Forward (association football): Difference between revisions

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" />

 

[[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>]]

Deep-lying forwards or second strikers have a long history in the game, but the terminology to describe their playing activity has varied over the years. Originally such players were termed inside forwards, creative or deep-lying centre-forwards ("sub forwards"). More recently, the role has occasionally been colloquially referred to as the centre-forward role, however, two more variations of this old type of player have developed: the second, or shadow, or support, or auxiliary striker and, in what is in fact a distinct position unto its own, the number 10;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://afootballreport.com/post/9738165711/the-essence-of-the-number-10-a-beginners-guide|title=The Essence of the Number 10: A Beginner's Guide|website=Afootballreport.com|access-date=12 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="Mancini: THE NUMBER 10">{{cite web|url=http://www.robertomancini.com/en/calciatore-2/il-numero-10.html|title=THE NUMBER 10|publisher=www.robertomancini.com|last=Mancini|first=Roberto|access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="question"/> the former role is exemplified by players such as [[Dennis Bergkamp]] (who would play just behind the striker [[Thierry Henry]] at [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/thierry-henry-arsenal-most-premier-league-assists-season-200203-van-nistelrooy-golden-boot |title=Thierry Henry's assist record of 2002/03: how Arsenal's talisman reinvented the Premier League striker |publisher=FourFourTwo |last1=Haugstad |first1=Thore |date=25 October 2019 |access-date=21 January 2020 }}</ref> [[Alessandro Del Piero]] at [[Juventus F.C.|Juventus]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/2006/agosto/23/Del_Piero_mezzo_Come_Baggio_ga_10_060823083.shtml |title="Del Piero è un 9 e mezzo" Come Baggio per Platini |trans-title="Del Piero is a 9 and a half" Like Baggio was for Platini |work=La Gazzetta dello Sport |language=it |last1=Luca |first1=Curino |date=23 August 2006 |access-date=9 January 2020 }}</ref> [[Youri Djorkaeff]] at [[Inter Milan]],<ref name=musica>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1996/10/14/dribbling-tiro-la-musica-di-djorkaeff.html|title=Dribbling e tiro. È la musica di Djorkaeff|trans-title=Dribbling and shooting. This is the music of Djorkaeff|work=la Repubblica|last=Mura|first=Gianni|language=it|date=14 October 1996|page=36}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/1998/agosto/04/Inter_esame_gioiellino_Owen_ga_0_9808041948.shtml|title=l' Inter fa l' esame al gioiellino Owen|trans-title=Inter tests the little jewel Owen|work=La Gazzetta dello Sport|language=it|date=4 August 1998|access-date=18 December 2014}}</ref><ref name=coppia>{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1998/03/03/ronaldo-djorkaeff-mai-la-stessa-coppia.html|title=Ronaldo e Djorkaeff mai la stessa coppia|trans-title=Ronaldo and Djorkaeff never the same pair|last=Piva|first=Gianni|work=la Repubblica|language=it|date=3 March 1998|page=50}}</ref> or [[Teddy Sheringham]] at Tottenham Hotspur.<ref name="Shed no tears for Teddy">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2401463/Shed-no-tears-for-Teddy.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2401463/Shed-no-tears-for-Teddy.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Shed no tears for Teddy|work=The Telegraph|last=Barclay|first=Patrick|date=11 May 2003|access-date=18 December 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Other creative offensive players who play further back, such as [[Diego Maradona]], [[Ronaldinho]], [[Kaká]], [[Michael Laudrup]], and [[Zinedine Zidane]] are often instead described as the "number 10", and usually operate as an [[Midfielder#Attacking midfielder|attacking midfielder]] or advanced [[playmaker]].<ref name="question">[https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2010/aug/18/what-is-a-playmakers-role-in-modern-game "The Question: What is a playmaker's role in the modern game?"]. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 27 December 2019</ref>