In association football, a playmaker is an player who controls the flow of the team's offensive play, and is often involved in passing moves which lead to goals[1]. In English football the term overlaps somewhat with attacking midfielder.
In Italian football there are actually 2 types of playmakers, the trequartista (creative attacking midfielder) and the regista (deep-lying playmaker). In Argentinian football a playmaker is know as an enganche, literally meaning hook. In Brazilian football the playmaker is called meia-armador, which in European football would be the central midfielder. The closest European equivalent to the meia-armador is the Italian regista, as the meia-armador is different from the meia atacante (attacking midfielder) and volante (defensive midfielder). The most complete playmakers are know as advanced playmakers, or free role playmakers, as they can operate both in central and attacking midfield and in wide positions.