With that being the case, GIVEMESPORT has created a list of examples for you to enjoy below.

Fernando Torres - Goalkeeper

For a period, Fernando Torres was one of the most electric strikers the Premier League has ever seen. He scored 81 goals and picked up 20 assists in 146 games for Liverpool before losing his goalscoring rhythm after that infamous move to Chelsea. Even so, he is well remembered for having a pretty impressive career, playing up front for the likes of Spain, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid as he won the World Cup, Champions League, Europa League and more.

With that in mind, it may come as a surprise to some that he started out at the other end of the pitch entirely. He played in goal until he was around eight but was forced to change his position by his mother, once explaining: "I started playing as a goalkeeper, until I broke my teeth doing a save. And my mother said: 'You want to play football, no more as a goalkeeper'."

Thibaut Courtois - Fullback

While Torres was an outfield player who started out in goal, it's the opposite for Thibaut Courtois who started out as a left-back. He changed position as a youngster after joining Racing Genk in 1999 and would later make his senior debut for the same club, standing between the sticks.

It turns out to have been a pretty good decision as he has since gone on to establish himself as one of the world's best shot-stoppers at the likes of Atletico Madrid, Chelse and Real Madrid. He even won the Yashin Trophy for being the best goalkeeper in the world back in 2022.

Andy Carroll - Fullback

Talking of tall players who started out at left-back, Andy Carroll is next on our list. The English striker is best remembered for his time in the Premier League when he burst onto the scene with Newcastle and then struggled after a big-money move to Liverpool.

The 34-year-old currently leads the line for Ligue 2 club Amiens in France but began at fullback after joining the Magpies as an 11-year-old. He didn't particularly stand out in the club’s academy when being utilised as an auxiliary left-back, but after former academy director John Carver intervened, coupled with the help of a growth spurt at the age of 15, Carroll would go on to prove himself as a top target man.

Mohamed Salah - Fulback

In recent times, there have been few more prolific forwards in European football than Mohamed Salah. For instance, in 2018 he became the quickest Liverpool player to net 50 goals, doing so in 65 matches, and has since netted 198 strikes in 322 games (at time of writing).

Before all that, however, he started out as a fullback in the youth team of El Mokawloon. His positional change came about after a 4-0 win when a youth coach noted how sad Salah was, literally crying because he hadn't scored. Sensing that passion for goals, the defender was moved further up the pitch and we all know what happened from there.

Harry Kane - Midfielder

Alongside Salah, Harry Kane dominated the Premier League goalscoring charts for a number of seasons before moving to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023. The striker hasn't slowed down in Germany, becoming the first player in Bundesliga history to score 17 goals in his first 11 appearances.

Whatever happens in the remainder of his career, Kane will always be regarded as one of Tottenham Hotspur's greatest-ever youth products but he didn't start out as a striker when coming through their academy. He instead played in the middle of the park. Interestingly enough, he started out as a holding midfielder before moving into an attacking midfield role.

Gianluigi Buffon - Midfielder

If you think of icon goalkeepers, Gianluigi Buffon is one name to instantly spring to mind. The Italian most famously won the World Cup in 2006, as well as numerous other trophies across the course of his glittering career.

He started out as a midfielder though and actually played that role during his first-ever game at San Siro when he was still a child in 1988. Buffon's decision to change roles seems to have come on a whim, as he told Uefa: "It seems destiny made me a goalkeeper. My dad suggested I change and try to play in goal. I always liked being at the heart of the action, trying to experience different situations and different challenges. One year I decided to try playing in goal."

Pep Guardiola - Winger

Pep Guardiola is arguably the greatest, most influential manager of the past few decades but before he was winning trophies as a coach for the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City, he was also a very good footballer. He spent the bulk of his career playing for La Blaugrana, dictating the play as a central midfielder.

He is one of the greatest products of the club's fabled La Masia academy but was initially playing on the right wing until the legendary Johan Cruyff got involved. He told youth coach Charly Rexach to play Guardiola as a pivot, in front of the defence, and thus unlocked the young footballer's full potential.

Ashley Cole - Striker

Ashley Cole is one of just nine Englishmen to have over 100 caps for their country, and he did so playing at left-back. In this role, he spent a number of years as an extremely reliable defender for the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Roma, LA Galaxy, and Derby County.

In his formative years, however, Cole actually came through the Arsenal academy playing as a striker. That attacking nature was evident in his game very early on, as he impressed on loan at Crystal Palace before becoming an Invincible with the Gunners.

Casemiro has dominated many midfielders in European football over the last decade, first with Real Madrid and more recently with Manchester United. But he started out as an attacker in Brazil with Sao Paulo's academy and the story of how he changed position is a fantastic one. He explained it to Man Utd, saying:

David de Gea - Striker

Despite being a pretty fantastic shot-stopper, David de Gea is currently still without a club having left Manchester United in July 2023. This may, in part, be down to his inability to look comfortable with the ball at his feet – a key trait all modern goalkeepers must excel at.

With that being the case, it may come as a surprise to some to learn that he used to play outfield. Indeed, the Spaniard played as a striker until the age of 14 and was even the top goalscorer for his local five-a-side team once upon a time.

Sol Campbell - Striker

Sol Campbell emerged as a fantastic young defender at Tottenham Hotspur, becoming club captain before leaving in search of silverware. He did just that by joining arch-rivals Arsenal, making himself an icon in the eyes of one club and a judas in the eyes of the other.

He spent his career as a centre-back and did actually play this role in the Spurs academy before moving up into a centre-forward position for the youth team. He also played in midfield for a bit as well but settled back into his role as a central defender.

Carles Puyol - Striker

Like Campbell, Carles Puyol is another centre-back who played in a few roles while he was a youngster. The Barcelona legend actually started out as a goalkeeper before an injury forced him to mix things up.

He then played as a striker before he ended up at La Masia, at the age of 17 (which is much later than most). From here, he dropped deeper and deeper, playing midfield and right-back before eventually asserting himself as one of the finest central defenders Catalunya has ever produced.

Jamie Carragher - Striker

It's well-known that Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher actually supported Everton as a kid, but there is another interesting fact about his youth that some fans might not be aware of. He initially played up front and even played as a striker at international youth level for England.

He started out in that role for Liverpool and it appears that he was pretty handy too. Speaking on the Football Cliches Podcast, via the Daily Star