Thread on Demise of Number 10

The sad but much needed death of Number 10
Over time, it’s been evident that football has evolved more and the traditional number 10 role has faded out of the modern game.

The trequartista (three-quarters role) was given to the most creative of players; gifted and adept at picking a through ball forming the crux of an attack.

Deco at Porto, Juan Riquelme at Villareal and Mesut Özil at Arsenal(under Wenger) are prime examples of the number 10 enhancing the attackers playing in front of them. These players were allowed to roam freely and create, the best role for a number 10.

But since the beginning of last decade or so, the role of number 10 is slowly and gradually reducing and possibly to look at 3 of best Number 10's of this generation are as good as dormant
Mata
Ozil
James Rodriguez

With this thread I will try to explain how and why the role of number 10 is facing an extinct nature

Blessed with an excellent footballing brain, breath-taking dribbling skills and glue-like control, the no. 10 would go on to influence games, dominate the football world and inspire kids around the world to achieve great feats.

Technically gifted and always seeking to get on the ball, these magicians mastered the art of creative football and wowed millions with the ease with which they went about their play.

“Trequartista” as they were called in Europe or “Enganche” in South America, the classic no. 10 was a beauty to behold, always showing the touch of class required to attain legendary status.

They were not quick and did not possess the physicality for duels but what they lacked in pace they made up for with peerless speed of thought and the ability to glide past players with a child-like ease; what they lacked in physicality.

They more than made up for with astonishing close control, eye popping dribbles, defence-splitting passes and mind blowing moments of individual brilliance. So why are this once elegant array of game changers gradually fading into not just obscurity but total extinction?

In his Master Thesis at the professional coach certification at Coverciano, Roberto Mancini described the trequartista as a player with the following characteristics:

sublime unmarking qualities
great basic technical skills and good applied technique quality
unpredictability

The classic no. 10 is a rigid player and an inability to adapt to changes in the game has wiped out a clan of heroes, consequently enganches had to retreat to deeper roles to stay relevant.

An classic no. 10 can play in only two positions, attacking midfield and as a second striker, so if a winger or central midfielder is unavailable, there is immediately a gap opened up in the squad.

Players like Christian Eriksen, Keisuke Honda and even Mesut Ozil have occasionally found themselves tasked with playing out wide and their reduced efficiency has been obvious. Juan Mata even left Chelsea after Jose Mourinho demanded that he play on the right flank and track back

At the very top of the game, the relationship between space and time has become tighter and the integral use of anchor men and holding midfielders has been influential in denying the opportunity to play between the lines.

The increase in the speed of the game, as well as a greater reliance on strength and power, has contributed heavily to the downfall of such a player.Crucially these holding midfielders are frequently able to create from deep like Andrea Pirlo, Xabi Alonso and Marco Verratti did.

In addition to their ability when dropping deeper, the modern number 10 can also score. They’ll work hard to get on the end of moves in wider areas, sometimes even penetrating as the furthest player forward.

For the magicians of years gone by, this lung-busting activity was beyond their game. Not because they didn’t necessarily have the capability. They didn’t want to. And they didn’t have to.

Possessing great vision and the technique to thread the eye of a needle with a pass, the influence of tactics on the game mean that these geniuses have to be “protected” by shifting them away from the more congested areas further forward.

Memories of a glorious Juan Román Riquelme at his best for Villarreal and Argentina; of Michel Platini mesmerising Turin with his skills and precision; of Dennis Bergkamp dropping and using his incredible vision to turn a move into a chance.

The reversion to old-fashioned wingers and their success in the modern game, in addition to the inverted forward role, has also contributed to driving the classic number 10 to virtual extinction.

While clubs will always possess luxury players, the central figure who was the focal point of every attack is a player in decline. The quick thinker who dwelt in possession is no longer able to hold possession between the lines.

The old-fashioned number 10 was in so many cases a loose cannon off the field, enjoying a playboy lifestyle and an attitude to training that wouldn’t be tolerated in today’s sports science culture.

