Famous and successful proponents
The system has not been devised or invented recently but has been in use for a while.
Although it has proved difficult to trace the origin of the false nine, the Austrian national team has been credited with playing the system way back in 1934. However, it has been impossible to verify this due to the unavailability of supporting video evidence from those days.
The genius exponent of total football Johan Cruyff and former Hungarian player Nandor Hidegkuti have known to be masters of this tactic.
In 2007, Luciano Spalletti also experimented with the system at Roma with team captain Francesco Totti playing the role, but it translated to little acclaim and success on the pitch.
In recent times, Pep Guardiola’s deployment of Leo Messi as a false nine at Barcelona has been the hallmark of the tactic, as the Catalans annihilated opponents with their pass and move game.
