Barcelona coaching has been widely considered as the most effective team in the world for several years now. Winning trophies has been complemented by their unique attacking type of play, which was taught at La Masia (that fabled youth team house where Barcelona students were tutored) for many years. Over the years, Barcelona have usually employed two formations in a flexible manner, regardless associated with opposition: the base on the 4-3-3 or 3-4-3, with slight tactical variations, but always while using the principles of Johan Cruyffs Comprehensive Football philosophy.
As opposition teams have tried to work out ways in which to cease all the attacking talents which the Catalan giants possess, they themselves have required to adapt, conscious that they must evolve to remain one step ahead of the many defensive tactics now employed to prevent their success. The most recent evolution is to line-up without the need of playing a recognised out-and-out striker within a traditional number-9 role, which is leading many to inquire: is this the formation of the future?
It sounds ridiculous, over the face of it, to suggest a team plays attacking football without taking part in any strikers, but that has to be to look at formations with a narrow view, not experiencing the wider picture. Naturally, it is not actual formations which might be defensive or attacking, but rather the way they are interpreted and used by coaches. It applies to say Barcelona now play without entry to a traditional striker, but to simply imply that Barcelona now play lacking any out-and-out goalscorer is a danerous belief; they have a really successful one in Jesse Villa, and before him Samuel Etoo. But from this new formation he doesnt occupy the traditional out-and-out striker role as we know it, starting wide usually in the left hand side. Another player occupies the identical role on the opposite side - which has usually been Pedro, which leaves the area where the traditional number-9 inside central area free - or does it?
Lionel Messi, the worlds best player and Barcelonas number-10 now lines up in the central area where a traditional striker would usually live on, however in this new formation, once the sport begins he often vacates that space by dropping heavy - he becomes some sort of false-9. From this position he is liberated, free from the shackles of having to remain up-front, and in this, becoming easier to mark by the centre-back. As he drops deep finding space, he provides opposition a conundrum; do the centre-backs come out to mark him, and in doing so leave space in behind for the wide forwards to encounter diagonally? Or does some sort of central-midfielder pick him up, thus risking being outnumbered inside traditional midfield areas? The positions Messi now derives passion for compliment his abilities perfectly and gets the best out of their attacking attributes. From this position he has more space to switch, pick a pass, or run and dribble at the opposition, able to either create and score, the fulcrum of the attack - a traditional number-10 role for a modern day fantasista... in the guise of a false-9.
The narrow view that the team must always employ a traditional number-9 figure is a thing that historically Britain has tended to do. The strong reluctance to dismiss anything besides 4-4-2 has now recently been widely blamed for Englands failings with recent international tournaments but England have noticed the false-9 for decades, having painfully witnessed its benefits first-hand over 50-years back. In 1953 Hungary experienced England at Wembley and demolished your home side 6-3, becoming the first team from outside that British Isles to win in the famous stadium. More embarrassing in comparison to the actual score-line was the manner of defeat, as England were been shown to be technically and tactically substandard with Hungarys false-9 of Nandor Hidegkuti running huge range alongside Ferenc Puskas together with Sandor Kocsis, in a formation not too dissimilar to your one Barcelona now employ. Although radical changes were manufactured to the English game inside wake of that defeat, a wider acceptance in the false-9 or creative number-10 has been forgotten.
So why arent each and every team now following suit having its success?
Back to Spain and the rise of Messi very likely helped dictate this configuration for Barcelona, more than a conscious decision of its need. With manager Pep Guardiola needing to find the prodigal Argentine in the game if you can and to cause chaos from central areas, not only from out wide where he previously been usually deployed. Of course there is only an individual Lionel Messi, but it also helps for those who have players in the category of Xavi, Iniesta, Accommodation, and Pedro who are joined by Fabregas and Sanchez that can play that style together with interchange at will. Could anybody else be brave enough to play with no number-9?
