Death of the Number 10
The rise and fall of the pure Central Attacking Midfielder
Diego Maradona of Argentina. Considered one of the best 10s ever
Number 10. Synonymous with many legends of the game. From Messi to Maradona, football is filled with those who excelled at this role. Not just the shirt, but the role in which they brought to their teams. Often labelled as the creative force behind the 11 men out on the pitch, the number 10 resided in the middle of the park. They were central midfielders if you will.
However, this does not mean that they were bound to the middle. They would be offered the most freedom on the pitch. And by the end of 90 minutes, their heatmap would look as though they were seemingly anywhere and everywhere BUT the middle. Drifting in, dropping back, pushing forward — they were tasked to do it all. They were a playmaker in every sense of the word.
The consensus is that ultimately, where you would find the number 10 would be pushed up, almost alongside the striker, pulling the strings, orchestrating every attack, and directing each defensive situation. The midfield general with an affinity to create something out of nothing.
Origins of a “10”
10 this, 10 that… what on earth is this bloke talking about? Just tell me the facts without all this babble. Alright then, your wish is my command. Firstly, let’s start with why these players were regarded as playing the “number 10” role.
Similar to American Football/Gridiron, we love to shorten the positional roles to numbers, making it simpler in tactical discussion to refer to players relative to where they are on the pitch. The “traditional” numbering system is as follows:
- Goalkeeper
- Right Back
- Left Back
- Centre Back
- Centre Back (or Sweeper, if used)
- Central Defensive/Holding Midfielder
- Right Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
- Central/Box-to-Box Midfielder
- Striker
- Attacking Midfielder/Playmaker
- Left Attacking Midfielders/Wingers
What do they do?
Alright, now you know why they’re called number 10’s, I’ll refer to them as just “10s” from now on? Got it? Cool!
Your next question naturally, might just be what do they do?
Well, in a game of football, each player has a different role which requires them to do different things from one another. So for example, the Fullback will typically both defend and attack along the width of the pitch to provide balance or in some cases, purposeful imbalance in the creation of overloads. Playing just behind the forwards (the 9,7 and 11), they are to create goal-scoring opportunities, either by making incisive passes, making false runs to drag defenders as to open up exploitable space as well as scoring goals themselves.
They are frequently considered the most creative player on their team due to their demands. They must not only have that finishing touch and finesse required to ping the ball with accuracy into the goal, often from distance, outside the box, they must also be able to have the precision to make different types of passes as to create the figurative incision, which is needed to bypass the defenders between their team and the goal. The 10 is also considered the most technical, as to master the mechanics of football, to understand the movement of the ball and other players’ positioning for them to exploit it, they must be able to orchestrate even without the ball at their feet.
The Death
With the absolute dominance of number 10s through the 80s, 90s and 2000s, why suddenly, has the role been phased out in tactical setups? Well, it comes down to space on the pitch yet again. Extracting use out of the space in football is the most important aspect which is 100% neutral to the 22 players on the field. By that, I mean, there is no luck involved, no random chance. If you can control the space, you can control the match.
With managers preferring 3 central midfielders instead of 2, the number 10 is only viable if, in the triangle, he is the one the furthest forward. Naturally, you may be thinking — so a 4–3–3 then. While, yes, the most common base formation you see nowadays is a 4–3–3, the advantages of staggering your 6 players up the field allows for more efficient use of space. This gives rise, therefore, to 4–2–3–1 and 4–1–2–1–2. Verticality is key, and the tacticians know it.
These adapted formations you might notice, do feature a lonesome player (in the 3 and the second 1). So why aren’t they more popular? The answer comes in the form of deep-lying playmakers.
The DLP or the number 8 (as per the numbering system mentioned above), sits deeper or closer to defence and creates, not further up, but from deep, thus, the apt name. Managers often will look to both the offensive and defensive attributes of a player in selection. And with this, the reliance on a singular creative juggernaut is no longer required, with managers packing their sides with multiple at any given time. Another important factor as to the discretion of not relying on one number 10, but multiple creative forces is because of over-reliance. These days, managers, with game footage easily accessed, can assess weaknesses and tendencies of every opposition player in preparation for matchday — and if they notice over-reliance, they will instruct their players to nullify the 10 which in turn dramatically negates their impact.
Conclusion
In the 1980s, the popularisation of the number 10 as the creative geniuses in top clubs ran rampant and their ability to dictate the game became the stuff of legend. Iconic moments were plentiful and admiration was endless. However, with the continued and constant evolution of football tactics, the number 10 role has slowly but surely been phased out of elite managers’ setups.
