The manner in which teams attack in the modern football landscape has drastically changed over time.
In the 2000s the traditional number ‘nine’ your Alan Shearers and Ruud van Nistelrooys of the world were seen as essential components for an effective attack.
It isn’t the case that football has completely abandoned the concept of the goal poacher leading the line but rather that football teams need them to do more as opposed to just scoring goals.
When you take a look at some of the best or most influential attacks in the last ten years, they traditionally came in threes. Jurgen Klopp’s Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah trifecta and Luis Enrique’s infamous MSN (Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar) immediately come to mind.
This is because both trios had a false nine in their systems. It’s a flexible position that confuses opponents as any one player in the two attacks mentioned could play as a false nine.
But what exactly is a false nine? Why is it so effective and what are the best modern examples of a false nine?
In this article we’ll cover:
What is a false nine?
A false nine is predominantly a striker who drops deep after starting in a higher, advanced position up the pitch.
Normally, the player in the false nine role is pushed right up against the opponent’s defensive line before dropping deeper. This drags a defender that has to go with him, pulling him out of position.
It also means that as a false nine, a player can receive a pass without being closely followed by a centre-back.
There is a zone between the midfield and defence where the false nine can receive the ball and from there, other players can make movements off the false nine’s link-up play.
It causes a headache for centre-backs because they are not sure whether to come out of defence and track their movements as the false nine has the option to receive and go into midfield. The further the defender follows the false nine player, the more space it leaves in behind.
The dynamic and flexible movements of a false nine offer a manager multiple avenues to make his attack dangerous, as the role of a false nine isn’t to ensure he is dangerous himself, but rather to act as a facilitator to elevate others.
Some of the disadvantages that may occur when playing a false nine stem from when the player peels off the defence away from the striker position. If there is no substitute for players getting into the box, you can lose the threat of box presence and someone occupying the centre-backs, if they choose not to engage.
Which modern players play as false nines?
Historically, Cesc Fabregas playing for Spain in Euro 2012 and under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona was the player who ushered in a seismic shift of managers using false nines.
In terms of today, Mikel Merino is another example of using a false nine as a striker, whilst benefiting from the Spaniard’s abilities as a midfielder. There is an argument to be made that Arsenal are a more fluid team with Merino as a false nine because he is a natural replacement for the injured Kai Havertz, who played as a false nine.
We saw how effective the false nine can be for Arsenal against Bayern Munich. When Merino dropped deep, Jonathan Tah followed him. Not only this, but Merino dropped deeper in midfield at other points, allowing for attackers like Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka to stretch Bayern wide and centrally.
Images from Tacticalista
It means that, whilst the striker isn’t in his position, other players are. When Merino dropped into midfield, it encouraged other players (even from defence) to take up his position as a striker because the flexibility of the role means you don’t have to stay in one spot all the time.
It confuses defences because a player is a striker and link-up midfielder all in one.
It was a similar case for Lionel Messi at Barcelona. Messi is one of the best players to ever play the game, so the Argentinian not having a set position and being given the licence to pick the ball up deep and run at defenders creates havoc.
If you look at the Premier League today, the teams that play more direct football have a classic, ‘big’ target man up front. The ones that don’t: Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion for example have players who operate best getting the ball with their back to goal, peeling off defences.
Nick Woltemade is an interesting example at Newcastle United because he can operate as a goal poacher and a striker that gets on the end of crosses. But, Eddie Howe has clearly wanted to benefit from his strengths when dropping deep and linking up.
As it gets more difficult to break down defences, having a false nine in your arsenal offers managers alternative solutions in terms of finding gaps in defences.