From Messi to Raphinha: Barcelona’s remarkable history of reinventing their best attackers | OneFootball

Raphinha’s transformation from a winger into Barcelona’s No. 9 might feel unusual to the outside world, but history suggests it is actually a very Barça thing to do.

The Brazilian spent most of his career operating from wide areas. Now, under Hansi Flick, he has been pushed centrally and is producing the most devastating goalscoring form of his career.

Zooming out a little further, though, suggests the Blaugrana have been changing the roles of elite attackers across many generations now.

Reinvention is part of Barcelona’s history

Josep Samitier was an early example. Originally a midfielder, he became a prolific central attacker, showing that positional reinvention at Barça existed long before it had a label.

Decades later came Michael Laudrup. Johan Cruyff had a wonderfully gifted No. 10 but frequently used him as a false nine, creating space for runners around him rather than asking him to behave like a conventional striker.

Hristo Stoichkov offered another variation. A natural goalscorer who could operate centrally, he became devastating when attacking from the left.

Rivaldo similarly arrived with the qualities of a classic No. 10 but produced some of his finest Barça football starting from the left and drifting inside.

Then came the most iconic transformation of all.

Guardiola changed Messi’s position and the rest was history. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Lionel Messi began as a right winger before Pep Guardiola moved him into the false-nine role. It changed Barcelona’s attack and allowed the Argentine to influence matches from virtually everywhere.

More recently, Ferran Torres has followed the same tradition. Signed primarily as a winger, the World Cup winner gradually developed into a genuine No. 9 option.

As for the Spain forward, though, he had played as a striker previously at Manchester City under Guardiola, and what Barça did was an extension of that.

Raphinha is the latest example

Now, it is Raphinha’s turn.

On paper, moving a winger approaching 30 into the centre might have looked like an emergency solution. There is also an argument that it was driven by need rather than by tactical choice.

On the pitch, though, it increasingly looks like Flick discovering another version of one of his most important players.

Raphinha retains the qualities that made him dangerous out wide: relentless pressing, intelligent movement and an instinct for attacking space. Playing centrally simply places those attributes closer to goal.

That is what makes Barcelona’s history of attacking reinvention so fascinating. They have rarely been obsessed with the position mentioned against a player’s name.

Thriving in his new role. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

There have even been other examples to varying degrees. Thierry Henry arrived at Barcelona as one of the world’s most feared central forwards, but Guardiola increasingly used him from the left, most famously during the treble-winning 2008-09 season.

Henry was not reinvented as dramatically as Messi or Raphinha, but the principle was similar. Barça took an established superstar, changed where he operated and found a role that better served the team.

The special thing about the coaches at the Catalan club is their ability to identify how to maximise the strengths of an attacker, irrespective of the position they play in.

Samitier went from midfield to No. 9. Laudrup became a false nine. Stoichkov and Rivaldo moved left. Messi moved inside. Ferran became a striker.

Now, Raphinha, wearing the armband, is writing his own version of the same story.