Forward (association football): Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}

[[File:Football in Bloomington, Indiana, 1996.jpg|thumb|The forward (no. 10, in red) is past the [[Defender (association football)|defender]] (no. 16, in white) and is about to take a [[Shooting (association football)|shot]] at the goal. The [[goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]] will try to stop the forward from scoring a goal by preventing the ball from passing the goal line.]]

 

Attacking positions generally favour direct players who take on the defense of the opponent in order to create scoring chances, where they benefit from a lack of predictability in attacking play. [[Formation (association football)|Modern team formations]] normally include one to three forwards. For example, the common [[Formation (association football)#4–2–3–1|4–2–3–1]] includes one forward.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/09/03/fifa-2010-technical-report-summary/|title=FIFA's 289-page Technical Report on the 2010 World Cup – in 15 points|access-date=17 August 2013|first=Michael|last=Cox|date=3 September 2010|archive-date=4 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104193726/http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/09/03/fifa-2010-technical-report-summary/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Less conventional formations may include more than three forwards, or sometimes none.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/03/19/barcelona-4-2-4-formation-guardiola-messi/|title=Is Barcelona's alternative shape really a 4–2–4?|access-date=17 August 2013|first=Michael|last=Cox|date=19 March 2010|archive-date=21 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221152436/http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/03/19/barcelona-4-2-4-formation-guardiola-messi/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/03/05/teams-of-the-decade-5-roma-2007/|title=Teams of the Decade #5: Roma, 2007|access-date=17 August 2013|first=Michael|last=Cox|date=5 March 2010|archive-date=26 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726020823/http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/03/05/teams-of-the-decade-5-roma-2007/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Striker==

[[File:Omar Batistuta.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Gabriel Batistuta]] holding his old number 9 [[ACF Fiorentina|Fiorentina]] jersey. The number most associated with the position, he was an out and out striker.]]

 

Good strikers should be able to [[Shooting (association football)|shoot]] confidently with either foot, possess great power and accuracy, and have the ability to link-up with teammates and pass the ball under pressure in breakaway situations. While many strikers wear the number 9 shirt, such as [[Alan Shearer]], an out and out striker, the position, to a lesser degree, is also associated with the [[Squad number (association football)|number 10]], which is frequently worn by more creative deep-lying forwards such as [[Pelé]], and occasionally with numbers 7 and 11, which are often associated with wingers.<ref name="sports.yahoo.com" />

==Second striker==

[[File:Wayne Rooney 144855.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Wayne Rooney]], shown wearing the number 10 [[Kit (association football)|jersey]], was used at [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] as a second striker on many occasions, playing behind the number 9.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704454304575081233778123888 |title=Wayne's World: Rooney Leads the Field |work=The Wall Street Journal |last1=Clegg |first1=Jonathan |date=23 February 2010 |access-date=21 January 2020 }}</ref>]]

 

