In 2006, Roma manager Luciano Spalleti was facing a crisis. Injuries had hit his side hard, leaving them bereft of any fit centre-forward to lead the line. So Spalleti was forced to play a highly unorthodox version of the conventional 4-2-3-1, and Francesco Totti was deployed as the furthest man up front. The little bit of improvisation though, came as Totti dropped behind to play in his preferred trequartista role, a position that had found itself on the decline in modern football. A trequartista is originally an attacking midfielder gifted with complete tactical freedom, in some cases even without the responsibility of having to drop back to defend. The tactical discipline in modern football does not allow this measure of freedom, hence the role of a trequartista is reserved for adventurous managers, and players with high flair and creativity.
Francesco Totti played this role in the modified 4-2-3-1, dropping in the gap between the opposition’s defensive line and midfield. Being the inventive genius that he is, the Italian wrecked havoc from the position and finished as Europe’s top goal scorer that season with an astounding 26 goals to his name. This formation, with a player playing as a withdrawn forward, came to be called the ‘False 9’ with Totti the first False-9 of the new millennium. Sadly, after a 7-1 dismantling at the hands of Manchester United in the Champions League and a variety of unknown reasons, the False 9 was abandoned by Roma. But the legacy of the innovation was carried on by Manchester United, and later Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
Come 2013, Roma found themselves in crisis again. The misery of losing out on a Champions League spot was compounded by losing to fierce rivals and neighbours Lazio in the Coppa Italia final. First choice managers Walter Mazzarri and Massimiliano Allegri both rebuffed Roma’s advances and third choice Rudi Garcia was chosen to take the helm. Garcia, a relatively unknown name, had enjoyed limited success with Lille during their golden period, that too when the squad was filled with highly-rated talents like Eden Hazard, Gervinho and Moussa Sow. Financial pressures forced the club into selling some of the club’s most notable names – Brazilian centre-back Marquinhos, highly rated wing-forward Erik Lamela and a key forward in Pablo Osvaldo. In essence, Garcia inherited a ravaged and demoralized squad, with little or negligible expectations. Roma’s miraculous rise though, all began right there, and the false 9 employed during the earlier crisis was to become a key factor.
The sales of the three key players allowed Garcia to scout the transfer market and rebuild according to how he saw fit. Napoli ‘keeper Morgan De Sanctis came in, seasoned veteran Maicon, a young defender by the name of Mehdi Benatia and Garcia’s former protégé Gervinho, all followed. The core of Roma’s side though, came in the form of Dutch-dynamo Kevin Strootman and Bosnian playmaker Miralem Pjanic. Garcia was all too familiar with Pjanic’s style of play, after having watched him ply his trade for Lyon. The first step to Roma’s resurgence was now on the horizon.