5 Greatest False Nines ever
The false nine has been in football for a long time, something that may surprise people. The false-nine has been around since the 1930's.
While the real №9 is a typical striker; winning aerial battles and scoring goals for his team, the false nine is different; he has to be a technically accomplished player as he will have the responsibility of dropping into pockets, assisting and scoring goals.
The false nine usually creates many problems for defenders because if defenders go out to mark him, a huge gap is left for the other players to exploit, but if he is left alone, he can do whatever he wants and wreak havoc from afar.
In this article, we will look at 5 of the best false nines in football history; these players are also some of the best players to ever grace the game.
5) Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti was one of most talented players of his generation, and he played for A.S Roma for his who was known for Vision, Intelligence, Passion, and his goalscoring instincts. Likewise, with Nandor Hidegkuti who is also on this list ,he could have moved to a bigger club with the likes of F.C Barcelona and Real Madrid competing to sign him. For Roma, he won the Serie A in 2001 and the Fifa World Cupom 2006 for Italy.
In 2006, Francesco Totti played a False Nine role in Luciano Suplatti 4–6–0 formation, Central Defenders were afraid to push up on him because that would leave space in behind but if they left free he would receive the ball and play the wingers and midfield players that were making runs in behind the defence, this position it maximises all abilities. Unfortunately, Roma were runners-up in the Serie A. Totti has won many Individual Honours like the Serie A Footballer of the year in 2000 and 2003, and he won the Golden Foot in 2010.
4) Matthias Sindelar
Sindelar is the first example of a false 9 in history. He played for the Austrian Wunderteam that was considered one of the best teams in history and also played for FK Austria Vienna from 1924–1939, a career which may have been longer had he not lost his life in suspicious circumstances.
He was able to win the Austrian League in 1926 and winning the Central European International Cup in 1932. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to win the World cup for an Austrian team that should have tasted silverware.
He was thin and was nicknamed the “Paperman’. However, his technique was perfect as he was able to dribble the ball with balance and grace and matched that with incredible creativity and a fantastic goal scoring record.
3) Johan Cruyff
Cruyff is one of the influential men in football, not just for what he did on the pitch but what he did on the pitch, but also off the pitch. He could argue he is the best European to play football and one of the best players to play football, Johan Cruyff played for likes of Ajax, Barcelona and Feyernood. When he played for Ajax in his first spell he was part of one of the innovative club sides ever, as that Ajax side managed to win the Eredivisie in 1966,1967,1968,1970,1971,1972 and 1973 he won it twice again in his second spell in 1982 and 1983. He also won the European Cup three times in a row in 1971, 1972 and 1973 also won La Liga in Barcelona in 1974.
For the Nederlands, he was part of arguably the best side never to win the World Cup. In the 1974 World cup, they were massive favourites and should have beat the Germans. The Nederlands and Ajax team shared the same beliefs and system. With a beautifully fluid system, all the players could roam anywhere and still keep their 4–3–3 shape. Johan Cruyff played as the Center Forward and could drop in deep and create trouble for the opposition.
Johan Cruyff won many individual honours like the Ballon d’Or in 1971, 1973 and 1974. He also managed to win the Dutch Footballer of the year in 1968,1972 and 1984.
2) Nandor Hidegkuti
Nandor Hidegkuti was a part of the magnificent Hungarian team of the early 20th century.
He played for MTK Hungaria, despite the fact he could probably have gone to some of the best clubs in Europe like his fellow Magyars did: Sandor Kocsis (FC Barcelona) and Ferenc Puskas ( Real Madrid).
Hidegkuti played in two of England’s most humiliating defeats when the Hungarians beat the English 6–3 in 1953 and 7–1 at Wembley.
Hungary and Hidegkuti could claim they probably changed the course of English history with their first win on English soil. In the match, he showed all of the problems that a false 9 can cause.
In the 1954 World Cup, Hungary was expected to beat everyone, but unfortunately, they came up short as they lost to the West Germans in the final. This was despite the fact that they had beaten the Germans beat 8–3 in the group stage and had also recorded impressive victories against the Brazilians and Uruguayans.
1) Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is considered the best footballer of all-time, and he played for F.C Barcelona for his whole career. Lionel Messi is also known as one of the finest dribblers of all time, plus he one of the best playmakers in the world today and his intelligence helped him play various Roles. Great examples of his dribbling including 2–0 win against Bayern Munich in which he dribbled past Jerome Boeating on of the defenders in the world and chipped Manuel Neuer, his second goal against Real Madrid shows his brilliant individual talent
For Barcelona, he has won La Liga in 2005,2005,2009,2010,2011,2013, 2015 and 2016 he has also won the Champions League in 2006,2009,2011and 2015. For Argentina, he won the Olympics in 2008, but he is still yet to win the World Cup or Copa America
When Pep Guardiola was in charge of Barcelona, he moved Messi into that False Nine role and Utilized his talents; this made Barcelona one of the best clubs sides ever. The game which shows how many problems a False Nine can cause, F.C Barcelona vs Real Madrid in which they beat Real Madrid 6–2 he terrorised the Real Madrid defence.Lionel Messi has won many Individual hours like the Ballon d’Or in 2009,2010,2011,2012,2015 and the European Golden Shoe in 2010,2012,2013 and 2017.
