As the years have gone by, football has undergone significant shifts. The transition into what we now know as the modern game has happened because of era defining moments created by era defining players and managers. Because of the success they achieved, majority followed.
Football is a simple sport but the way we view it will always change. From how the ball should be played out of the back to what a midfielder’s role should be to how and where strikers come from, people come up with different ways to arrive at the end product which is to score goals.
Speaking of goals, this piece is centered on a position that has arguably undergone the most change in this era of the sport, the center forward position. We look at when this change happened and why it happened.
The rise of the false 9
What is the false 9 position
A false 9 refers to a player who plays as a center forward and looks to drop deep from their starting position which is the highest on the pitch. The reason for the name “false” is because these players move into positions which are not commonly occupied by your conventional striker.
When they drop deep, they look to create overloads in the center of the pitch and outnumber the opposition in order to create an extra passing option in midfield which allows his team to play through compact defenses.
Another reason they drop deep is to draw the defenders out of position. When a false 9 drops deep, it leaves the defender with a decision to make. Since the midfield runs the risk of being overran in that moment because of the false 9’s movement, they have to decide on wether to follow the striker into the midfield or stay put and wait for the game to come to them.
If the false 9 drops deep and the defender doesn’t follow, he is able to receive the ball between the lines and turn towards the goal, putting the center back on the back foot. Alternatively, if the defender decides to follow the striker into midfield, he will vacate his position which will in turn leave space for another attacker to run into.
The false nine dropping deep disrupts defensive shape and creates several passing avenues for midfielders to exploit or run into. Even wide players can make runs from wide positions into the central space created by the false 9’s movement.
The false 9 position is mainly used by teams that prefer to keep the ball. Most possession heavy teams tend to build from the back and build into the midfield and attack. This gives the false 9 time to pick his moments to drop deep and find spaces to exploit.
Who made the false 9 famous in modern football
The player who made the role famous was Lionel Messi. Through an inspired moment from Pep Guardiola in the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, the then Barcelona manager moved Messi from his position on the right wing and switched it with Samuel Eto’o who played at center forward.
This tactical move meant that Messi could combine with Xavi and Iniesta in midfield and it worked to deadly effect as the Catalans dominated Sir Alex Fergurson’s side on their way to a 2-0 win. From that moment on, the landscape of modern football changed.
Pep Guardiola’s dominant Barcelona team was headlined by Lionel Messi, a 5’7 center forward whose physical attributes didn't fit the profile of the strikers in his era or the era before him.
The intelligence of not just Messi but the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and the team in general made Barcelona unstoppable in that time. They won two UEFA Champions League trophies along with a whole host of titles playing with a false 9 and football saw that as the next step in its evolution.
Note: Although Messi made the false 9 role popular, he was not the first player to play the role. The false 9 was first used by Corinthians in the late 1890s with center forward GO Smith the one who played the role. He was a striker who played more like a playmaker due to his preference to play his teammates through on goal. He was known as a ‘conductor’. The role has appeared in several occasions throughout history.
Modern False 9s
Cesc Fabregas- Barcelona/Spain
The former Spain international played the role for Barcelona under Tata Martino but more significantly, he played as a False 9 for Spain in their Euro 2012 triumph under Vincente Del Bosque.
Cesc Fabregas who is naturally a midfielder, was able to fit into that role seamlessly as he was able to create overloads in midfield and pick passes to players ahead of him. Even when teams tried to block passes do the Spaniard, his teammates like Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets in midfield were able to find space to cause problems elsewhere. Defenders struggled to cope with the quality Spain had in central areas.
Fabregas was preferred in that position to an orthodox striker like Fernando Torres who scored three goals in the competition.
Phil Foden- Manchester City
At his young age, Phil Foden has been used in several positions in Pep Guardiola’s attack and has shown excellence when playing in each role. After the departure of Sergio Aguero (and even in his final, injury hit season), Foden was often played as a false 9 for Manchester City before the arrival of Erling Haaland.
His technical ability and awareness allowed him to drop deep into spaces between the lines to receive the ball and create space for his teammates to run into. The England international is excellent at keeping the ball in tight spaces with his dribbling ability and has the awareness as well as the intelligence to release the ball in the right moments.
Karim Benzema- Real Madrid
The current Ballon d’Or winner is a striker that had to evolve his game to become a false 9 over the years. In order to accommodate playing with Cristiano Ronaldo and at times, Gareth Bale, Benzema would drop deep into midfield with them pushing ahead of him.
Benzema would then become the link between midfield and attack and look to create chances for Ronaldo and Gareth Bale who had better scoring numbers than the Frenchman when the attacking trident popularly named BBC played together.
