Make sure you put your foot in on number 10. He must be a player.

In the old days,  (Well when I played) the number you wore typically was indicative of the position you played on the field.  But there were certain numbers that typically were saved for the special player that served a role that the number became accustomed.  The number 10 was the revered number and for most fans their favorite creative player wore it.  I remember pulling on the jersey and having a greater sense of responsibility on the field.  Knowing im probably more likely to get kicked.  So in a world of 23s and 32s and 99s, its nice to look back courtesy of TFT blog.

The Decline Of The Classic Number 10

We look at the decline of the classic number 10. Full of grace, skill and intelligence, the likes of Totti, Riquelme, Platini and Valeron are most certainly a thing of the past. What has brought about the decline of the role? Will it ever return? We answer.

"Football is working class ballet." – the hallowed and much revered words of Alf Garnett.

There’s no debate either; football is beautiful, just as the ballet is. Both require precise technique. Both require brilliant vocabulary when performing. And both capture the imagination of those who watch with awe and excitement.

The Beautiful Game has always boasted a plethora of stunning sights for purists and part timers alike. The sight of a stand awash with scarves, flags and banners, in full voice, can only be admired. A trip to the Westfalenstadion, home of Borussia Dortmund is a majestic sight as a yellow wall greets the opposition players.

There’s other beauty too. The intricate passing games of Barcelona and Spain today; Liverpool and Real Madrid yesterday. The orange invasion at every World Cup. Such sights are a fixture in the footballing world – whether it’s Barcelona this decade or Paris Saint-Germain next, there will always be the footballing masters of the day. The individuals who make the game beautiful.

The Dutch will always turn up in tides of orange. The Stade Velodrome will always be a decimal busting bowl. Yet one sight becomes ever rarer each passing year – the classic number 10.

From Platini to Totti, the classic number 10 has always been a sight to inspire dreams and engulf kids into what is possible with a ball. Elusive for much of a game yet so often the match winner, these players are the embodiment of technique, grace and skill. Relying on touch, vision, control and most importantly, speed of thought, the classic number 10’s role was to create and score where possible. Teammates sprang into life around the player, anticipating knife-through-butter killer balls and deft touches to open up defences.

Without the ball, the number 10 was so often work shy and lazy. The ‘dirty work’ was left to the anchor man and defence – instead the player would drift around and find space to receive a pass and look to create between the lines. And it worked. There was no point asking a player who combines visions and skill to track back. Their ability to unlock defences and turn a seemingly innocuous attacking phase into a goal required them to be placed higher up the pitch.

Note the past tense. With great regret, the European game is seeing a decline in such players, for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the speed has increased just too much now. Perhaps the rigid defensive lines in midfield and defence are too tight and narrow to find space and time in the hole. Maybe it’s neither. Maybe teams just require more dynamic players who can contribute in the attacking and defensive phase.

The increase in the speed of the game as well as a greater reliance on strength and power has contributed heavily to the downfall of such a player. At the very top of the game, the relationship between space and time has become yet tighter and the integral use of anchor men and holding midfielders has been influential in denying the opportunity to play between the lines. Crucially these holding midfielders are frequently able to create from deep (Pirlo, Xabi Alonso, Arteta).

There’s an abundance of valid reasons to sum up the decline of the classic numbers 10. Perhaps the role has changed. The number 10 is by all accounts heading to a place where skills and technique are needed in equal measure alongside strength and power. Marouane Fellaini executes the role brilliantly for Everton. Using a combination of aerial power and technical ability, he affords his team a variety of options in terms of playing out.

Robert Lewandowski also executed this brilliantly in his earlier Dortmund days. Prior to becoming a clinical finisher, his all round game was relied upon far more heavily. He would use balance, strength and skill to drop deeper and offer a range of options.

In addition to their ability when dropping deeper, the modern number 10 can also score. They’ll work hard to get on the end of moves in wider areas, sometimes even penetrating as the furthest player forward. For the magicians of years gone by, this lung busting activity was beyond their game. Not because they didn’t necessarily have the capability. They didn’t want to. And they didn’t have to.

Football is different now. The success of Barcelona, Dortmund and Real Madrid is based on the ability to press high to win possession closer to the opponent’s goal. There’s no time or space to carry passengers. Sadly those days are over. And with it, only memories remain. Memories of a glorious Riquelme at his best for Villarreal and Argentina. Of Platini mesmerizing Turin with his skills and precision  Of Bergkamp dropping and using his incredible vision to turn a move into a chance.

The passing of Juan Roman Riquelme from Spain back to Argentina in 2008 represented the beginning of the end for such a player. Perhaps with Del Piero moving to Australia and Totti entering the final years of his career, the end is nigh. Even the sumptuously gifted Juan Valeron of Deportivo La Coruna, still as injury prone as ever, is nearing the end.

The reversion to old fashioned wingers and their success in the modern game, in addition to the inside forward role, has also contributed to driving the classic number 10 to virtual extinction. While clubs will always possess ‘luxury players’ (The Robinho’s of this world), the central figure who was the focal point of every attack is a player in decline - the quick thinker who dwelt in possession is no longer able to hold possession between the lines.

The modern luxury player is commonly a striker or winger. In the case of a work shy striker, teams will compensate by pushing midfielders up to close down early and deny space with the striker looking to latch on to misplaced passes. Wingers can be covered by the aforementioned holding midfielders moving across or strikers working harder to close down the full back. The defensive striker (Kuyt) is on the rise.

​Central players need to have a work ethic in the modern game and this has driven a change in personnel at so many clubs.

The old fashioned number 10 was in so many cases a loose cannon off the field, enjoying a playboy lifestyle and an attitude to training that wouldn’t be tolerated in today’s sport science culture. The modern number 10 (Messi, Rooney, Ozil) possess all the technical skills needed to turn defence into attack in an instant as well as superb physical conditioning and an appetite to work hard for the team when out of possession.

This has enabled the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona to close down higher up the pitch and win the ball back closer to the opponent’s goal – a counter attack started from 40 yards away is more likely to yield results than one started 70 yards away. Very few teams get the chance to reorganize when Barcelona hit them on the counter from 40-50 yards away; the speed of the game is just too fast. For example, at their best, Barcelona will counter and 5/6 metres per second. Pace, strength and skill is an essential combination in making a counter work today.

So will we ever see the old fashioned number 10 back at the very top of the game? Perhaps not although brilliance will always be brilliance. It’s hard to imagine many games passing Del Piero by on his day.

The beautiful game goes through periods and styles of play that alternate with each new era. In the past 30 years we’ve gone from the regular use of 3-5-2 (wingbacks) to 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1 to the modern 4-1-2-3. As the game changes so will its tactics and the accommodation for the old fashioned number 10 may once again be opened. The sight that thrilled so many youngsters when growing up will once again return to our screens. Or so we can only hope.

Moody, elusive, volatile and lazy, yet exquisitely skillful and effortlessly intelligent, the classic number 10 may be a dying breed but one whose memories will long live in the mind of football fans who witnessed their graceful brilliance.