2021 was tactical craziness!
- Manchester City – Tried eight forwards and came up with two false nines as the best option.
- Chelsea produced the best runs without a striker (the idea with the laterals works better in this variation as well). In a controversial interview with Romelu, Lukaku publicly said that Tuchel simply liked this option better.
- Liverpool have been playing without a clean striker for a long time. Either Roberto Firmino (reference false nine), por Diogo Jota (in this variation, everything is based on his rotations with Sadio Mane).
- Spain used Dani Olmo with a false nine in their most important matches. Italy played with Ciro Immobile, but he was the most foreign in the team and, perhaps, played the worst. Lorenzo Insigne played a false nine.
- There are extremely interesting variations among the teams that are rushing to the elite. There is no pure striker at West Ham. Michael Antonio mastered the position best of all, but starting in the attack, he constantly falls on the left flank – and poses a threat precisely through the return to the penalty area, and not through the presence there.
- Duvan Zapata is still a frequent player at Atalanta, but on closer examination, you can see that he gravitates towards the left side (even when defending), and either a false nine comes out in the center (for example, Malinovsky) or a ten bursting from the depths (Pasalic ).
- I know it’s not the best moment, but looking at the whole year, I can’t help but notice Memphis Depay’s performance at Lyon. Taking on the role of a false nine, he got into the best shape of his career and stood out in every way (even against the backdrop of PSG stars).
Even more interesting is what is happening with the attackers, whom we used to consider clean. Let’s look at four key examples – Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Romelu Lukaku.
Hidden right midfielders are gaining popularity
Let’s fix the description: a hidden right midfielder is a player who starts in the center of midfield, but constantly makes sharp runs to the right flank, which confuses the opponent. The result can be a direct threat (the hidden right gets free and aggravates), or combinations with players who were originally on the wing (usually a triangle with a winger and a full-back). An example of a direct threat is Kevin de Bruyne in 2017-19. Then the Belgian started in the center of midfield with a 4-3-3 formation – he went to the right flank and cut out chic crosses. KDB spent the last year in other zones – more often he played as a false nine, but it is he who still seems to be the standard of the role. It just wasn’t as popular back then as it is now. The most telling example is Liverpool, who made the move part of the system (and not just an adaptation to the player who is comfortable with it). This season, the importance of the right flank in Klopp’s team has reached its peak. Everything is built around a triangle with constant rotations. The accent helps to maximize the brilliant form of Trent (definitely great offensively) and Salah. But without the hidden right, this would be impossible. It is significant that this role was played first by Harvey Elliot, and after his injury, Jordan Henderson. That is to say, at Liverpool it is a key part of the team mechanism, and not just a role to maximize the qualities of one player.