Karim Benzema further evolved his game after the BBC era and became a complete forward who now has the ability to score himself as well as fulfill the roles of a false 9 (he scored 44 times and managed 14 assists last season) with the frame and physicality of an orthodox striker.
Harry Kane
This is another striker who is in the Karim Benzema mould. He is a forward who has the physical attributes and frame of an old school center forward with supreme goalscoring ability but also the technical ability to drop into midfield and help keep possession or find other teammates in more dangerous positions.
As I mentioned earlier, false 9s are mainly used in possession heavy sides but Harry Kane has played that role for a counter attacking team. Under Jose Mourinho and now Antonio Conte, Kane drops deep to receive the ball in transition situations and plays direct passes to Heung-Min Son or any of his other teammates running into space in behind.
Who are modern forwards that are not false 9s?
Erling Haaland
The Manchester City star has torn through the Premier League this season with 25 goals in his first 20 appearances. This run has seen him break many goalscoring records and the Norwegian may well break some more records before the season ends but compared to Phil Foden who was mentioned earlier, Haaland is no false 9.
Though he has been on the end of many moves, Haaland has struggled to be a consistent part of his team buildup, much to the displeasure of Pep Guardiola. Because of his lack of involvement, he is heavily reliant on service from his teammates which can be stopped at times. Their loss to Manchester United is a good example of such a scenario.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
Aubameyang may be moving towards the end of his career but in his prime years, he was a striker that very much referred to play on the last line and utilize his pace in behind to beat defenders and score goals.
Kai Havertz is the preferred option at center forward at Chelsea because the German is able to drop deep into midfield and has the technical ability to meet the requirements of a false 9. These are qualitites that Aubameyang does not possess.
Victor Osimhen
The Serie A top scorer is one of the most sought after forwards in world football because of his explosive speed and power as well as his devastating finishing ability which seems to get better each season.
He has incredible potential but the best version of the Napoli striker is when he is in the box creating space for himself to score or when he is running at or in behind defenders. He is still developing his skills but has not shown himself as a reliable false 9 option as of yet. This flaw in his game may keep him from reaching the highest level.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The legendary striker is now playing at Al Nasser in Saudi Arabia but Cristiano Ronaldo’s spell at Manchester United can be seen as a lesson in how not to be a false 9.
The Portuguese scored over 25 goals for Manchester United in his second spell where played at center forward. His goal tally may have been good but his overall play was suboptimal.
Ronaldo didn't have the awareness to drop deep in the right moments, instead he would go ball hunting needlessly and not do much with the ball after he got it. This would often kill attacking moves and cause United to have a lobsided shape in possession.
Are Proper Center forwards becoming extinct?
It is true that the Era of poachers like Filippo Inzaghi, Micheal Owen, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and more recently the likes of Jamie Vardy, Romelu Lukaku is coming to an end but the role is moving towards evolution rather than extinction.
The value of a striker will now be judged beyond their ability to find the back of the net. Strikers will also be judged by how well they link play when they drop deep and their technical execution under pressure (dribbling and passing) in tight spaces.
The requirements to become a top level striker has changed and the evolution will also trickle down to youth level. Youth Academies will be looking to mould players in the image of the elite forwards and help players meet the requirements needed to be a top level striker.
Why do strikers have to be more present in buildup?
Alternative goal threats
With the rise of players like Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mohammed Salah who can score a lot of goals as wingers, the center forward position is no longer looked as as the only position your main source of goals can come from.
With the rise of more and more goalscoring wingers in the modern game, the service to strikers are reduced leaving those who play in the position to add more tools to their game which will help them create shots for themselves and be more involved in the buildup phase.
Compact defences
Defensive organization is one of the aspects of football that has continued to grow and develop in the modern era. Against some of the best possession sides, opposition tend to sit back and defend deep into their own half in a compact shape. This shape allows the defenders to be as close to each other as possible in order to leave no gaps for attackers to exploit.
Attacking teams have come up with different countermeasures create goalscoring opportunities against packed defences with the false 9 role being one of those.
An orthodox striker who merely waits for service could go missing for long spells during matches because their teammates are playing nine against 10 during buildup. When the striker is only involved when he needs to complete buildup actions, he is easier to defend against because he will be crowded out.
Alternatively, when a striker leaves his position into false/deeper positions to be involved in buildup, he can drag his defender with him to create space for a teammate or create overloads in midfield and receive the ball between the midfield and defence. When a false nine helps to disorient defensive shapes, it is easier for his team to play through their opponents and create goalscoring chances.