Gerardo "Tata" Martino

[suckabov]

The coaching staff of FC Barcelona under Tito, under Tata and the coaching staff of Spain under del Bosque are "blind" and you know it better. I got that. What else can I say?

The false 9 is not an end in itself though. It's a role that only a very very limited number of players can and should play, most notably Messi, and when we don't have those players available, I wouldn't use it at all. I know that currently, we're not really flexible up front to play with a real 9. But when we have to compensate for Messi's absence like we do now, we should at least play someone there who resembles that kind of player the most. That is Neymar and definitely not Cesc. I get your point about Neymar being crowded out in the middle and the tactics of using Cesc as a false 9 and Messi and Neymar (in order to avoid them being crowded out and muted in the middle) on the wing have worked well against Madrid. But other than that, it's Cesc's talent and a scoring position wasted. Also, Neymar did fine in those games he played as a false 9.

Of course we're all armchair experts in comparison with Tata, Tito and VdB, but then again, the false 9 is just fashionable now. Coaches try all kinds of players there; I'm sure you remember Löw playing Özil as a false 9, which makes even less sense than playing Cesc there. If coaches always got it right then every team should win the treble every season.

 

[Cule4life]

Ozil as false 9 Yeah only Loew can reinvent a concept like false 9.

 

[JamDav1982]

Cesc playing at false nine is not ideal as he does lack movement but after Messi he does have the best final ball and is one of the better finishers.

Neymar is clearly the best suited to the position after Messi but I can see why they are reluctant to play him there, as he is still getting used to the role out on the left and is still adapting. That is where they will need him to be at his strongest in the second half of the season.

Sanchez would be maybe be better through the middle than Cesc as his movement is first class and his final ball/finishing is improving all the time but again he is looking more and more comfortable on the right wing and thats what the team needs.

Cesc is not the ideal choice for the false nine, nor is he as bad as some people are making out.

 

[ZenI]

Cesc playing at false nine is not ideal as he does lack movement but after Messi he does have the best final ball and is one of the better finishers.

Neymar is clearly the best suited to the position after Messi but I can see why they are reluctant to play him there, as he is still getting used to the role out on the left and is still adapting. That is where they will need him to be at his strongest in the second half of the season.

Sanchez would be maybe be better through the middle than Cesc as his movement is first class and his final ball/finishing is improving all the time but again he is looking more and more comfortable on the right wing and thats what the team needs.

Cesc is not the ideal choice for the false nine, nor is he as bad as some people are making out.

That's because he is a great player, you could put Pique, Alves or Alba there to and they would do an OK job. But he is sooooo wasted there! Instead of playing Song against Villareal (and omg was he lost again) we should have started with Cesc + Iniesta and played a different forward - we would have been 2-3 goals up by half time.

 

[JamDav1982]

That's because he is a great player, you could put Pique, Alves or Alba there to and they would do an OK job. But he is sooooo wasted there! Instead of playing Song against Villareal (and omg was he lost again) we should have started with Cesc + Iniesta and played a different forward - we would have been 2-3 goals up by half time.

I agree he is wasted to an extent and deserves his place in midfield but can see why they play him there ahead of Neymar or Sanchez.

 

[Alarcón]

The coaching staff of FC Barcelona under Tito, under Tata and the coaching staff of Spain under del Bosque are "blind" and you know it better. I got that. What else can I say?

Doesn't mean they're always right. Pep never used him there, I wonder why...

 

[JamDav1982]

Doesn't mean they're always right. Pep never used him there, I wonder why...

Guardiola did try him at false nine I think.

 

[ZenI]

I agree he is wasted to an extent and deserves his place in midfield but can see why they play him there ahead of Neymar or Sanchez.

But we had to play a confused Song on CM and struggled heavily until we brought Xavi on. Not playing Cesc yesterday on CM almost costed us 2 points - that's why I'm pissed...

 

[Alarcón]

Guardiola did try him at false nine I think.

I think he only played him behind Messi in a 3-4-3 but I could be wrong.

 

[Stric]

I think he only played him behind Messi in a 3-4-3 but I could be wrong.

That line up ruled, or at least the attacking part of it. Messi and Cesc had a great thing going in that system.

 

[JamDav1982]

But we had to play a confused Song on CM and struggled heavily until we brought Xavi on. Not playing Cesc yesterday on CM almost costed us 2 points - that's why I'm pissed...

Song should probably play better at CM than he did yesterday, it was about the only position that work for him at Arsenal and there are other options like Sergi Roberto also.

Cesc has been the best CM for me this season and its not ideal him playing false nine but I can see why they are doing it for the benefit of the team later on in the season when Messi back.

 

[JamDav1982]

That line up ruled, or at least the attacking part of it. Messi and Cesc had a great thing going in that system.

It worked at first when teams were caught out.

I was at the Villareal game the first time they used it and you could see how totally confused Villareal were. Same thing with Real the first time they faced it were caught out. But teams became used to it and it wasnt working in the end.

 

[BerkeleyBernie]

I don't know why people are saying Cesc is being played as a false #9: he's being played as a #9, stays far more central and against the CBs as a rule.

Regardless, I do agree he's not very good at that position.

Basically, Barça has no backup for Messi, either #9 or false #9. No one top class is going to sit on the bench when Messi plays every game except when injured. Even someone like Klose can still play as a starter on a mid-table team.

 

[te amo barca]

When I watch Cesc playing as a false 9 he drops deep and even doesn't go further then, it basically means we are playing without a striker, as Cesc doesn't have the pace and the killer instinct like Messi's.

 

[BibB]

The false 9 is a myth created by Pep to allow tactical variation because he was contractually obligated to play a 4-3-3 at the time. Its basically a 10 in a 4-4-2 diamond. The difference isn't the said "false 9" but the postioning of the forwards ahead of him. A number 10 in a 4-4-2 has 2 CFs in front of him whereas, a "false 9" has 2 wide forwards ahead of him. The actual role itself remains the same. Hence why everybody plays Cesc there since he's an amazing number 10.

As for Messi. His superhuman goalscoring instinct added to illusion of the "false 9" being an actual role when in reality it's a definition of how Messi plays. An amazingly clinical goalscoring number 10.

So to sum up, Messi's codename is "False 9" it isn't a position or role hence why nobody else can play it effectively.