Messi 3.0While most cules are busy arguing over whether it should be Alexis or Villa in the starting eleven, a much more important change is underway: Lionel Messi is playing further and further away from the opposing team’s goal, dropping back to the center circle to distribute play from the midfield. No longer playing in the space between the opposing team’s defensive and midfield lines, as a so called “false 9”, Messi can now be considered a midfielder. A goal-scoring midfielder, an attacking midfielder, but a midfielder nonetheless! Especially noticeable during the 1-1 draw in Mestalla, the little Argentine suffers when he doesn’t get enough touches on the ball, disappearing for long spells of the game. This lack of participation was most worrisome during the beginning of his career, when he played as a right winger. However, these concerns, which had pretty much vanished entirely, have recently started to resurface because of the enormous expectations and what he is capable of. Messi’s new positioning on the pitch raises important questions over where he is most effective. Does he play better as a right winger, creating deadly one-twos with Alves, going on unstoppable diagonal runs when cutting inwards towards goal? Or is he better as a false 9, a goal-scoring machine unprecedented in the modern game, as Guardiola had envisioned? What will this newest reincarnation of Messi, what I call Messi 3.0, mean for the blaugranes?
When Messi was just starting out, he actually played on the left wing, though Frank Rijkaard, FC Barcelona coach at the time, quickly realized that Messi was more dangerous on the right, since this would allow him to be able to finish his trademark runs with his left foot. The inverted winger as they call it. Under Barça’s 4-3-3 formation, Messi was playing what in Spanish is known as an “extremo”, which is quite different from what is normally expected of a winger who plays in the more typical 4-4-2. While Messi still had some defensive responsibilities, he played further up the pitch, had to cover more ground in the center, not just the wings, and was expected to score more goals. In this sense, this position was perfect for the young Messi since it required him to find the ideal balance between playing as a forward and as a midfielder.
It was during Rijkaard’s last season and Guardiola’s first that Messi completely internalized when to pass and when to dribble. As a right winger, Messi would explode into one of his mesmerizing slaloms, during which he hardly ever needed to pass, while other times he was busy starting the play with Xavi and Iniesta, though always from the right side, not necessarily near the center circle. Using this tactical analysis as an excuse, let’s revisit one of Messi’s greatest goals, which he scored against Getafe in the Copa del Rey, paying tribute to Maradona by replicating his famous “goal of the century” (see video). This masterpiece perfectly captures Messi’s time as a right winger. Look at where he is standing when he receives the pass. He gets the ball near the touch line, in his own half of the field, and does the rest all by himself.
With his hat-trick against Real Madrid in March 2007 (in just his second Clasico) and his goal against Getafe, the 19-year-old Messi emerged onto the scene in the most dramatic of fashions. It became obvious that he was destined for greatness and was not just another quick winger. However, this period of Messi’s career was when he was most individualistic, not always fitting in with Barça’s tiki-taka philosophy. Messi still had to prove that he could be consistent, making key plays during the entire game, not just relying on isolated instances of brilliance. When Guardiola was appointed manager in 2008, he used his own experience playing under Cruyff with the Dream Team to redefine Messi’s role. Even taking Messi’s potential into account, few could have foreseen what Messi would become.
Yet, Guardiola was unable to play Messi as a false 9 immediately since Eto’o stayed for an extra season. This positional change might never have been Guardiola’s intention in the first place. The Cameroonian had worked hard during the preseason and wanted to prove to Pep that he was a valuable player that he could count on. Plus, there were no attractive offers from other clubs. In Guardiola’s first season, 2008-2009, it was clear that Eto’o would still be the center forward while Messi would continue to play on the right. However, towards the end of the season, Guardiola came up with a tactical innovation that would change the fate of the club. According to Ricard Torquemada, a well-known Catalan sports journalist, in his book Formula Barça, repositioning Messi as a false 9 “started out as a plan B and quickly became the plan A of the best Barça in history.” Guardiola had realized that all of the greatest teams in the history of the game had at least one thing in common: whether it was Di Stefano’s Madrid or the Barcelona Dream Team, they played with a false 9.
