The Explosive Return of the Classic No.9 Role | OneFootball

A leather ball whistles through the air, landing directly onto the chest of a thick woolen jumper, the ball drops to the tip of a sturdy roughed up boot and travels straight into the back of the net. A scene not out of the ordinary throughout 19th century Britain, a folk game integral to the working class of Britain was on the cusp of standardization.

From the muddy pitches with no outlines to massive stadiums that overlook cities across the globe, Football has grown from a past time to the biggest sport in the world. The history is rich and vast with so many different elements of glory and tragedy. From the simple game to now the complicated game, football will never stop growing and adapting to new found technology.

Whether you enjoy the sport for tactical insight and getting into every nook and cranny of sports statistics or simply like to watch at home or at the bar with friends, we can all agree strikers have always been the driving force of the game. That out and out striker who was big but silky, who would strike fear into the hearts of defenders and would throw their body on the line for a goal. As children we looked up to the players and their daring or impulsive personalities because we all wanted to be that striker with the confidence and questionable hair style choices from time to time.

The position never really changed up until about a decade ago when football became more of a chess match between managers rather than the usual rock and roll fast paced style it was. Wingers were looked to more often for goals and the out and out number 9 became a false 9 to link up play and make a more fluid front three.

The Classic Number 9 Role

A classic ‘number nine’ is usually defined as a player whose job is scoring goals inside the box and being in the right place at the right time. Getting to the point requires elite positioning inside the box and combining strong finishing with very few touches. Great examples of this would be Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Drogba and Alan Shearer.

Players who didn’t rely on being a part of the build up play but who would pin centre backs and occupy that space as a threat. Not only was there in the box finishing the threat but the majority of number 9s were strong in the air and offered an aerial threat. Being a physical threat along with a technical one was a deadly duo that left defenders dealing with more than just a good passer with decent finishing.

The classic number 9s had a presence that would win a game before kickoff and that threat was always looming on the tired legs of a defender. They were ruthless and only had the one task of making sure that the ball hit the back of the net one way or the other. None of this fancy passing and dropping back to support build up play all they wanted to do was score goals and put their bodies on the line to do so.

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Why The No.9 Role Became A Thing of The Past

Football has always evolved throughout its grand history and with evolution comes change and adaptability which is how the number 9 role shifted from its traditional out and out striker to a more fluid position. The change was spearheaded by Pep Guardiola when he joined Barca in 2008 and brought modern football to the doorstep of the world.

The modernised version of the number 9 role dropped back into midfield, while wingers attacked the space behind and became the main output. This dominated in a more possession based style with the striker role becoming more technically demanding, requiring the striker to be good at finishing, passing and a massive role in creative output. This also led to more midfielders being involved in goalscoring as the new role opened up space and demanded more focus from defenders.

A key example of Pep’s modern ideas is when he converted Messi from his typical role as a right winger to the newly created number nine role. Messi excelled and transformed Barca’s attack as he would drop into midfield creating space for wingers/midfielders whilst still scoring an outrageous amount of goals. This was a key part of Pep’s dominance at Barcelona and sparked a butterfly effect of managers picking up Pep’s modern ideas and adapting it to their own team/league.

Leaving not many clubs and managers looking for that big man up top and changed the way we all looked at the familiar number 9 role. This would take over the famous role for many years in the modern game and it depends on how you personally like each style of play but both were wildly effective in their own rights. This left many fans believing that the out and out striker role wasn’t necessary any more and that the modern game had simply taken off in a different, more sleek route.

Why the Classic No.9 Returned

While the newly adapted number 9 role became widespread and transformed the majority of front threes, all great things must come to an end eventually. While most teams adapted their style to mirror Pep’s in their own way some managers thought outside the box and began to look at counters to this new role.

Firstly teams adapted to defending this newly based possession style football by using low blocks more commonly and absorbing the pressure. This would lead to opportunities on the break as most possession based teams would be pressed higher leaving gaps in behind.

Which is the first step into teams needing that big man up top with heaps of pace and strong finishing or good in the air to once again become desired. With the defence getting more narrow and the midfield becoming overcrowded this was perfect for that old number 9 role to return and be the player who only needed half chances to bag a goal and who’s only job was to score goals and be a physical presence.

Crossing became another example in how the number 9 role made its comeback as most managers returned to wide wingers instead of inverted forwards and risked overlapping fullbacks to return and cross that ball into the big man in the box. Ancelotti is a great example of a manager who stuck to what he knew and excelled at managing it. He loved that classic number 9 in the box at all times or making those lane cutting runs into the back line and stuck to his guns when the game modernized. The heavy use of cutbacks and crosses favored the traditional number 9 role more and started the comeback of box strikers into the modern game.

While making its return to football the number 9 role didn’t exactly go back to its old self it had a modernized twist. While leaving the trend behind some traits were needed to still compete with possession based teams and the main ones are pressing defenders to cause errors, while not relying on link up play the old role still needed to be somewhat well equipped in the build up play when they were needed.

Key examples of players who would be considered the classic number 9 with that modern twist would be Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski. While Haaland wouldn’t be known for his build up play he scores like a classic number 9 but presses and makes runs like a modern striker.

Football has always been very rock n roll with its rapid trends and never ending upcoming managers trying to change the game. Possession based style football will dominate then defenders will adapt leading back to direct play being the effective approach again. Football is never ending with new trends of how to win games and new roles emerging everywhere to then get overtaken by the classic version of the newly adapted roles.

The fan favourite out and out striker, the classic number 9 was gone from our screens for a couple years with only a glimpse of the once highly populated role popping up from time to time is well and truly back. With set pieces and dead ball scenarios becoming more practised and rehearsed is an example of how the game has readapted to the older style of football in the early 2000s. Modern defences are back to being more tight and holding back so a striker who doesn’t need many chances and is an efficient in the box finisher is more valuable than ever.

It will be interesting to see what the next trend will throw at us or if football will once look back on its history and take advice from the past.