Playing Out of Position - Is it All a Bad Thing?

Rinus Michels' totaalvoetbal revolutionised football in many ways, introducing the use of space to benefit oneself, and a greatly innovative view on movement, which brought about the positioning of players in a position which is not their natural. In Michel's system, this was used to conserve energy, for a further reading of the topic, I have an article on some of the tactical innovations in the Dutch system.

There are a few main examples of this 'switch' of players; the midfielder in defence (Sergio Busquets at Barca in the 4-3-3 under Guardiola, or Mascherano now) the midfielder in attack (Fellaini recently at Everton, Fabregas for Spain and Barca) and the striker into midfield (all false 9 roles). Some players have made a permanent switch to a different position, and proved to be very successful in their new spot, these include; Ashley Cole (striker to left-back), and Sol Campbell (striker to centre-back).

The Midfielder in Defence - Do its Positives Outweigh its One Downfall?

The midfielder's involvement in defending has come along with another tactical trend in recent years - ball retention. This is no coincidence either, as the former heavily contributes to the movement of the ball upfield in short passes. Most notably seen in Javier Mascherano at Barcelona, who are well known for their tiki-taka playing style, something which originates from Johan Cruijff's influence in the club where he played and managed.

With the passing ability which Mascherano possesses in defence, the Spanish side bring the ball out of defence with ease, though this is helped greatly by the ability of the rest of the defence, whom are all also more than competent on the ball.

Ahead of the Argentinian lies Sergio Busquets, who recurrently dropped deep to collect the ball from Mascherano and co. whilst under the management of Pep Guardiola. This movement allowed the attacking wing-backs Jordi Alba and Dani Alves the freedom to move forward frequently which got them more involved in the latter build-up play. The Spanish World Cup winner gave his side the ability to play with a more fluid style at the back by dropping deep, as either centre-back could move forward with him filling in behind, or both wing-backs bomb down the touchline with their outstanding pace. However under new boss Tito Villanova, Busquets doesn't drop deep as often, and now plays in a more advanced position.

Only the most versatile of players can fill this role however, we saw the AS Roma player Daniele de Rossi also play in the bank of 3 for Italy during the World Cup - which was definitely a successful move by Cesare Prandelli, however the switch can often go wrong, as we saw when Manchester United lined up against Everton in the opening match of the Premier League.

Sir Alex Ferguson used Michael Carrick alongside Nemanja Vidic in their first match of the season at Goodison Park. The former was exposed constantly throughout the game, as Moyes decided to position Fellaini by Carrick at all times, and the Belgian used his superior height and aerial ability to tower over Carrick and expose the lack of a physical presence beside the Serbian.

The midfielder needs to be fully comfortable in playing amongst the back line, if he is, he will support his team greatly like de Rossi did for the Azzurri, if he isn't, they will be exposed easily by some smart attacking, like Carrick.

The Midfielder in Attack - Lack of Goals for Increased Creativity?

There are only a few pure goalscorers up front in the modern game, and those in the top sides have to be the best at their job, Radamel Falcao at Atletico Madríd and Javier Hernandez at United spring to mind. With the need for every player to be involved in the build-up play, the false 9 has come a common sight whilst the traditional number 9 has gone the other way, with midfielder Cesc Fabregas playing in the most advanced role (on paper) for Spain in the recent Euro 2012 tournament. The ex-Arsenal man has also been seen a lot up front at the Nou Camp as well, as pointed out by @adinoosm in his excellent analysis of Barcelona in a 4-2-4 that they played against Real Sociedad where both he and Messi take turns in dropping deep to collect the ball from the midfield.

The midfielder up front usually is seen in a false 9 role, where he drops back into the midfield, which gives the opposition defence problems as they aren't marking anyone and their teammates are being out-numbered in midfield, but if someone comes out of defence to follow the false 9, he leaves the other centre-back exposed to a quick break.