The old-fashioned number 10 was in so many cases a loose cannon off the field, enjoying a playboy lifestyle and an attitude to training that wouldn’t be tolerated in today’s sports science culture.

The trequartista isn’t dead however. In Italy (of course) the role has lived on, and the fact systems like 3-4-1-2 and 4-3-1-2 are very popular in Italy means there has still been some extremely talented trequartisti coming through.

Andrea Cossu was magic for Cagliari for a decade, Marek Hamsik was a key player for Napoli under Walter Mazzarri as the trequartista and Antonio Cassano linked up with Giampaolo Pazzini to great effect at Sampdoria by supporting the goalscorer from a trequartista position.

Even Mourinho used Wesley Sneijder as a trequartista in his most successful team, the Inter treble winners of 2010, though Sneijder had more defensive responsibility than, for example, Cassano.

In other parts of Europe though, players that would have been terrific trequartisti 15 years ago like Juan Mata or Mesut Özil often see themselves shunted to a wing as their managers struggle to incorporate them in a number 10 role for their clubs.

Both Mata and Özil could have been potential Ballon d’Or winners back then, while they now are a long way off that standing. It goes to show that football is ever evolving and that players can unfortunately be born in the wrong eras.

This is not to say Mata or Özil are bad players as they are not regulars for two of the best clubs in England, but they could have been even more.

This is the reason that players like Özil, Mata, Isco and James Rodriguez, all brilliant number 10s are not fancied in their teams. They are players that rely on playing just behind the striker and wingers and feeding them in advanced positions on the pitch.

But, they are reluctant to defend and track back. Many of them have tried to adapt, but they have hardly been successful in the unnatural role they are repeatedly asked to conform to.

James Rodriguez has been repeatedly left out of the team along with Isco and Fede Valverde has been preferred because of his penetration and defensive work rate. Mata has also been playing the role of impact substitute for Manchester United.

Personally, the trequartista will always be my favourite role on the football pitch. Every kid wanted to wear number 10 and be the new Totti, Del Piero or Baggio and I was no different (although I had a period when I was destined, in my own mind, to replace DB7 at @ManUtd )

The trequartista might not be as prominent as it once was, and the role might have changed, but it will always hold a special place in the hearts of Italian football lovers. The memories will live on and with most of these greats appearing in videos all over the internet.

Moody, elusive, volatile and lazy, yet exquisitely skilful and effortlessly intelligent, the classic number 10 may be a dying breed, but one whose memories will long live in the mind of football fans who witnessed their graceful brilliance.

ref:
https://www.dreamteamfc.com/c/news-gossip/421938/number-10-position-dying-out/?fbclid=IwAR1yrupmcMdJZFN-v_yAqBbhIcEs72d5qKrCFOTMJJ0htOSSYFCTsfTrXEM
http://outsideoftheboot.com/2016/11/11/the-decline-of-the-classic-no-10/?fbclid=IwAR2b3z8Ucs26tJsGZSnvODfnr75nKIXfgwP1B9esII4O5FmcRPnL8OnSQl8
http://outsideoftheboot.com/2016/11/11/the-decline-of-the-classic-no-10/?fbclid=IwAR2b3z8Ucs26tJsGZSnvODfnr75nKIXfgwP1B9esII4O5FmcRPnL8OnSQl8
https://www.sportco.io/article/death-number-ten-football-876810?fbclid=IwAR2LXvUmxI3djt7ROfVA-Zpsdzg9ArVwkCsPG_cV0i4oIx0LIVew46K9ias
https://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/04/05/the-death-of-footballs-classic-number-10/?fbclid=IwAR22sM0d3vnEMwOOXjXiiVJY7HoaLOCkU6dXr7qGcYXKS_8rXlCAe8jAwKw
https://runningtheshowblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/04/a-love-letter-to-the-trequartista/?fbclid=IwAR2kXcfIuIjeUE389oRGeiB8FRDrAa1kTD1T80rOpIN-GW88zP6fSdqs6VE

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