He was the focal point of Meisl’s 2-3-5 and the Wünderteam ’s star man, allowing his attacking teammates to flourish, simultaneously bagging 26 goals in 43 games himself. Due to his creative skills and slight structure, he was instructed to drop deep to link up play and create opportunities for himself and others. Sindelar was a center forward of Jewish origin who spent his entire professional career at Austria Vienna and was well known for his ‘etheric movement’ and intelligence on the ball. It was Hugo Meisl, the coach of the Austrian national team, who opted for the use of playmaking forward Matthias Sindelar instead of a more traditional physical number 9, Josef Uridil, to fit the fluid type of football he desired to play. The first implementation of a false 9 role was observed as early as the 1930’s. While many refer to the false 9 as a tactical innovation of the modern era, the usage of the phrase can be traced as far back as the start of the 20 th century. Due to these possibilities, a skilled false 9 is one of the toughest players to defend in football, as defenders have to pick their poison. When the center forward drops, two things are likely to occur: Either one of the center backs will follow them, thus opening up space in the back line, or no one will follow them, leading to a numerical overload in midfield and space to attack in front of the back line. The false 9 is more of a playmaking role in its nature, with his central purpose focused on opening up space for others to exploit. While forwards who drop deep are a common sight in front twos, the false 9 is employed as a lone center forward, usually in a 4-3-3 or in other variations such as a 4-1-4-1.
The false 9 is a unique type of center forward, one who tends to drop deep and join the midfield in possession, rather than lurk around the box for scoring opportunities. In this piece, we are going to dive into the tactical details of how this role is used and trace back its origins through the history of football.īefore we go into the details, let’s define the role. From Lionel Messi to Roberto Firmino to Kai Havertz, several dominant teams in modern times have been built their attack around a false 9, rather than a conventional center forward. The “False 9” is without question one of the most renowned tactical innovations of the 21 st century, as its implementation led to tremendous amounts of success for teams in both club and international competitions.
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