The second striker position is a loosely defined and most often misunderstood description of a player positioned in a free role, somewhere between the out-and-out striker, whether the player is a "target man" or more of a "poacher", and the number 10 or attacking midfielder, while possibly showing some of the characteristics of both. In fact, a term coined by French advanced playmaker [[Michel Platini]], the "nine-and-a-half", which he used to describe the playing role of his successor in the number 10 role at Juventus, Italian playmaker [[Roberto Baggio]], has been an attempt to become a standard in defining the position.<ref>{{cite web |title=AdTech Ad Roberto Baggio:&#124; 'Allenare l'Italia? Non si sa mai' |url=http://www.calciomercato.pro/news/roberto-baggio-allenare-l-italia-non-si-sa-mai-826328 |website=Calciomercato.pro|date=May 2011 |access-date=12 January 2015}}</ref> Conceivably, a number 10 can alternate as a second-striker provided that the player is also a prolific goalscorer; otherwise, a mobile forward with good technical ability ([[Dribbling#Association football|dribbling]] skills and ball control), acceleration, vision, passing, and link-up play, who can receive the ball and retain possession, in addition to being capable of scoring goals and [[Passing (association football)|creating opportunities]] for a less versatile centre-forward, is more suited to playing in the second striker role. This player should also be able to position themselves well in order to receive passes and subsequently either create or finish off a goalscoring opportunity. They should also be capable of finishing well with either foot as well as their head (which is less common, seeing as many second strikers are diminutive creative players),<ref name="alla Zidane"/> as this will lead to a good scoring percentage on attempts on goal and give their team an advantage offensively. Although they are often deployed in a free role, and given "licence to roam", and either run forward, or drop further back in order to pick up the ball in deeper areas, giving them more time and space in possession, second or support strikers do not tend to get as involved in the orchestration of attacks as the number 10, nor do they bring as many other players into play, since they do not share the burden of responsibility, functioning predominantly in a supporting role as [[Assist (football)|assist]] providers.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/rules_and_equipment/4197254.stm |title=Positions guide: Behind the striker |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=21 June 2008 |date=1 September 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.football-italia.net/96186/rise-seconda-punta |title=Rise of the Seconda Punta |publisher=Football Italia |last1=Murray |first1=Greg |date=29 December 2016 |access-date=9 January 2020 }}</ref> In Italy, this role is known as a "rifinitore", "mezzapunta", or "seconda punta",<ref name="Platini: Baggio, Il Fu Nove E Mezzo">{{cite web|url=http://www.eatsport.net/2012/roberto-baggio-il-nove-e-mezzo/ |title=Platini: Baggio, Il Fu Nove E Mezzo |language=it |access-date=16 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604152313/http://www.eatsport.net/2012/roberto-baggio-il-nove-e-mezzo/ |archive-date=4 June 2013 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://dizionari.corriere.it/dizionario_italiano/M/mezzapunta.shtml |title=mezzapunta |work=Il Corriere della Sera |language=it |access-date=21 May 2020 }}</ref> whereas in Brazil, it is known as "segundo atacante"<ref>{{cite web|last1=Guimarães|first1=Levy|title=Segundo atacante: uma posição em desuso|url=http://doentesporfutebol.com.br/2013/06/segundo-atacante-uma-posicao-em-desuso/|website=Doentes por Futebol|access-date=13 August 2016|date=2 June 2013|archive-date=27 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227011038/https://doentesporfutebol.com.br/2013/06/segundo-atacante-uma-posicao-em-desuso/|url-status=dead}}</ref> or "ponta-de-lança".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://footballsgreatest.weebly.com/second-strikers.html|title=The Greatest Second Strikers / Inside Forwards of All Time|access-date=5 January 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206074856/http://footballsgreatest.weebly.com/second-strikers.html|archive-date=6 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

 

==False 9==

A ''false 9'', similar to a more advanced attacking midfielder/playmaker role, is an unconventional lone striker or centre-forward, who drops deep into midfield. The purpose of this is that it creates a problem for opposing [[Defender (association football)#Centre-back|centre-backs]] who can either follow the false 9, leaving space behind them for onrushing midfielders, forwards or wingers to exploit, or leaving the false 9 to have time and space to dribble or pick out a pass. The term comes from the traditional number for centre-forwards (nine), and the fact that normally a centre-forward traditionally stayed near the line of [[Defender (association football)|defenders]] until they got an opportunity to move past them toward goal.<ref name="thefalse9.com">{{cite web|title=Football Tactics for Beginners: The False 9|url=http://www.thefalse9.com/2013/09/football-tactics-for-beginnersthe-false.html|website=The False 9 – Football Tactics Simplified|date=20 December 2014 |access-date=17 January 2017}}</ref> Key attributes for a false 9 are similar to those of a deep-lying striker: dribbling ability to take advantage of space between the lines, good short passing ability to link up with the midfield and vision to play through teammates making runs from deep to goal.

 

One approach to stop false 9s has been to create congestion in the midfield by bringing several players back into a more defensive role in an attempt to deny them space needed to create plays, notably in [[José Mourinho]]'s "parking the bus" strategy.<ref name="thefalse9.com"/>

 

 

==Target forward==