The Typical Number 10: Kaka and re-emergence of the Trequartista role in football
The typical number ten (10) role has been under debate in the past decade as far as football tactics are concerned. It has faded into fashion and out of fashion. In the early 90’s and especially early 00’s, typical number 10’s were a feature of every championship winning side but what is really meant by a typical number 10?
Well, Number 10 in football is associated with players who can control, shoot and especially play that killer pass that leads towards the goal. These kinds of players usually wear the 'Number 10' shirt and are linch pins of their team’s attacking moves. This trend became particularly prominent in the FIFA World Cup of 1998, where Zidane played the Trequartista role for the French, Del Piero for the Italians, Rivaldo for the Brazilians, Ariel Ortega for the Argentineans and Dennis Bergkamp for the Dutch.
Previous number 10 greats include Diego Maradona who played the same role for Argentina in 1896 FIFA World Cup and then again in 1990 World Cup, Michel Platini for the French in Euro 1984 and Roberto Baggio for the Italians at the 1994 World Cup.
Before the World Cup, typical number 10’s had almost gone out of fashion in modern football. Apart from Kaka and Sneijder there was no other prominent Trequartista in the world of football. A number of players in fact, failed to make superstars of themselves despite being featured in these roles quite often; players such as Juan Riquelme, Pablo Aimar, Andres D’Alessandro and Javier Saviola.
These players emerged in the early 00’s and were a part of the ‘New Maradona’ production line from Argentina, where every player was trying to be the next Maradona. Also, it became harder for players to play this role due to the change in the tactical trend. Managers packed their midfield with five players more often than not, this meant that the opposing team’s creative Trequartistas had less of an influence on the team, as they were usually being marked by two or more players at a time.
However a few matches in the present round of sixteen in the 2010 FIFA World Cup have given resurgence to a once dead trend. Kaka’s performance against Chile was an excellent example of what a typical number 10 brings to the team; pace, trickery, shooting ability, control of the ball and most importantly the vision to pick that final pass out which leads towards the eventual goal.
Sneijder’s performance for Netherlands against Slovakia also reinforced the fact that if deployed in the right formation Trequartistas can be the most potent of weapons. The German national team deployed the Turkish born youngster Mesut Ozil in their Trequartista role behind the strikers and he has been the player of the tournament so far.
Argentina have also tried to follow the trend and their coach Diego Maradona has pushed his star player Lionel Messi into a typical number 10 role behind strikers like Higuain and Tevez. French employed Johan Gourcuff as their Trequartista but he was not that successful for them due to the in-squad fighting, although he has been very impressive for his club Bordeaux in France.
For the top club sides around the world, there are a number of players who are engaged in such roles. Diego for Juventus is a fine example of a modern Trequartista. Aimar has also had career resurgence at Benifica, Guti has long played in the Trequartista role for Real Madrid, Paul Scholes used to play there for Manchester United but due to his age, he has been demoted to a deep-lying play maker.
Steven Gerrard has played the role for Liverpool frequently as well, when he plays behind Fernando Torres, although he is actually a box to box midfielder. Other examples include Modric for Tottenham in the English premier league.
The movement towards playing a 4-2-3-1 formation has given some air to the Number 10 role, as with two defensive midfielders covering the back four, teams essentially require a creative player ahead of them to provide a steady supply towards the wings and to the striker(s) as well.
Players playing in a “number 10” role are a major source of entertainment for football fans, these players influence kids to pursue a football career, players like Maradona and Zidane have developed the beautiful game into what it is today, the re-emergence of this trend is good news for any football fan who loves fast flowing attacking football where build up is focused upon. The outcome is a finished product which is a spectacle worthy of admiration.
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