False nine: football tactics explained

Pinpointing where the false nine originated is a tricky task. Some trace it back to as early as the 1890s, others believe the tactic was used by the Hungary’s Golden Team team of the 1950s.

Most started to hear it more often after Pep Guardiola deployed Lionel Messi in the role, when the Argentine was at the peak of his powers. It is also one of the most misused football tactical terms of the 21st century.

So exactly what is a false nine and what are the benefits of fielding one?

What is a false nine?

If a number nine is something of a ‘true’ centre forward, a false nine is the opposite. Rather than occupy the opposition backline in the manner of a traditional striker, the false nine will moves towards the ball in deeper positions from a higher starting position.

They don’t look to run in behind the defence as much, instead wanting to drop so deep almost to become an additional midfielder. Those performing the role need to be expert at timing runs away from the defenders to receive the ball and create midfield overloads. 

They are deployed more with creating openings for others in mind, rather than scoring themselves.

MORE TACTICS: Arsenal's 'The Invincibles' explained

The problem for the opposition centre-backs is knowing when to follow the false nine, or let them drop deep. This means the false nine can cause huge problems if they time their movement to perfection.

Playing on the half-turn is essential, and it also doesn’t mean they can’t still remain a goalscoring threat. Without the ball the false nine will still occupy the same position a traditional centre forward would.

As the highest central player, they will still be required to screen passes from the centre-backs and instigate a press when necessary.

Who are the great false nines?

As mentioned, Guardiola’s use of Lionel Messi during the Catalan’s tenure at Barcelona is probably the most famous example. Amidst his wider almost superhuman-like football ability, Messi possessed two particular qualities that allowed him to flourish in this role.

Few players in history were better at receiving the ball on the half-turn. In addition, Messi’s expert positioning in a Barcelona team that always dominated possession, meant he was able to pick up the ball between the lines.

In general, the majority of false nines were picked to play that position because of clever movement and expert passing ability. But what made Messi different was his ability to suddenly dribble at the opposition backline with ferocious speed, whenever the situation required.

In the Premier League, two of Messi’s Argentine teammates were also intelligent enough to play the false nine to great effect. Carlos Tevez at times played the role perfectly in Manchester United’s formidable 2007-09 team.

And while he has spent the majority of his career as an advanced forward, Sergio Aguero played as a false nine in Manchester City’s title winning 2013-14 side, often slotting in behind Edin Dzeko or Alvaro Negredo. However, Aguero was such an intelligent player he would often change roles at will, doing whatever the game demanded to help his City team.

Likewise, Harry Kane has also performed a similar role for England and Tottenham, particularly when Jose Mourinho was in charge at Spurs.

But the term has also been previously used in error amongst the wider football public. This can be traced back to Cesc Fabregas’ deployment as a false nine during Spain’s ultimately successful Euro 2012 campaign.

As Fabregas was predominantly a central midfielder throughout his football career, many took the term just to mean an unorthodox centre forward. Essentially, if a player was playing out of position as a forward, they could be termed as a false nine.

This is incorrect. Yet, somewhat irritatingly, the term was misused to describe anyone playing as a makeshift striker. So often when a big centre-half  gets sent to play up front they are labelled as a false nine, even if they are in fact playing as a ‘true nine.’

What are the pros and cons to playing with a false nine?

Creating uncertainty in the opposition defence is undoubtedly the major plus point of this system. If a team has multiple attackers who posses intelligent movement, the false nine can wreak havoc.

But for it to be truly effective, your team has to dominate possession. This is why you’ll see Guardiola often deploy a false nine, at least before Erling Haaland came along.

If the team playing with a false nine isn’t dictating the rhythm of the game, any threat the player may cause is severely nullified. When that happens the opposition defence can simply let the false nine drift away, without worrying about closing them down. After all, they can’t score from the halfway line.

More tactical explainers

We have several tactical explainers to help you understand more about football.

When it comes to midfields, we have pieces on what a box midfield is, how double-pivot midfields function and explainers on the No.10 and the No.6, as well as attacking and defensive transitions.

We also have explainers on what gegenpressing is, what target men are how inverted full-backs work and what ‘between the lines’ means, along with explainers on overlaps and overloads.