So what exactly is meant by a false 9? Unlike a “true” 9, like say Eto’o, the false 9 position requires the player to play between the opponent’s midfield and defensive lines, often enticing the central defenders to leave their position in order to follow the forward, thereby opening up space for the wingers. An unconventional striker that also drops back into midfield, the false 9 must be as comfortable leading the team as a playmaker as he is scoring goals. While the tactical concept can be traced back to the Hungarian national team of the 1950s, Pep got the idea from Cruyff who frequently played the Great Dane, Michael Laudrup, in that position. Interestingly enough, not even Messi was completely convinced that he would be able to score as many goals as Pep was foreseeing.
The 2-6 thrashing on May 2, 2009 at the Bernabeu was the direct result of this tactical innovation. Looking at Barça’s first goal, nothing out of the ordinary seems to happen as Messi drops back to receive a pass from Henry away from the opposing penalty box, something cules have gotten used to by now. At first glance, it looks like a simple give and go. But Ramos and Cannavaro were both caught out of position, having to leave their comfort zone and venture forward in order to follow Messi to the midfield area. Ramos was so unsure of what he was supposed to do that he was even forced to backpedal. As a result of Messi’s new position, the Madrid defense was much more vulnerable, leaving spaces and holes that Henry readily exploited. Messi playing between the lines also meant that there would be numerical superiority in the midfield. Madrid’s Lass and Gago followed Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta’s triangulations with their eyes, unable to disrupt their ball movement since they were always at a numerical disadvantage. Just a few weeks later against Manchester United in the Champions League final Barcelona resorted to this tactic once again, with Eto’o being moved to the right wing after a somewhat uneasy first 10 minutes. The rest is history. Four glorious years under Pep. Towards the end of Guardiola’s time as coach, Messi would share this position with Cesc, with two false 9s in an unconventional Barcelona starting eleven. As everyone knows by now, Messi cemented his place in the record books with 91 goals in a calendar year, though this individual achievement would never have been possible had he continued to play as a right winger.
Lately, the false 9 has become more of a mainstream tactic, with other teams hoping that imitation will lead to success. No longer a positional novelty, teams have started to learn how to defend against it. For example, these last few weeks against Real Sociedad, Malaga, Real Madrid, and Valencia, have shown that readjustments have been made. By staying put, the opposing team’s defenders aren’t opening up spaces for the wingers Pedro, Alexis or Iniesta. The defensive mid-field has succeeded in making sure that Messi doesn’t explode into one of his zig-zags towards goal while the defense has been able to cover the inside passing lanes. As occurred against Real Madrid during the Clasico, Messi was boxed out between the two central defenders and the two central midfielders, Mourinho’s favored doble pivote (see photo).
All in all, it makes sense that Messi has dropped back to the midfield since teams are now prepared for his role as a false 9. Football tactics must be evolving continuously, staying ahead of the curve. However, with Messi playing as far back as Xavi on some occasions, the lack of another goal scorer makes this new positioning a questionable readjustment. Unlike his first few seasons as a winger, Messi’s mesmerizing runs, which we have grown accustomed to, are fewer and farther between since the middle of the field is more crowded when compared to the wings. But as Marti Perarnau, a Spanish sportswriter who specializes in breaking down the tactics of each Barcelona game, points out, a paradox is beginning to emerge. The further away Messi is from the opposing goal, the more dangerous he becomes. Like Pele, who defined his own playing style as that of an attacking midfielder, the same can now be applied to Messi. While Perarnau’s statement may be debatable, Messi’s positional change is undeniable. These last few months we have clearly seen a different Messi. Against Valencia, he looked more like Xavi than the Messi of old, making beautiful passes from the midfield to the speedy Alba but no longer on the receiving end. Regardless of where he plays, what is most impressive is that Messi can excel in many different positions, always able to adjust. He is constantly switching positions during games to keep defenders off guard, moving around according to his instincts. At the end of the day, football isn’t played on the blackboard. Messi 3.0 will be just as deadly, though perhaps in ways we still haven’t gotten used to.
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