Like the previous example, there is one downfall to choosing a midfielder to lead the line, which the Spain manager Vincente del Bosque was criticised frequently for during their European campaign was their lack of threat up top as they played the majority of their matches without a recognised striker leading their line. The lack of a striker definitely showed in the amount of goals scored as La Roja scored 12 goals in the 6 matches from the first group game against Italy, to the last where they met the Azzurri again. Two goals every match is obviously a good record, but 8 of those were in two matches, 4 against the Republic of Ireland - a team who where never going to challenge the eventual winners, and another 4 in the final against Prandelli's 10 men who conceded two late goals to their numerical disadvantage. The finale was also probably the only match in which Spain played convincingly in, as they were poor throughout the matches leading up to the all important showdown in the end.

The line ups for the Final.

The 4-6-0 formation that Spain played however was effective in defense, despite them being well known for their attacking talents. Throughout the tournament, Italy's key player had been Andrea Pirlo, who was coming off of a magnificent season for Juventus in which they won the Scudetto without losing a single game. With Silva, Fabregas and Iniesta all in narrow positions in front of Italy's defense, Pirlo was outnumbered and had little time to seek out passes with the Spanish midfielders quick to close him down and curtail his influential creative passing.

Also throughout the tournament, La Roja conceded just one goal, which was in their first match. Despite being labelled as boring by the media, you can't deny that their tiki-taka playing style, which was made easier by fielding passing quality in attack as well as midfield, was effective in a tournament situation where the aim is simply to win.

The teams whom have fielded midfielders in attack have usually had a way of getting around the lack of goals. Spalletti fielded Mirko Vucinic as an inside winger who consistently scored goals coming in from the left, whilst Totti, who was the false 9 in the 4-6-0 system. I think Brendan Rodgers attempted to do this at Liverpool, since Luis Suarez isn't a born goalscorer by bringing in Fabio Borini, however the Italian hasn't been effective so far and has just been injured with a broken foot, leaving the manager with just Suarez to choose from for a striker.

The Striker in Midfield - A Possibility for the Future?

The most uncommon of the three that I have mentioned in this article is the striker playing in midfield, which usually comes in the form of a false 10. Manchester United and England forward Wayne Rooney is one man who has been linked towards move deeper into the centre of the pitch as he ages and looses his pace on the ball, similar to Giggs who now plays in the middle more than out on the left when picked by Ferguson.

Fabio Quagliarella

The false 10 is seen often alongside a false 9, with the latter dropping deep, and the former going the other way in an attempt to confuse the opposition defence as they're constantly dealing with different forwards. A striker in midfield would also allow for quick attacks as the player could be the link who can make a quick turn of pace and be a driving force from midfield whilst the usual CMs hold the play and sit back.

Since it isn't really seen in football yet, it is difficult to make a comment on it in a match, however that is how I expect it to play out. A few examples of players who I think could be effective in a deeper position are; Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi (he arguably started his career in a midfield position), Luis Suarez, Fabio Quagliarella, Stefan Jovetic, and Jose Callejon. All of these players possess some qualities of top forward-minded midfielders, whether it be an accurate long distance shot, or a good passing ability. The majority are also fast enough to make the quick runs from deep to quickly turn the tempo of the play to catch out the opposition, something I could see an attacker in midfield do well.

In the false 10 position, the player would be the supporting force from midfield, and interchange positions with the false 9 in the latter stages of advances forward. These runs from deep forces an opposition midfielder to track him, making the job easier for you own men in the middle, or reducing the effect of an opposition deep-lying playmaker, forcing him to have the responsibility. A false number 10 would also be brilliant in performing the linking role during counter-attacks, they have the pace to catch the opposition out, the skills of a midfielder in picking out better options, and the finishing ability of a striker to end the moves. Also, since he is in a deep position, he would pick up the ball rather frequently after his side has defended an attack, and could find space should the opposing side risk sending their own midfielders forward in an attempt to snatch a goal.

Similar to a double pivot, the partnership of the two would confuse defences as I mentioned earlier, due to them interchanging positions frequently, meaning that the defenders will find it difficult to get accustomed to one attacker running at them on every occasion. 

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