When you are playing the false nine tactic, the whole point of it is to have HIGH QUALITY midfielders. So these are dudes in the middle who have amazing passing accuracy, can deliver killer balls but also have attacking intent and know when to make the right runs. Hence, it is an odd and difficult tactic to employ and only very few are actually able to succeed at it. Now, can you see where the problem lies as it pertains to Roma and Garcia? Don't worry, Have Hope is here to hold your hand.
To employ such a tactic effectively, you will need excellent players. Spain during their reign, had some of the best PASSING midfielders the game has seen. Not much can be said about their all-round footballing ability, but when it came to finding passes in tight spots, they were experts. Now, can the same really be said for....Pjanic, Ljajic, Gervinho, Totti and De Rossi? These are all quality players, but they don't have the tools and skills to work this tactic.
The fale-nine is really a position that only one man knows how to play perfectly, and that is Messi. Because he plays very deep in midfield, but is one of the deadliest the game has seen when it comes to attacking into the danger-area. And Garcia, I am sorry, but none of the Roma players are up to the standard of Lionel Ritchie.
I cannot count the amount of times that Roma would have an attack, the player would be on the wing and there would be nobody in the box to pass to. So the ball would get passes again, and again, and again, with no penetration. I tell you, and you will all know that I DESPISE the tic-tac-toe tactic which I believe is anti-football and just pretentious. But I cannot complain THAT much if a tactic wins you games. Spain WON the Euro 2012 playing such a way, and so what the could I really say? And why did they win it? Because they understood that players need to make runs into the 18-yard box, and there needs to be that penetrating pass made. With Iniesta, Xavi and Fabregas....you know damn well that you will be getting through-balls that nobody will see.
And we have Garcia and Roma. There was nothing. No risky forward passes, no runs into the box, and just absolutely nothing that resembles a team that wants to win a football match. Now, you would think that even the WORST coach, even a Raymond Domenech would see that something is not yielding any cheddar and they would change it. Because, any sane logical mind would try and change something that is not working...in order for it to work. Nah...Garcia knows best. He will just keep on playing the same way...HOPING something miraculous will occur.
Only two teams can play this false-nine, and that is Barcelona and Spain. Everyone else, get your striker and strikers and play FOOTBALL. Don't try and be clever, don't try and be smart, respect the striker and let us enjoy a game of football. Juventus, ALWAYS set their game out to have two forwards, the lost art of the strike partnership. This is something I wish more teams did....
HH
