Truthful Tuesday | False nine has changed football as we know it and not for the better

Because even 65 odd years since Nándor Hidegkuti first did it in front of English football fans, it was already a hundred years old by then. And yet, while there have been various other incarnations from the great Alfrédo di Stéfano to the equally great Johan Cruyff, arguably the most famous, or rather the most rememberable, of them all has to be Lionel Messi. It was called as a master-stroke, the first time Barcelona and Messi executed it, with the world shocked.

But what it has really led to is the complete annihilation of a proper striker. Not even a decade ago, football was thriving, and some may say overflowing, with quality strikers of all ages. From the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Filippo Inzaghi, Samuel Eto, Diego Milito and a young Edinson Cavani in Italy to Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Chicharito, Michael Owen and Luis Suarez in England. Even Spain had Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, Alvaro Negredo, Aritz Aduriz and others thriving.

So much so that he only failed to hit double figures for goals in three seasons during his spell in England and that includes an 8 appearance season for Manchester City. It’s an impressive record no doubt but Adebayor could do little else and it’s why in the modern era he finds himself a free-agent. The fact that he is also 36-years old might have a little something to do with that but even that’s beside the point because the false nine changed everything.

Suddenly, thanks to Messi’s over-effectiveness in that position, it became the new “sexy” position to play in football and everyone wanted it. Not just that but it saw football become a little weird as Louis van Gaal sent Marouane Fellaini out wide as a target man. Why? People to this date have no clue but Dan Burn was used in a similar-ish position against Liverpool and it worked. How or why? Till date, nobody knows but it did and that just continued to encourage managers across the universe.

But along the way in that battle to the find the weird or the universal perfect team, the conventional center-forward disappeared. Instead, the world loaded up onto a hype train flew off to some random station without a care in the world as to how it would affect future generations. Because now suddenly, here are a group of young forwards struggling to find their way through in a world where they should be thriving.

Not just because of the all-around demands on players but the demands to play deeper. Not the demands to be able to beat the offside trap at ease and score, or the demands to cause chaos with their runs across the defensive line but to be able to move into midfield and allow runners through. That did allow the old fashioned center-forward to thrive with Olivier Giroud, Sebastien Haller and Bas Dost amongst others to thrive and find their moment in the sun.

There is quite literally nobody else good enough, in that age bracket, to be considered alongside either of the two and it has left teams lacking.  Because while there are claims that modern football could do it all without the striker, the world proves otherwise. Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham wouldn’t be Tottenham without Harry Kane’s incredible numbers and the same applies to Jose Mourinho’s team.

While he does, as it has been pointed out quite a many times on the internet, lack the trophies and personal accolades to be considered the best English striker, the 27-year-old is definitely on that list.  Take Lukaku, now at Inter Milan, again much like Kane - his trophy case is also rather bare which is a shock given his spell at Manchester United but such is life. And yet, despite his awkward first touch, the Belgian is arguably in a class of his own having just equalled Ronaldo Nazario's record at Inter Milan. 

So much so that he put Cesc Fabregas into that role during his time at Barcelona but somehow both Aguero and Lewandowski became key parts of his plan at Manchester City and Bayern Munich respectively. Nobody knows who but the duo, alongside Edinson Cavani at PSG, have proved that with a striker you can still play the attractive brand of football you want and thrive. Of course, when it comes to being the best center-forward in the modern era, Cristiano Ronaldo might just take that cake.

The Portuguese legend’s transformation into a bonafide, goal-scoring machine in his late twenties has transformed the Serie A and given the new generation something to aim at. It’s why the likes of Moise Kean, Jonathan David, Timothy Weah, Silas Wamangituka and co are all doing well across the world. But every group has one talented center-forward who shines the light on everyone else and for this one, they’ve got two.

Shocking, isn’t it? What it has given though is the world hope that one day soon, a new generation of the Guman or the “Capocannoniere” will grace football with their wonderful ability to send people into raptures of excitement.