During EURO 2012 I noticed that a new fad had started. People started tossing around words like “False 9!” and “Deep Lying Playmaker!” without really knowing what they were talking about. But fret not, this series will tackle all those fancy footballing terms so that the next time people talk, you can butt in and make sense.
Let us start with the famous ‘False 9’. Contrary to what the world may say it is NOT the exclusive domain of Barcelona/ Spain. The first true False 9 of the modern era (or atleast the last 20 years) is Francesco Totti for AS Roma. Luciano Spaletti turned Totti from a playmaker into a lone striker who did not actually stay upfront. The formation generally evolved to a 4-6-0 when they were attacking.
Nowadays ‘False 9’ is pretty much synonymous with Barcelona/ Spain with the ‘False 9’ fitting seamlessly into their tiki-taka style of play. Among the finest examples of the ‘False 9’ are Fabregas (Spain), Robin Van Persie(Ex-Arsenal, might be used differently by SAF) and of course Mr. False 9 himself, Lionel Messi (Barcelona).
The beauty of the ‘False 9’ lies in the fact that he is not a true striker. Stop your sniggering for a minute and imagine that you are a top class defender playing for one of those big clubs. And Messi is playing as a ‘False 9’. He starts of as an attacker and you are comfortably marking him and suddenly he is gone! He has dropped into the space BETWEEN your midfield and defence. You end up with 2 choices.