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The traditional #9 died at football's pinnacle—and the False 9 rose in its place, but the role isn't just about Messi dropping deep or Firmino's pressing. We're exploring how this role has evolved far beyond Barcelona, starting with Hidegkuti's revolutionary Magyars to Martínez's tactical masterstroke using Lukaku as a physical "decoy" False 9 for Belgium.
What You'll Hear About:
Key Segments
Perfect for FM tacticians looking to experiment ahead of FM26's release and understand how tactical concepts translate across different player profiles. Whether you're building around a technical playmaker or a physical target man, this episode shows you how to make the False 9 work for your squad.
Get those tactical juices flowing—because sometimes the best False 9 isn't the player you'd expect.
---
Check out our site! Get in touch via email (GG/TTA), BlueSky (GG/TTA, The Site Formerly Known as Twitter (GG/TTA) & Slack (#gaffergraemo & #thefmtechnicalarea)
#WeAreTheCommunity (Slack/ BlueSky/ X) interactions form a vital part of the pod, so get involved!
Music from Pond5 - Electronic Dance Music (Happy Background Summer Party Sport Club Short) - P5 Music by Pond5
Episode Sources:
https://totalfootballanalysis.com/opinion/messis-impact-how-the-false-9-changed-the-game
https://fcbarcelona.us/false-nine-soccer/
https://the-footballanalyst.com/false-nine-football-tactics-explained/
https://worldfootballindex.com/2020/07/analysis-barcelona-real-madrid-6-2-may-2009-full-match/
https://www.reuters.com/article/sports/firmino-delivers-false-nine-masterclass-says-klopp-idUSKBN2HF07O/
https://www.tntsports.co.uk/football/champions-league/2017-2018/why-roberto-firmino-is-jurgen-klopps-football-philosophy-incarnate_sto6770862/story.shtml
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2911770/2021/10/28/analysing-roberto-firmino-liverpools-masterful-false-nine/
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1965482/2020/08/05/liverpool-front-three-salah-mane-firmino-analysis-klopp/
https://learning.coachesvoice.com/cv/jurgen-klopp-tactics-liverpool/
https://themastermindsite.com/2022/01/29/jurgen-klopp-liverpool-tactical-analysis-2021-22-edition/
https://m.allfootballapp.com/news/EPL/The-numbers-game-Stats-show-Firmino-is-a-more-complete-forward-than-Kane/1963187
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/06/roberto-martinez-belgium-players-world-cup-rejigged-false-nine-brazil
https://learning.coachesvoice.com/tactics-brazil-belgium-hazard-debruyne-fellaini-lukaku-neymar/
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/06/lukaku-offers-the-clue-and-belgium-solve-mystery-of-beating-brazil
https://thefalse9.com/2014/06/world-cup-golden-boot-contenders-romelu.html
By Gaffer Graemo5
33 ratings
The traditional #9 died at football's pinnacle—and the False 9 rose in its place, but the role isn't just about Messi dropping deep or Firmino's pressing. We're exploring how this role has evolved far beyond Barcelona, starting with Hidegkuti's revolutionary Magyars to Martínez's tactical masterstroke using Lukaku as a physical "decoy" False 9 for Belgium.
What You'll Hear About:
Key Segments
Perfect for FM tacticians looking to experiment ahead of FM26's release and understand how tactical concepts translate across different player profiles. Whether you're building around a technical playmaker or a physical target man, this episode shows you how to make the False 9 work for your squad.
Get those tactical juices flowing—because sometimes the best False 9 isn't the player you'd expect.
---
Check out our site! Get in touch via email (GG/TTA), BlueSky (GG/TTA, The Site Formerly Known as Twitter (GG/TTA) & Slack (#gaffergraemo & #thefmtechnicalarea)
#WeAreTheCommunity (Slack/ BlueSky/ X) interactions form a vital part of the pod, so get involved!
Music from Pond5 - Electronic Dance Music (Happy Background Summer Party Sport Club Short) - P5 Music by Pond5
Episode Sources:
https://totalfootballanalysis.com/opinion/messis-impact-how-the-false-9-changed-the-game
https://fcbarcelona.us/false-nine-soccer/
https://the-footballanalyst.com/false-nine-football-tactics-explained/
https://worldfootballindex.com/2020/07/analysis-barcelona-real-madrid-6-2-may-2009-full-match/
https://www.reuters.com/article/sports/firmino-delivers-false-nine-masterclass-says-klopp-idUSKBN2HF07O/
https://www.tntsports.co.uk/football/champions-league/2017-2018/why-roberto-firmino-is-jurgen-klopps-football-philosophy-incarnate_sto6770862/story.shtml
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2911770/2021/10/28/analysing-roberto-firmino-liverpools-masterful-false-nine/
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/1965482/2020/08/05/liverpool-front-three-salah-mane-firmino-analysis-klopp/
https://learning.coachesvoice.com/cv/jurgen-klopp-tactics-liverpool/
https://themastermindsite.com/2022/01/29/jurgen-klopp-liverpool-tactical-analysis-2021-22-edition/
https://m.allfootballapp.com/news/EPL/The-numbers-game-Stats-show-Firmino-is-a-more-complete-forward-than-Kane/1963187
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/06/roberto-martinez-belgium-players-world-cup-rejigged-false-nine-brazil
https://learning.coachesvoice.com/tactics-brazil-belgium-hazard-debruyne-fellaini-lukaku-neymar/
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/06/lukaku-offers-the-clue-and-belgium-solve-mystery-of-beating-brazil
https://thefalse9.com/2014/06/world-cup-golden-boot-contenders-romelu.html

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