What is a False 9? | Roberto Firmino’s Role in Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool Explained

What is a False 9? Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have started the season superbly, carrying the form that got them to the 2018 Champions League Final into their opening games. The main reason Liverpool progressed so far in Europe was their scintillating strike force of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and top goalscorer, Mo Salah. Whilst the pace of Mane and Salah was enough to scare the top teams, it was the intelligence of Roberto Firmino, and his near perfect execution of the False 9 role that really propelled Liverpool to Kiev.

Like many roles in football, the False 9 first debuted in the 1930s however Johan Cruyff found huge success when deployed in the role. El Salvador as a False 9 was devastating, scoring more than 20 goals in every full season. In his time at Ajax as a False 9, Cruyff helped Ajax to three back-to-back European Cup titles, whilst also picking up the Ballon D’Or 3 times. The next truly great False 9 also dominated Europe for years, winning Domestic and Champions League titles, whilst also picking up the Ballon D’Or multiple times. That man was Lionel Messi. Pep Guardiola moved the diminutive Argentinian from playing as an Inverted Right Winger to playing centrally as a False 9. That Barcelona team was a thing of beauty when in full flight, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, David Villa and the great Lionel Messi and went on to dominate one of the best Manchester United sides of all time in two separate Champions League finals. Whilst Messi enabled Barcelona to dominate possession like no team before, Karim Benzema’s interpretation of the False 9 allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to become the greatest goal scorer of all time. The Frenchman plays laterally, creating space centrally for Ronaldo by running the channels and providing cutbacks or by dropping off the line, like a traditional False 9, before playing the Portuguese legend into the channels. Madrid’s exploitation of the channels both in possession and on the counter by isolating the oppositions centre backs with flying forwards, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, has seen Los Blancos get their hands on 4 of the last 5 Champions League trophies. Finally, Liverpool’s Brazilian centre forward, Roberto Firmino, has hit new heights under Jürgen Klopp. His days at Hoffenheim saw him become as a versatile forward, capable of playing anywhere across the front four. It could be this versatility that has allowed Firmino to blossom into one of the best False 9s in the modern game. Leading Klopp’s gegenpress, Firmino is the first defender in Liverpool’s system and has won more tackles than any other top 6 Premier League defender, bar Chelsea’s César Azpilicueta. Not only does the Brazilian defend superbly, but his attacking output isn’t bad either. In 78 games as a striker for Liverpool, Roberto Firmino has been directly involved in 71 goals, including 2 goals and 2 assists in Liverpool’s first leg demolition of AS Roma in last year’s Champions League Semi Final.

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If Liverpool are to go one better in Europe this time around, or wish to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title, they’re going to need their fantastic False 9 to stay fit and firing for another season.

Let me know what you think in the comments below, is Roberto Firmino currently the best False 9 in the world? Will we see False 9s continue to grow in popularity?

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