THE EXTINCTION OF THE NUMBER 10

Over the past decade or so there has been a decline in the number of natural 10’s in the game due to various reasons, the game seems to have progressed beyond the position and left it behind. In this piece I’ll look at why this role/position isn’t used as much in modern football.

To understand why the number 10 position is losing its value in football we must first understand what the position is.

The number 10 is seen as the teams’ main creator, naturally plays behind or off the main striker. He is allowed freedom of movement to roam the field at will and combine with teammates to create goal scoring opportunities.

He is often free from defensive responsibilities and instead of tracking back when the team is out of possession the number 10 looks for spaces to roam into and best position himself to receive the ball when his team eventually wins back possession.

The number 10 is also tasked with blocking passing lanes and preventing the opposition from building up play from the back but when in possession the player serves as the link between midfield and attack.

The term Enganche best describes the role, it means hook as in the link between the midfield and attack.

The number 10 is arguably one of the most difficult positions to play in football, to excel in this position you need various skills such as;

- Imagination and flair

- Being comfortable on the ball

- Ability to use both feet to a certain level

- Ability to assist and score goals

- Creating space for teammates with 3rd man runs

Just to show how important this role is, some of the best players in the history of football have been number 10’s. Zidane, Maradona, Messi, Kaka, Riquelme, Platini etc. the list can go on but as the game has evolved there is an evident reduction in these type of players and perhaps we are witnessing the last of its kind with players like Mesut Ozil who just recently retired from football and with Messi and Thomas Muller reaching the back end of their careers we might be into the final generation of this position.

Kevin DeBruyne and Bruno Fernandes are the only high profile 10’s left in the game it seems and with creativity in modern football now being spread across board and wide players(wingers and full-backs) are now tasked with being the major creative outlets for their teams.

There have been various reasons for the so called extinction of this role, some of them include;

- Tactical Rigidness: Gone are the days where footballers are allowed to roam the field without defensive responsibilities of any kind. Now players are asked to operate in zones on the field and with the increase of attacking full-backs opposition managers often use midfielders to double up on the wings and cover half spaces in wide areas which means out of possession every player has a serious responsibility and that doesn’t accommodate the idea of a free role player.

- The Introduction Of The Pivote : The pivote is the deepest midfielder that operates in the ‘hole’ between midfield and defense, his major role is to control the tempo of games for his team as well as provide cover for his defense when out of possession. The ‘hole’ that the pivote operates in the same space that naturally a number 10 would occupy and would seek to use to create chances, but with another player operating primarily in that space it makes the number 10’s job a bit harder and now managers opt to use 2 attacking midfielders to operate either side of the pivote to gain numerical advantage in the ‘hole’.

Hopefully this isn’t the end for the position and maybe a tactical revolution that would allow for the #10 to be used extensively again isn’t too far away.